My new status quo

It dawned on me today that you might be wondering how my naturopathic protocol to eradicate Lyme has been working out for me.  Well, here’s the scoop!  (Here’s the protocol I’m talking about: http://www.waterwithlyme.blogspot.com/2012/02/nitty-gritty-my-lyme-protocol.html)

I have been on this protocol for about 5 months, with only a few adjustments, everything remained largely the same.  The neat thing is I have had check-ins with my ND usually every 4-6 weeks (or more often if something came up) to make sure the plan is working well and all is running smoothly.  And for the most part, it has. 

I have definitely been improving, just slowly.  (Although 5 months might not seem so slow to most Lymies who are out there fighting the good fight for at least a few years now – you GO, Chronic Badasses!).

My foggy brain is not a normal way of living now, it remains on some days, but to a much lesser extent than it had been.  Headaches, the same status.  Fatigue is probably the biggest symptom currently, but nonetheless, much better.  Now, there aren’t any days spent in bed all day, and I have the energy to definitely do a couple things each day like dishes or pick up medication or even grocery-shop!  Ringing in the ears used to be constant, now only sometimes.  I still get some vertigo-type feeling where it seems like my brain can’t keep up with the information my eyes are taking in (ex: turning my head to look left then right causes some dizziness and disorientation – this is why driving is a nightmare and I don’t do it unless I absolutely have to).  Nothing weird with the senses anymore – no sensitivity to light, sounds, or strange smells.  Joint pain, muscle-twitching, and air hunger are doing really well – mostly dissipated or rare occurrences. 

I’m now in the phase where, knock on wood, my doc says I’m approaching the clearing and nearly out of the woods!  She said Lyme is no longer much of an issue, instead the Babesia and Bartonella coinfections and the biggy is the Epstein Barr Virus that took the opportunity of my sick body to invade. 

Here are the updated modifications on my naturopathic protocol, although it is largely the same as the original one (I’m just listing the adjustments, not the whole protocol.  There's a lot more I'm doing the same as the original one ~ link above ~):

Replaced the Viressence Tincture with a custom one.   I was taking a Klinghardt formula as an anti-viral, but switched to a custom herbal tincture from my ND, it has Cat’s Claw, Elderberry, and Hawthorne in it for the Babesia, to boost immune function, and to help my heart health.  Taking 90 drops, 2x/day.

Artemisinin is now 2 days on, 5 days off (instead of 4 days on, 3 days off).

The spleen glandular was a temporary one, took for awhile to help my spleen handle everything better and it worked, so I discontinue that one per my doc’s instruction.

Bentonite Green Clay was switched back to the chlorella as the binder/detoxifier, simply because the chlorella was a pill form and easier to take.  Now, I take 2-10 tablets, 2x/day, depending on if I feel like I really need it.

Lyme & Coinfection Nosode was discontinued for now, since it appears I am nearly out of the woods! 

Minocycline and Ceftin are discontinued!  Yipee!  That’s my favorite one – no more daily antibiotics!

The new additions to my naturopathic protocol include:

Tindamax, this is an antibiotic I’m taking 500mg, 2x/day for 2 consecutive days per week, not on artemisinin days and not on Lightning Pearl days( so 2 days on, 5 days off).  This is the poke that’s going to make sure the Lyme is really gone.  Doing this one for 2 months.

Lightning Pearls, these are Chinese Herbs in capsule form with such herbs as wuaipi, baihe, and baizhi.  I take 2 capsules, 2x/day.  10 days on, 10 days off.  At this stage of the game, Chinese Medicine is really helpful in removing the ‘Gu,’ what Chinese Medicine considers Lyme to be.  It is very fascinating.  Here is an article that talks about translating what the Western world of medicine knows as Lyme to what the Eastern world of medicine knows as Gu.  http://www.pacificcollege.edu/acupuncture-massage-news/acupuncture-massage-publications/om-newspaper/116-summer-2011/1011-treating-chronic-inflammatory-diseases-with-chinese-herbs-gu-syndrome-in-modern-clinical-practice-.html

Acupuncture sessions have really helped in conjunction with the Lightning Pearls.  I try to go weekly or at least every other week. 

