Preface: If you have shared information with me on a cure for Lyme, thank you, I very much appreciate it, but I want you to understand why I (we) don’t take your advice.
If you know someone who has been sick with Lyme and has “been cured” or is “in remission” – celebrate with them. It’s a big deal.
And share the information about what they did. It’s important for people to know what has helped other people.
But please don’t expect that what has worked for someone else will work for me or any other Lymie. It might – but chances are the situation is completely different and what worked for them will not likely work for me.
Can people recover from Lyme? Yes. They can. And no, they can’t. The answer isn’t simple. Or rather – the question isn’t simple.
When someone has Lyme, the list of questions is extensive:
- What strain did they have?
- How long were they sick?
- What parts of their body have been infected?
- What co-infections did they have?
- What co-conditions did they have?
- What toxicities were involved?
- What hormone changes affected them?
- Etc etc etc
I can list another 20 questions…and I can promise you that however the person you know answered those questions, my answered will be quite different.
Lyme is a fascinating complex disease. In fact, it’s so complex that Lyme specialist Dr. Richard Horowitz calls it Multi-System Infectious Disease Syndrome (MSIDS) and has concluded that Lyme is only one part of one factor in the makeup of the illness.
- Infections (bacteria, parasites, viruses, candida)
- Immune dysfunction
- Inflammation
- Toxicities
- Allergies/sensitivities
- Nutritional and enzyme deficiencies
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Psychological disorder
- Neurological dysfunction
- Endocrine Disorder
- Sleep disorder
- Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) dysfunction and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Elevated liver function
- Pain disorders
- De-conditioning
In his 16 point model, Lyme is included in the first piece of #1 (bacteria) – along with a whole bunch of other infections. How my doctors and I address each point is relevant only to my sickness, not someone else’s.
So while I am happy that someone else was cured, it isn’t necessarily relevant to what I am going through.
What matters is what I am experiencing and the fact that I keep fighting to get well.
Well. What does that word even mean? It’s different for everyone. What it means to me is simply that today, right now, I am doing better than I was yesterday. I may never be completely back to the state of health I once experienced.
That doesn’t mean I’ve given up – it just means I am optimistically realistic about my own health. You can read more about that here: Optimistic Realism
For those of you in the battle, you know your body better than anyone – listen to your gut about what treatment protocols are right for you. Research, listen, learn everything you can – but make your decisions based simply on what’s right for you, not what worked for someone else.
Want to know more about MSIDS?
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