It's Friday, and I wanted to share this with you all. One our readers, Kim Jones, gave us permission to post this happy note. If you're sick, take heart and know that there are many, many people who are beating Lyme:

It has been a year since a nasty little tick gave me the disease from HELL. But I am back among the living. And living well. Feeling better than ever! Something I did not think was possible a year ago. Some days were so hopeless and I was too tired to read in bed or walk down my driveway to get the mail let alone work or go out with friends.

I dreaded the full moon and nights of restless sleep and days of endless exhaustion. The joint pain was incredible and I could not think through the brain fog to function in any normal sort of way. I will forever look back on May 2008 as the beginning of my year in HELL.

Nevermind the swirl of doctors and pills and tests that we have all gone through and the endless researching and reading to find an answer. I absolutely was consumed with finding a cure - I was not going to let this ruin my life. I was absolutely glued to my computer screen searching every LD site I could find.

Then later, when Under Our Skin came out (I bought an advance copy), I watched it over and over while I cried seemingly endless tears. But I refused to allow this to happen to me. Mine is a story of strength and perserverance and just plain stubborness on my part. Even from the beginning I made my mind up that this THING was NOT going to get me. I was going to beat it.

And I have beat it. Thanks to self-determination, excellent nutrition, LOTS of exercise, and meditative positive thinking. Also, with support from my husband and an excellent local LPN, the only one in the medical community who would listen and help me with meds and support, and a team of online supporters.

I have WON this battle. I am symptom free now for over 3 months. No meds, no brain fog, no fatigue, no rash, nothing. I really am free of this dreaded disease. I now have my life back - whoooooooppppppeeeee!

I can now stand to look - objectively view a photo of a tick, or glance at pictures of a bad rash on someone's leg or neck. However, the last thing I could stomach when I was very sick with Lyme were Lyme disease pictures.

My universe consisted of my bed and my computer. Both were necessary for survival and healing. I slept. When I was not trying to sleep or in too much pain or too dizzy, I sat at the computer and researched Lyme disease. Can you relate?

A large percentage of the skin on my hands, arms and shins was hamburger. I quickly learned not to search for "Lyme rash" or "bull's-eye rash." I couldn't bear looking at the images on the screen. Way too close for comfort.

Sleep. High-quality food. Antibiotics. Supplements. Physical exercise. Time. Love. Liberal doses of these ingredients have miraculously repaired my body and brain, and now I can look (when I must) at a picture of a tiny tick, even though I still squirm at the sight.

With all the talk about Swine Flu, there's an abundance of common sense about how to stay healthy making the rounds on the Internet, such as washing your hands regularly and supporting the immune system. Immune support is as central to keeping the flu bug away as it is in healing from Lyme disease. And one important step in keeping healthy is detoxification. Detox is part of the one-two punch in Lyme management (along with antibiotics) that RN Ginger Savely describes in our experts interview series. But what happens when you try to detox too quickly?

Anyone dealing with Lyme is painfully familiar with stressful "Herxheimer Reactions," which occurs when toxins - Lyme bacteria - in the body die off faster than the organs of elimination can handle. Learning how to manage Herxes is important yet tricky business. Essentially experienced as an increase in symptoms, Herxes can include nausea, headaches, brain fog, vertigo or mood swings, bringing more stress to an already stress-loaded system.

Some experts and patients say the Herx just comes with the territory, that it's unfortunately one of the crummy things that Lyme patients must endure in order to get better. However, others claim that painful Herxes are more likely to occur when the organs of elimination lack sufficient support. For example, Jean Reist, RN, claims that the intensity of a Herx can be reduced and in some cases eliminated altogether. How? By supporting the lymph system, an important part of the immune system and a major player in elimination. The lymph must be maintained in order to carry toxins away from the cells. An act as simple as drinking plenty of water each day and routinely jumping on a mini-trampoline can help move the lymph, and reduce the effects of a Herx.

The organs of elimination include the liver, the bowel, kidneys, skin and lungs. Yes, deep breathing, which is used in meditation and yoga practice, is a way to remove toxins from your lungs, so remember to support your body in healing by taking a deep relaxing breath.

RN and Lyme expert Ginger Savely says similar Lyme disease symptoms frequently show up in members of the same family. In her experience treating patients with Tick Borne diseases at health care clinics in Texas and San Francisco, CA, some families seem to be more keenly susceptible to falling ill from a tick bite. Genetic disposition may play an important part.

The Borrelia bacteria does not affect all people to the same degree. Lyme disease symptoms vary from person to person, but family members may present similar symptoms. And some may not get sick at all, exhibiting a stronger genetic resistance to succumbing to the infection.

"It is always impressive to me how many people do have this infection that are totally fine. Many times, I will check family members that are still healthy, and they actually test very positive for the disease, although they have no symptoms," says Ginger. The bulls eye rash is not always present.

Ginger, a member of ILADS, follows their guidelines when treating Lyme patients. That means sticking with antibiotic therapy for as long as it takes. For certain patients, such as those who have suffered with Lyme disease symptoms for decades, treatment has taken up to four or five years. Neither Ginger nor her patients mind that treatment must be prolonged. As she says, "it does pay to just keep plugging along, and keep treating. Because eventually people do get better."

Read about the Expert Interview Audio Series and listen to the interview with Ginger Savely.

How do you tell the difference between a herx and Lyme symptoms? A herx, aka Herxheimer reaction, is many things to many people. When you're suffering, it doesn't seem to matter whether the cause is a herx or symptoms that are acting up. You just want them to stop. When you are infected with the Lyme bacteria, your body is loaded with toxins that react within your body's multiple systems and make you sick.