EBV Drops, I take this homeopathic preparation 2x/day, 10 minutes away from anything mouth.  This is to help me kick out the Epstein Barr Virus that’s being a pain in the butt right now and may be the main culprit behind my fatigue and sore throat.    

Balance D, 2 capsules, 2x/day until gone.  This is a vitamin D with some other stuff to help boost dopamine.  When you are lying around for months being sick, you get used to the idea that all you can do is lie around.  The increased dopamine will help me feel like I can try and do stuff!

Vitamin D Mulsion, 8 drops on tongue per day.  My doctor had this great explanation about why vitamin D needs to be delivered in an emulsified form, but I can’t remember why.  My vitamin D test came back super low, like 25.4 when ideal for a Lymie is 60-70!  I also had a vitamin D injection in my butt.  J

So overall, I definitely would say that naturopathic medicine has been working for me to eradicate Lyme.  Went from lying in bed all day not remembering where I was to reasonable energy to do things! 

If you want to see an LLND and live in Wisconsin, I can give you a couple of referrals - send me an email at waterwithlyme@gmail.com.  Otherwise, check out www.naturopathic.org.  Use the ‘Find a Doctor’ tab to find one in your area, then give the office a ring and ask they specialize in Lyme, if no one in the office does, they should know who in the area does. 

**Big, important thing to mention: not everyone who uses the title 'Naturopathic Doctor' has medical training!  All doctors at the website above are licensed (which means that they have been to years of real medical school and passed a board exam and the whole thing), but there are many, many more people who complete an online course and then use the title 'Naturopathic Doctor,' even without any medical training whatsoever - be careful of these posers.  These are the 'quacks' that some people associate with naturopathy.  The reason for this disparity is lack of legislation - in most of the states in the US, there is no regulation for Naturopathic Doctors, so anybody can say they are a doctor.  It's crazy and of course hurts the real Naturopathic Medical community because you have a bunch of delusional 'doctors' quite possibly causing harm in the name of Naturopathic Medicine.  (Did you know there are approximately 233 unlicensed, untrained people who are 'practicing naturopathic medicine' using that title 'Naturopathic Doctor' (ND) in the state of Wisconsin?  And only about 20 licensed naturopathic physicians!  Just crazy.)  Each state has a small group of real ND's who are trying to get this regulation in place for their state.  Wisconsin's is www.wisconsin-nd.org.

Faking it

As we learned from the Dr. Phil Show on Lyme Disease (aired on April 13, 2012), many people are under the impression that Lyme patients aren’t really sick.  That they’re faking it.  (After all, that’s what all the doctors are saying, so why not?)  That’s terrible, not only to leave sick patients untreated, but actually to accuse them of faking their symptoms.  It’s hard to think of a more tragic scenario in medicine than that. 

But let’s talk about another kind of faking it.  Not faking that you are sick, but faking that you aren’t.  What I mean is faking that you’re ok.  Faking that all is well when it’s not.  This also goes for anybody who’s not actually into something and have to appear to be.   That would be most Americans at work. That would be depressed people.  That would be grieving people.  That would be most of us, at probably more moments of our lives than we would care to admit.

As sick or injured people, probably the main reason we fake it is that we don’t want our loved ones to bear any more of the burden than necessary.  They are already forced into flexibility simply by living with us sickies.  We don’t want our loved ones to see us in pain and the last thing we need is to have them worry about us.  So what do we do?  We fake that we’re fine.  “Oh no, I’m ok, how are you?”  “I’m fine, no really.”  I hope it’s safe to say that we make it known when we really need care, like oh-my-gosh-I’m-gonna-die-if-I-don’t-eat-something-right-now, or if we have a serious episode where we need medical attention. 

If you are sick with Lyme and are faking feeling well for the sake of the people who love you, then good.  That means you’re getting better!  You’re no longer so sick that you don’t even care and it doesn’t even occur to you to put on a brave face.  You are no longer so sick that you can’t remember what day it is, even where you are, and you’re not so foggy-brained that you are simply in a daze in any given moment.

But still, why fake it?  What do we gain from pretending to be ok when we aren’t?  I suppose we gain some privacy.  If you don’t appear to have a problem, no one will ask you about it.  I suppose we gain a little respite from whatever we’re dealing with.  We get to be distracted by pretending we’re ok and working on other things instead of what’s really wrong.

