Bye-bye, stress!
Natural cure for the 85 percent of women with Lyme disease
Honey, I’m so sorry…I know you were looking forward to our Florida trip and I was too, but there’s no way I’ll be able to go,” Nancy told her 11-year-old daughter, McKenzie. “For months we’d planned to go see McKenzie’s grandparents and spend a few days at Disney World. But the more I thought about walking around Disney for days, the more I knew I wouldn’t have the energy. I could barely stay awake past 5 pm—and my whole family knew it. McKenzie wasn’t surprised but she felt let-down, and I felt terrible about missing the chance for mother-daughter bonding.
No more to give
“That was two years ago, when fatigue made it impossible to be the wife and mom I wanted to be. My husband, Mark, and I used to take walks and spend time together on our boat, but I became too tired to do any of it and he’d go without me. I was disappointed to be left behind, but I knew he felt guilty, so I never talked to him about it. I didn’t want to make him feel worse.
“Mark also had to pick up the slack at home and take McKenzie to dance class and school events. And because he had to close his business early to get it all done, it impacted us financially.
“I also missed quality time with my grandkids, which was hard. My older daughter knew I was struggling, so she didn’t ask me to babysit her little ones as often as she used to. And when I did babysit, I’d be so tired, anxious and achy that I worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. Eventually, she stopped asking altogether.
“I felt like I was falling apart, and when my hair started to fall out, I was really alarmed. I’d seen a lot of doctors for the fatigue and anxiety, so when I told them about my hair, they said it was just due to stress and depression.
“Then one day I noticed a scab on my arm. I thought nothing of it until it became sore and I realized it was a tick. I went straight to the ER and the doctor ran a blood test for Lyme disease, which came back negative. I told him I’d already been feeling run-down and mentioned my other symptoms. He put me on a three-day course of antibiotics just in case and told me not to worry.
“I couldn’t help but feel nervous, though. I was already so sick…how much worse might it get if I had Lyme disease on top of everything else?
“The last straw was when my knee pain got so bad that I could barely
climb the stairs. I went back to my doctor and asked him to test me again, and this time the result was positive.
Energy restored!
“Since I hadn’t been able to get answers easily through Western medicine, I decided to see a naturopath who had treated a friend of mine for Lyme. We spent hours talking about my health history and he said since my symptoms were so severe, it was likely my Lyme disease had started long before my recent diagnosis. I had probably been bitten by a tick two years earlier, back when the fatigue first set in, but hadn’t realized it. I actually felt fortunate to get the second tick bite because it led to a diagnosis and the right treatment.
“My new doctor prescribed stronger antibiotics and high-dose probiotics, which he said would help the antibiotics do their job and keep my gut healthy—key to helping me heal.
“I also took vitamin D, B12, fish oil and had iron infusions—a protocol to kill Lyme bacteria, ease pain, detoxify my body and boost my immunity.
“Within a few weeks, the fatigue lifted and my symptoms improved, but didn’t totally vanish. My doctor told me to try an infrared sauna, which would help my body break down biofilms—a sticky coating that ‘protects’ Lyme bacteria—plus help clear out toxins that are released as the bacteria are eliminated.
“I own a massage business (Coastal Health & Wellness Therapeutic Massage and Holistic Healing), so I decided to invest in an infrared sauna to help other people struggling with Lyme in my area. I used the sauna two to three times a week and immediately noticed a dif- ference in my energy levels and pain. I couldn’t believe that such an easy, relaxing treatment could make such a difference. I also did a detox diet, which made me feel even better— and my hair grew back!
“Now that fatigue isn’t holding me back, I’m busy spending time with my grandkids, and my husband and I are stronger than ever. We just took a cruise and I had energy to walk the entire length of the ship. And when McKenzie asked me to go to the pancake breakfast at her school, I had plenty of energy to help out and enjoy quality time with her. I’m living my life again!” —as told to Julie Revelant