✨ Pregnancy Journal: Week 4 ✨ We started 2 weeks straight of family travel around the 4th of July. First we spent 5 nights in East Texas on the lake with my in-laws. It was so peaceful and calming, with no alcohol at all which turned out to be a blessing. We spent a lot […]
Unspoken Grief: My Miscarriage Journey Read Post »
Week 3 We spent the whole week celebrating Steve’s birthday! Interesting enough, looking back, I remember not being very interested in drinking – gotta love how our bodies know things LONG before our brain or science does! At this point, we are actively working on our adoption journey, we picked out our agency for both
Unspoken Grief: My Miscarriage Read Post »
Week 2 While we were trying to get pregnant I used so many apps and devices but the final mix was the Oura Ring + Natural Cycles, Kegg, PreMom and Femia app – it was a bit of data and app overload but it was worth it for a short period to understand all the
Unspoken Grief: My Miscarriage Journey Read Post »
Week 1: First the counting of weeks of pregnancy is very confusing! Why is it counting from the start of my last period? It also depends on the fertility app you use but so confusing! But from period is the way the Dr uses, so here we are. I know I’m writing in the past
Unspoken Grief: My Miscarriage Journey Read Post »
There are many reasons people follow a gluten free diet, some by choice and some by health. No matter the reason, its important to know what you are putting in your body. So the real question is “why a gluten free label on a product isn’t enough information?”. Not all gluten free products are created
Why “Gluten Free” Isn’t Always Gluten Free Enough Read Post »
While the whole world is finding a new normal, some of us are not only at a higher risk for COVID but a higher risk for anxiety and stress.
Quarantine, Lyme and Anxiety Read Post »
Since March, I, along with just about every one else, have been grounded from work and fun travel but being immune compromised, I am in full hermit mode. Being the type A, extrovert that I am, everyone thought that I would have a melt down by week 4, since I haven’t stayed still for more
Gluten Free Sourdough Read Post »
Throughout my lyme journey, I have tried just about any treatment that looks reputable, and in my darkest hours some treatments that are much more fringe. Essential oils fit into that fringe category for me. I started using them, not because I thought they worked, but because 2 years ago as I quickly fell into
Essential Oils for Lyme Disease Read Post »
How to Survive BBQs with Food Allergies!
How to Survive BBQs with Food Allergies Read Post »
Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads, dads-to-be, grandfathers and father figures today! I wanted to take a moment and talk about fathers and the role they can play in chronic illness, specifically my Dad. Chronic illness isn’t something that just appears one day, many times it is an illness that has been with
Being a Father to a Sick Girl Read Post »
This topic I always get a lot of questions about – I travel about 25% of the year and no not on company dollars. Therea are ways to travel it just takes a little but more planning and research. Keys to traveling successfully gluten free: Smartphone/internet: If you will have access to your smartphone you
Tips for Traveling Gluten Free Read Post »
A few maps of my favorite restaurants in cities I have visited one city all of my favorite restaurants or the ones recommended that I want to try next time! Follow me on Yelp Denver Houston Las Vegas Las Angeles San Francisco South Lake Tahoe
Such a different Christmas but we are managing to make the best of it. Merry Christmas! I pray for a blessed time with family for all.
After the first round of doxycycline, my labs were showing improvement (see War II: Battle I post)! Now it’s time to hit the stubborn ones with the big guns 💪🏻 We are moving to a combination of vancomycin and rocephin. The first dose was agonizingly slow, over 3 hours on one bag! One if the
War II: Battle II: Lyme vs ME Read Post »
This is a hard topic for me to write about as I am largely still wrapping my head around how something that is everywhere could be the culprit of taking my immune system down. Of course long term, the question is how do I make sure I’m no longer in an atmosphere that puts me
I’m calling this War II with Lyme, War I lasted two and a half years, I won and had eighteen months of pure peace. Now, I am in War II against these pesky, not so friendly, bacterias. Walking into the clinic, ALL the Lyme markers were positive, which is rare. The CDC has very stringent
War II: Battle I: Lyme vs ME Read Post »
This week I am reminded of how much God has given me. I am not always the best at being thankful for every day, but I am so very blessed! Thankful for my boyfriend, family, friends and church 💕💕💕
One of the reasons I chose this doctor is that he uses specialty labs to track levels of elements at every step of each biochemical cycle (example below). These specialty labs not only measures specific elements but then plugs the ratios of how they are used in the body into the cycle chart to show
First step: Detox and Base Nutrients Read Post »
There are a lot of differing opinions on chemicals, what levels of exposure are acceptable, if the hype is real, etc. I won’t get into that discussion, but for those of us with compromised immune systems, just about anything can become our enemy – even seemingly harmless things to healthy people. Each time my chemical
Chemicals…..oh the chemicals…. Read Post »
I have 6 weeks of treatment to catch up on the blog so I will try to start at the beginning. Of course this round, I didn’t start from scratch. I know what medications I did last time, what my diagnoses were and what wasn’t tested last time. One of the reason I chose My
After my last post in November 2016, can’t believe I have been out of remission that long! I hit a pretty dark space in my ability to cope with this illness. I kept hoping that the symptoms wouldn’t come back as bad, maybe my immune system could handle it on its own now, etc. By
First thing is to find a doctor! Read Post »
It’s a sad day when you find out that you are no longer in remission. That was confirmed for me November 21st. The emotions are hard to explain, after fighting with every ounce of energy, support and money I had – only getting eight months off IVs is a bit devastating. Right now, I am having
It’s amazing how quickly you can forget in the midst of illness how great good felt. For the first time in over two years I can say I am at 75%!!! I can’t remember what exactly 100% felt like but I know it’s going to be good. Don’t get me wrong I have good days
Big Huge Thank You!! Read Post »
Well, it is just over a year since I was first diagnosed with late stage lyme disease. And the good news is there has been great improvement! The bad news is the treatment is no where near over. When I was first diagnosed I was at an overall 30% – a year later I can
Three months into the year and it has been a good year so far. One of the hard things when I got really sick in January 2012 was that just weeks before I was the healthiest I had ever been. I was eating well, sticking to my gluten free diet, doing Bikram yoga every day
What a year… Turned 25, trip to Alaska, first time in Canada, moved to Baltimore, saw 24 doctors, 2 surgeries, moved back to Austin, introduced Nathan to my whole family, my youngest nephew Jude was born, two of my best friends got engaged and named me a bridesmaid and of course being diagnosed with Lyme.
