July 13, 2015

ALS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and others - there might be help for you, too!

In my earlier post, I did not mention the other auto immune diseases that this clinic is addressing. They are great at assessing various stresses on the immune system and then treating the patients with homeopathic, Chinese and western medicine practices specific to their needs. They check for food allergies, heavy metals, chemicals, and molds. They do extensive blood and urine testing to understand how the body is dealing with the stress and how to restore it to balance.

Because of really irritating political pooh in the pharmaceutical controlled healthcare marketplace, dark field microscopes cannot be used to diagnose conditions. They are only slotted for use in research. After seeing what these things can show us about our bodies and the health of our blood, I think that's a sin, if ever there was one. I won't jump up on that soapbox now, however.

One of the patients in the daily treatment room (which quickly becomes a temporary family of people suffering in many of the same ways creating a strange intimacy and uncanny familiarity) suffered from ALS. He started treatments just before I did and ended just before I did. We sat in the same room most days and had several conversations. I watched him go from struggling to get words out and completely depending on his electric scooter, to having lengthy conversations with many of us and shuffling on his own feet to the bathroom. I don't know how he is doing post-treatment, but from what I witnessed, I think it's worth mentioning.

Lyme is the infectious disease of our time. If you've ever wondered if it's just in your head or wondered why you feel badly or don't understand your auto-immune disease diagnosis, I STRONGLY recommend getting dark field microscopy done. You can get it done for free at Sierra Integrative Medical Center. Just make an appointment if you're in Reno, NV or willing to go there. 

If you have a serious auto-immune disease, you owe it to yourself to understand what is happening to your body and how best to heal it without pharmaceutical drugs that often mask symptoms, cause liver stress and other icky side effects and don't actually heal you.

I just might have found a cure!! Sierra Integrative Medical Center

If you have been following my blog, you've probably fallen asleep waiting for my next post. I will endeavor to catch you up to speed, dear reader (without putting you back to sleep.)

You might remember that my doctors and insurance company set me up with 60 days on a PICC line in July/August of last year. I was given the same drug (Rocephin) that had given me some relief back in 2003, but for 2 months instead of 3 weeks. I was optimistic!! (Sometimes I think my optimism would kill me if it didn't keep me going - suffering disappointment has been an all-too-familiar part of this journey.) 

Well, the PICC line came and went with a bit more suffering and very little to show in the results department. Disappointed is an understatement. I was terrified that there was no help to be found and that this would be my new normal. 

But then some really crazy stuff happened!! The multiverse opened up and exploded with help from sources I would have never imagined and while it's still too soon to tell the final result, I think I've kicked the unkickable bug!!

One of my partner's health care practitioners told him that a patient of his - a teenage boy - had struggled with Lyme for years and had found a potential cure. He knew the clinic was out west somewhere. I asked my partner to ask the doctor to ask his patient (yeah, it's like that) for the name of the clinic. After several months of waiting for my partner's appointment and then for the other people to come in, grant permission, HIPPA bits, you know the drill, I got the name of the clinic. I went to the website and had many questions. Now I wanted to talk to the people, so a few more months passed in the waiting zone for contact information which finally arrived.

I called the clinic and the mother of the teenager on the same day in late February or early March. Within minutes I had secured an information packet from the clinic and a date with the mom from Harrisonburg. She came to my house and went over the treatment, costs and other information. I think I cried 3 times in the 45 minutes she spent with me. Hope was reborn and I was grateful and scared it would lead to disappointment again.

I made an appointment with the clinic with no way of getting there or paying for the treatment but I could see myself there regardless. The first appointment they had was in late April. I had my disability hearing in March and hoped I'd get the insurance and be able to afford the clinic but no word came about the decision as the date approached.

In talking with my mom, she felt that I should get the treatments regardless of the disability decision and graciously offered to pay for it. I burst into tears on the phone. I am unaccustomed to receiving this kind of generosity. This journey has felt very isolating and lonely. My mom's gift was the beginning of tearing down those walls. Afraid to hope, I made my reservations and began to prepare for 4-6 weeks away from home which in itself was mind-boggling and overwhelming.

At the end of April I flew to Reno, NV with my cat familiar Pi and on April 27th, I entered the clinic that would be my home for the next month and a half. One of the first things they did after loads of paperwork was to take one drop of my blood and put it under a dark field microscope. It was like watching some horrible alien horror film. There were hundreds of spirochetes in one drop of blood! I watched them hatching from my RBCs and they were happy and plenty. I was simultaneously grossed out and elated! I wasn't crazy. I wasn't alone. These people KNEW stuff!

The treatment was holistic and really hard! IVs and shots every day, 6 days a week. After about a week and a half of detoxing, the "pushes" started. These were intravenous injections of a chlorella-based medicine that forced chills and fevers, stimulating the immune system to kick some major Lyme and co's booties! These were also done 6 days a week for about 5 weeks, the average goal being 20-25 pushes.

While this clinic specializes in Lyme, they are immune system geniuses and treat all auto-immune diseases with pretty great success. This is a link to their site, specifically testimonials (you can also watch videos if you hover over the tab.)  http://www.sierraintegrative.com/testimonials/

I already knew that people who suffer from chronic Lyme have a gene mutation that limits the body's ability to detoxify. What I hadn't realized is that this would mean I have to incorporate detox protocols - aggressively - for the rest of my life if I want to stay well.

I am still undergoing extensive treatments post-clinic that involve a whole lot of shots, supplements and detoxing protocols. The shots are hard, some are painful and there are many, but the hope of a better quality of life keeps me going. They say that 4-6 months after the clinic is when the real miracle happens if patients continue their home care. Right now my adrenals are struggling to recover as are other parts of me and it's all about not overdoing it and allowing this slow recovery to complete. However, I can tell you that I don't feel infected and I no longer feel the consciousness of this bug plotting to overthrow my body government. (Yes, I'm knocking on wood.) 

I met several people who were treated at this clinic who have been symptom-free for years. That in itself is not only miraculous, but by far the best pitch I've heard for treatment of this nasty bugger. I'm on the road to wholeness!! What I have learned about Lyme and immune system functionality could fill a book.

Here's the dark field photos spaced 2 weeks apart. In the first shot, my RBCs are misshapen, show liver stress, allergies and a ton of spirochetes (where it looks like a sperm penetrating an egg - that's actually a hatching spirochete!) It's pretty amazing. I could write so much more, but I'll leave it for now. Enjoy your life and celebrate the gifts!