Word for the day: Spirochetes

Borrelia burgdorferi. Up until 10 months ago I would have thought that was the name of a drink concoction at a pretentious hotel bar in some exotic location. Or perhaps Justin Bieber's new Swedish supermodel girlfriend. Today I know it intimately as it is the bane of my existence, my nemesis, yet not my downfall as I am going to win this battle. Borrelia burgdorferi is simply a big, fancy name for a microscopic critter commonly known as the Lyme's spirochete.

This nasty vermin is double-coated and corkscrew-shaped, the better to hide itself from that which would knock it on it's fancy-named booty. It has enjoyed perhaps 2 decades of destroying my central nervous system, joints, vital organs, and my very sanity at times. I thank the Good Lord for leading me to a Facebook page that contained a questionnaire I felt prompted to take. Unlike the Chemistry 101 final my Freshman year at college, this was unfortunately a test I passed with flying colors. Suddenly I had the answer as to why I couldn't get well no matter how many green smoothies I drank, supplements I took, or foods I removed from my diet. Sweet! Should be smooth sailing, right?

WRONG!

That little questionnaire sent me on a trip around my internal world that still has uncharted territory. It's like all this time I thought the earth was a sphere just to wake up one day and discover it is really round like a tabletop. It has taken my naturopathic doctor and me 10 months to kill off secondary infectons (like Epstein–Barr) and rebuild my immune system enough to be able to take the battle to the beast. I am armored up to the hilt now, though!

Enter in the nemesis of B. burgdorferi....teasel root. If you pay enough attention you quickly learn that God puts the remedy right alongside of the toxin. Teasel is a weed that grows where? You guessed it. In forests commonly known to have a very high population of deer and therefore deer ticks. This homeopathic remedy is very potent and powerful. It has taken me a month to move up to where I can tolerate 2 drops of it 3 times a day, and that still isn't the optimum dose. I am herxing bad right now (see previous post on here for description), I am about to jump out of my skin. And I will gladly continue to suffer through many healing crises as long as it takes to kill off these little vampires that have clung to me like so many leeches for entirely too long. I am becoming the windshield instead of the bug, braving the elements of my internal flora and fauna as I eradicate this infestation. I am making light of it to interject some humor, but have no doubt that my healing has been a long journey with many more Gilgameshian adventures around the bend. Healing from Lyme's ain't no joke. But I am healing! Every day I have a bit more energy, my tinnitus is improving, I feel less toxic. Still have a long way to go, I am very encouraged however.

So do yourself a favor the next time you go hiking. Or walking in a meadow. Or playing on the playground with your kids. Or even out showing property like me. Inspect yourself and each other for creepy-crawlies that can be as tiny as a period on this page. Ticks aren't just a nuisance from the arachnid family: they are little armored tanks with both immediate and time-released ammo.