I say faking it can be a really useful tool.   And after faking being ok for awhile, it becomes easier to actually feel ok. (Assuming you know that you are faking being ok and that you really aren’t ok.  And are dealing with it instead of just using the façade as a way to avoid dealing with it).  So go ahead.  Fake it ‘til you make it.  

For us sickies or grieving people or others who have big life events happen to them, we have a great reason to fake okayness.   But you ‘healthy’ people, be self-aware enough to ask yourself the tough question ‘Am I faking it day-to-day?  Why?  Am I getting what I truly want?  Do I even know what I truly want?’  I bet you will be at least a little surprised at your inner dialogue.  So give yourself a few minutes.  A little self-analysis can be a far more valuable experience than you might expect.  

All men should strive
to learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why.
~James Thurber

Heartbroken and angry

Some of you may have seen the Dr. Phil Show that aired where the second half was dealing with Lyme Disease.  While I am so happy that a mainstream outlet picked up at least some of the Lyme story, in the end, I just felt more heartbroken.  And angry.  Watch out, I get way more uppity in this post than in any of my other posts.  There's a time and place for anger I think.  And I guess it's here and now.

It breaks my heart that many sick people are dismissed, chastised, and ultimately left to suffer and die by their own doctors simply because a handful of doctors created this powerful rule that simply says these sick people are insane.

Sounds absolutely crazy, doesn’t it?  Deny care, say the patient is nuts.  That’s really it.  Any standard medical office you walk into will not be able to recognize Lyme Disease.  Furthermore, if you have received a 2-4 week course of antibiotics, you absolutely will be denied further care, even if you still suffer from symptoms.  All because there’s this all-powerful rule that almost all doctors follow when it comes to treating Lyme.  And it’s denying that chronic Lyme exists and it’s all in our heads.  How can it be denied that lengthy treatment works?  Look at all the people who have been in the battle for a long time and eventually get better vs. treating people for a really short amount of time, watching them still suffer, and then throw your hands up and proclaim ‘They’re cured!’….even when they are still dealing with all their symptoms!

There is a special place in hell for the IDSA guideline doctors who created these guidelines that hurt so many people, by denying them care.  These doctors have direct conflicts of interest with Lyme vaccine manufacturers, testing companies, and insurance companies and based their guidelines off of research conducted by themselves, while ignoring a huge body of research that completely contradicts their findings.  And surprise, surprise, the main result is that insurance companies can deny payment for care for chronic Lyme Disease.

How can this happen in America?  We all like to think that America is the best at everything – science, medicine, fairness, democracy.  How can we allow the rule-makers on medicine to get paid by companies who have a stake in the outcome of those rules?  It’s absolutely ridiculous.  Sure, it happens in Congress and with lots of public policy.  But how can we really allow this in medicine, medicine – where people suffer and die as a direct result?

How can you have positive lab test results for a disease and have a doctor tell you that you still don’t have that disease, or that the disease itself does not exist?!  How can it be that people are dying from a disease that ‘does not exist?’  Many people are dying, are wheelchair-bound, are blind, as a result of this completely preventable disease.  That’s the worst part.   If doctors knew how to recognize Lyme and knew how to treat it in its most early stages, people would not have to suffer.

How can we allow this?  How can we allow all this suffering?  So much suffering that doesn’t need to happen.  Wouldn’t need to happen if doctors acknowledged chronic Lyme exists and if they knew how to treat it.  How can we have doctors who swore an oath to do no harm not only leaving patients untreated, but blaming their sickness on them by saying it is the patient who has a psychological disorder?  How can we call it good medicine – to ignore your patients’ symptoms and tell them that they are psychotic?

I look forward to the dark day when enough people are sick and dying and disabled from Lyme that we say enough is enough.  Because clearly, it’s not enough people yet.  We haven’t waited until enough of us have amassed a loud enough voice. 

Disgusting.  Sad.  What a waste of human life, time, and suffering. 

That’s what gets me – you would never in a million years think you would have to quit school, work, and life as you know it all because you got a bug bite.  A stinkin’ bug bite.  I certainly never, ever thought this would happen to me, or that recovery would ever take this long (5 months and counting...and I'm a LUCKY one!  Most people get treatment for years!).

