Much Thanks

I had a really enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday and I have alot to be thankful for. I have great friends and family that I was able to celebrate the holiday with. Things have been busy at work for both my hubby and I, but that is a good thing and we have embarked on one of the busiest months of the year. I made the conscious decision to cut back as much as possible on appointments with practitioners this month, but I won't be able to eliminate appointments entirely. I've had many positive improvements in my health recently, but there is still a long road ahead. 

I continue to be thankful for Cordyceps, which in my case has an effect of dampening Th17. I had a recent visit with my Naturopath and the update on the investigation into Lyme is that between my lab results and my survey, there is enough information to warrant treatment, but there is no definitive diagnosis. I'm really okay not arriving at a definitive diagnosis, since treatment will be aimed at boosting and modulating my immune system and ultimately aimed at helping me to feel better. That said, we are also waiting on lab results for 2 different markers, CD57 and C4a. CD57 is typically found to be low in individuals with chronic Lyme and C4a is sometimes high in individuals with chronic Lyme. The focus of treatment depending on what the results are will be to get these numbers into a better range. The numbers don't typically move gradually with treatment, but suddenly move once treatment has truly been effective over a period of time. At this point we are hoping the labs provide additional information that will be helpful, still there will be no diagnoses, just more or less suspicion about Lyme. 

My new treatment will consist of balancing my T helper cells with high concentrated doses of Turmeric and Resveratrol. These will help to balance Th1 and Th2 and dampen the negative affects of Th17. My new protocol also includes a combination supplement that will balance the way my body utilized Nitric Oxide Synthases (eNOS, nNOS, iNOS). I will also be taking a  supplement that will help my body to recycle the Glutathione that already exists in my body, since supplementing with straight Glutathione is usually very ineffective because the body has a tough time metabolizing oral Glutathione. Most of my protocol is based on much of Dr. Datis Kharrazian. Here is a helpful link that does a much better job of explaining: Nitric Oxide Modulation

In addition I will be making weekly visits to the infrared sauna, which will help to enhance the treatment. Here is a great article about the positive effects of infrared saunas for chronic Lyme patients: Infrared Sauna

In January, I will also add another gut healing protocol. during my appointment with my Naturopath, she told me she had recently attended a seminar by Dr. Kharrazian and he talked about autoimmune individuals. Over time, many autoimmune individuals develop and autoimmunity to their own gut lining (not Chron's or Ulcerative Colitis). His suggestion was that individuals with autoimmune conditions should do a quarterly gut healing, because autoimmune individuals end up with leaky gut from time to time if they don't do a regular maintenance of gut healing... so begins my regular gut healing in January. I will not be able to eat dairy, grains or nightshades during the 6 week gut healing. This should be a cake walk for me since I have done all of this in the past for a much longer period of time. 

I'm excited to start my protocol and I'm hopeful there will be more improvements. I will keep you posted on the progress.

I wish all of you a happy, blissful holiday season!

Magic Mushrooms

“Fall seven times, Stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb

Well, I could not have said it any better. When something seems to work on this crazy journey, I take notice... cannot help but take notice. Three cheers for Cordyceps! I have fallen many time on this journey, but the reason I keep standing is because of things like Naturopathic Medicine, Acupuncture, Slow Flow, Cordyceps, Ultrasound, Chiropractic and Dry Needling/Physical Therapy that seem to really work for me and my many issues. They provide me a clear understanding that yes, I have chronic health issues, but if I keep "standing" up after falling so many times, I might just keep on standing because I found a solution or at least something that helps provide a better quality of life. Cordyceps is my magic mushroom and I'm sad we didn't try it sooner, but so glad to be able to benefit from it now. Here are some of the positive things I've noticed since adding Cordyceps to my regimen:

.       Energy and stamina are better, but energy seems to still wane in the afternoon & evening (lots of yawning)

.       Sleeping much better

.       Waking feeling more rested

.       Less/lighter headaches

.       Psoriasis seems much calmer

.       Reduced pain in muscles & joints 

.       Plantar fasciitis seems to be improving

.       Better outlook, much more hopeful, more even keeled

.       Less affected by stress

Cordyceps

Yay Cordyceps! That said, I'm currently in the midst of a Costochondritis flare, which is painful, but not nearly as bad as the last one I had. I've had success with Dry Needling and Physical Therapy and my PT encouraged me to begin pilates. I enjoyed my first class on Saturday, but unfortunately I was  at the tail end of a flare up during class and the pressure from the shoulder pads on the reformer was just enough to cause issues with my ribs and clavicle after the class. I could feel everything pop once I stood up from the reformer and that was when I knew I was in trouble and I'd be feeling pain later. That said, I'm excited about the pilates and being able to strengthen some of those muscles so that I can reduce or mitigate future flare ups.

