Chronic Lyme is what I live with.

"If you live with any serious chronic condition, do not look to a doctor and say, 'Cure me.' Instead, educate yourself, learn all you can, open your mind and trust your instincts."~ Richard Cohen

Okay folks for the record Chronic Lyme is what I live with. If you don't believe in it. This Blog is not for you & I really don't feel as if what I write and what I believe needs needs to be edited or watered down on my own page, or in my posts. This is not said in anger but as a reaction to some emails I got probably with good intentions (right? Assume things are done in kindness or in question not in rudeness or judgement....) with links to articles and opinions about the existence of chronic Lyme. I don't know what the tone was but it made me mad at 1st. Then I thought maybe they are confused because there is so much conflicting information out there. And personal opinions are quite different from official opinions and guidelines by the CDC etc and the folks whose job it is to handle these issues, research, define, and hand out truths. Well if you ask me thy have failed repeatedly & knowingly and I could write about this topic alone for the entire year. But what a miserable year that'd be!

(https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200494045984524&set=o.2239977820&type=3&theater)

So I will write more about the controversy here next week. IDSA vs ILADS, the CDC guidelines which are fatally flawed and have not been updated since 2006 despite an attempt to do so by those who write them but the board could NOT agree on new standards because of the men held out and battled so long and hard against recognizing this condition that after weeks the other 10 all caved! THAT'S WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST. 

 Please send me questions, or ask for sources if you like. Do not read an article, assume it is well researched and knows more history, more medical knowledge, or comes from a more educated and experienced perspective then my own... please. Not to brag but I have read almost 200 clinical trials and reports, peer reviewed double blind research studies going all the way back to 1990 and did a 100 page sociological survey and term paper on social networks and people living with chronic Lyme disease at Columbia University. It involved a 27 question survey and I had 90+ respondents and took the greater part of 4 months to complete. It's great work I think but does not make me an expert per se. I would not cite it and expect it to be proof of anything except hard work and personal findings and percentages. It does not represent a truth. Neither do opinions and articles you find online or in the paper about Chronic Lyme disease.

 This is as far as I plan to go on this topic today or this will become a 20 page editorial on the Chronic Lyme epidemic and cover up. Not what I had planned but eventually we may get there! This is a firm but kind request readers. I do not expect you to believe everything I do, nor am I trying to convince you of much except to eat healthier and have a positive attitude, and never stop learning or battling anything that plagues you. That is important. Chronic Lyme is also important but I am not here to argue, simply to educate and inspire people hopefully. OK? Cool. So moving right along...

I realized yesterday how many people have only fractured information and education about their illness. This was me for many years also. I reach back 12 years I almost can't recall what it was like before I became a self educated Lyme expert and survivor. I am tenacious. That much I know. I never gave up & I approach things academically - with Lyme I had no choice. It was 4 years I am guessing that I was sick and undiagnosed & in that time I saw 5 or 6 doctors and had a lot of tests & was sick all the time with everything from severe allergic reactions, to strep to sinus infections, viruses, IBS, depression, flu, pneumonia, food poisoning - you name it. Now my problems with how this and diagnosed, how you treated in that process, and how you are advised to handle it and how long that will take are long and arduous. The issue I want to focus on today is how even after I was diagnosed, had to move home & be cared for and saw doctor after doctor while taking pill after pill & IN ALL THOSE APPOINTMENTS NOT ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT EATING FOR LYME!

It's crazy that I wasn't asked or advised about diet, nutrition or any of it besides being told I was overweight after months of taking steroids and gaining 60 lbs. Yeah that was definitely news to me, I had gained weight & it made my body hurt more and feel worse - thanks Doc, I hadn't noticed! So I now am surprised by the affects proper nutrition and taking my Juice Plus+ everyday: both have had amazing affects on me physically and mentally this year. For the better!

http://akorteshares.juiceplus.com/

I am not talking about losing weight or having a healthier BMI - though I have lost 21 lbs as of this morning which feels great! I am talking about how I feel, even when I am suffering from horrid Lyme flare ups, and have had no sleep, and am twitching for days from the Lyme. It sucks but it's not as intense or as long as it was a year or 2 years ago and I am recovering from that much faster. Like  instead of taking 3-5 days of sleep, PJ's, food, sleep, TV & sleep just to shake the feeling of a head nodding fatigue and pretty serious depression I am up and still tired, but functioning and doing some work within 24 hrs which is great. 

