31 years of chronic Lyme

Friends,

I’ve had Lyme disease for 31 years, but didn’t know it. If you have any advice for me or would like to share your story, please do. Here’s my story:

In 1982, the same year that Dr. Burgdorfer discovered the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, I arrived on Long Island to work in the Van Center, which is 66 miles from Lyme, CT. The very day I arrived, I spent about an hour crashing around through the weeds and bushes while the son of the director showed me around.

Within days, I began to feel like something was wrong. I just wasn't feeling good. I was living in the basement of the Van Center and working in the printing shop which was also in the basement. Several of the staff were living in basement, and they seemed to be feeling fine. I began to wonder if I was allergic to mold. I went to a specialist in New York City who did a test which confirmed that I was allergic to several types of mold.

I moved upstairs and stopped working in the printing shop. I wasn't feeling well enough to go out on the vans, so there wasn't much for me to do. I left NY a month or two earlier than planned, and soon arrived back home in the Walla Walla valley (Washington state), feeling extremely exhausted. For several days, I did nothing but lay on the bed. I didn't want to talk to anyone. My nephew and niece came into my bedroom wanting to play with me, and very uncharacteristically of me, I ordered them to leave.

I went to see Dr. Potts, who at the time was probably the most progressive doctor in the valley. He suspected candida, but Nystatin didn't cause die off or provide any benefit, so I began experimenting with rotation diets, juicing, enemas, supplements, exercise - anything I could do to survive and try to feel better. For three years I spent most of my time outside of work lying on my bed, lacking the energy to do anything other than read and listen to books on tape. I could list a lot of symptoms I've experienced over the last 30 years. Poor sleep, poor digestion, constipation, excessive hunger, excessive thirst, dizziness, fatigue, excessive yawning, frequent urination, low body temperature, extreme Mono-Sodium-Glutamat (Natrium Glutamat) sensitivity, extreme sulfite sensitivity, extreme mold sensitivity, are a few of them. The biggest issue has been that I always feel tired. Not many doctors know what to do about that.

In 1991 I suspected I was suffering from mercury from my Amalgam fillings and had them removed. Over the years seen a few doctors, and a naturopath. They found food allergies , parasites, and a cavitation in my jaw, but nothing they or I did improved my health very much, though several things have helped, like eliminating dairy and gluten, along with fasting, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, organic sodium, B12 (methyl), and D3. We've tried virtually everything other than expensive therapies like hyperbaric chambers, though I always felt better after diving.

Prior going to New York, my health was not good, which was probably why I was susceptible to Lyme, but there was a clear difference after New York. I was completely exhausted and drained.

We will remember Thanksgiving Day, 2013 for a long time, and hopefully we'll look back on it as a turning point in our lives. While most Americans were eating a turkey dinner, our day consisted of green smoothies, green juice with aloe vera, coconut water, walking on the beach and sitting on the beach watching the dramatic story of a lyme sufferer.

For the first 22 years of my life I experienced poor health as a result of a toxic diet and possibly parasites. For the next 31 years, my life has been profoundly impacted by Lyme Disease. Now I have hope that the next 50+ years of my life can be characterized by energy and productivity. I'm inspired by people with Lyme like Deni Maher (here's one of several videos on YouTube), and many of Arnold Kauffman's acquaintances (here's one example). We are using diet, herbs, saunas, and everything we can find to nurture and build the body while eliminating Lyme.

If you have any advice or suggestions for me, please share!

Gary
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