Healing Hints

I promised some of you I would blog about the ways I can feel healing beginning to happen. This is a brief post with 10 ways in which I feel healing taking place.

(1) Cold symptoms - stuffy at night. You might not think this is a sign of healing, but to me, it shows that my immune system is beginning to funtion normally by fighting 'normal' sick issues.
(2) No brainfog!! Or when it's around, it does go away with rest.
(3) Improvement with rest. That seems like such a simple thing, but it is a function of the body that is somehow broken during CFS/ME.
(3) Ringing in ears has stopped. Wahoo! That was getting irritating....
(4) Not loosing my train of thought as much, not forgetting what I was saying, not searching for words.
(5) Trouble sleeping at night after electrotherapy. When my body's electrical pathways are properly stimulated, they do in fact respond correctly.
(6) Able to have lights on at night. I was on Skype last night and my friend could see me instead of just hear me! :)
(7) Significantly reduced stress levels. I feel at rest without having to naturally work on breathing or use some kind of somatic system. But, when I do feel stress, I am more aware of it and able to deal with it properly.
(8) Slight increase in ability to multitask. (Slight.)
(9) Ability to socialize is coming back. There was a point a few weeks ago where if you put me with people in a social setting, I would react very negatively. I didn't know what to say and felt very uncomfortable and easily overwhelmed. Many times I would just find a place to hide and cry.
(10) I love food and eating again. It feels normal, healthy, and natural.

All thanks to Dr. Agolli and the incredible staff at Progressive Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia!

Article on Glutathione

In case you are interested in reading about what's been pumped into my arm the past several days....

Glutathione: The Mother of All Antioxidants

"All the cool kids pass out."

My first appointment with Dr. Agolli went well. He has been very gracious to me in providing excellent care. Progressive Medical Center is a fantastic clinic that offers excellent, professional, holistic care, and I am very happy to be a patient there.

From looking at my current bloodwork results and hearing all of my symptoms, Dr. Agolli is concerned with my adrenal function, extremely low iodine levels, and the possibility of Lyme's disease. Soon I should be able to start iodine and adrenal supplements (I was taking some from VitaCost, but I ran out/went off them for a while). He ran another blood test for Lymes (I was tested with a negative result in April), so hopefully I will find out the results of that soon.

As I mentioned earlier, part of the treatment from PMC involves IV treatment. I had my first IV Monday and have had one every day since. Yesterday's IV was a bit of an adventure :) I don't think the IV needle went in straight or something. Whatever happened to it, the needle was causing pain in my arm. I told the nurse, but I also began to feel hot all over, and my hearing started to fade. I could tell I was passing out. So I got to smell smelling salts for the first time. Be warned, they are nasty buggers! Then Laura, who is the best nurse ever next to my dear friend Jill, gave me a cotton ball full of essential oils, and after that I happily sniffed away while my IV dripped. I couldn't help but laugh when another patient remarked, "Yeah, all the cool kids pass out," while the nurse was removing his IV. The things you overhear in the IV room sure are strange!

Tomorrow I have another IV as well as a follow-up meeting with Dr. Agolli. Over the weekend I have some more at-home tests to do, one more IV on Monday, and then, sad to say, my short time at PMC will more than likely be over.

And now the million dollar question: how are you feeling, and are the IVs working? The answer? I believe they are working, and I am feeling better. I still notice some of the POTS symptoms on occasion (the dizziness after standing up, etc.), but last night I felt energetic for the first time in a while. Yay! :)

I also attribute some level of improvement to the Valtrex. Brain fog is settling down, most notably. Another Yay! :)

And, as always, I attribute most improvement to my wonderful friends who have helped and supported me during this journey. You're the best.

Appointment Today

I know what you're thinking after reading the post title. But you just had an appointment last week! Yeah, I know; I did. And here's another fact. I'm seeing another new doctor. In my previous post I briefly alluded to Dr. Agolli, a naturopath who treats using vitamin IVs. He is the doctor I am going to see today. I am hoping the IVs will decrease some of my POTS symptoms and give me some more energy. I'm not certain if I'll be receiving any of those today, but it's possible. I have a feeling he'll want to run some other tests before starting that treatment. So this weekend I filled out another long medical history form, and will be going over my two-year story yet again. I think I'm getting rather used to this.... :)

Just to clarify, I am not seeing Dr. Agolli because I disagree or am dissatisfied with the care I am receiving from Dr. Conley. I am willing to try anything I can that I feel will promote healing, and after research, this is something that could possibly help, so I will pursue where ever this natural track takes me. What it can help with, I will take; what it cannot help with, I will seek help with from elsewhere (as I have already been doing). I will probably not be able to see Dr. Agolli more than a few times during the remainder of my short stay in Georgia, so this will be a temporary treatment - but hopefully one with long-lasting results.

Any questions, just leave them below as a comment and I will reply!