I am a 28-year old, holistically-minded woman, in the early stages of my quest to heal from Lyme disease. I have been extremely health-oriented since my early 20’s, but prior to that subsisted on the SAD (Standard American Diet), was vegetarian and vegan through my teens (leading to nutritional deficiencies in my case), and used typical personal care items, cleaners, and other products in the home which, as I know now, are loaded with toxins.
I have suffered from various health aliments for years, so it is hard to know when I was infected. My Lyme-Literate MD believes it is possible that I have had it since childhood, but there is no way to tell. I was also recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, the double MTHFR mutation (this mutation is incredibly common among those of us suffering from lyme and autoimmune issues- you can read more about it here) and severe mold allergies/toxicity.
I’ve created this blog to track my progress as I embark on an essential oil protocol for recovering from Lyme Disease. I have been following an AIP (autoimmune paleo diet) and will post about my progress on the diet as well. Also, I am looking to try multiple treatments such as homeopathy and intravenous vitamin therapy and will post everything I try and my successes and failures. I am also going to focus on how we can (and must) address emotional issues that, for many of us, have made us vulnerable to illness. Hopefully my results will be positive, and I will be able to share this information with others searching for ways to overcome this terrible disease.
My goal is to live through this disease, to overcome it, to bring my body back into a place of balance, and to come through on the other side transformed.
~ I wish you all healing and health ~
My Lyme Journey 
Hi, I stumbled on your blog after doing a Google search for “essential oils and Lyme”. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi because after reading entry after entry I realized how similar the things you were saying sounded like what I am going through and the things I have thought in my mind so often. I’m 29 and I too have chronic Lyme disease, and detox problems and am treating my Lyme disease with essential oil currently. I live in Walnut Creek and my family has a vacation home in Aptos so when you mentioned Santa Cruz I thought, “hey! another northern Californian in our state that ‘doesn’t have Lyme'” haha. I just wanted to tell you that you aren’t alone in what you are going through and I commend you for being brave enough to put all your life out here in a blog. I use to blog too and then took a break that I am still on because I knew a lot of people I knew were reading my blog and I was having problems being completely honest and open enough due to that. Maybe I should have started anonymously! :p If you ever want to chat with someone else doing similar stuff my email address is meganrbarber@gmail.com and my Facebook is facebook.com/meganbarber
Feel free to add me if you want to, if not that’s ok too. I never would have thought before that I would reach out to someone I didn’t know online but I have found how frustrating this disease is and how little everyone around me understands about it other than my immediate family so now I think it’s almost easier with people with Lyme that I DON’T know rather than the healthy ones I do sometimes. good luck with your treatment!
LikeLike
Hey Megan, thanks so much for your thoughtful message! I’ve been taking a break from blogging too- I’ve been trying to focus less on the illness and more on healing..if that makes any sense. I am still using essential oils, but no longer as much as I was before- I am about to start doing something called the Cowden protocol…how is your healing coming along using the oils? I’d love to connect… I’ll send you an email 😀
LikeLike
Hi there! I’m a Seattlite dealing with Lyme and co and all sorts of fun associated health challenges. I’m actually contemplating giving the AIP a try and saw you’d been following it. I’d love to chat with you about your healing path and some other things if you’re so amenable. Please shoot me an email if you feel up to it; you can reach me at miropoem(at)gmail(dot)com. Sending good vibes! -E
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so needed to read this today. I am so frustrated with lyme disease. I’m at my wits end.
LikeLike
Hey Lisa, oh I know. It is so so frustrating. It seems like one step forawrd two steps back. I just continually try to find the lessons in it all and focus on being grateful because, even with Lyme, there is so much to be grateful for. Sending healing vibes your way… How long have you been treating?
LikeLike
I have a friend who I convinced to try Dr. Hill’s protocol for her Lyme disease she has had for 10 years. She first tired traditional meds, then every kind of holistic meds she could find, to no avail. Within 3 months her Lyme tests had more than doubled and they and results are still getting better all the time. Her doctor was stunned. I too am a member of doTERRA, and I too was concerned about the carrageenan and soy in some of their products. However, I did my own research with regard to Carrageenan and discovered there are different types of carageenan, One is degraded and the other is undegraded. One important difference is that while the degraded, )also called poligeenan) can cause cancer on its own when given in high enough concentrations, undegraded carrageenan has only ever been shown to accelerate cancer formation when administered with a known carcinogen. In other words, food-grade carrageenan has not been shown to cause cancer in animal models. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is in the clear when it comes to cancer, but contrary to popular belief, it is not a known carcinogen.Technically, undegraded is approved for use in food, while degraded is not.
Degraded carrageenan is also called poligeenan. research,has found that many of the animal studies that are done using poligeenan and not undegraded carrageenan. But, I also cannot have soy due to thyroid issues and I have another friend with celiac disease, who also cannot have soy. I did write to doTERRA; however, I don’t know how high up it went or if it went to any of the decision makers about the thief products. The person I got a response back from had some standard answer that clearly showed they didn’t know what they were talking about when trying to say why their soy was different. Soy is soy when it comes to diseases like celiac and thyroid diseases,, which this the person I communicated with knew nothing about. doTERRA has many wonderful products though and I rely on my own reseach in deciding which of their products to use. I have detoxed my home and body. I am diabetic and have lowered my blood sugar levels to normal and no longer take insulin or meds. I have also used the oils for diabetic neuropathy, back pain due to a ruptured disc, shoulder with rotor-cuff damage, and any number of other ailments and they definitely help. And, I am so thankful to have these oils when I need to alleviate any pain. I also use the oils to keep mosquitoes, spiders and other critters away from my patio and in my home. I also use their oils in a diffuser to help me relax and sleep at night. I use them to kill germs and bacteria in my dishwasher and cleaning kitchen counters, floors, and bathroom. I am fortunate to be in a downline in doTERRA with a certified aromatherapist who has a degree in aromatherapy, and who is a wonderful mentor. I would not use any other essential oils other than doTERRA, but that is my choice after researching a number of different oils. I am very happy with most of their products, but, have to admit, I do not take all of them. But, it is a great company. It’s like everything else. Nothing and no-one is perfect, but I have seen some incredible results in people who are using them, and even using them with pets. I know this is long, but hope it is of some use to someone out there and that it can help someone have a better quality of life. Just do your research on how to use the oils and remember that they are powerful and highly concentrated, so less is best. I normally always dilute them with fractionated coconut oil because my skin is extremely sensitive and they should always be diluted when using with pets, and unless you know a lot about essential oils I wouldn’t recommend using them with cats. There are a few that are safe for cats, but more can be toxic and fatal, so I never recommend someone using them on their cats unless they are well educated in using essential oils, especially for a beloved pet. We just build a new website for Eco-friendly and safe pet products and am putting our website here for anyone who might be interested. Hadn’t planned on putting this out there, but since the subject of pets came up I thought that people who are interested in healthy products for themselves would also be interested in keeping their pets healthy too. http://healthythymes4pawsandpeople.com/index.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for all that info!!!
LikeLike