February 5, 2025

UPDATE

My mother's birthday - Luane Lange.  (Born in 1937.  Died at 80 in 2017, following open heart surgery. :(  Younger sister just had open heart surgery last week.  She's doing much better than our mother (and father in 2007) did following open heart surgeries.)

Figured I should give an update, having read my last two entries. It's been a while. In case anyone is reading this. :)

Been traveling! Started that when turning 60.  Now 63.  Got Lyme almost 10 years ago.  Still have symptoms.  Living with it.  Set boundaries.  Making sure my 60s are not a repeat of my 50s, which were not so great. (I think a trip to Chicago to visit a family friend, including a car rental, was my first venture.  That was challenging! How to get out of the rental lot? for starters.)

~Visited a close friend in California, and my great aunt Eunice, (almost 100 then!) and Uncle Jim. :)  During the pandemic still! Mask mandate was still in effect - August of 2021.

~Traveled to St. Croix solo in April of 2022 - sick with pneumonia and the flu.  Knew the tropical clime would cure what ailed me.  It did! I was NOT canceling that trip.  But realized I could die and no one would know, so I finally took my antibiotics and steroids.  It was beautiful.  Stayed at friends' place: each villa with it's own pool.  Heavenly. Explored the island.   Drove on the left side of the road!  Didn't know until I was leaving with the rental that that was the norm.  Might not have gone if I knew.  Glad I didn't know.  Cause I just followed the gate attendant's advice:  "Keep Left".  (Only one 4-way intersection on a curve kept throwing me a curve ball.)

~Then with high school friends to outskirts of Denver, and solo after that to a ranch in Wyoming, June 2022.  Didn't know if I could do it.  Same with the trip to CA and St. Croix.  But did it.  Rented cars each time.  Didn't know if I could drive like I used to.  I did.  Where there's a will, there's a way. Many good memories.  Hot water springs and my solo ranch campfire near Centennial , WY.  100 People!  (They said it's less in the winter!)  Loved the snow still in the mountains, while summer heat was starting down below - end of June.  Solo drive in the canyons near Malibu was exciting - and beaching it. 

Got CoVid for the first of two times after returning from Denver.  When the mask mandate was first lifted.  A slumped guy sleeping in my row for 7 hours (stuck twice on tarmack)... Had CoVid? Oy.  I wore a mask - except in the bathroom.  Seems like that's when I should NOT have taken it off.  But 'recovered' fine - with Paxlovid, in Westport, at the beach, three alternating days in week.  Ommmm.... was lovely.  And Peaceful.

~Also went to Puerto Rico with hub for 60th.  After I'd planned two solo trips, he seemed determined to take me somewhere.  ok.  It was good, all in all.

~I have a list - places to go... This year, 2025, going to the outer banks of NC with high school friends again.  Hopefully will still happen, given all of the post election turmoil of having Trump in the White House again.  oy.

~Last year we traveled as a family to London to visit our daughter and traveled on to Scotland, too.  Scottish Castles, and London city (cabaret, Shakespear's Globe Theatre, Indian fare at Dishoom) and countryside (c. 1100 Abby) ventures! I went back again, solo, to France to see a college friend who had opened an awesome B&B, their "Tall House" she calls it :) in the French countryside, and then met my daughter in Paris - post Olympics.  (Was cheaper post Olympics to Paris than the upcoming trip to NC!?) Loved having french onion soup, escargots, champagne and chocolote mousse in Paris! The year before it was great to visit with my brother and his family outside of Seattle - feeding animals from the car windows at a wild animal park.  Wild!  Albino peacocks there!

~Going twice each year to Kripalu for a yoga retreat - Self Care - Silence and Good Food. When it was canceled last March because of a broken pipe and damaged studios, I ended up with my GI tract going awry - for months.  Many tests.  Little answers.  Oy.  "This may be your new norm" said one Dr. 

Needed that yoga retreat.  

Tests then showed basically, ..... inflammation.  Yup.  That's what Lyme does.  Inflame.  Kind of like people are dealing with Long Haul CoVid now.  Also Inflammatory.