Update on my labs - My ASI labs came back and my Cortisol is high in the morning and during late night, so that explains the crazy weight gain and inability to loose as well as crashing after workouts and being exhasted in the afternoon and evening and waking at odd hours. My Naturopath has started me on SeriPhos which is supposed to be taken when Cortisol is at its highest and its purpose is to plug up the cortisol receptors and help the pituitary to return to more optimal function. It may be a while before I can tell its affects.

As for the Lyme labs they were inconclusive. I had a couple bands show positive, but still not enough to tell exactly what is going on, so that means there is a need for further testing. I'm kind of in this holding pattern right now because my doctor want s to be sure she is fully educated on the matters surrounding Lyme testing before we move forward. There is so much controversy and confusion all the way around for patient and doctor when venturing into the Lyme world. I'm glad she is dotting her "i's" and crossing her "t's" before we move forward. It is a scary place to venture and I'm aprehensive, but I know I'm in good hands. Stay tuned for further information.

Hoping all my friends and family on the east coast have weathered the storm. You are in my thoughts.

On a lighter note, my hubby and I are taking a hookie day on Friday to see the new Bond flick. Cannot wait. I'm also looking forward to friends and family this month for Thanksgiving. It is my second favorite holiday. Some of my best memories are from Thanksgivings past.

Scream Until Your Lungs Hurt!

I decided my last blog post was pretty disjointed and that isn’t fair to my readers. I prefer the material to be interesting and informative at the same time while showing a glimpse into my journey with Autoimmune issues, so I just want to apologize because although most of my posts are stream of consciousness I try to make them read fairly cohesively.

Anyway, this is a time in my journey that I feel there will be a crossroads in the next year of my life with respect to my health. I feel it in my bones. I believe they refer to this feeling as intuition. Call it what you will.  I’m 40 now. I celebrated my birthday on September 28^th with friends and family and though I received some very lovely gifts, the best gift of all was being surrounded by wonderful friends and family whom mean so much to me. It is their love and support that gets me through some of my most difficult days. I try my best not to burden them with my health issues, partially because most people that don’t have autoimmune disorders don’t have the capacity to truly understand what is going on, (Mind you I’m not implying stupidity, but let’s face it, our own doctors don’t understand it for the most part.) and partially because being with them is my time to enjoy the peace I have while in their presence, because they are my net when I fall. The few times I’ve really talked about the symptoms and what is going on with my body, the few times I’ve needed to reach out they have been there for me and haven’t made me feel like less of a person or like I’ve put them out by telling them a little about my experiences. For that reason, I really try to limit the information I share because I respect them and would never want it to become a burden to someone else that I care about and love. A good support system is so necessary as I was reminded this week by my psychotherapist… I was reminded because I’m still on this crazy roller coaster that I cannot ever stop… perhaps we can slow it down a little bit or maybe even a lot and that is what I’m hoping for in this decade and maybe even over the next year. I hear that 40s are great.

My roller coaster seems to have been on a fast track downhill with symptoms galore for the past few months and my practitioners and I are putting our heads together to find the right brakes to apply to this crazy ride. This comes as a surprise because inflammation is supposed to reduce as the gut heals and my gut healing protocol comes to an end today. My energy has really been suffering and so I’m kind of along for the ride right now as much as I need to be actively involved, I also don’t need the additional stress of worrying about it. I have a good team that I trust to figure this thing out. It is the time it takes for most measures that is sometimes so painfully frustrating… Patience please be with me in this moment. All this inflammation just needs the right water so to speak to put the fire out.