If you suspect you have Lyme Disease (or you do have Lyme Disease), it is absolutely imperative to be seen by a Lyme Literate Doctor, a doctor who acknowledges that chronic Lyme exists.  Otherwise, you will have the door slammed in your face and the book closed – on you.  Your doctor will not recognize the symptoms of Lyme and will not recognize that it even exists.  You’ll just be hitting yourself in the head with a hammer.  To find a Lyme Literate physician, go here:  http://www.lymedisease.org/resources/referrals.html

To do something productive with your anger (hahaha), volunteer!  There are always Lyme Awareness events happening all around the country – walks (like Lace Up For Lyme in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 19, 2012!), talks, or write-in/call-in campaigns.  There's always a need for your energy to help in some way.  (And, there's probably a need in you to do something with that energy - might as well use it to help!)

“Victims of Lyme Disease are victimized twice by this illness.  First by the unending suffering attached with this illness and second by a healthcare system that ignores them, and sometimes doesn’t just ignore them, it mocks them, it ridicules them.”  

~ Dr. Jemsek, LLMD

I encourage you to watch this ‘Speak The Truth’ speech by Dr. Jemsek on youtube here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-lHDA863TM

Strong Like Bull

Hi!  It has been a while since I’ve done a post and I hope you’re all doing okay.  :0)  My doctor had grounded me from the computer and it’s taken me a while to figure out how to rejoin computerland.  I do have to say that my 2 weeks away from the internet with that nagging itch to check email or Facebook was truly invigorating.  I highly recommend it.  You’ll be amazed at how much more relaxed you are, after even a couple days.  I had no idea how out of balance things were getting.  Well, it was so easy to be so invested in ‘my new life’ on the internet – that’s how it is when you’re too sick to interact with people in real life.

I want to talk about mental strength.  Plenty of things happen in life (like Lyme Disease!) that rob you of your physical strength, but there’s a whole lot more that tries to rob you of your mental strength.  What I mean by mental strength really is will.  Will to live, drive to ‘succeed,’ that can-do, won’t-quit attitude; that intangible, invisible ‘moxy’ that separates the fighters from the quitters. 

Things like the death of a loved one, a debilitating diagnosis, some kind of survival situation are all things that test you just a bit.  They poke you a little bit, all the time, just to see how you’ll respond.  To see if you’ll quit.  Or see if you won’t.

I’ve been watching a lot of survival shows lately (Man, Woman, Wild; Out of the Wild; Dual Survival) and one common theme that all the survivors talk about is mental strength to get through it.  And the difference between living and dying is not giving up.  And not giving in to frustration when things don’t work out.  And really enjoying (and recognizing) all the little victories along the way – like finding food, water, or shelter.  Or, in our case, having a few pain-free hours, or being able to get through a social situation without saying anything too stupid, or being able to run an errand.  These are all little victories and so they should be treated as such.  (Yay, mini mental parties!)

I’ve learned about conditioning my mind, as cliché as it may sound, to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.  And it’s hard, no doubt, but does get easier, the more you do it. 

So the next time you get those yucky thoughts telling you that you can’t do it, or it’s impossible, or that things will never get better, do what you can to squash it.  It’s a little test to see how you’ll respond.  Be sure to choose to respond with a little attitude.  ‘Oh no you didn’t…’  J  And it takes time to remember that you don’t have to respond with despair or loathing (although it’s ok to respond that way sometimes, just not all the time).  And the reverse is true too, when things do go your way, exaggerate how important it is.  Beef it up.  Say to yourself, ‘way to go, champ!’ 

You’ll be flexing your mental biceps before you know it.  

Do The Hustle

When the going gets tough, the tough get going - as in 'moving!'  I know that exercising is out of the question for my many Lymies – I mean, everything already hurts just sitting there, so of course it’s going to hurt to get moving.  And it does – but in my experience, only the first few minutes. 