Soooo... Other travels but I can't remember it all now. Looking forward to possibilities of Jamaica and Cape Verde in the upcoming years.  Bahamas would be nice again.  There's 200+ islands there!  When we went as a family, we said it would be great to go back...Again, not sure what will be feasible with the orange man dictating.

Annnnd... Current Supplements include some of the same: D3 for immune (added the 3), B12, Astra for lungs (sometimes Astra C), and newer ones of CoQ10, Niacin and B6 2x/week, Magnesium 1X/week. Some for brain, including mushroom powders still (Lions Mane every months or so, and newer Stametz 7 intermittently). Still with OTC antihistimes (taking care of a cat since 9/23!), but trying not every day.  Adding probiotic every day since GI tract went screwy last March/April/May.  

Annnnd... The ARTS! - Will be what gets me through the craziness that is the Trump world. Dancing two mornings/week locally this winter - after tap dancing last fall and performing with the studio at our local Christmas on the Common events.  Lovely studio is sharing their space.  Right down the street.  Literally a dream come true.

~Singing with SE Mass Social Justice Choir at BSU weekly for two years now - and helping to lead our Second Annual Community Sing this March.  And this Friday singing at a high school reunion concert in CT.  Been 45 years!! Learning music on our own. Afternoon rehearsal and then performance at night.  Class of '80 is being represented by a bunch of us!

Voice isn't the same as my teens, 20s, 30s and 40s - but still not too shabby! :)  Wanting to get back into Theatre. Lovely goddaughter helped me with new headshots.  Slowly but surely. There's been a void in my soul.  Hope to be with a newer Playhouse in CT this summer....(Have seen a bunch of their shows, as well as shows at a great old barn theater in Plymouth.)

Other Health Considerations Still: 

~Acupuncture once a month - She's still awesome.  Lots of needles - to lungs, knees, right shoulder, arms and legs, wrists, ankles, head, forehead, ears.

~Chiropractor was once a month - switching now to each 6 weeks.  She's awesome.  Uses a hammer of sorts.  Get a tune up from head to toe!

~Sleep with mask and ear plugs.  Usually by myself.  Sometimes still need to vocally tone at bedtime, to quiet my brain activity.  Also the music of Alexia Chillun helps.  Brought back from a yoga retreat.

~Still hyper sensitive to sound and light. Wear the special glasses for night driving. Still can't see things right in front of me.  Have started taking pictures of things I didn't see.  And then, there it is!  Or someone shows me.

~Had an issue of Tinnitus the first December singing with a new choir. Long High Forte notes did me in.  Ringing 24/7 - around high C.  And in the foreground.  Much more debilitating than higher notes (higher than notes on the piano) ringing in the background.  So started singing more Soprano 2 instead of Soprano 1.

~And still need quiet as part of every day.  Hours of it, if I can.  The world is so damn noisy!

~Since starting magnesium and B6, the plantars warts on my left foot are going away, slowly but surely! Coincidence?  I've had them for years.  Nothing worked before.

~Careful with my lungs (e.g. smoke from our fireplace did me in New Years Eve. oy. I made several rounds of broth with garlic and ginger to avoid pneumonia.)

~Cortisol, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine and Adrenilan 'jump start' the Lyme? I notice that I will wake up from a dream with my fascia vibrating somewhere in my body.  Sometimes I've remembered the dream, and it's something that involves adrenilan, etc.  Can be a happy dream, too.  Doesn't have to be scarey or anxious.  Those neuro chemicals come into play either way. oy.

~Our largest area medical facility closed in May 2023, with no notice.  Finally reconnected with my preferred NP, when she returned to the facility as a different business.  Couldn't get medical records for 1 1/2 years.  ugh.

~Was walking regularly around the country block and elsewhere until I started dancing more this winter.

~Balancing priorities: Resigned from directing tone chimes choir at church.  Was too much.  Did for 17 years.  A lot of work that people didn't necessarily realize needed to be done for it to be successful.  Really enjoyed being with the ladies, but it was time.  Also now managing the rental of a house with my sisters.  Been working on finishing a basement room there.  Doing much of it myself. 