The Th1 and Th2 challenge was a flop for me. My body reacted negatively to both challenges. It was a huge bummer for me. I had a lot of hope that one would help me to start feeling better, so instead my Naturopath is trying to modulate the Th17 cells in my immune system with Cordyceps. Information in Th17

I’ve only been taking Cordyceps for a couple days now, but I have to say that I think it may be helping, but part of me feels it may be too soon to tell. Cordyceps is a Chinese mushroom that has been used for many years to help modulate the immune systems in Cancer patients and there has also been recent success among the Naturopathic community in treating their patients with Autoimmune disorders.  Information on Cordyceps

Cordyceps has also been shown to help with Adrenal fatigue. We believe that I have been experiencing Adrenal fatigue for a while now and that may be why I’m struggling with so many symptoms and so much inflammation. I just sent my Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) Panel to the lab this week and should have some answers back in a couple of weeks as to the status.

I will also complete my Lyme Disease testing in the next week or so. I suppose this is the one I’m the most nervous about because I’m not only aware of how difficult it can be to treat chronic Lyme, but I am also very aware of the political controversy surrounding the treatment of chronic Lyme. I’ll go into further detail about this if I am in fact diagnosed. I also know how much worse things could be if chronic Lyme goes untreated. Testing can also result in a false negative, but the lab we are using for testing is the best one out there for now. My labs will be run through Igenex. Stay tuned.

I’m reminded with each appointment how fortunate I am to have the wonderful team of practitioners that I have. It is not only on the ride up that I appreciate their hard work and diligence, but it is on the out of control downhill roller coaster ride that I appreciate them the most because I know they won’t allow me to become derailed and I know they will eventually find the brakes to slow this crazy ride down.

So, put your arms up in the air, let your hair fly and scream until your lungs hurt! Try it. I dare you… It might be just what will get you through today.

Let me know how you are doing with all that screaming. I'd love to hear from you.

BUBL Conference Call - Sep 25th 7pm MT

Join us to learn about the statistics related to autoimmune diseases and to hear from the founder of BUBL regarding her own experiences with autoimmune diseases and how she has handled her ongoing journey. We’ll also discuss future topics for upcoming BUBL meetings. 

Monthly meetings are held onsite with practitioners across the Denver area, but once a quarter conference calls will be held in place of an onsite meeting in order to reach out to the autoimmune population within and outside the Denver area.

Date:              Tuesday, September 25^th, 2012

Time:               7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time

Place:             FREE Conference Call

Participant Access Code: 907183#
Conference Dial-in Number: (605) 475-4000

Participant: When prompted, enter the assigned access code, followed by the ‘#‘ key.  Once connected to the free conference call, every caller will be able to talk.

Mute - *6 key
Press *6 to mute your line. Press *6 again to un-mute the line.

R.S.V.P.:          BUBL.Denver@gmail.com

About BUBL…

BUBL - "Better Understanding By Listening" - An organization, which seeks to support others whom are attempting to live a healthier lifestyle due to autoimmune disorders. Join the BUBL and gain a Better Understanding By Listening to each other, to your "gut", to your intuition and to practitioners, doctors and health experts that have your best interests at heart. This is a community of like-minded individuals from all walks of life whom share a common interest in a positive healthy lifestyle. BUBL’s  mission is to provide patient advocacy and to increase awareness of autoimmune disorders and their root cause in an effort to improve quality of life and quality of care.

Thanks for your support!

Autoimmune Girl

Founder of BUBL

Bubl.Denver@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/bubl.denver

 

Author of The Autoimmune Battle

http://autoimmunebattle.blogspot.com/

Need Balance?

The Scales - Libra

Happy Labor Day! I want to dedicate this blog to my grandfather whom would have been 100 on September 1st. He passed in 2007 and I think of him often as he was always such an inspiration in so many ways. He was an amazing man and I wish he was here today. We drove up to Mt. Evans this weekend, which my grandfather would have loved. He loved the outdoors and despite his Rheumatoid Arthritis, he was fairly active right up until the time he passed.

I saw my Naturopathic doctor about 2 weeks ago and I got my lab results, so there is some good news. All my labs look pretty good. My thyroid numbers are in fairly good standing, though my TSH is on the high end of normal. My triglycerides are in good range. My cholesterol numbers look good. On the down side, my vitamin D levels and Ferratin levels dropped, but those are both easily treatable by increasing my vitamin D and iron intake in order to have more optimal levels. My glucose levels are on the high side of normal.

