A Tourist’s Guide to Lyme Disease

 

Are you just starting out on your Lyme Adventure?

Do you feel like a tourist, making many stops along the way, but not getting anywhere?

Read on to learn how to have a successful Lyme adventure!

Foods To Help You Heal

Kale, broccoli, bacon and chicken cooked in olive oil

Each person’s Lyme adventure is different, since Lyme affects body chemistry differently. HOWEVER, one constant with Lyme is that it LOVES SUGAR! Who doesn’t, right? So, your number one job is to eliminate as much sugar from your diet as you can. The sooner you do this, the better for your body and cells to heal!

Below are some foods that may help you feel better and will help your cells to rejuvenate:

Olive oil

Organic proteins like chicken, pork, and turkey (5 oz or more per large meal to help maintain energy levels)

Organic liver and organ meats

Leafy greens like kale and spinach

Fresh Garlic

Green Tea (brewed at home, not purchased with artificial sweeteners)

Green vegetables like cucumbers, asparagus, and broccoli

Plain water

FOODS THAT MAY EXACERBATE SYMPTOMS:

Carbohydrates (bread, crackers, desserts, cereal)

Fruits (Lemon is a fruit! Be careful adding this to your water to detox–it may not help you feel better!)

Nightshade vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers

Nuts and seeds (and their “cousins”, like nut flours)

Eggs (organic eggs may also cause a problem, so watch how you react after consuming)

Dairy

Artificial sweeteners like those found in Gatorade, Vitamin Water and Seltzers

An important note about Gluten:

Many people are advised to eat ‘gluten-free’ when they are diagnosed with Lyme. But I caution you. Instead, become a label reader and compare the carbohydrates in gluten-free products like bread, chips, and crackers to wheat made ones. What do you notice? Exactly. They are pretty much the same in terms of carbohydrate content. So skip the gluten-free processed products because it will only make the Lyme bugs happy to have sugar in your system, and your inflammation worse.

What’s Your Pain Index Today?

Each day is a new adventure in pain! Realize that your pain levels can be directly linked to the food you eat, so document what you eat and drink each day. Document how you feel on a 1 -10 pain scale. After a few days, you should start to see patterns emerge as to what foods your body likes or doesn’t like.

Supplement City

Make sure the supplements you are taking are ‘whole food’ supplements and not synthetically made ones. Your body needs all the whole food it can get, and if you are adding toxic chemicals to your already compromised system, you can be wasting valuable healing time.

A tip about taking all those supplements: Use a Sharpie to label the bottle cap with the number of pills and how many times you need to take it each day. It will make refilling your weekly pill-box that much easier!

Fluids are Good!

Be sure to keep all those whole food supplements flowing through your body. Get yourself a 20 oz container to refill throughout the day. You should be drinking up to 90 oz or more a day! It seems like a lot, but if you keep that water bottle with you, you will find that you can easily drink between 32-40 oz per meal….that gets you very close to or even over 100 oz just on meals alone! Drinking in between meals only adds to your daily totals.  So get yourself some 20 oz refillable bottles and starting drinking!

 

The Lyme Bible

google images

Having Lyme is truly an adventure! Below are the steps to help you create your own Lyme Bible that grows along with you as you trek along the winding roads of Lyme disease.

Get yourself a 3 inch binder in the color of your choice—green perhaps?

Put in pocket sleeves, at least 6 to start. Different colors for each practitioner can help you stay organized.

Put a post-it note on the front of each pocket with the name, address, phone number and fax number of the doctor or practitioner.

Each time you go to a doctor, take a notebook and write down all pertinent information. Date and label the page and be sure to note the follow-up appointment in your notes as well.  Add your notes to the corresponding pocket at home. (You may want to invest in a large, fashionable tote bag instead of a purse so you can carry your Bible and notebook more easily to appointments.)

Add pockets as needed for blood work results, MRI scans, food charts, or whatever information you feel will be important to remember on your journey through Lyme.

Create a working document that lists your medical history prior to and including Lyme. Note any physical, mental, and emotional changes as you go through your healing process. Update this chart monthly so you can see positive or negative changes along the way. Share information with your practitioners so adjustments can be made if needed.

 

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

Your best way to confront Lyme is by thinking like Watty Piper’s Little Engine …I think I can…I think I can…I think I can….

Being positive, even angry some days, will get you farther in your treatment then sitting back and ‘waiting’ for things to change.

Look for new ways to heal. Read, research, and revise your thinking. If a method of healing sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so double-check any quick heal claims with reputable clinicians and practitioners. The only way you will get better is by putting in the effort to learn and find what works for you!

Surprise! Medical Doctors Don’t Have All The Answers

In your Lyme adventure, realize that you will be making many stops along the way to wellness to take in the sights and scenery, mostly found in doctors’ offices. And yet, once  there, you may slam into bumps that slow you down. You may decide to make appointments with various medical doctors, only to discover that they listen to only one symptom, and in turn, misdiagnose you. You may receive a diagnosis like “eat right and exercise”, that won’t give you the guidance you need to heal.  And you may find that those with an MD after their name aren’t the ones who can really help.

LLMD’s are very good at their treatments, but they can be costly and not very timely for you in scheduling appointments.  This author heard of an LLMD about an hour away from her home, but needed to wait 6 months in order to see him! Not wanting to wait that long for her symptoms to become even more debilitating than they already were, she researched a naturopath, a dietician, and a later on in her healing, a holistic practitioner.   While this is not the conventional route to healing, she found that those without an MD after their names actually were willing to take the time to work with her and help her begin the healing process. Instead of being laid up in bed or in a hospital, six months later, she is working in her garden, reading for a half an hour or more at a time, and genuinely being able to get through her summer days without requiring to rest every few hours. Every person has their own path to follow, but be assured that it may not be the one you have been taught to follow all of your life! Be willing to try new treatments and protocols. Your body will thank you!

BRAIN FOG SLOWING YOU DOWN?

TRY THESE 5 TRICKS TO KEEP YOUR SANITY WHILE YOU HEAL!

1. STAY IN ONE PLACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK AT HAND. Zipping around the house like a squirrel running up a tree leaves too many little jobs to finish!
2. USE POST IT NOTES to remind you to do simple jobs like switch the laundry. Put these in high-traffic areas that you will see.
3. TAPE INVITATIONS RIGHT ON THE CALENDAR after you write the information down.
4. ORDER GROCERIES ONLINE. Many stores save your lists, so review your last week’s order before adding new items. 
5. EAT LOTS OF LEAFY GREENS! Kale has many nutrients in it that help rejuvenate cells, especially those foggy brain cells!  Create your own ways to eat kale in salads, eggs, and meat dishes.  (I don’t recommend Kale brownies, however…)
   

 

I hope you enjoyed this guide to Lyme and tricks to healing.

Remember: your attitude is everything and will determine how quickly you heal!

Yours in Lyme Adventures,

TWL