~Lost special people last year.  Grateful to have spent time with my mother in law through last winter.  (Now with my father in law on weekends, but not as often.  Have to balance.)  Lost my older 'sister' :(. Really miss her. Thought I would see her again.  Lost the mother of a long time friend who I knew well, the mother of another close friend who I did not know well, and my second brother in law.  :(  And more people at church. :(

Annnd... Work:

~After doing my taxes since I was a teenager, and our joint/married taxes for 38 years since 1987, I have an appointment with a CPA at the local Council On Aging.  Hopefully passing on that chore!  :)

~Still with PACES out of Plymouth - since 12/20; and starting with my fifth ARC location next week - also out of Plymouth.  Meaningful work.  (Worked with three MA ARCs as a Music Therapist/in New Bedford, Fall River and Brockton - until Lyme hit, and one as a Case Manager/in Westwood- until CoVid hit). 

~Both jobs are part time. Afternoons with PACES students, and starting newer mornings with ARC adults.  Hoping to get to a 3 day/week work schedule mid week - as I near retirement in the coming few years. And be somewhere else on long weekends... a small shack near the water? 

Ommmm....

May the force be with you.

POST?-PANDEMIC UPDATE

Aaah, the trials and tribulations of surviving Lyme Disease....in a post?-global pandemic soon, as we live and breathe...been since March of 2020.

My heart goes out to those who have contacted me about their struggles with Lyme, or someone they know who is struggling or who already lost the fight...

While this isn't very exciting reading, maybe it will help someone somehow.

Peace and optimal health to you and yours, 

:) Lisa

May 6, 2021

Spring has Sprung - in May of 2021 ~

And what a year-plus it has been! (Yes, it's taken me over a month to get this finished.)

The BEST:

~My family stayed relatively healthy.  Don't think we had CoVid19 (not sure, tho, since Rob and I were both sick with a flu-like virus last Dec. '19 and March '20, respectively). 

~We have continued to have jobs, and things could certainly be much worse. It also helped to have some assistance from the Department of Unemployment when in transition from my full time job as a case manager (when the day program closed - due to CoVid, and staff was temporarily placed in group homes, and then people contracted CoVid and some died in the homes). 

~My work switched back to contracted 1:1 part time case work in December (as I'd done for over 25 years when self-employed, pre-Lyme).  This time, in students' homes and with families. Very grateful for meaningful work.

~We've been able to pay our bills, and also have MUCH MORRRRE time together at home - with Clara working long hours from her bedroom since March 2020, and Graham glued to his multi-screened computer set up in his room.  oy.  (This was an extension of students having to become remote and then a hybrid model of both in-person and remote for schooling. What a year-plus to be a student graduating from high school! They didn't get much of a junior year after the winter break last year, and senior year has been....different.)

~Finally went to two online concerts!  That was also different, but better than no concerts.  Miss that!! Can't believe Broadway has been shut down for over a year.  BROADWAY!! Got to see my friend, Mitch, do online costuming presentations, since the CoVid shutdown of the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, where he works.

~Going to Boston this weekend with Clara for Mothers Day - will get to see her work place, and wander around: the North End, the Wharf.... (She left shoes there last March.)  We will see what's open.  Looks like things will finally be open for the summer? (As long as things don't get messed up again. Surges in CoVid after superspreader events, such as trump rallies, and states that didn't honor any social distancing or mask use.  Really something that anti-vaxers and antimaskers have died/are dying...)

~I've had both Pfizer vaccine doses for the CoronaVirus. (Rest of family to be fully vaccinated within a week.) I was very hesitant because of past problems with flu vaccines, but also have asthma, and didn't want to risk getting a potentially fatal respiratory disease, and was approved for Phase 1 of the vaccine because of my work. Still took many, many weeks to get an appointment for the shot.

~Governor Charlie Baker has done a pretty good job at the helm for Massachusetts during the GLOBAL PANDEMIC (that the US President dismissed, and even obstructed the health and well being of the citizens.  In the beginning, states were punished for not supporting him, i.e. no PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), so Baker had it flown in with the help of a New England Patriots jet. (And the fiasco went on and on and on...can see in The WORST, to follow.)

~New President, Joe Biden, in office. (What a challenge, as Obama had, coming into such a mess for the country.)

