Welcome To Lyme Bytes!

April, 2014- HELLO ALL! I am no longer posting to this blog. For the latest on me and my work, I invite you to subscribe to my NEW blog: www.conniestrasheim.blogspot.com where I share my latest findings on how to heal from chronic illness involving Lyme and other conditions. Thanks!

Greetings and welcome to my Lyme disease blog, a comfy cozy (and sometimes crazy!) place for cutting-edge information, encouragement and insight into the fastest-growing epidemic disease in the United States. In this blog you will find everything from bug-killing strategies to immune system and hormone help, as well as lifestyle and spiritual suggestions for healing from chronic illness involving Lyme disease. The information contained within this blog is based upon my own healing journey and what I have learned over the past eight years as I have been diligently digging and researching my way back to a better state of health. May you find it to be a source of hope, inspiration and wisdom in your own journey towards wellness.

About "Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment"

About the book:

443 Pages - $39.95
Published August, 2009
Written by Connie Strasheim
Learn More - Bulk Orders - Table of Contents














Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Finding Healing Outside Of Man's Medicine

Do you wonder if anybody ever goes into permanent remission from Lyme disease? Do you wonder if it's possible to return to your pre-Lyme state of perfect health, or at least become healthier than you were before Lyme?

I have been researching Lyme disease for four and a half years. I have attended two Lyme disease conferences, and written two books on the subject. I have spoken to dozens of Lyme disease sufferers, and sadly, I have met few who consider themselves to be in remission, or even close to it.

Some of the most well-respected Lyme-Literate physicians who have treated thousands of patients don't believe that anybody ever completely gets rid of Lyme disease, and rumor has it that one doctor who has treated over 25,000 patients believes that even those who go into remission don't stay there for long. As soon as a life stressor comes along, then the bugs come out to play again.

When I asked another physician who has also treated thousands of patients whether she has ever seen anyone stay in remission for longer than ten years, she uttered sadly, "No." Since I know of a small handful of people who have been symptom-free for five years, when I asked her this question, I decided to up the ante to ten years.

But it isn't just Borrelia I am referring to here. Dr. Horowitz, at the recent ILADS conference, stated that we (physicians and patients) aren't beating Babesia. Some strains of this organism just refuse to be eradicated.

Despite my years of research, some of what I just shared with you is recent news to me. Yes, I knew there was no definitive test to determine whether Borrelia is gone from the body, but I didn't know that recurring relapses might be the norm.

I should have known, but then again, perhaps some of the doctors who have treated thousands don't want these facts to be made public knowledge. Maybe they don't want to get their patients' hopes up. Maybe nobody really wants to say, "You'll have to treat yourself for the rest of your life if you want to stay functional", because it would maintain people in a mindset of sickness and hopelessness, and the mind is a powerful thing.

Personally, when these realizations sunk into my soul, I was dismayed. I guess I thought that all those herbs and other remedies that I've taken, along with a strong supportive regimen, would eventually get me to a place where I would never again have to worry about Lyme disease and its insidious co-infections.

But it seems that once Lyme has taken up residence in your life, it's there to stay. If you choose conventional routes of healing, anyway.

It's good to hope for healing, but that hope needs to be based in reality, and not fantasy. I debated sharing this information with my readers. I didn't want to deflate anyone's hopes, but in the end, I decided that if lifelong relapse, or the rarity of remission is the reality of this beast, then the Lyme community needs to know about it.

I may be wrong. My information comes from my experiences with other Lyme sufferers, as well as from a handful of doctors, who, while knowledgeable and experienced, are still mortals. I hope that I am wrong, and that somebody who has been fully recovered for at least half a decade, will correct me with a testimony about his or her healing. Or that a Lyme-literate physician will rebuke me for this post with half a dozen citations of patients who have arrived at a place of total wellness and stayed there.

A Lyme-literate physician recently tested me via ART (autonomic response testing) to determine the current state of my infections. The testing revealed that I currently have no active forms of borrelia. I think I can thank the Bionic 880 biophoton device and my god for that. After at least 25 biophoton sessions this year, however, cystic forms of the organism still remain in my body (apparently). Does this mean that the Bionic 880 can't get rid of cysts? Dr. Woitzel, a physician in Germany who uses the Bionic 880, might say No, but this form of the organism does seem more tenacious. Whether the cysts cause symptoms is unknown. I remain symptomatic, in any case, due perhaps, to the damage that Lyme has done to my body, as well as to my Babesia and other infections. Bionic 880 treatments have helped to ameliorate some of my symptoms of Babesia, but I do not know whether the machine can completely get rid of this infection. The Lyme-literate doc thus prescribed me Mepron, along with zithromax, Noni and Cumanda.

"Here we go again," I thought as I left his office. "I'm getting on the treadmill again...for the fifth year in a row. Am I really getting anywhere with all these treatments?"

Yes, I am better than I was five years ago. Much better. But I am far from being able to keep up with my healthy forty-something friends (and I'm only thirty-five!).

