I just finished reading The Lyme Solution, by Darin Ingels, ND, FAAEM. This is a 5-part plan to fight the inflammatory auto-immune response and beat Lyme Disease.
My Review of Essential Charms Lava Stone Jewelry
Recently I was asked to choose any product I wanted from Essential Charms in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely love essential oils and so I knew that anything they had to offer would be easy for me to review. I know what I like, I love jewelry, and because I’m a homeschool mom I need something that will hold up to my lifestyle.
I personally use Young Living Essential Oils on a daily basis. My typical day begins with applying Joy and Progessence Plus Serum. I diffuse Thieves or Christmas Spirit throughout the year. These are my two favorite scents and rather than purchase chemical room air fresheners, I opt for natural essential oils that also kill germs, boost my mood and even benefit my immune system. When I want to wear an oil I’ll sometimes choose Gratitude, Awaken or Stress Away.
Wearing Essential Charms Lava Stone Necklace
Here is how the necklace looks on. I didn’t realize that I was wearing pink in both of the pictures I took of myself. It’s my favorite color and the black chord looks beautiful with pink! It really doesn’t matter whether you’re hanging out at home or going out, this necklace is perfect for every day!
Which Item I Chose to Review
When I browsed through the selections from Essential Charms, my attention was immediately drawn towards Nature’s Beauty. Nature’s Beauty is a gorgeous necklace featuring an attractive flower and leaf design with a slight teardrop shape. It’s made from plated sterling silver and finished with a clear “e-coat” layer to prevent against scratches and tarnishing. All of their lava stone jewelry is nickel and lead-free.
I really love the Nature’s Beauty Lava Stone necklace. I think it’s very feminine and unique but also practical. I wasn’t sure I would like the black chord but it is comfortable to wear every day and it also gives this charm a classic look. It’s dressy enough to wear to church or a business meeting but casual enough to wear at home or to the grocery store.
The first day I wore my necklace I noticed that my locket was hanging open and the lava ball had fallen out. Thankfully, I found the lava ball. The clasp just didn’t want to stay closed and so I took my jewelry pliers and tightened the clasp a bit. This solved the problem and now my locket stays closed. When I contacted Essential Charms about this I was told that sometimes the oils can cause this to happen and to do exactly what I did.
You Should Try One
If you’ve never worn essential oil jewelry with a lava stone, you’re in for a treat. Sometimes applying oils directly to the skin is undesirable and that makes a lava stone perfect for daily oil use. Your oils will also last longer when you use a lava stone because one to two drops of your favorite oil is all you need for 3-5 days. When you apply your oil to the lava stone, remove the stone and place it on a paper towel, drop one or two drops of your favorite essential oil. Let it soak in before placing the lava stone inside the locket. Be sure your clasp is secure and wear your jewelry with style!
Essential Charms sells beautiful earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. You can purchase additional chains and lava balls separately. If you purchase anything be sure to share your picture on Instagram and tag me so I can see what you chose. If you’re interested in Young Living, let me know.
When a Lyme Blogger Finds An Engorged Tick
There I was, faced with that moment I never wanted to find myself in. Through groggy eyes, I stared down at my leg in disbelief. An overwhelming feeling of panic came over me as I realized that yes, that really was an engorged tick. I took a deep breath, gathered my thoughts and then went into action.
Disclaimer: Thank you for using my affiliate links, I’m able to earn a small percentage of each purchase but you are not charged anything extra!
As I looked down and saw this tick, full of blood, attached to my leg, I had a variety of thoughts, one being, how could I be so stupid! I know that ticks are a problem year round. I know that I shouldn’t let my dog in our beds or on our furniture. I even know that I should apply tick treatment to my dog during the winter.
But there it is, and I’m quite certain that tick wasn’t there the night before, and now, I have to figure out how to practice what I preach.
This isn’t a story from my initial infection, in fact over eleven years ago when I was infected, I never saw a tick, I never had a rash, a fever or any other initial symptoms. But finding this tick, this is something that just recently happened and it happened in February. It just goes to show you that you can get a tick bite in the Winter!