My doctor looked at and palpated my thyroid and agreed that it is definitely enlarged on the left from the last time I had seen her. The increased hoarseness that I've been experience in addition to the enlargement meant that we weren't out of the woods with the thyroid despite the numbers looking pretty good. We're currently treating with caster oil packs and hydrotherapy to the neck/thyroid, if this doesn't result in improvement, we will have to ultrasound the thyroid to make sure there isn't something more serious going on.

So, despite the numbers looking pretty good with exception of the Vitamin D and Iron levels, I haven't been feeling great. July and August were unusually busy months for me and I had the sense that if my thyroid wasn't out of whack, my adrenals would be out of whack and that is in fact the case. You see, the adrenals and the thyroid are like yin and yang. Most alternative medicine recognizes that if you don't address the adrenals first and foremost, then the thyroid with never really benefit from treatment. Conventional medical practices typically don't recognize a problem with the adrenals until it is far too late and one ends up with Addison's disease, which is an autoimmune disease of the adrenals.

Many of the borderline numbers on my labs (specifically the glucose and TSH in addition to other specifics), though in normal range in addition to my symptoms indicates there is adrenal insufficiency. What does that all mean for me?  Well, lets back up a bit with symptoms. I've been very exhausted for a couple months now. I crash hard in the evenings and my body just shuts down. I wake with insomnia about 3-4 am almost every morning and I wake feeling unrefreshed.  The body can only do that for so long. This is probably one factor that may be a cause of the higher glucose numbers. I'm still struggling to loose weight and it tends to inch up a bit every so often despite the fact that I work out every day and I eat a very healthy diet. I typically am very careful about what I schedule into my week for the very reason that I don't want to over do it, but there were some things out of my control the past couple of months. I had a couple of times last month that I cried out of pure exhaustion, another sign that the adrenals are affected. Dr. Rind has a very interesting metabolic scorecard, which compares adrenals to thyroid and when I went through the list I discovered that 90% of my symptoms fall in the adrenal category, though adrenal symptoms and thyroid symptoms can be very similar, making it difficult to differentiate. I don't know Dr. Rind, nor am I familiar with his work, so I typically wouldn't post about someone that I cannot recommend, but I feel there is some level of validity with this scorecard at least as an indicator that something may be going on that you might want to ask your doctor about. Use this link at your own risk: Dr Rind's Metabolic Scorecard

In addition to the above symptoms, since starting my gut healing process I had high hopes of feeling better and seeing improved symptoms.  I hate to disappoint, but I have hopes that I'll be able to tell you I'm feeling a lot better in future posts. My Psoriasis has been worse than I've seen it in quite a while. My Naturopath said this can happen in the healing process. The skin is an area where toxins are eliminated. My cycles have been more difficult. My sinuses have been flared up. I've had an incredible amount of pain that my physical therapist has been challenged to keep up with, but I'm so thankful for her. I have had chronic hypertonic muscles for years and they are causing issues that could possibly be pegged as costochondritis or tietze symdrome or both, there are slight differences between both, though we're not really naming the issues for now. Theses issues create an intense amount of pain that can be debilitating at times. I won't go into too much detail here except to say that being in constant pain can be exhausting and will also be draining on the adrenals. The chronic hypertonic muscles in addition to other symptoms continue to make me believe that Lyme disease could be a reality and that will be one of the next things that my Naturopathic doctor will test for. There is an interesting documentary about Lyme disease that is a big eye opener. You can watch it for free on hulu:Under Our Skin. Scott has an interesting website and blog about his journey with Lyme disease and he can also be seen in the documentary listed above. Here is his website if you want to check it out: Better Health Guy

Lyme is something that can be chronic and if I have it I will be in the chronic stage by now. If it is diagnosed treatment protocol will change somewhat from the current plan. Lyme can be with you for many years and I grew up in a state, which has the current highest reported Lyme cases in the U.S., Pennsylvania.

