Having a tough night

Dacarte - I know what you mean - enough already - right?

Do you take Collagen supplement ?

I bought the Great Lakes brand but haven't used it much - the paranoid side of me is concerned about the CJD (prions) - whether it's a valid concern - or not - something I need to get past.

Not sure ingesting Collagen will deposit Collagen in places we need it anyway.

I do think it will recover once healed.

Im using the great lakes powder, I have one spot near my ankle with the collagen loss, but how about what we cant see.
These buggers like to eat it so I would recommend doing some kind of collagen replacement regime.

And dacarte3, its so easy to slip into despair since we have seen such better days. Don't let it take you down that road and cause you more stress..keep fighting dacarte3... you did it before you will get better again.

I would rather relapse sooner than later if its going to happen that way I can try to finish them off now instead of when being older.

I think you also said that before this relapse you had a much stress so I would definitely try keeping a watch out for that and try to keep stress at bay or when it comes ..catch it right away and try to de stress.

Stress at work is huge for me and when I feel that feeling coming and my symptoms start to rise I have been just walking away for a break or changing the conversation or just not engaging in what the other workers are battling about.

Hang in there there will be brighter days, take care,Jo

tonyaraven said...
Yes!!! I hear you! I am done too! It is so cruel how we can have these moments where things seem to be better only to get hit hard again! I'm so sorry! I don't know if it would be helpful but I'm taking a brand called arthroben, I think you can get it on amazon, it's rather pricy but some people really think it helps them, it's hard for me to know since I'm on such a insane roller coaster that one minute I think hurray something is working and the next I just want to scream as loud as I can! I too just want my life back! Let's hope that day comes for all of us!

Tonya,

I take another collagen supp made by the same company as Arthroben. "Design for Health" is the company. I take HSN.

HSN works better than Great Lakes for me. Great Lakes pretty much did nothing for me. But HSN at least improved my wrist and tries to improve my ankles. Arthroben, based on what they are claiming it does sounds like it's an advanced version of HSN.

HSN is 50 bucks, Arthroben is $65 (yikes). But for 15 extra dollars I guess it's worth a try.

It's definitely a joint problem because the rest of my body is "fine". I know lyme likes to reside in the joints, I think that's were most of my bacterial load is. That's why I see progress everywhere else except my joints.

dacarte3,

I wish I could help you boost your confidence in believing you will get back to healing.

I read what you have posted about treatments and I see a person that has taken control of the situation and is doing what they can to get healthy.

It does take patience and resolve and I also believe our minds our powerful.

In addition to all the medicines/supplements etc we have to take, I think telling ourselves I will get better, I am doing everything to the best of my ability, I am not going to beat myself up because of trial and error or setbacks with this illness... I believe it helps.

I know it is extremely difficult to stay upbeat about healing while we face and experience the symptoms of these infections... but let a bit of hope into your heart everyday and let it build and build.

Thinking of you and your situation and praying for you, Jo

From Heling Lyme 2nd edition, pages 214-217

Stephen Buhner's basic collagen support protocol:

Great Lakes gelatin powder - 1 Tbsp day
Vit C - 1,000-3,000 mg day (he prefers C-Salts)
Selenium- 200 mcg day

Of the extended protocol, he says these are the strongest:
bone broth
Echinacea augustifolia (not E. purpurea) tincture - 1 tsp 3-6x day
Strong infusion of nettle, horsetail, oatstraw, parsley: add 1 Tbsp each to a quart of hot water, simmer 4 hours, drink 1 quart per day

I don't see glucosamine sulfate listed in the book version of the protocol, but on the website he recommends it. It's in the material medica of the book on page 401, 500 mg 3x day. There are contraindications related to blood clotting and warfarin. In one response online, he says to someone with a knee injury:

"I would begin with glucosamine, 1500-3000 mg daily in two or three divided doses. If it is going to work you should see improvement within two weeks."

He also recommended glucosamine/MSM blend fro Kirkland Signature.

PeteZa,

Does MSM chelate heavy metals? I thought I read that somewhere, so I was scared to take that since I have a mouth full of fillings. Can you really tell if any of the things you took worked? I took some glucosamine sulfate powder but was never consistent with it and ran out a week ago. That supplement has the most scientific research to back it up. I ordered the GL gelatin and took for 3 days and got much worse IBS constipation, shingles nerve pain, and itching. I looked it up and found out there are 3 levels - bone broth, collagen, gelatin. Broth is easiest on the gut and gelatin is the hardest, so I didn't take anymore. I drank Pacific bone broth for months until I got shingles. I stopped with shingles because it's high in arginine and never went back to it. The doctor wanted me to drink it for my gut dysfunction, but it never did anything that I could tell. I get tired of spending so much money on all this stuff, and I can't tell most of it does anything.

I do need to do something more for collagen, though, cuz my joints are getting worse.

I know you are big on the bone broth and I am confident you will find a way to heal.

I began eating chicken cartilage when I had ordered a collagen supplement which was nothing more than denatured chicken cartilage. I imagine the denaturing was for shelf life.

We use a pressure cooker for our soups now and the meat falls off of the bone and the good stuff from the bone is driven into the broth with this method. With ox tail you can see how much gelatin gets pushed trough to the edges versus boiling.

It is a time saver also as we can enjoy bone broth in 90 minutes of cooking compared to 6 plus hours.

I just wanted to add my support for this tough time. We all arrive there from time to time. I haven not struggled with collagen but I do have weird looking skin depending on where I'm at in the treatment.

I just started exploring essential oils more deeply, and I'm wondering if there's something there that may help you. If I stumble on it I will let you know. I have a book I"m looking through to decide if I want to take a BIG step with oils.

Lyme reminds me of my divorce - some days were 3 steps forward 1 step back, others were 1 step forward and 3 back. Eventually I got there, and I believe we will all get there to defeat lyme too. I'm not very patient either, and I'm tired of hurting and dealing with all of this, but I decided it was a big message that I need to slow down and destress. So I'm trying!

I've taken a couple of different collagen supplements, including bone broth. And this has/is still happening despite this.

Sometimes I wish I just had the "run of the mill" lyme. But I've always had all the rare symptoms too. From Morgellons to now ACA. I've experienced the entire menu of lyme that is even humanly possible.

I've started my herbal protocol to go along with ABX:

1. Japanese Knotweed
2. Corydceps
3. Houttuynia
4. Ashwagandha
5. Cats Claw
6. Andiographis
7. Milk Thistle
8. NAC
9. Other various supplements

It's the most aggressive I've ever went after lyme and co. And I plan on staying on this regiment and be disciplined for the long haul.

This has to work because I have no other realistic ideas (maybe I can even start mHbot at some point just to cover all basis).