Saying Goodbye to 2013 and Hopes for 2014 Read Post »
It has been a month – bad blogger 😉 The port removal was interesting – they were so worried about all of my medical issues that they would only use local anesthesia and made me stay awake. Needless to say I would not wish being awake and watching people cut into you while you can
The hospital stay was almost traumatic. They finally released me – I didn’t really give them much of an option – with the stipulation I would inject a blood thinner every 12 hours. The intern that came to my room to give my discharge instructions was rude and insensitive. He came in and his first
This is going to be a bit of a rant. How does anyone get better in hospitals? Lots of germs – from both patients and staff not staying home when sick, constant lights and noises, frequent intervals of interruptions. Yesterday I was admitted to Johns Hopkins hospital for pulmonary embolisms. I was having a CT
It’s been a couple weeks, now over a month into treatment. My most hated question – how is treatment going? I haven’t quite figured out how to answer this question. Treatment is not fun – surgery for port placement, needles living in me 5 days a week, two infusions per day (2-4 hours), nausea almost
Is treatment going well?? Read Post »
Finally, there is a plan that I can get on board with 🙂 Tomorrow morning at 7:30am EST I will go into surgery for port-a-cath placement to begin IV antibiotics. Hopefully bypassing my stomach will give me the ability to eat again. I miss food. As an Italian being gluten free and dairy free are
The last two weeks have been a challenge. I’ve been trying to use oral antibiotics but they have just been upsetting my stomach to the point that I can’t eat without being heavily medicated. Which of course then spirals down to no energy, weak and faint. I’ve been working with my doctor to switch to
Week one of treatment. Last Saturday, August 17th, I started with antibiotic A, one pill, on Saturday and Sunday. Then Monday I switched to antibiotic B, one pill twice a day. Every Saturday/Sunday I stop taking B and start A again. This Saturday I also add antibiotic C that will be twice a day seven
What a week it has been. You know those weeks that the wind blowing wrong makes you cry? Yes, that has been my week – more tears than I can ever remember. After Monday’s appointment at Johns Hopkins, I was an emotional mess. Feeling like moving here was a mistake, a large waste of money
Emotional Rollercoaster Read Post »
After two months of preparation and planning, the time has actually come to get on the plane with all of the stuff I can fit into two bags, and move to Baltimore. It feels like yesterday when I got the diagnosis of Lyme disease and wondered what I was going to do and how I
Packed….but not ready Read Post »
When I was 13 years old, my oldest sister bought me my first pair of heels, 1.5″ black stilettos. They were my favorite pair of shoes which lead me to adoring the wonderful world of stilettos. Stilettos have the ability to make you feel pretty when your clothes aren’t fitting right; Make you feel powerful
Uggghh, getting ready for Baltimore. Moving is hard. Moving with a boyfriend is harder. Moving to another city across the country, at different times, short term, for medical treatment and moving in for the first time together with a boyfriend is just plain ridiculous. We have been together almost 2 years now, so we’ve had
Preparing for Baltimore Read Post »
New York City, one of my favorite places on earth. The people amuse me, the city is gorgeous, the food is fantastic and it’s the city that never sleeps. I found the Second Opinion program at Columbia University with Dr. Brian Fallon overseeing it. They promote a program that looks at the cognitive impairment due
The City That Never Sleeps…. Read Post »
I have always prided myself on having a high pain tolerance and not letting people see how my body was actually feeling. I am starting to loose that control and it is a very unsettling and scary transition. My muscles have been deteriorating for the past 18 months but it has gotten to the point
Becoming the “Sick Girl” Read Post »
No one likes moving, it’s a giant headache of packing, unpacking, cleaning, more cleaning and of course physically moving everything. Suddenly, temporarily moving is so much worse. Finding a short term lease, that I can afford while still paying my current lease. Moving cross country on a plane = 2 checked bags. Finding an apartment
Moving is a headache, temporarily moving is a nightmare Read Post »
I just got back from a 16 day vacation to Alaska. This has been planned for months and I wasn’t about to let my diagnosis get to much in my way. I talked to the doctors and they warned me to take it easy and if it got worse to let them know ASAP. For
Traveling with Lyme Read Post »
I am a very private person, so telling people that I am sick is very hard for me. My whole life I have worked so hard to keep up appearances so no one can see the pain I’m in. I have been lucky that my symptoms are internal and can’t be seen just looking at
So after many hours and now weeks of research on Lyme and doctors I come to a decision and very little information to make the decision with. I want to do both traditional antibiotic treatment and at the same time I want an alternative doctor to help with other treatments like vitamin c infusion and
Decision of Doctors Read Post »
Anyone who has talked to me in the last 7 years knows I have Celiac disease and stick to a very strict gluten free diet. And about 3 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease. I knew little about Lyme except ticks were usually the culprit. For the last several weeks all
