Battling Lyme Disease – The Warrior’s Journey
Just recently, I sat in one of the tranquil rooms at the Longevity Healthcare Center in San Luis Obispo, California, talking with owners Peter J. Muran, MD, and Sandy Muran, PhD, about their mission in partnering with patients on the fairly new concept in the western medical community of addressing the “whole” person in the doctor’s office throughout the healing process – the body, the mind, and the spirit.
I’ve been winning the battle over Lyme disease for over 10 years. I was accurately diagnosed in 2005 at the age of 52, by Internist and Lyme Specialist Daniel K. Kinderlehrer, while living in New Mexico. My case took the slower, hidden route of thyroid and adrenal breakdown which caused several previous doctors to diagnose mild Benign Essential Tremor, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue. Then as the disease progressed untreated, the symptoms morphed into significant neuro-muscular malfunctions and heart fluctuations, which mimicked MS and Parkinson’s diseases, resulting in the inability to walk, being bedridden.
Lyme and its comrades of co-infections are brilliant at mimicking other conditions and diseases. Left untreated Lyme kills! Read full story
MDs aren't educated in nutrition - Drink water and drop sugar
I told her that she was looking great, and she stopped pumping iron and grinned, blue eyes clear and sparkling. She thanked me for the encouragement, and I learned her name, Amy. As we talked, she told me that not too long ago, she'd been just about ready to quit the gym. Then a woman where she works (at the local hospital) started mentoring her about nutrition.
She laughed and told me that until recently, "I didn't know anything about food. I just ate what I ate."
I asked if she felt better. She praised her current state of health, saying that when she dropped the junk food and soda habit, and kept on working out, her energy increased and her moods improved, almost overnight. "I couldn't believe that what I was eating had so much to do with how I was feeling," she said. "Now I know," she said, flashing her beautiful smile.
I know that Amy's story isn't directly relevant to us Lymies. But her story is important because a lot of us simply "eat what we eat," without thinking about it, and don't even notice that nutrition has any bearing on our health, or on Lyme disease. We just don't know, until we know. Bad eating habits can depress our immune systems, damage our kidneys, clog our arteries and make us feel generally awful.
One thing that I learned from having been so ill, was that my body is a precious thing. I remember vowing to myself as I lay in bed for all those terrible months of acute Lyme pain, that if I ever got well again I would do everything in my power to stay healthy. In my mind, that meant vibrant, organically grown foods, exercise, laughter, continuing to develop my knowledge of nutrition and health, and loving myself as much as I care for my family and friends.
Doctors (MDs) do not get any training or education in nutrition. They do not get any training in preventative approaches. Their training is in treating us after they have diagnosed us as sick. We need to keep this in mind, and seek researched information on foods and drink that may harm us, or help us.
Junk food is a crime. We have a nation of obese, sick adults and children, and junk food is still legal. Please take a cue from Amy, friend and hospital worker, and "push the water," as she says. I had asked her what one thing she thought was making the biggest difference in her overall health improvement, and she had said "water." She drank sodas all day long before. Now she pushes the water, and it's making a big difference.
Are you drinking enough water? Have you dropped that addiction to sweets and junk? I wish it were different, but I believe that unless we take more control of our own diets and get smarter about our habits, we won't be getting better anytime soon.
On my reading list for the month: The Sugar Fix: High-Fructose Fallout That is Making You Fat & Sick