~Kept a journal for 2020, listing the three best things of each day.  It often included simple things, such as the sunrise or sunset, or being able to take a walk, or being on this side of the ground. :) Usually included something about being outside (love the beach! the salt air!), or meaningful time with other people. And LOVED having my new screenhouse up for the warm months last year. It's going up soon for 2021.

~Spent birthday again in the respite of the hot tub and quiet time at friends' home by the ocean. :)

~Some comedy is always good - the laughs are good! Have tickets to see Kathleen Madigan in Boston in September..... :)

~At annual checkup my blood pressure was so low (for me) that they checked it twice.  A good thing?

~ At a plateau of sorts for the past year and a half - flareups resolve, some shorter some longer - like injured shoulder from shoveling snow took two months to resolve.

~Twitching eye issue at time of 2020 annual resolved with lion's mane - a mushroom that I take intermittently in powder form, and then Clara started to grow it. It's for brain health...regeneration of cells/neural connections? (disconcerting that the eye twitch switched for a while from outer to inner eye - to the iris or pupil? and would distort and wiggle my vision each time.  No, I didn't go to the doctor.  What would they have done?  Been there, done that.)

The WORST:

~Fibromyalgia Flare Up 3/20 - after over doing it with 2 mile walks at work (when placed at a group home for start of CoVid shutdown of our day program) - all the FM trigger points: lower back, mid back, upper back, shoulders, chest (feels like pleurisy), head, knees (left knee with something snapping in it when walking)...

~Horrible cough and flu in 3/20 - with no support from spouse.  Did I tell you this is how I will not play out my senior years?  :(

~Flare ups with eye and knees last January of '21...also came from overdoing it (leading group in an abbreviated Qi Gong 'class' on a beach), and exposure at a household for work...took prednisone (but saved last 10 and took them later when being tested for CoVid/having a flare up.  Dr. didn't think that would be enough.  It was.  I'm sensitive. Don't want to overdo it with prednisone.)

~Learned that it's not good to have ice cream with sugar substitutes.  About three hours after a no sugar vanilla raspberry swirl float with Diet Coke, I pooped 8 times in 45 minutes - so much my ass bled.  Clara looked it up online.  Has to do with sugar substitutes.  I forget the term. Oy.

~My ears have been ringing for more than a week. Sometimes it's more of a buzz in my head. Since the CoVid vaccines.

~Over a half of a million people have died in the U.S., while the president at the time mocked the use of masks, etc., and suggested insane cures for CoVid such as ultraviolet radiation and ingesting lethal chemicals.  

~My brother-in-law's mother, Ginger, died of CoVid in the winter. :( 

~Special people at church died of CoVid (Winston, Faye) early on in the pandemic. :(

~Ruled by a president that was a clown, at best, and an evil dictator at worst, e.g. turning his back on the suffering of millions of U.S. citizens, abolishing policies that supported the Americans on whose backs this country's wealthiest have made their billions and billions, and even inciting a riot on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. when he couldn't accept the Presidential election results that he insisted others accept when he won, etc., etc., etc. -  challenging basic human rights and democracy, just to be in power. And his 'party' has very, very few people willing to challenge the insane rhetoric and abuse.

~Suicides...

~Brief job as residential program manager at a house for BAMSI...Loved the residents, but the middle and upper management made for an awful job, all in all - trickle down effect to most of the house staff - a few exceptions were awesome though. Sad to have to make the decision to leave - for my health.  My supervisor said she understood - then terminated me with no notice and no specific reasoning - over a week after I had given my notice, and also after had been 'on call' for a week for a half dozen houses (on top of the Full Time hours+). I was the 8th person in that job in four years.  Tells you something... They just chew up the staff and spit them out. (My boss wanted to know if I wanted to work as relief staff when I left.  ?!  This is what they do, over and over, with residential management staff...)

What CONTINUES:

~ Daily regimen of supplements, in my weekly breakdown for Sun through Sat: 

Vitamins B12 & D3 for immune system, Cat's Claw for brain health, Astragalus for respiratory health (can't find Astra 8 through Health Concerns anymore/got back ordered during the CoVid Pandemic), so substituted Womens Balance from Health Concerns/blend of multiple barks, roots and herbs for general health, 1/2 tab of RX Singulair for asthma, OTC allergy pills for the spring (and beyond?), OTC ibuprofen for inflammation and joint/head pain, turmeric on foods/anti inflammatory, garlic as natural antibiotic (not daily, but regularly), hot sauce for allergies and sinuses, gargle with pickle juice...  