I’ve had more sick days (my chronic Epstein Barr Virus is flaring up, so I’m feeling sick with a side of sick) lately, so I must admit I have not exercised in a few days.  But I did have a good stretch there when I exercised pretty frequently – and let me tell you what I mean by 'exercise': watching The Biggest Loser on Netflix, marching in place, with a can of soup in each hand in lieu of weights – just kind of waving my arms around.  Lifting the knees up when I could for a few steps, stepping side to side, doing maybe one real exercise – bicep curls maybe?  And just doing that (of course with the curtains closed so no one sees me flailing around) for 20 minutes until the egg timer dinged.  The first 5 minutes were pretty headachey and I had to slow down because of dizziness, but after that, it wasn’t bad at all.  I broke a bit of a sweat and got the blood moving around.  And I felt better for the whole rest of the day!  Maybe there’s something to this exercising thing.

For those who aren’t as sick, swimming is a great option – the water takes the weight off your joints, so you can move with less pain.  But at this point, any movement is good.  Even just standing up every hour.  I found this great article – written for non-Lymies – about why it’s bad to sit all day.  I shared it on my Water With Lyme Facebook page a while back and I’ll link to it here, because it is just so good!  http://lifehacker.com/5879536/how-sitting-all-day-is-damaging-your-body-and-how-you-can-counteract-it

And I know it’s part of Dr. Burrascano’s guidelines to exercise – in fact, he says that exercise is crucial to the Lyme eradication plan.  Dr. Burrascano says:  “Despite antibiotic treatments, patients will NOT return to normal unless they exercise, so therefore an aggressive rehab program is absolutely necessary. It is a fact that a properly executed exercise program can actually go beyond the antibiotics in helping to clear the symptoms and to maintain a remission.”

To read more about Dr. Burrascano and his ILADS-based guidelines, go here:

http://researchednutritionals.com/FactSheets/Burrascano's%20Advanced%20Topics%20in%20Lyme%20Disease%20_12_17_08.pdf

Plus, it's nearly spring!  So do the hustle everybody!  Get up!  It’s fun!  It’s free! ;)

March Madness Campaign

'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing's going to get better.  It's not.'  ~ Dr. Seuss, The Lorax


Are you someone who cares a whole awful lot about the lack of proper treatment for Lyme sufferers?


Many, many Lyme sufferers are made bed-bound, wheelchair-bound, blind, or worse by this debilitating disease.  Perhaps the worst part is that many are ignored, mocked, and left to suffer and die by their own doctors who tell them chronic Lyme does not exist and that what they need is psychiatric help.  


Help us storm the gates of Congress at this outrage!  Help us demand the current IDSA guidelines on Lyme be overturned.  


Thank you to Lucretia Perilli, Alan Burdge, Lisa Hilton, Tammy Hildebrand, Timothy Grey and all involved in getting our messages much needed Congressional attention.  


Please 'Join' the Facebook Event page 'Lyme Disease: MARCH MADNESS CAMPAIGN' here:http://www.facebook.com/events/128147847311061/  


For those of you without Facebook, here is what it says:


MARCH MADNESS CAMPAIGN – It’s now March 2012 and we are angry and appalled (NOT crazy)!

WE WOULD LIKE THIS MARCH MADNESS CALL-IN CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE DAILY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MARCH! WITH YOUR HELP, WE CAN DO IT!!!

PHASE 1: On January 4, 2012, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) posted this question on their Facebook wall: What would you like to see from your society in the coming year?

Though the question was intended for the IDSA’s professional membership, people stricken with Lyme disease and their loved ones here in the US and abroad took notice, seeing it as one of the few opportunities that we’ve ever had to make our voices heard directly to the IDSA (and the world) regarding the outdated, inaccurate and corrupt IDSA Lyme disease Diagnostic & Treatment Guidelines.

PHASE 2: We continually gathered the comments and created a nearly 300 page document, took up a collection, and had 65 copies printed and bound to take directly to Washington, DC.

PHASE 3: On Tuesday February 21 and Wednesday February 22, Lyme patient activists hand-delivered these copies to US Congressional representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Also, the document, in its original book format, is now being posted and shared throughout the internet.

PHASE 4 – MARCH MADNESS!: We need you to call the offices of the US Congressional members listed below. They all now have a copy of the document. The more members you call, the better. The more members you call, the more impact we will have.

