Sainte Chapelle

Excavating the past to help me remember who I was before illness and setting my findings in the light of who I have become through being so gravely ill has been an amazingly inspiring exercise. I know it is tempting for us with Lyme disease to grow discouraged or bitter because of all that we now cannot do and all that we have lost. Yet my experience of recalling the life I have lived has made me even more grateful for it having gained some distance from it, and I have found that with the growth, emotional and spiritual, which has occurred through bearing illness, I am able to appreciate it in ways I never could before. Even the quality and value of past events and relationships have been changed for the better, in light of the changes in me that have been wrought in the crucible of illness.

In the midst of my recollections, I have been brought back to Paris where some of God’s deepest works in me were to be initiated and are still, even now, unfolding. In honor of His great beauty and love, I’d like to share a little something of Paris with you, and encourage you to make a similar journey, wherever you currently stand in relation to your illness.

Burning Brain Syndrome

For about three months now I’ve been experimenting with a supplemental enzyme I discovered in Bryan Rosner’s book entitled The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments, a book I recommend to anyone suffering with Lyme disease. Segueing from the use of antibiotics to using my immune system alone for combat this past summer and fall, (see the October 9 addition to the “My Lyme” tab of this blog), I experienced a rather unpleasant symptom in the midst of battle which I have come to call, Burning Brain Syndrome. Perhaps you know it?

There are a few versions of it that I have encountered, one being the feeling that the muscles in the head are turning into tightly clenched fists and there is a sort of mild form of burning that occurs in this, another being the feeling of full cranial inflammation, and then a third I have experienced especially upon waking, when my head has been resting in the same position for several hours, there would be a concentrated burning beneath my skull where neurotoxin, bacterial debris and immune system proteins had pooled and my brain would be stewing in these juices, or I should say, gasping for oxygen and fresh blood.

While regular exercise is good for the circulation and transporting the necessary oxygen, I have found that exercise alone does not eradicate this particular symptom of burning, though it helps to remove debris over time. However, I have found this enzyme to be very effective with pretty swift results, though I would imagine results would vary from person to person, and I advise consulting your doctor before beginning any type of alternative treatment. 

Now, I’m going to sound like a commercial: I have been taking Wobenzym N twice daily since November and not only has my burning been morphed into a dull headache when there is a flare up and the duration of pain greatly reduced, but the indiscriminant involuntary muscle twitching that I thought would never go away, has been diminished to the odd pinch when I am in the midst of a herxheimer reaction. If you’re interested in trying the enzyme, I’ve added a tab where you can find out where I buy it and also get a coupon code for a $5.00 discount. For an introduction to the science behind what’s going on with this enzyme, check out Chapter 6 of Rosner’s book.

On a spiritual note, I’d like to close with the last lines of yesterday’s Office of Readings psalm: “You, O Lord, are my lamp, my God who lightens my darkness. With you I can break through any barrier, with my God I can scale any wall.” (18:28-29)