~ Regimen also includes:

  * Get enough sleep (still up twice each night - but seems to be ok/enough)

  * Drink enough water

  * Teas...(probiotic and ginger, detox, throat coat, sleepy time/sweet dreams, ... not all at at once, but do like to have more than one at a time...)

  * Minimal alcohol, caffeine sugars, dairy (anti-inflammatory diet).  Weakness still for me is carbs - which metabolize to glucose or sugars, so try to minimize the white flour carbs at least...)

  * Vocal Toning at night - so that brain waves calm and don't turn into brain explosions (jolting and hurt - a little concerning...precursor to stroke?)

  * Qi Gong - also before bed for the same reason - calms the gamma brain wave activity, and coordinates across the corpus callosum of the brain for the body's internal activity.

* June note: Have been able to minimize the need to tone and the Qi Gong in the evenings since getting the CoVid vaccines...coincidence?  (After being an ongoing issue for a very long while, post-Lyme.)

~ Daily quiet, whenever I can.

~ Daily efforts to at least take a walk. (Tried to increase physical activity recently with YouTube low impact videos...my knees got worse, and my ankles...had twisted my left ankle after second CoVid vaccine - tired - stepped down off old barn slab onto uneven dirt under leaves - and I was down! Heard a big crack. ugh.)

~ Limited extracurricular activity. But this is mostly due to the pandemic ..... Tho still can't do too much. Tried to dance along to dance videos on YouTube - but it messed up my knees - because of repeated switching of directions to do the moves. Really miss dancing!!! Danced jazz, modern, ballet, tap, african, hip hop, broadway shows ... for over 25 years....

~ Pacing my work, so that can meet the obligations with enough stamina.

~ It's enough to cook, clearn, do errands, and the endless paperwork for the household and work....TRY to limit onscreen time for my eyes and brain - but have so much to do with home and day job.

~ Symptoms of concussion still - from SIX Years ago! - continue in some form: 

    Ongoing sound and light hypersensitivities - especially light, 

    Need to be in the moment for all tasks (challenge to multitask - everything takes longer/having to deal with much paperwork for son's college applications/end of year graduation stuff/financial aid and scholarship application stuff/new school paperwork stuff, day job, home policies, etc...), 

    Memory recall sometimes still challenging, 

    Some speech slurs still, 

    Visual agnosia still (can't see something right in front of me, if it's surrounded by other objects), 

    Light headedness (worse after the CoVid vaccines), and lose balance somtimes...

~ Vibrating fascia throughout my body - different places at different points different days. THIS IMPROVED AFTER THE COVID VACCINES that I had in March - also around the same time I had switched acupuncturists - coincidence?  The new woman puts many more needles in my arms, legs, knees, ears, feet, head, hands and feet.  

~ Ache in knees improved with new acupuncturist - but also more fatigued knees to start as well... seems to be improving some...(as I finish this post in early June).

~ Worst recently is the ringing ears - All through the night earlier this week.  Seems to be a result of the vaccines, or the new supplement of Glutathione...trying to see if there is a connection. Will stop it again to see if it improves - again. 

~ Have to limit time on screen (too many hours each day) oy.  This is a challenge, given the many hours each day that I am on screen for my job, and home finance/policy stuff and graduation stuff, and also for my connection to the outside world (emails, social media - which I limit)...ended up that it was contributing to an impending ocular migraine...along with DECAF coffee  - again, too much, even decaf has caffeine. Did I tell you I'm sensitive? :)

Whats NEW:

~ Acupuncturist who takes insurance. :)

~ Tried new supplements for glucose maintenance and glutathione, which I'd read also helped re: CoVid and SARS. 

  Stopped, though, because getting light headed and not sure if it was due to the supps or the first vaccine.  Waited for weeks after second vaccine and then tried only the glucose regulating supp again...but still get light headed, so stopping it, at least for now.  It had other ingredients, aside from the hintonia latiflora, which was the main reason that I'd gotten it for glucose regulation.  Maybe the other ingredients were the problem?