So, the theme or focus for the month of September is BALANCE. This is my birth month and I will turn 40 near the end of the month and I had hopes of having a big celebration and inviting friends from out of town. As nice as that would be I had to make the decision to have a low key birthday and I nixed the original idea opting for a low key get away to the nearby mountains with my hubby. My adrenals will thank me for not overdoing it and not adding stress. In addition I'm being much more intentional about incorporating more yoga, which is much better for the adrenals than some of the more strenuous/intense workouts. It may seem counter productive to weight loss, but weight loss won't matter if adrenal fatigue sets in. I will be making many intentional efforts this month to reduce the amount of stress in my life as a result intending to bring more balance into my life. I'm a Libra after all and balance is so important.

I am at 2 months of the gut healing protocol and I have another month to go according to my Naturopath. She switched up my supplementation and we've also added herbs that will support my adrenals. It isn't surprising that my adrenals are struggling given all the bugs my body recently had to work so hard at getting rid of. Any type of stress can be difficult on the adrenals. We'll also be completing a challenge of the Th1 and Th2 pathways with substances that support one side or the other. If you've read Dr. Kharazian's book than you'll understand what I'm talking about, but the idea is that in an autoimmune individual one pathway of your T helper cells is weak and the other is a bit overbearing. The challenge will consist of 3 days of one substance and 3 days of the other and depending on my reactions noted, should indicate which side of my T-helper cells need to be supported or strengthened, so my fingers are crossed that we'll be successful in discovering an area that we can support. Stay tuned for results.

This month for the BUBL meeting I'll be hosting a conference call, so if you are interested in dialing in, please RSVP to BUBL.Denver@gmail.com an 800 number and conference log in code will be provided. I'll provide an additional post with details in a couple of days, so stay tuned. I'd love for you to join us on this call and I'll try to do a conference call once a quarter so that those of you not located in Denver are able to attend if you would like.  Stay tuned for more details and the date/time for the conference call this month.

I'm tired and it is time for bed, so good night for now. I hope you are all well and I just want to encourage each of you to make space for yourselves and remember to find ways to relax as difficult as that may be at times, it is always so important.

Yummy for my Tummy

My hives and nausea are gone and best of all the H. Pylori has been booted out of my system as well. WOOHOO! Now it is time for all things slimy. Yummo! I am almost 3 weeks in to healing my oh so damaged gut. My protocol for the first 6 weeks consists of the following: 

Designs for health - GI Revive 

Aloe Vera Gel - 1 oz 2x/day
Bone broth - 1 cup most days
Super-Bio Pro (probiotic)

GI Revive consists of L-Glutamine, which is very important for healing the gut lining, 

Citrus Pectic

Licorice root

Aloe Vera

Slippery Elm

Mucin

Marshmallow root

... and so many other very slimy, good for the tummy ingredients.

Marshmallow Root

Thanks to everyone who supported me through the difficult ups and downs of trying to rid my body of  all the nasty bugs that were all too comfortable taking up residence in my body. I'm so glad to see them go and my hope has returned. This was a huge hurdle to overcome in healing my body.

I cannot say that at 3 weeks in to my gut healing protocol that I feel very different, but just knowing all the bugs are gone is such a mental relief. I suspect it will take a few months before I feel significant improvement. After I reach 6 weeks on the protocol, my Naturopathic Doctor will be evaluating where I'm at in my healing process and my supplements will most likely be tweaked a bit and hopefully I'll be seeing some improvement in Psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions near the beginning of October perhaps even before that. 

I also have to run labs at 4 weeks in. These labs will include a complete thyroid panel, CBC, Cholesterol, etc. My normal annual labs. Labs always stress me out a little, because everything is always so uncertain for me. My Naturopath and I are both a little concerned about the current status of my thyroid. I've had recent unexplained weight gain and the left lobe of my thyroid appears slightly enlarged, so it will be interesting to see if my labs reveal anything new. She assures me that she has a plan if my thyroid is in fact on the fritz.

Once my gut is  healed, the next step will be another elimination diet and allergy testing, so that I will be able to get a more accurate indication of what I am intolerant to. This will provide a better indication of what must be avoided, so that I don't cause further damage to the lining of my gut. Depending on how I feel once the elimination diet is complete, then we'll be able to determine if we need to move forward with testing for heavy metals, Lyme disease and who knows what else.

In addition to the above protocol, I've taken it upon myself to avoid the following for the first 6 weeks of healing my gut: Alcohol, Caffeine, Chocolate, Sugar, All Grains, Legumes and Dairy, which I avoid for the most part anyway.