Suggested talking points for your calls:

- Rescind the antiquated, inaccurate, and corrupt IDSA Lyme disease Guidelines.
- Push for the passing of Senate bill S 1381: Lyme and Tick‐Borne Disease Prevention,
Education, and Research Act of 2011
and
House bill HR 2557: To Provide For the Establishment of the Tick‐Borne Diseases Advisory Committee.
- Demand that doctors in every state are no longer threatened with license removal and other penalties for treating Lyme disease patients.
- Insist on better education of the entire medical community in every state regarding acute AND late-stage Lyme disease.
- Demand that a Congressional Briefing be held so that Lyme patients and our advocates get a fair chance to expose the decades-long corruption and special interests surrounding Lyme disease recognition, diagnosis and treatment.
- Be sure to tell your own personal Lyme story and the devastating impact that this illness has had on you and your loved ones.

Here is a link to the IDSA Comments document, which is entitled:

The Devastation of Lives and Lies:
Those with Lyme disease and related chronic infections respond to the
Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA's)
request for comments.

January 4 through February 7, 2012:

2,350 Comments
490 Shares
389 Likes

LINK TO DOCUMENT (PDF)
http://www.fileden.com/files/2012/2/27/3271113/IDSA%20Comments%20Document/Official_IDSA_Comments_Document_for_Congress_2-15-12_FINAL.pdf

If you would like to contact other US Congressional representatives who are not on the list below, please use these helpful links to quickly and easily find their contact info:

www.senate.gov

www.house.gov

www.whitehouse.gov

THANK YOU!

PLEASE MAKE YOUR CALLS TO:

Harry Reid (D‐NV), Senate Majority Leader
(202) 224-3542

Mitch McConnell, (R‐ KY) Senate Minority Leader
(202) 224-2541

Eric Cantor (R‐VA), House Majority Leader
Virginia 7th District
(202) 225-2815

Nancy Pelosi (D‐CA), House Minority Leader
California 8th District
(202) 225-4965

John Boehner Speaker of the House
(202) 225-6205

Steny Hoyee Dem Whip
(202) 225-4131

John Larson Dem Caucus Chairman
(202) 225-2265

US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
Main Office:
(202) 224-5375

Tom Harkin (IA) *
(202) 224-3254

Barbara A. Mikulski (MD) *
(202) 224-4654

Patty Murray (WA) *
(202) 224-2621

Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
(202) 224-5141

Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)
(202) 224-6324

Kay R. Hagan (NC)
(202) 224-6342

Al Franken (MN)
(202) 224-5641

Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
(202) 224-2921

Richard Blumenthal (CT)
(202) 224-2823

Richard Burr (NC)
(202) 224-3154
Rand Paul (KY)
(202) 224-4343

Lisa Murkowski (AK)
(202) 224-6665

US Senate Committee on Appropriations
Democratic Subcommittee Members:

Tom Harkin (IA) *
(202) 224-3254

Senator Herb Kohl (WI)
(202) 224-5653

Senator Patty Murray (WA) *
(202) 224-2621

Senator Mary Landrieu (LA)
(202) 224-5824

Senator Jack Reed (RI)
(202) 224-4642

Senator Sherrod Brown (OH)
(202) 224-2315

Republican Subcommittee Members:
Senator Richard Shelby (Ranking) (AL)
(202) 224-5744

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)
(202) 224-5922

Senator Ron Johnson (WI)
(202) 224-5323

Senator Lindsey Graham (SC)
(202) 224-5972


Additional Govt. Officials Concerned with Lyme Epidemic:
Scott Brown (R‐MA)
(202) 224-4543