~ CBD to sleep

~ Will try the glutathione again. Also reportedly helps re: CoronaVirus and SARS.  (Saw in health magazine.)

~ Knees worse - especially the left.  After recent acupuncture to address it (LOTS of needles in both knees), pain was better, but fatigue was worse. NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT!!

~ Skin flare up from wild parsnip (a yearly thing) - tx was clear aloe gel, topical antihistamine, epsom salts, minimal sun.  It's like poison ivy, with blisters and rash, but a little less itch and a little more of a burn - leaving burn like streaks for a longer time.  Learned that radiation from the sun activates the oil of plant on your skin, creating the reaction.

~ Helping with a friend and her mom at her house out of state.  Special time together - have known since I was in elementary school.

~ Job with Pilgrim Area Collaborative Extended Services.  So glad to have a job with them, and have the support of administration and colleagues.  What a notion! (Big change from BAMSI.)

************************************************************

If you made it this far, maybe something was helpful.  

I know that there have been other things, but it's kind of endless.

Talk to you next year?

But feel free to message me on FaceBook. 

Peace out, 

Enjoy your day. 

xoxoLisa 

UPDATE

UPDATE:

January 8, 2020

My birthday is tomorrow. I’ll be 58.

Just got out of the hot tub at friends. 
[Thank you, Pam and James, for the birthday respite :) ]

Seems I should write down what I’m thinking,
What I’ve been thinking.
It's been over a year since my last post here,
And 4 1/2 years since the onset of Lyme Disease

It came up with the waitress at the restaurant I just went to.
She’s petrified of getting Lyme,
(and of hitting a deer).

I was thinking ahead to next year - when I’ll be 59,
(and starting my 60th year - as my father would say) 

I’m planning to travel somewhere. 
(But probably staying within the same time zone,
because of the havoc it could wreak on my body

to switch time zones twice)  

That’s how it came up with the waitress,
because her mom’s birthday is the day after mine, and her mom

is in Brazil right now - celebrating her 61st.

Where would I go?….
And then she wanted to know more about Lyme.  

Where to start? 
It’s all so convoluted. 

All in all, things are pretty good.  

Could certainly be worse.

(Can’t dwell on how they have gotten worse, as a general part of my life. 

Just have to make it better, one day at a time.)

There was a spell from Christmas to New Years
Where the hacking cough from my toes
Seemed like it could go sideways
And leave me bedridden

(Which is not unusual since getting Lyme.  Never know.)

[Yeah, cough up that crap!
Had to use the inhaler - which I, finally, thank god/dess, hadn’t used for

months now. The steroid one works as needed.
My nurse friend says that it’s only for ongoing use. 

OK.  

It works for me - As Needed - Not Ongoing.  

The first time I used it,
I could feel it immediately open up my breathing,
which I’d been struggling with for weeks at the time.

When will the medical industry acknowledge the 'outliers',
And treat people as the individuals that they/we are,
As a standard form of practice? ]

So, all in all, given that I’ve maintained a full time job
That is physically and mentally demanding -

Working overtime regularly for months... 
(Leave when it’s dark now. Get home when it’s dark...
While I love the winter twilight and night skies,
Springtime will be heavenly), 

...It seems that I’ve reached and/or maintained some form of plateau - again.  

I’m one of the ‘lucky ones’?...  

...Very saddened by the death of a friend’s husband recently. 
He had Lyme.
It was too much.

She had Lyme
And now has cancer
Because her immune system was so ravaged by the Lyme. 

But she’s being an advocate for her health.

She already knew about Lions Mane
and Turkey Tail - for cancer
as well as Essaic tea, apricot pits, and juicing (mostly carrots), among other things. 
No chemo or radiation. And her body feels great! 

I hold her, and all those struggling with chronic immune disrupters, in my thoughts and prayers.

Some things continue to continue for me, post-Lyme,  4 ½ years later:

*Still very sensitive to light and sound -
Have adapted, and usually don’t have to wear sunglasses inside anymore
(tho bright sunshine on the white pews of church is too much)...
Try not to drive at night;
Headlights - and even tail/back up lights can be blinding. 

oy.