Why I’m Not Getting Antibiotics
As I decided how I would treat this tick bite, I knew for a fact that I wasn’t going to go to a doctor to get myself on antibiotics. I honestly never want another antibiotic unless my life depends on it. Don’t get me wrong, antibiotics are a great treatment option for someone who has a recent tick bite. However, I’m not so sure it’s as helpful for the person who has an active infection or who has had Lyme in the past. There probably isn’t even a study for that.
The truth is, there aren’t any studies showing exactly how much antibiotic one should take for an early Lyme infection or how long one should be treated. This lack of research and the controversy that surrounds it causes many people to have a false sense of security. They believe that just because they got a prescription, no matter how many days it’s for, that they’ll be cured once they take it.
At one time the CDC recommended one Doxycycline to treat an early Lyme infection. That’s one pill, not one week! Just as a side, this is exactly what my pediatrician gave my daughter and she ended up with a severe case of Chronic Lyme disease and co-infections for over seven years.
The reality is, antibiotics can and do cure NEW Lyme infections, but only when the correct dose is given in high enough doses and for a long enough duration. But because no one can agree on what that is or what the best treatment is, ILADS has put together a guideline for treatment. They suggest that you don’t wait for symptoms, rather treat the tick bite, because time is of the utmost importance!
You can find that here in my Printable Treatment Guidelines
Property of Lyme Disease Posters
I’ve been off of my usual homeopathic sprays for probably six months. Instead, I’ve been working with a friend of mine, who has a new holistic practice. She has been running hair, nail and saliva scans on me and preparing a very personalized homeopathic remedy for me to take.
I’ve been feeling fine other than the continual leg and feet pain I always have. I learned that I have some mild vascular issues that could be contributing to this but it could also be a result of heavy metal toxicity or a residual Bartonella infection. I’ve also been told that it’s permanent damage from being sick for so long, so I honestly don’t even know what the problem is.
What I am Doing for My Tick Bite
When I found this new tick, I immediately did what I always tell you, my readers, to do. I grabbed my tick kit, pulled out the tweezers, placed it firmly against the skin and around the head of the tick and began to pull the tick straight up and off my leg.
As I pulled, the tick completely disintegrated into the tweezers. This can sometimes happen when the tick is engorged so if it happens to you, don’t get too grossed out. Because I no longer had a tick available, I couldn’t send it off for testing.
If you remove a tick and it’s intact, it’s a good idea to have it tested and to find out if that tick is carrying any pathogens that could possibly cause infection.
Next, I cleaned up the area of my leg where I was bitten and immediately sprayed Sovereign Silver on it. Silver is a very powerful antibiotic and I’ve used this particular brand for years. I applied silver at least three times a day for a week and I kept close watch of that area to make sure that a rash didn’t show up.
Tick bites that transmit Lyme disease only produce a rash 50% of the time and a bulls-eye specific rash 25% of the time.
Homeopathy & Herbs
Once I got my leg cleaned up I took a dose of Arsenicum Album 30. I read that this remedy is used when you feel you’ve been poisoned and I definitely felt that way. After taking the Arsenicum, I also took a dose of Ledum palustre 30 because this is what I had on hand. You should use Ledum palustre 200c according to Joette Calabrese. I continued to take the Ledum three times a day for the next few days and then down to once a day for another week.
CORRECT HOMEOPATHIC PROTOCOL: I’ve since learned that you should take the Ledum 200c every 3 hours the first day, twice daily for a week and then twice weekly for a month. You should also take Arsenicum Album along with Hypericum perforatum twice a day for one week and then follow the same protocol as the Ledum. You can find the details on Joette’s website which is super helpful.
I began having air hunger, heart palpitations, an overall physical weakness, overall pain, and that really deep fatigue you get with Lyme disease. I suspected I was also having symptoms of a possible Babesia infection but again, I don’t know for sure.