This was not something my Naturopath instructed me to do, I just decided to do this on my own in the hopes that it will help to shorten the healing time and it was something I figured would be good for me anyway. You could say that my diet is primarily what is considered Paleo at the moment.

I had my second BUBL meeting at the Denver Integrative Massage School (DIMS) in their new space. We had a great conversation that was informative and we learned about the benefits of Thai Yoga Massage. We look forward to circling back around to a future meeting at the school.

Our next meeting is with Dr. Meyer at Highlands Health & Wellness (32nd & Newton, Denver, CO), where Dr. Meyer will be talking about the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet, what it is and how someone with an autoimmune condition will benefit. We will meet on Thursday, August 23rd at 6:30 p.m. We hope to see you there. Please RSVP by August 21st to BUBL.Denver@gmail.com

Thanks for all your support and I will keep you posted on the status of my tummy!

My Little Monsters

Hello my peeps. I'm going to try to remain positive in this post though this past month has served up many challenges and I have so much to write about. I must admit that there were a few positive things as well that will be worth mentioning.

H. Pylori

So, if you haven't guessed already, the H. Pylori is still here. My lovely little monsters have just decided that my gut is a sweet little place to take up residence and they have really overstayed their welcome. I knew that conventional antibiotics were most likely in order as soon as I received my labs near the beginning of June. The idea of having to implement conventional antibiotics along with the fact that the H. Pylori remained created alot of anger, frustration and sadness. I wanted to give up, but I knew that was not an option. I had a major melt down and head check in with my Psychotherapist and then it was time to move on. With a combined effort between my two very capable and wonderful doctors (my Naturopath, ND and my Doctor of Osteopathy, DO) it was decided that the "Prevpac" or "Triple Therapy" was in order. This consists of two antibiotics, Clarithromycin and Amoxicillin, and a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), Omeprazole.  A PPI for those of you who are wondering is a stomach acid inhibitor. This is utilized in treatment to give the lining of the stomach a chance to heal in the case of ulcers caused by the H. Pylori. To make matters worse, adding more anxiety... Clarithromycin is from a family of antibiotics that give me horrible nausea and Amoxicillin is from the Penicillin family of which I had an allergic reaction (hives) to as a kid. I wasn't thrilled at what I was about to embark on, but somehow I had to view this as helpful and a lesser of two evils since H. Pylori can lead to stomach cancer.  To complicate matters even further, and here comes the good news, my labs had indicated that I had finally eradicated the Candida overgrowth that we had been battling for more than a year. Hoorray!!! The bad news is that I'm terribly sensitive to conventional antibiotics and I typically end up with Candida overgrowth following the use of conventional antibiotics. That said, my ND had planned MEGA probiotics during my antibiotic protocol and 4 weeks of replenishing all the good flora following the end of the antibiotic treatment. Fingers crossed that this has kept my gut in good condition. I had finally gotten my head in the right place mentally to begin my antibiotic regimen when another challenge was placed in my path. It was a Thursday and I had picked up my antibiotics and was just leaving the pharmacy when an email had come in. I had sent an email a week or so prior to a friend about my anguish of having to go on antibiotics. She is a doctor and has worked on my case in the past. She urged me not to go on the antibiotics because there is new research showing that H. Pylori that are only colonized in the lower bowel are  somewhat protective. Apparently stool test are very sensitive to detecting H. Pylori, but do not indicate which part of the bowel the H. Pylori exist in. Breath tests and biopsies that reveal H. Pylori are more indicative of H. Pylori colonized in the upper bowel and this according to my friend the doctor is where the H. Pylori are considered more dangerous. I was appreciative of her concerns, but had to trust in the direction my doctors were headed with my case and frankly the timing was a bit late and served to frustrate and anger me even more, at least in the moment. Besides, I had all the digestive issues that would indicate the H. Pylori was reeking havoc on my system. So, I embarked on my 10 day journey of "Triple Therapy." It was not an easy journey. I had severe nausea for the first 4 days, watery diarrhea for the first 7 days, complete exhaustion, terrible bloating and a foul taste in my mouth. We have been having record breaking heat in the state of Colorado and I was not immune to its effects. On day seven I ended up with heat exhaustion from running just a few short  errands during the midday heat (100 ++ degrees) and the following day I ended up with hives that got progressively worse. They were hot and prickly feeling. This was sort of a delayed allergic reactions because if I hadn't been on the antibiotics, the hives most likely would not have occurred. I still have them and it has been about a week. They are getting better, but very slowly. They are hanging on for dear life. That said, I'm done with the antibiotic treatment. I will send my labs off tomorrow and will know the results in about 2 weeks. Fingers crossed the H. Pylori is gone. H. Pylori is known to be very difficult to eradicate and it is a bacteria that has become more and more antibiotic resistant. I chose the risk (nausea &  hives) of this particular treatment because it is supposed to be the most effective at eradicating H. Pylori and I didn't want to have to turn to antibiotic treatment again. Though the findings are that even with the "Triple Therapy" success rates are only about 50-75% for eradication. That said, I am hopeful that the H. Pylori is gone and that I will finally be able to start on my journey of healing my gut. 