*Body continues to vibrate
The fascia?
Especially after too much physical and/or mental tasks...

Usually thighs and bottoms of feet - sometimes my face or arms. 
When I’m busy, I don’t notice it;
But once I stop and am quiet and still, it’s there.
An elderly friend recently said, “That’s an interesting idea,”
when I told him about it,
As we sat in the silence of our church sanctuary after a service.

(Hmm... "Idea"?)

Qi Gong continues to help:
A slow, meditative form of moving with stretches, breath, focus and balancing,
At least a few times each month.
This really seems to quiet, center, balance and ground
the vibrational sense of my body.

*One actual physical improvement :
I hardly have to take allergy antihistamines any more!
Linked to the reduced dairy, I think.
(Try to do cleanses twice a year.)
I mean,
I used to have 24 and 4 hour allergy pills
almost every day

for years
decades
(except for February for some reason in recent years -
maybe has to do with less mold towards the end of winter?

And there’s a daily regimen:

*Up around 5 a.m. most days

Have to have had a decent night’s sleep
(Generally 7 hours - usually getting up twice -
Take 2 night time ibuprofen most nights
Sleep by myself
Use a mask and ear plugs
Although I like to start to fall asleep

Listening to the room and the nearby car sounds
And thinking about the best 3 things of the day:

Sometimes it’s the sunrise
Or a hug from a participant at work
Or hanging with the kids.
Sunrise makes the list usually...)

*Still take thyroid as soon as I get up , and wait half an hour before eating

*Epsom salts a few days each month
Directly on my skin
As I stand in the tub after a shower
Mostly on all joints
Or wherever is most bothered at the time
Currently it’s my knees
A shadow of their former selves

[Diagnosed with flippin’ fibromyalgia last year...
morphed from all of the Lyme
And Post-Lyme symptoms]

*Avocado toast most mornings
(With turmeric, spicy sriracha, lime or lemon juice,
fresh ground salt (various) and pepper (various)

*In early morning, I have the first two or three supplements
(Of 7-8 each day -
and will pace the rest of them through the late morning and afternoon or early evening)...

...Includes AC-Q for muscles and joints,
B12, D3,
Astra 8 for lungs,
Cat’s Claw for the brain

And, in recent weeks, introduced Lions Mane, for the brain
made a difference with my twitching eye that

wouldn’t quit several weeks back. 
My daughter gave me a kit to grow my own Lions Mane. We’ll see.

We started it….

*Pack a lunch
The past few days, it’s the roast chicken thighs  and greens with a

bean/corn/cilantro/tomato salad that my daughter made,
With some type of fruit (berries, apple, banana),

A possible Greek yogurt (though don’t have much dairy now),
And a possible granola bar of some type

(Though those are out, when on a cleanse;
Really only have a handful each month
They're another thing that wears on the immune system - processed carbs)

*Don’t walk too fast at my one floor day job
But my former, pre-Lyme self wants to keep up a good pace

(Working for almost a year now as a case manager
With adults who have special needs).

*Also, many days of most weeks
Garlic (natural antibiotic),
Ginger (anti-inflammatory),
Lots of water.  

Tonight’s dinner was a typically healthy one:
baked haddock with stringed sweet potatoes and ratatouille) 

*Occasionally
I have a small bit of pot
When I know I’m not going anywhere.  

A little bit goes a long way with me,
And helps with the damaged de-myelination of my brain cells.

*I just say no.

People still seem to think I can take on… whatever.  

Just ask, right?

So I say no. 

And that I can’t commit right now, 

Cause I don’t know where I’ll be ‘at’ any given week.

It’s enough to have to catch up on weekends
With the chores and the errands, 

So that there’s food for the next week,
And the house isn’t a pit.

* Meditate most days
Even if just for a few minutes.
Time to breathe
And only breathe
Focusing only on the breath.

*Enjoy some time each day
Watching something to wind down for the day
Usually with the kids -

Sometimes with Rob. 
Needing something 'light' more recently.
Otherwise I can feel the adreniline start to take its toll in my body,
if I watch too much suspense or action. 

