Acromegaly and Lyme Disease

My doctor called to tell me a blood test finally conclusively diagnosed me with Lyme disease. When I shouted a happy “Hooray!” my doctor replied that it was not a happy diagnosis. I, however, was thrilled to have any kind of diagnosis, to have a name put to what had been plaguing me for well over 10 years. 

This is not a pity party; there are no violins playing in a minor key in the background. These are simply the facts. Lyme disease has hammered me not only physically but emotionally and spiritually, as well. The Catch-22 of having Lyme disease is that I need to earn money to pay bills (including medical), but my health is too unpredictable to be employed or steadily promote self-employment, so Lyme disease has wreaked havoc financially. And the treatment protocol is steep.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted usually by ticks. The infection can spread throughout the body. For me the symptoms began with fatigue and general malaise (basically feeling rotten all over), and symptoms grew to include headaches, swelling of extremities and face, eye puffiness, insomnia, high blood pressure (Lyme can cause “sticky blood” clogging the arteries), systemic inflammation, pressure in my head, and chronic localized pain. My cells have been damaged to the extent that energy is being prevented from being produced within the cells, and so I remain in a constant state of fatigue. Ironically, Lyme causes daytime fatigue and nighttime insomnia. 

I have become used to lack of energy and can function pretty well, although frequently I am incapacitated for much of the day. Then there are times when symptoms escalate suddenly and I am in bed for days. There is no pattern, no rhyme or reason as to when I’ll feel functional and when I’ll be out of commission. 

Finding humor in small, daily aggravations is a balm to my soul. But there are times when I have been so overwhelmed with the fallout of having this debilitating disease, I have despaired of life. This despair, however, has its benefit: it has forced me to reevaluate the source of my joy. Maintaining joy by choosing to trust God is my ongoing aim and spiritual challenge, and I’m truly grateful for this goad toward viewing God’s character through a larger lens than my unchallenged heart would view him.

TREATMENT
Lyme disease is very complex because of mutations and resistance to treatment, and there is no known cure. The best outcome of any treatment is to get and keep it under control. 

Under doctors’ care, I have undergone small-scale treatments of prescribed supplements, restricted diet, and exercise.  These treatments, although costing me thousands of dollars, have produced negligible results. However, because my dire financial situation mandates that I work for many years (if at all possible), I must now pursue a more robust and viable treatment option.

I have been under the care of two exceptional doctors, each of whom work both inside standard medical conventions and outside of the box. Both have told me my cells are depleted of energy. Each doctor offers a different protocol for treating Lyme, and both protocols cost thousands of dollars. 

$10,000 protocol
One doctor offers the most widely-used protocol, which entails massive amounts of antibiotics, in combination with numerous supplements that naturally boost the immune system to counter the damage from antibiotics. Life and death in the same infusion (done through a port into a vein for weeks or months). For complicated reasons involving bacterial mutation and resistance to antibiotics, this treatment can result in only temporary relief and then relapse, possibly requiring the patient to be on maintenance antibiotic therapy for life. 

$17,000 Protocol
The other doctor offers the protocol I have chosen. In short, it heals the immune system on a cellular level. The protocol uses an electrically charged, nontoxic biomolecule that bonds with toxic structures. It destroys the toxins that bind to cell walls, and restores the cell to health. Changes in cellular health are documented through charting changes in symptoms and, most importantly, validated regularly through various labs and blood tests. 

This is a holistic protocol, including diet and exercise. I will be proactive by daily tracking my symptoms and compliance with the program in an online back office shared with a case manager and team of doctors. It’s expensive, but much less expensive than attending a live-in clinic where all the work would be done for me (also an option). 

A vibrant cellular system is able to function, even in the presence of serious threats to health, because it is stronger than the opponent. In view of the fact that Lyme disease has no known cure, making my immune system stronger than Lyme’s presence makes the most sense to me. The $17K spent now should in the end be a lesser investment of money than the continual loss of money through multiple small-scale treatments and ongoing inability to work a job steadily. 

My doctor had a patient who had been sick with Lyme for years whose health was very remarkably helped by this protocol, and she returned to work. So I am hopeful for success, while being realistic that my response may not be as remarkable as another’s. This stringent, two-year protocol seems the most responsible course of action I can take in my effort to wisely deal with this disease.

Treatment for Lyme disease is not covered by my insurance—regardless of the treatment type. All past, current and future medical bills regarding Lyme disease have been/are out-of-pocket.

I am humbly asking for donations to help cover the cost of restoring my health. Donating toward my well-being is such an act of kindness, I really can’t say how much it means to me. Thank you with all my heart. 

~ Joanne 

PS Any questions or comments are welcome. Click the envelope icon next to my name to send me an email.