You have to kill the bugs and get them out of your body. Detoxifying, therefore, is a primary aim in healing from Lyme, but unfortunately, detoxing can also make you sick. When you're healing from Lyme you must try to find the balance between killing the bugs and keeping the herxes under control, so it doesn't feel like they are trying to kill you. Finding that balance is like surfing a giant wave. You must be hypervigilant, sensitive to your environment, and able to react as elegantly as possible to the perpetual changes that encompass you and carry you along. Although, as anybody who has ever suffered the stress and pain of Lyme symptoms or herxes would say, I'd rather be surfing.

It seems that herxing (often accompanied by a rash) can be triggered by a number of different factors. Stress, change of medication type and an increase in medication dosage (either herbal or pharmaceutical medications) are a few examples. Those in the Lyme community (albeit, an unwilling yet blessedly generous group of humans) deal with herxes in a wide variety of ways. That's the subject of my next post.

Until then, hang ten.

I am finally back to living a normal, Lyme-free life. There were days that I never, EVER thought I'd get here, but it's happening. I'm upright, I'm productive, and I'm getting on with it. I'm relatively symptom-free. Sometimes, like this morning when the birds are singing and I can smell the yummy omelets that my sweetie is cooking in the kitchen, I feel absolutely great. (Or maybe that's the Holy Basil) However, there are no magic bullets. There has never been a day when I woke up and thought, "Hey! I'm all better." Getting over Lyme is not like getting over the flu. It takes time. A lot of time. It's been two and a half years since my diagnosis, and more than three since I began to deal with mysterious symptoms.

A tiny muscle in my left eyelid is twitching, but I'm going to chalk that up to staring at this computer screen.

I took the herbal tinctures from the Amazon for about a year. Dr. Cowden's protocol worked really well for me. Currently, I'm taking a very high quality colloidal silver and a host of other helpful supplements. In October of 2006, I had a month-long herx that manifested as itchy rashes on my shins and ankles. That was always where the worst of the rashes had been, for the two years prior. I kept taking the herbs, but I was nervous that the rash might worsen, so I wasn't increasing the doses like I wanted to. I struggled with the decision to increase the doses and take my chances with more herxes, or just step back and take small amounts until I got over it and felt like I could risk a herx. I didn't increase the doses for about two months, then in about February I started increasing, and I didn't break out or feel Lymie. So I slowly started to increase more and built up to the full dose, then stayed on it until about September.

Since October of 2006 I have had no major breakouts, no problematic rashes, and every day I feel incrementally better. Symptoms, good riddance.

Due to its many symptoms and its ability to mimic numerous other illnesses, Lyme disease remains tricky to diagnose. The bull's eye rash, with which the infection is frequently associated, is by no means the only symptom to be aware of. Indeed, only a relatively small percentage of people infected with the bacteria known to cause Lyme ever present with the bull's eye rash. Other symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, joint pain, a rushing or jumpy heart, and an extreme sensitivity to bright lights, especially florescent lighting. Symptoms do not all appear in all Lyme patients, and they may present at different stages as the disease progresses.

Lyme is a multistage illness, and the first-stage symptoms mentioned above can all be mistaken as signs of another ailment. Joint pain can pass as arthritis, headache may be associated with other triggers such as workplace stress, eye strain, or menstruation. Fatigue is a universal problem, as many people suffer from lack of sleep, and when overcome by tiredness, tend to push themselves beyond a healthy limit with the assistance of caffeine. Because brain fog is primarily caused by a lack of sleep, there are many people who walk around each day trying to function normally while feeling mentally fuzzy. Thus it becomes confusing to discriminate in order to obtain a diagnosis. When is mental confusion, or the inability to make clear decisions, caused by a fatigue, and when is it part of a bacterial infection?

In advanced stages of Lyme, or in cases where the bacteria has affected the brain, called neuroborelliosis, inability to concentrate, memory loss, brain fog, speech problems such as stammering, and hallucinations are all potential symptoms, all of which, again, do not appear in every Lyme sufferer. Hallucinations can be expressed through any of the senses. They do not always manifest as visions. Some people hear voices or sounds which aren't there. Others feel sensations, such as a raging fever, when in actuality their body temperature is normal. Additionally, disorientation or a sudden onset of paranoia can be a symptom of this stage of Lyme disease.

There is no question that speech disorders, severe mental fog, and these other symptoms are upsetting and frightening. Yet once a clear diagnosis has been obtained, a Lyme patient can begin to heal using a multi-branched approach, including whatever is deemed needed by the patient and his or her team of medical support personnel. Painful and often torturous Lyme symptoms can be alleviated with effort and commitment to healing. Many Lyme sufferers eventually find themselves balanced and virtually healed from Lyme, often as a result of using a wide array of healing approaches, including pharmacological antibiotics, herbal and nutritional supplements, physical exercise, and mental and emotional support. Through heroic effort and a will to commit to their own healing, many people who have experienced even the severe and disorienting symptoms of neuroborelliosis have recovered from Lyme disease.

Deliberations and contestments continue over successful treatment of Lyme disease. Due to the difficulty of getting a correct diagnosis shortly following the initial infection, Lyme patients commonly do not seek treatment until the symptoms become painful. Not everyone gets the bullseye rash! At the present, most physicians do not know how best to diagnose Lyme. If you or a loved one are suffering from symptoms you suspect may be associated with the disease, it is very important to seek a Lyme disease expert. Incorrect diagnosis, and subsequently, inappropriate subscription medication, can lead to serious complications for the person with an underlying infection due to undetected Borrelia bacteria.