Lyme seems to love that.

Yeah! Rev me up!
I still got some life in me!
The dormant cells that are likely very much present still
Somewhere in my body
Protected by the biofilm
That they created?
(They're very adaptive those buggers;
And the host
Is then who has to adapt)

And then the fascia vibrates
And light is too much for eyes
And sound too much for my ears and brain
And my head hurts to the touch...
...Bummer how the energy and sound of speaking
can really aggravate my brain

*CBD oil each night before sleep.  

I almost, without fail
Forget this every flippin’ night.  

But then, my brain reminds me
As I start to fall asleep
When it gives me a warning
That the 'exploding' thing is lurking...
...Less of an explosion then
More like an 'aura'
A cascade of electrical activity not unlike a firework,
Colder in sensation
And not as explosive

...Unless I’ve had CBD oil 

Usually just half a dropper of a low dosage. 
Not psychogenic. 

[It’s very disconcerting - having my brain ‘explode’.
It wakes me up. It hurts.  

It feels like it could be the precursor of a stroke.

While I haven't actually had the 'explosions' in months it seems,
These new 'auras for the explosions'(?) are almost nightly
As my brains starts to drift off to sleep
Unless I've had the CBD oil

Lovely.]

*Also 'vocal toning' at bed time
To switch the brain waves from more to less active
(Like an open mouthed hum, low tones
Is an internal massage to the brain/body
With the sound waves absorbed by the body).

*And, as going to sleep each night,
I think of the three best things of the day. :)
It seems to change my thinking pattern
And actually helps me fall to sleep better.

Which, of course, got me thinking:

Are there different ways of thinking?

How does ruminating over upsetting things that happened in the day
Differ from recalling something pleasant? 

What is the biochemical difference between the two?  

Does one have to do with thinking outward, and one have to do with thinking inward?

One certainly helps me to fall asleep better. 

*Need to mention that I still love to get outside,
Despite the risk of tick exposure
And that deer come right up to our back doors. 
They loved the drooping hemlocks recently,
Waited down with snow.
Got a lovely picture of them.
I think they’re cousins
Who first showed up as yearlings with their moms -
And are maybe 3 years old now.

I won’t live in fear of going outside.

Being cooped up inside has its own set of health risks.

*Vacations in NH are sublime
Winter or summer.

And still gardening…
Though I finally resigned
As chair of our community gardens in town,
At the end of this past season. 
Four seasons was a good run…
Creating them from nothing.
Lots of good people involved in doing that.
They’ll keep going I hope.

******************************************************************************************************

Finally got my application in to a Bio Bank
For research done with tissue of infectious diseases. 

It was about 30 pages.
It was daunting.
And I was missing some of the doctor’s office file information

From the time I was the sickest:
(The second diagnosis via blood test after three months sick;
First diagnosis was after two weeks of acute symptoms,
And rash all over my body when I went to the Urgent Care

That day in July, 2015.)

I've now been waiting for the ‘Archives’ office
Of Quest Diagnostics
To send the ‘values’ of my blood test

From September 2015. 
Of course, they haven’t.
I got all verklempt with the woman
Who was following up on my initial request for the BioBank application

Trying to talk through my tears...
She said to send the application along as it was, long story short. 

Maybe something can be learned from brain tissue,
Or fascia
Really from anywhere in my body

Based on what gets fatigued, hurts or vibrates.

And it looks like they are accepting my donation. :)
Now, 1 1/2 weeks later, the donation forms arrived
for the National Disease Research Interchange based in Philadelphia, PA. )

Closing thoughts:

I’ve plateaued in the past.  

  And thought I was fine, or at least, better.  

      And took it for granted.  

            And ate more processed or fast food or refined carbs or dairy or alcohol or sugar 

                    And cycled downhill quickly.  

My immune system is not what it used to be.
Or did Lyme and Persistent Post Lyme just speed up the aging process?
A couple decades?

Recent cover story for AARP
Was about the main health issue these days: 
INFLAMMATION

Oh, yes.

So what is Western medicine going to do about it?  

***********************************************************************************************************

….Peace

And Happy 2020.

Don’t forget to vote.

--Lisa :)