Day 1: and so it begins

Day 1

Day one is in the books. 

While I didn't want to bore anyone with the detail of my regiment in my previous post, I figured I might as well mention it now because when I was researching this treatment I didn't find much feedback from people that were using it. It's newer and it supposedly works really well, but not many people have given actual reviews or feedback of their experiences while going through treatment. Every case is different so I'm assuming my dosage is different than anyone else's might be.

I'm on the Classic Pearls regiment of Lightning and Thunder. The classic pearls formulations are made for many things, but the Lightening and Thunder formulas are created for treatment of Lyme disease as its main purpose. There are also the Dragon and Bamboo formulas that will be incorporated but for now, I'm just doing the two.

My first month looks like this:

Lighting:

2capsules 2x day for 3 days

3capsules 2x day for 3 days

5capsules 2x day for 15 days

Then

Thunder:

2capsules 2x day for 3 days

3capsules 2x day for 3 days 

5capsules 2x day until end of week 4

Then we reconvene, see how I'm doing and get the next month set up.

I'm supplementing with liquid vitamin d daily, B12 shots every two weeks, a scoop of high potency probiotics with my smoothies in the morning, and my regular CLA intake (2capsules after every meal). I'm drinking double the amount of water than I usually did, which puts me at just about a gallon per day (I'm trying really hard on this one), and I'm making sure to eat as much fiber as possible. The supplements, fiber and water are meant to help with the removal of the toxins that are produced by killing off the bacteria causing all this hell inside the body. 

Today's experience is that I felt great for about 2 hours after my first two capsules of Lightening; brain fog was relatively low, muscles didn't hurt and my energy level was above average (I even had enough energy to do some drawing). We went to a friend's BBQ and just before we got there my everything dropped to levels well below normal. I was exhausted by the time we said hi to everyone and was just about ready to nap 15 minutes into eating a burger. The brain fog got so bad that on the way home I pretty much just sat in the car and stared blankly out the window as my girlfriend tried to distract me by showing me neat houses on the way home. I've dealt with this for so long that I was able to push through it and still go grocery shopping, run an errand for a friend and cook dinner. Everything gets done regardless of how I feel, but it all just feels like autopilot most of the time. I've now taken the second 2 capsules and my brain fog is much less. I'm still exhausted, but that's probably because I refuse to lay down when my body is screaming for a nap.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I have to disclaim that today was a relatively warm day for Portland (85degrees) and I am supremely heat sensitive. I generally feel like I'm unable to function in weather that is over 75 degrees and end up having acute anxiety attacks when I start sweating when I'm not doing anything to warrant sweating. In short: I don't do warm weather. 

I'm also day 1 of my menstrual cycle, which is always a fun day. Maybe it's too much information, but it also happens to be one of the biggest issues I have with Lyme. My cycles have become almost unbearable. Not just your regular cramps, bleeding and mood swings. I'm talking days of debilitating heavy bleeding with clots, vertigo, migraines, and exhaustion. 

The combination of these things today made me super bummed and left me helpless mentally. 

I know things will get better physically, but some days, it's really rough mentally and emotionally. 

I'm thankful for friends that understand and my family that always talks me off my mental breakdown ledge. I'm letting myself get in bed and snuggle with my tiny family now....tomorrow, we get to sleep in!