I decided rather than take any chances, I would go back on my homeopathic remedies from my doctor. I also added a few herbs that I had on hand for Babesia. The first herb is CSA which is a combination of Cryptolepis, Sida, and Alchornea. These herbs are super helpful for Babesia and Bartonella. The other herb is Stephania and both are made by Woodland Essense.
If you are not familiar with Stephen Buhner and you’re interested in learning about herbal treatments for Lyme disease, I highly recommend his book, Healing Lyme, 2nd Edition and his website BuhnerHealingLyme.com is a wonderful resource.
Deseret Biologicals – Borrelia Babesia 1M Series Therapy Kit – 10
As I listened to my body and made adjustments as needed, I continued to take the homeopathy and the herbs for the entire month. I noticed the air hunger and heart palpitations quickly went away and now the symptoms that I’m left with are fatigue and some pain but not as bad as before. I plan to continue using my homeopathic remedies, which helped us so much initially, and I will be following up with my doctor.
Lifestyle Habits
It’s important to maintain a very healthy lifestyle and focus on eating a mostly whole foods diet. I’m reading The Lyme Solution by Darin Ingles, ND, and he discusses the importance of an alkaline diet. I tend to lean more toward ketogenic and modified paleo but as I reviewed his list of foods to eat and those to stay away from I realized that the only thing I consume that’s on the “do not have” list is coffee. I don’t have plans to give up coffee anytime soon and when I do you’ll know I’m desperate!
I’ve shared in the past why exercise is so important and so I’ve made that a priority in my life. I’ve been exercising five days a week but because of my low energy and feeling so inflamed, I had to back down to restorative exercises. I really enjoy Yoga with Adriene. I’m also enjoying the infrared sauna at our local Therapeutic Spa, which is also where my daughter works. Perks! 🙂 It has been hugely helpful for my pain and afterward, I take activated charcoal and drink plenty of lemon water to help sweep up any toxins.
The Most Important Thing
The most important thing I have tried to implement during this time is a calm mindset. Read Five Things You Must Not Do When You Have Lyme Disease.
I’m not going to worry and fret over whether or not this tick bite is going to destroy my health. I’m staying on top of symptoms and taking care of myself in every way. I really want to know whether or not homeopathy works for a new tick bite and while our doctor’s combination remedies helped my family regain health after a very long battle with tick-borne diseases, I’ve always wondered how to use individual remedies and whether they are trustworthy enough to recommend to others.
I know that not everyone can go see my doctor and I also know that Medical Doctors are not willing to give the recommended antibiotic treatment and so we need a better way to protect ourselves and our children. It’s just not realistic to hide ourselves up in our homes and never being able to enjoy the great outdoors. I’m proof, I got a tick bite in my home!
I’ll keep you posted but until then, do your tick checks every day, especially if you’re in an endemic area! If you find a tick follow these steps outlined in Help! I Found a Tick.
It’s best to have an action plan laid out ahead of time so that you’ll know what you need to do! Don’t wait until the weather is warm or until you find a tick. Ticks are out all year round and whether your doctor believes it or not, all ticks carry diseases! They’re all over the world and in every state in the United States. Keep your immune system strong, limit stress, get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy well-balanced diet.
Be educated, be tick smart and always have a plan!
Healthier Easter Basket Options for Those With Lyme Disease
Easter is just a hop away (sorry, I couldn’t resist) and when you have Lyme disease it’s super important to stay away from foods that might trigger inflammation as well as foods that might cause Candida. Sugar, food dyes, sugar alcohols, and GMO’s are super important to avoid and not just when you have Lyme disease. They’re just plain old bad for you, so why do we give this stuff to our kids?
I remember the first Easter basket I ever made for my daughter. It was filled with the healthiest treats, for little ones, I could find at the grocery store. When my husband watched as our one year old opened up her basket he began to laugh! He said he had never seen a “healthy” Easter basket before! Well, there’s always a first time for everything right?
