Every now and then I remind myself that the reason for time is so everything doesn’t have to happen all at once.
I need this reminder because when I feel bad, I don’t want to do anything. Then when I am a little bit well, I run off and do too much. Then I crash.
In the days after my last post, I was pretty obsessed with insomnia. I had it really badly. I was restless all day. Restless, exhausted and unable to concentrate. Then I was restless all night, attempting to relax my body while unable to let go of full consciousness.
Magically, I started sleeping again. Well, not by magic. Two things helped out immensely. First, I started coiling for Lyme more frequently. Lyme herxes make me sleep a lot. Lots of hours. Very deeply. These are a great antidote to Bartonella herxes which make me restless and sleepless.
The other big helper was naps. I’d been trying to nap unsuccessfully. Then my husband lay down with me one day and rested his hand on my forehead. I’m not sure why this worked, but I fell into the first deep sleep I’d had in several days. Now we joke about the Vulcan death grip he uses to knock me out.
Having rested up, I then planned way too many things in a row. Mostly these were activities of half a day or less, but I could have used a rest day (or three) between each activity. I spent the rest of each day in bed before or after our activity. It started last Friday when we bought me a bicycle and went to dinner and a movie. (Warm Bodies was hilarious!)
Saturday we went whale watching in the morning. It was wonderful. I was able to stand for a long time, much longer than usual. Plus we saw a pod of Risso’s dolphins, a pod of common dolphins, two grey whales, a family of sea otters, and several pods of California sea lions. I think it is very healing to be around marine mammals. But I was sea sick enough in the winter swells that I don’t need to do it again. I’m happy to see the occasional dolphin pods from the beach.
Sunday we had a fun lunch and long walk on the beach with friends in Carmel. The beach was farther from the restaurant than I realized. I was sleepwalking by the time I got back to the car.
Monday was pretty disastrous. The seasonal Lyme flare made my menstrual cycle ugly: diarrhea, nausea, light-headedness, somnolence, overall weakness, cramps, and an emotional meltdown. I was glad that I had a good weekend behind me.
Tuesday, I was still recovering from the weekend and Monday’s mess. But I wanted to join my husband for a trip to the mountains. He was planning to ski. I was planning to people-watch, crochet, read, and enjoy the clear mountain air. We left in the evening. Wednesday, Joe skied. I hung out but was so overtired I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I enjoyed being up there, but not as much as I have in the past because I was exhausted before the day even began. (It didn’t help that as I was eating lunch outside the ski lodge, a chunk of snow fell off the roof and crashed onto my head, generating a headache I’ve had on and off since then.)
Yesterday I was still recovering from too much activity. Plus it was time to coil my body for Lyme. That mean two Lyme sessions in addition to the two daily Bartonella sessions. A lot going on, but mostly lying down.
It’s important for me to be outside. I think that I get stronger as I push my limits. I have yet to learn how to pace the activities so that I can enjoy them and recuperate in between. So this weekend, I’ll rest some more. If I’m up to it Sunday, I’d like to try out my bicycle, but no promises…
Lyme Flare
I can tell the Lyme flare is increasing. My joints are popping and cracking and aching every day. My menstrual cycle has gotten worse again. My muscles are sore for no reason, and more sore when I use them. I’m getting headaches, the dull kind that is slightly distracting. I’m sleeping more for a day or two after I coil. And my stools are loose, especially after I coil for Lyme.
I’m committed to coiling my full body every five days. This seems to be the sweet spot between letting the flare symptoms pile up and coiling too often.
Bartonella Herxes
As I continue to coil for Bartonella, I’m having more of the symptoms I had in autumn. The insomnia was getting intolerable until I started coiling for Lyme again. But even with a better night sleep, I feel tired a lot and restless. Strange dreams wake me often. I continue to have mild sweats most nights.
Bartonella has me dealing with irritated bowels. Before the Lyme coiling, which cleans me out, I was constipated and crampy. Now I’m going back and forth between the two extremes.
My urinary tract is also inflamed. I’ve had some mild pain in my back around my kidneys. It isn’t nearly as bad as it was before, both over the summer and during the fall. This time it comes and goes and isn’t too intense. My bladder is pretty irritated. I find I have to urinate frequently, and my bladder hurts when it is partially full. I have pain in my lower abdomen that could be from any of the organs down there, but I think it is referred pain from my bladder.
I’ve got a lot of tingling and roving nerve pain, mostly in my extremities (hands and feet). Then there’s the new acne outbreak, on my butt, of all places! I’ll be glad when I don’t have Bartonella anymore.
I’ve been doing two coiling sessions, morning and evening, almost every day. I actually missed one on Saturday to go whale watching. I missed another when we went to the mountains. When I can’t do the full coiling, I make sure to do 10 minutes over a blood rich organ to keep the infection load from increasing too much.
I’m nervous about adding the third session, but I know it must be done. I keep thinking that I need my detox plan better executed to do it. But I also know that the best motivation to prioritize detoxing is to suffer from a day of herxing. Maybe this weekend…
Detox Tribulations
I’ve managed to juice 3 times in the past two weeks, meaning I had 6 days of juiced greens. It was too hard to do things outside the house and still have enough energy to spend an hour on my feet to do the juicing. When I did drink juiced greens, I felt better. This weekend, it is on the agenda again.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking about the sauna and the gym again. I’m sure the sauna would help with the kidney pain, as it has in the past. It has also been good for the tired, restless feeling that I have with Bartonella herxes. I went once two weeks ago. I’m trying to make a point to go back.
For heat, I’ve instead been using the Biomat, which helps me relax in addition to working up a sweat. When I recently convinced myself to do a half hour of yoga, I felt it in my arms and chest for days. Finally it occurred to me to take an epsom salt & dead sea salt bath. Wow, I could feel the difference within 10 minutes. It was great for detoxing. My muscles felt better. So did my joints and my kidneys.
I’ve heard from people less sick than I’ve been that they coiled and suffered and got well without detoxing. I suppose it’s possible, but not the best idea. I’d rather use my energy to go out and play, but since my goal is to get rid of these infections, I keep coming back to detoxing. When I detox, I can coil more aggressively and see more obvious results. (There, I hope I’ve convinced myself to juice and head to the sauna this weekend!)
Categories: detoxification support, healing process, Herx reactions
Tags: bartonella, detox, lyme
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Coiling for Lyme 