H. Pylori, Candida and Parasites are all closely linked with Hashimoto's and with other autoimmune conditions. They all cause leaky gut in addition to other factors. Next steps on the horizon are to heal my gut, which I hear can take anywhere from 3-6 months and sometimes longer for more difficult cases. I'm not entirely sure of what my gut healing protocol will consist of but I am including this interesting link written by a well known reputable nutritionist, David W. Rowland, whom teaches nutrition and founded two schools of nutrition:  Leaky Gut

It will be interesting to see what my protocol will be. I know that many protocols also include aloe vera. I'm obviously ready to move on, so my peeps, I ask that you cross your fingers for me that the H. Pylori is finally gone and that I am able to take the next steps in my journey. 

Either before or after healing my gut, I cannot remember the order according to my ND, I will have to do an elimination diet again and possibly IgG testing to see what my body reacts to, so that I can avoid further damage. I believe it is after healing the gut, because a leaky gut reacts to everything. Also, once my gut is healed we'll do all the typical labs like CBC, Cholesterol, TSH and we'll also check to see where my thyroid anti-bodies stand at that point. I'm hoping to see many of my inflammatory issues (psoriasis, arthritic pains...) dissipate once my gut is healed. I also hope that I'll finally be able to refocus on weight loss at this point. I've been putting it on the back burner as it truly hasn't been my main priority. I've just made sure that I have been eating healthy foods and quantities and I continue my regular workouts. All these bugs have really gotten in the way of my progress in this area and I've had to give myself credit for just simply hanging in there. It would be so easy to be hard on myself about not meeting any weight loss goals and even gaining a few pounds despite not changing any eating or workout habits, but I truly think it is amazing that I've even made it to the gym on most days. Given the journey I've been on I  guess I should be most proud of myself for not giving up and gentle with myself because my goal will take a little longer than it would for the average person. Those of us whom suffer from autoimmune conditions are very aware we are not average. We are unique, very unique.

On a positive note, I got my inaugural meeting for BUBL off the ground. I even had someone ask me a ton of questions about autoimmune conditions and I was really able to answer her questions thoroughly. To me that was a success and I look forward to future meeting of being able to empower individuals with autoimmune conditions and helping them to learn to advocate for themselves and to seek out better quality of care, that said, take a look at this petition post from one of my blog readers:

Have you heard of the int'l thyroid patient petition for better care: petition

Only 2months old, and it is supported by over 3000 signatures from 65 countries. We are trying to reach every thyroid patient we can so, they can choose to be represented. We all know we need change and it will take large numbers to accomplish that goal.

Here is an interview by Sarah Downing to help you get to know us better: Sarah Downing interview

Thank you in advance for your support,

Michelle

Author
Patients with Thyroid Dysfunction Demand Better Care
www.facebook.com/thyroidpetition

Please sign the petition at the link provided above. 

The next BUBL meeting will be at the new location for the Denver Integrative School of Massage at:  1221 Galapago Street in Denver. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25^th at 6:30 p.m. Come and learn about the benefits of Thai Yoga Massage and see a demo given by the owner of the school. This is a great modality for chronic pain and I’m a huge fan. If you are interested in coming to the meeting, please R.S.V.P. at BUBL.Denver@gmail.com

We hope to see you there.

Until next time, be well!