Now, to be fair and to be completely transparent, my husband and I don’t always agree on what makes a good Easter basket. He would be the first one to load that thing up with traditional junk and to buy much larger baskets than I do. It’s a good thing he’s not really interested in taking on that job. We have different ideas on what should go in our children’s Easter baskets, and I would rather give them cut veggies and fruit. However, I have always given some traditional favorites but because I also add a lot of non-food fillers as well as healthier treats, the amount of junk they’re getting is pretty small. I’m not completely legalistic when it comes to treats but I try to implement healthy choices the majority of the time.
Nowadays, it’s a lot easier to find healthier treats than it was when my kids were younger, so count your lucky stars! When my kids were all sick with Lyme and in treatment, I had to be super creative to make sure their Easter baskets were Lyme and Mom approved. At any given time a number of us were on sugar- and gluten-free diets. I never allowed for sugar-free treats because of the sugar alcohols, which can contribute to leaky gut.
I’ve put together some ideas for how you can create non-traditional Easter baskets. Hopefully, this list will get your creative juices flowing and you’ll be able to create a fun and healthier Easter basket.
If you’re making an Easter basket for someone in your life who has Lyme disease, try to make their basket fun and enjoyable. Don’t fill their baskets with pain creams and Lyme related things. Sometimes, it’s nice to get away from those things that remind, especially on holidays.
Here are some ideas for fun and healthier Easter Baskets.
Fill those baskets with non-food items.
Bubbles, match-box cars, coloring books and crayons, silly putty, flip-flops, sunglasses, toys from the dollar spot, sidewalk chalk, gift cards, a DVD of their favorite movie, Legos, a flashlight, a devotional, hair ties, crochet supplies, paint by number, gel pens, make-up, beach toys, gardening tools and seeds, a stuffed animal, play-do, a water bottle, nail polish, chapstick, a deck of cards, a yo-yo, a new ball, and the list is actually quite endless.
Think about what your child, teen or spouse really loves and build on that.
Try choosing healthier treats.
If you know you can’t get away with not giving candy at all, try some of the healthier candy options. Be sure to read the labels because many times you’ll ingredients like too much sugar or fillers included and you’ll want to skip those. Try to look for coconut sugar, organic cane sugar or honey sweetened items. Here are some of the things we like.
Dark chocolate covered almonds, Dark Chocolate Candy Bar, Justin’s Organic Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Coconut Date Rolls, Gin-Gins Ginger Chews, Coconut Water, Sweet Potato Chips, fruit & veggie sweetened lollipops like these YumEarth Organic Pops and even jelly beans like Surf Sweet.
Make Your Own Treats
Coconut Macaroons from Dr. Axe
Try out these homemade treats from A Whole New Mom
Gluten Free Candy Bars from Alan’s Pantry
Fruit Basket
Why not fill up a beautiful basket with fruit, dark chocolate, and mixed nuts.
With a little creativity, you can make a beautiful Easter basket that’s healthy and fun!
Themed Easter Baskets
How about choosing a themed Easter basket based on your child or loved-ones interests.
Sewing Basket with a sewing kit, new scissors, spring fabric, and buttons.
Gardening Basket with seeds, a small watering can, gardening gloves, a kneeling pad, sunglasses.
Movie Night Easter Basket with popcorn, favorite movies or movie passes to the local theater.
Devotionals, journals, pens, highlighters, journaling paint, and stickers.
Puzzles & Brain Games
Sports basket with a new ball, tickets to a game, a handheld sports game, a sports book or magazine
The Real Meaning of Easter
As you can see, there are hundreds of ideas for creating a fabulous Easter basket that doesn’t set your health back or rot out your child’s teeth. Oh, that reminds me, throw in a new toothbrush and some all natural toothpaste.
Whatever you decide to put into your Easter baskets, don’t forget the real meaning of the season is celebrate the gift of eternal life that Jesus freely gave to us when he died on the cross and was resurrected on that third day! Happy Easter & Resurrection Day!
Encouragement to Homeschool Through Chronic Illness
If you’re homeschooling with chronic illness, I could probably bet that you could use a bit of encouragement! This weekend Ana Willis from They Call Me Blessed, hosted a Free Online Homeschool Retreat! It was so encouraging and I would like to invite you to go to her Facebook Page to hear her [Read more…]
Living Out the One Another’s with a Printable
My recent guest post, Pursuing a Happily Ever Marriage in the Real World has become one of my most popular posts. If you haven’t read it you can find it on Angel Penn’s website here.