Food is powerful & healing if you use it with care & concern instead of thoughtlessly! So where do you begin in a food overhaul? Well how about starting with one simple idea:

That's all I want you to do this week! I know how hard it is to prepare food, to shop for it, to eat right when you are battling illness. I still have trouble many days but on the bad days I tell myself eat less from packages and boxes and more from the good green earth. Eating a banana is as easy as a bag of chips. Right? So make it a choice - be conscious of it and proud when you do so. When you have help or are having a good day prepare fresh foods & eat as many plants as possible. Try to use the good days to prepare things in advance: boil some eggs, wash and cut lettuce and things for salads, cook extra veggies in case tomorrow isn't as good. Then it's easy to eat right on the off days too! I HOPE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH LYME, FIBRO, DEPRESSION, PAIN, OR ARE JUST OVERWHELMED BY THE DEMANDS OF WORK, FAMILY AND FRIENDS & FIND YOURSELF REGULARLY EATING OUT OF STRESS OR JUST CONVENIENCE AFTER A LONG HARD DAY, THAT THIS IS A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR YOU. I'D DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE AND STICK IT ON THE FRIDGE OR PANTRY TO REMIND YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU AIM TO DO AND TRUST ME JUST SEEING THAT WILL PROVIDE SOME INSPIRATION & STRENGTH WHEN YOUR TUMMY RUMBLES OR A PIZZA COMMERCIAL COMES ON & YOU THINK - GOSH THAT LOOKS GOOD! IT SURE DOES. BUT WILL IT MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER OR WORSE? IS IT FULL OF SATURATED FATS AND OILS? ARE YOU EATING TOO MUCH WHEAT & FLOUR & SUGAR? ARE YOU EATING BASED ON YOUR TASTE BUDS AND SENSE OF SMELL - I LOVE THE SMELL OF FRENCH FRIES LIKE ALL NORMAL AMERICANS BUT DO I STILL GIVE IN WHEN GOING BY MCDONALD'S - NOT ANYMORE. YOU'LL GET THERE IF YOU DECIDE IT'S WORTHWHILE AND START NOW. NOT AT BREAKFAST OR THIS WEEKEND. RIGHT NOW. EVEN IF YOU'RE FINISHING YOU'RE HOT FUDGE SUNDAY WHILE READING THIS YOU CAN COMMIT TO THIS! I AM INVITING YOU TO JOIN ME & BUILD A BETTER, BRIGHTER, HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER FUTURE. IT WILL BE HARD BECAUSE YOU'RE BODY CRAVES THINGS LIKE FLOUR AND SUGAR WHEN YOU EAT TOO MUCH OF IT FOR TOO LONG. KNOW THIS NOW & TAKE IT LIKE YOUR CHALLENGE TO DO MORE FOR YOURSELF. IT'S LIKE BEING HIT IN THE FACE WITH A GLOVE: I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL... AGAINST HUNGER AND FOOD ADDICTIONS THAT YOU NEVER KNEW WERE COMING AT YOU. WELL THEY ARE HERE & YOU ARE UNDER FIRE - ARE YOU GOING TO SIT THERE AND LET THEM TAKE OVER? HELL NO! FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS COMMIT TO EATING MORE FROM THE EARTH & WAAAAY LESS GMO FOOD, AND STUFF WITH PRESERVATIVES AND UNPRONOUNCEABLE INGREDIENTS. NEXT WEEK YOU'LL GET STEP 2. OK? YOU GOT THIS! IT'S TIME TO PREPARE FOR BATTLE!! 

(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chronic-Wellness-Tools-by-Wisen/393692914058187)

HOPE EVERYONE IS BACK HERE TOMORROW FOR MORE FROM BETWEEN HEALTH & WEALTH AVENUES. POSTS ARE A LITTLE OFF WHILE I MOVE AND UNTIL I GET WIFI IN THE NEW APARTMENT BUT I PROMISE TO GET INTO A BETTER ROUTINE AGAIN IN THE COMING WEEKS! THANKS FOR VISITING & Y'ALL COME BACK NOW YOU HEAR? 

PEACE, AUDREY