The realization that I might have Lyme bugs forever and have to continually, or intermittently, treat the suckers, discouraged me, and not just because the symptoms that they produce are agonizing, but because of the limitations that they have placed on my life.

I'm fed up with spending ten hours a night in bed because I either have insomnia or need an abundance of rest. I'm sick of my days being cut short by unproductive, lethargic mornings, and never-ending treatments and doctor visits.

At times, and especially this year, I have had a more productive life, thankfully. Yet, treatments and living at half-throttle have meant that I still spend way too many hours of my life in the throes of Lyme.

I can't do this forever. I won't do this forever. It's nonsense.

So lately, every time I read about the latest pathogen-killing herb or antibiotic, the newest homeopathic remedy for detoxification, or the next test that promises to show which genetic defect is responsible for X and Y problems in the body, I think, "Who cares?" Why? People get excited about all these treatments and discoveries, and while they often deliver relief to the ailing, they usually fall short of expectations.

I am thankful for the gains that treatments, supplements, therapies and Lyme healing strategies have brought me, and I believe there is great worth in them, but a nagging voice inside my head these days is whispering, "It's never going to be enough, Connie."

So I'll go on some drugs for Babesia next year and improve another twenty, maybe thirty percent, if I'm lucky. Great! I'm grateful and happy for the gains that I will continue to make in my healing journey.

But how much of my life do I have to give up for these gains? Do I dedicate sixty thousand dollars and half of my waking hours over the next three years to attain this thirty percent improvement? Is the investment worth it? Well, perhaps, if the alternative is to backslide into a solitary, sedentary life on the sofa.

Don't worry, I'm going someplace better with this.

After I had fully digested my dismay over the realization that Lyme and the treatment treadmill might be for life, I came to a place of surrender of my circumstances.

In my prayers, I told God that I give up. That if this is as functional as I will ever be, then I will learn to manage life with some symptoms. I will stop striving for a life that may not be possible with man's medicine. I will continue to do treatments, but I will detach myself from the results of these, and I won't fret and sweat over my treatment decisions. Furthermore, I will not speak of this thing to others, I will not complain about how poorly I feel, and I will not go above and beyond in my treatment protocol, because Lyme just doesn't deserve that much of my time.

My body may clamor for a better treatment or more detoxification protocol, but my spirit clamors for a life outside of Lyme, and I believe that the spirit has more power to heal the body than any man-made remedy.

I'm not giving up, though. Recently, I attended a healing conference in Denver, in which healers, anointed with the Holy Spirit (in Christianity, it is God's Holy Spirit, living in people, that heals the body, mind and spirit), were used by God to heal others of their physical and emotional maladies. A woman who had never spoken to me before, approached me and prophesied that God was healing my back and central nervous system. Another said that God was burning away the infections in my body. (I have had tremendous hip and lower back pain for over a year now, so I thought that at least the first woman's prophecy was acccurate). While I left the conference feeling the same physically as when I had arrived, emotionally, I sensed that something had changed in me, and that I just needed to believe and receive the words.

At the church I attended for nearly two years in Costa Rica, I often witnessed miraculous healings. Some of those that were healed were my friends, so I knew the healings weren't a facade.

You may believe in divine, supernatural healing, but you may think that it is a rarity or that it doesn't apply to you. I used to believe these things, too.

I recently purchased a book called Christ The Healer, which gave me insights into divine healing, which, unlike man's medicine, is swift, complete, and often immediate.

Not that God is into formulas, but I believe that my god is into faith and wanting everyone to be well, and not twenty years down the road.

I won't discuss in this blog all of the compelling reasons why we can, and should, believe in a loving god for supernatural healing, but I strongly recommend Christ The Healer to anyone who is interested in learning more about physical healing through spiritual means.

I have always believed that God can lead people to the right remedies, and heal them however He chooses, but when the dollars and the remedies only go so far, perhaps He has a better way. I don't think the creator of the universe wants any of us to spend our entire lives fighting a beast that may be impossible to conquer with natural means. I think God has better plans for us. Yes, there is much to be learned about life through illness, but I don't think we need to be martyrs forever.

At least, that's my current thought on the matter. I pray that Christ The Healer would be a book of light to those that have no hope, or who are discouraged in their healing journey.

I encourage you to try the spiritual path to health. If you've been on man's meds for many years and made few gains, you really have nothing to lose.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Connie

I am glad you came up with the admission that Lyme is probably with us forever.

To say everyone can be "cured" put me into a mindset that I must be doing something wrong to still have symptoms and I must try harder which then put more stress on me....

I am not saying that we should slack off treatments but like you stated,we should have some balance of life and Lyme, carefully assess cost vs benefit, chance of improvement vs chance of worsening and as you mention, trusting the "gut" which to me is a higher power's way of directing our decisions.

Unknowingly I struggled with this for 20 years of my life and although it wasn't perfect, I managed a family and a career. But because it wasn't recognized earlier the damage is more severe and the last "insult" to my system put me near death.

I am much better than death in a year's worth of treatment and that is enough for me at this point.

Denise said...