Susan Collins (R‐ME)
(202) 224-2523

Tim Holden (D‐PA)
Pennsylvania 17th District
(202) 225-5546

Chris Gibson (R‐NY)
New York 20th District
(202) 225-5614

Kirsten Gillibrand (D‐NY)
(202) 224-4451

Frank Lautenberg (D‐NJ)
(202) 224-3224

Carl Levin (D-MI)
(202) 224-6221

Joseph Lieberman (I‐CT)
(202) 224-4041

Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
(202) 224-4744

Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
(202) 225-4671

Rand Paul (R-KY)
(202) 224-4343

Ron Paul (R-TX)
(202) 225-2831

Marco Rubio (R-FL)
(202) 224-3041

Charles E. Schumer (D‐NY)
(202) 224-6542

Christopher Smith (R‐NJ)
New Jersey 4th District
(202) 225-3765

Patrick Toomey (R-PA)
(202) 224-4254

Sheldon Whitehouse (D‐RI)
(202) 224-2921

Frank Wolf (R‐VA) - Virginia 10th District
(202) 225-5136


* Denotes members serving on multiple committees

Here fishie, fishie, fishie

I talk a lot about eating fish for Lyme.  Here’s a little bit about why!  Fish is one of the highest quality proteins you can get – and it is pretty clean, not typically pumped so full of antibiotics, corn, and manure.   It is also a more alkaline option, helping reduce the acidity in your body’s environment.  The more acidic your insides, the more prone to pain it’s going to be. 

I know fish is more expensive, but any way you can, eat fish!  Sardines are a great, cheap option.  It really ought to be wild-caught (this means caught out in the wild, at sea).  The converse is farmed (this means raised off-shore in a huge netted cage and fed corn and antibiotics).  Many people are also concerned about mercury-levels in fish and for good reason.  Mercury is a heavy metal that accumulates in the body and can wreak havoc on your neurological system (sound familiar, Lymies?).   When it comes to mercury-free fish, there are two things to consider.  1) The smaller the fish, the better.  The rationale behind this is based on a process called biomagnification.  The higher you get up the food chain, the more concentrated the mercury becomes.  Example: sardines are eaten by the bigger halibut, who are eaten by the bigger tuna.  So that tuna has all the mercury in the sardine and in the halibut.  The other thing to consider, 2) the type of fish.  There are some fish species that are more likely to have higher levels of mercury in them.  Here is the list (it’s very pretty and short, even though the link to it isn’t):  http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=c_jP2Qoe22psVM:&imgrefurl=http://www.facebook.com/note.php%3Fnote_id%3D237253729646499&docid=tOiysI-6otYqNM&imgurl=http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/254772_249463321742545_109805375708341_796591_6097407_n.jpg&w=698&h=448&ei=RsRTT-i8NoTxggfF8unADQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=170&vpy=159&dur=182&hovh=180&hovw=280&tx=169&ty=107&sig=107436883524958436492&page=1&tbnh=115&tbnw=179&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

So while it’s best to get fish that has the least amount of mercury, don’t forget that there are more sources of much higher exposure to mercury.  Consider that the World Health Organization says that the highest risk of mercury exposure to humans is dental amalgam (those silver-looking fillings for cavaties) "exposing the concerned population to mercury levels significantly exceeding those set for food and for air." Here's link to what the WHO has to say. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/medicalwaste/mercurypolpaper.pdf

My take is that you should do your best to eat fish less contaminated by mercury, but not to fret too too much.  Especially if you have amalgam fillings (like me).  Those are exposing you to much more mercury on a much more consistent basis than fish.  To get your amalgam fillings removed, you need to find a dental office that specializes in this, as your regular dentist office probably doesn’t.  And they will probably tell you that dental amalgam is not a source of mercury exposure since that’s the American Dental Association’s stance.  (Hmmm, an American association telling you that you don’t have to worry, it’s not real?  Why, you don’t say…)

Now back to fish.  Aside from being an all around good protein, fish is also rich in fatty acids that your body needs for many functions – from immunity to good, healthy skin to brain function.  It’s just a high quality, nutrient-dense food, a much better option than beef or even chicken.  Plus, Jesus ate a lot of it.  So that’s gotta be a good thing – the food of the Gods then, right?  (Hehehe)

I’m not a huge fan of the taste of fish – and most people probably aren’t either.  The key is: lots of lemon juice, lots of pepper, and a new one I just discovered – lots of dill.  Or you can start with smoked fish – smoked fish is soooo yummy, probably because it doesn’t taste much like fish anymore.  Also, eat fish with a side dish you like – like steamed broccoli or something.   Having a solid side dish of veggies that you know you like is really good for the in-between bites of fish.  Sauteed onions is great, if you like onions – the taste is so strong, it will really help mask the fish taste. 

I wrote a haiku in honor of fish.

The scaly fish swims.

Cold, clear, crisp water flows fast.

Nature feeds me well.

(Hahhahaha…I’m just tickled with my haiku attempt.)