Connie like you I found that God needs to be the center of healing. I have suffered from Lyme for the past 8 years. I went 5 years before I was tested. Over the past year I becasme tired of the searching. I gave up on chasing the next remedy or doctor. I turned over my healing to God. I know He can and will heal me when He wants to. I believe that I have Lyme for a purpose. I don't know what that purpose is, but I know it is for His glory. I pray this: "Lord thank you for this burden you have trusted me with, I will try to be worthy"
Denise
Librarian with Lyme

Unknown said...

As someone in "remission" I truly believe that our Lyme symptoms are a result of what the spirochetes are doing to our bodies. Which are different in everyone. So after treatment is over... you are left with the damage that not only the Lymes has done to you individually but also the more temporary damage done by saturating every cell in your body with antibiotics. I think one of the very bad things our Lymes doctors do is to just release you into the wild when your treatment is over without the help to restore your damaged chemistry, which is going to be different in each of us. That has been my new battle since my recovery. And I am innovative enough to figure out some of my more permanent damages and "fixes" for them which are mostly holistic and mostly chemistry recovery from the antibiotics using megadoses of probiotics which some doctors do help people with but not usually to the extent they should. But there are many people out there too sick to help themselves. And much of our damage involves hormone imbalances and since western medicine fails to use bio-identical hormones and won't take the time it takes to investigate individuals since hormones are so complicated, people continue to suffer with the same symptoms they had with the Lymes even after their treatment is over and they are "cured." I am 7 years in remission, knock on wood, and I've never felt better in my life. But not without a handful of natural supplements everyday, customized to my damaged Lyme body.

Angela said...

connie thanks for showing it is ok to grieve our losses and suffering. The world puts presssure on us and those with other chronic illnesses to be "positive" all the time. It is nice to show that is an unrealistic expectation. i admire your trust in God.

Connie Strasheim said...

Hi Renee,

Thanks for your thoughts! That is amazing that you have been able to maintain a family and work while having Lyme. It sounds like you have come to a place of contentment with where you are at in life. That is so beneficial for your healing, I am sure! There is much to be said about listening to our guts-I think God lives there, for sure!

Thanks for your comment,

Connie

Hi Denise,

I think you would really like the book, Christ The Healer, because it offers some great insights into God's promises of healing. It sounds like you have taken a wise approach to your health that brings you peace. I wish I had taken this approach sooner myself!

Blessings,

Connie

Suzanne,

I agree that Lyme can do damage to the body, which remains long after the bugs are gone. Which is also why I have focused my hope more strongly on the spiritual path to wellness. Because whether we are in remission or not, if symptoms remain as a result of damage, we still aren't truly "well." Certainly we are better off than we were before, and I am happy that you have gotten to a place of remission. I pray that your body would continue to heal from the damage Lyme has done. It certainly sounds as though you are on your way. Thanks for the comment!

Take care,
Connie

Japanese Person...

Are you spamming me?
I don't speak that language, sorry :)

Connie

Angela,

There is so much grief in this disease, because we lose so much. I, for one, don't believe it's easy, or sometimes even possible, to be positive. Yet, it's interesting, because the more that I seek God, the more I am able to see the sunshine, and to believe Him for good things and a brighter future ahead. I cried nearly every day for half a decade--up until two years ago. God has slowly healed me of my grief (and is still doing so!) Now I laugh as much as I cry. The days are still hard sometimes but I no longer live in the same pit of despair as before. So I encourage you to grieve; it cleanses the soul, and can strengthen you to believe for better days ahead.

Blessings,

Connie

Anonymous said...

My husband has had Lyme since 1998, but was just diagnosed in July. The most difficult thing we're facing is to know how to get him the treatment he needs. There seems to be a million different opinions about what does and does not work. We don't have an LLMD where we live, so what are the options to get treatment?

Connie Strasheim said...

Hi Anonymous, This isn't a question that I can adequately answer in a brief email. You may want to read this blog and other Lyme sites to determine what treatment is best. I also encourage you to check out my latest book, "Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment" as it offers the treatment protocol of many of the best Lyme doctors. Many states don't have good Lyme docs; I would suggest contacting a local support group or ILADS.org for a referral. Many people travel to get good treatment. Hope this helps!

Connie

myheartsingz said...

Hi Connie,
Thanks for this great site! I have to say I was pretty bummed after reading your post. I love the G*D part, but the fact that no experts know anyone who is in remission 10 years was painful.
However, as I was thinking about it yesterday, there may be something in your question that is throwing off the responses. You said you knew a handful of people who were recovered 5 years, so you "upped the ante" and asked experts about 10 years remission.
But think about it, what was treatment or even knowledge about Lyme 10 years ago? It is relatively recently, that any kind of honest, somewhat effective approaches became known. So while I am open to the possibility I may always have to deal with this, I am open to the possibility, that in the coming years, with herbal, machines and acidophilus support, together or seperate from antibiotics, and co-infection treatment, that we may see more and more permanently in remission. that is my prayer!
Hugs,
Suzanne L.