Writing a marriage post is not an easy thing to do. It’s probably why I don’t do it very often. Apparently, posts on marriage are very much wanted and quite frankly, I’m overwhelmed with the number of post hits and shares on [Read more…]
Pursuing a Happily Ever After Marriage in the Real World
Every little girl dreams of growing up, finding Prince Charming, having a beautiful fairy-tale wedding and living happily ever after! My husband and I just celebrated our 28th anniversary and while we’ve had fairy-tale moments, I can’t say that our life together has always been a fairy-tale. You may be newly married or have been married for many years but either way, marriage requires attention, nurture, and a whole lot of warfare. [Read more…]
The Heavy Metals Summit – 6 Ways to Naturally Detox!
Anyone who thinks detox is unimportant or bogus — ahem, much of the conventional medical community — is not serving you or your body. It’s plain foolish to think you can sidestep or escape the 80,000 chemicals in our environment. [Read more…]
How I’m Treating the Flu Naturally
When you tell someone you’re treating the flu naturally their immediate response might be one of great concern. They even might begin to lecture you about being irresponsible. The truth is, the human body is incredibly powerful and it has the capacity for healing itself when given the right environment and tools. Please understand that I am not against taking medication or going to the doctor or hospital when it’s medically necessary!
Here’s my DISCLAIMER: I’m not a doctor and can’t diagnose or treat any disease or illness. What I’m sharing below is simply what I’ve personally researched and what I’m doing in my home and for my family.
What I’m Not Doing
First, I’ll tell you what I’m not doing for the flu. I’m not getting the flu shot. I explained why in my previous post How I’m Preventing the Flu. I’m not rushing to get Tamiflu at the first sign of flu because it also depletes the immune system and is not as helpful as some natural methods for cutting the duration of the flu. In fact, it only cuts the duration of the flu by one day. Elderberry syrup or Sambucol can cut the flu by 50%. I prefer that statistic much better.
I’m not rushing to the doctor to find out if I actually have the flu. Why? First of all, I don’t want to be exposed to other viral infections that are going around. Secondly, it doesn’t really matter if I know for sure if it’s the flu when I can treat the symptoms at home. I’m also not rushing to the doctor to get antibiotics. The flu (influenza) is a viral infection and antibiotics won’t help. They are only helpful for bacterial infections and do nothing to help a virus. In fact, the opposite is true, taking antibiotics when not medically necessary will only deplete your immune system, drive the virus deeper into your system and kill off your essential good gut bacteria.
Preventing the Flu
During cold and flu season I implement the steps outlined in How I’m Preventing the Flu. My family has not had the flu for over 8 years and even then my husband was the only one who had it. I decided this year that at the very first sign of the flu I was going to take action. This year, I’m experimenting with homeopathy. Homeopathy healed us from chronic tick-borne infections and quite frankly, I’m curious to see how they can work for everyday ailments and illnesses. So far, I’m totally impressed.
When We Got the Flu
When my husband came home from work last Monday evening, collapsed on the couch and declared he was sick, I immediately grabbed my arsenal. I administered a dose of Arsenicum album 200ck and Belladonna for the fever and headache and then sent him to bed. I’ve read about other remedies that are also effective against the flu but this was what I had on hand. Some of the other remedies you could research are Influenzinum alternated with Bacillinum (these are difficult to find) or Aconite alternating with Belladonna. Rhus Tox is also very helpful for joint pain.
I dosed elderberry syrup, Vitamin D and Vitamin C along with plenty of fluids. When hydrating I opt for both hot herbal tea with raw honey and water combined with electrolytes. If I didn’t have electrolytes on hand, I would juice a lemon and add that to a glass of water along with a little honey and a pinch of himalayan mineral salt. I never use Gatorade during an illness because once again it’s full of sugar, food coloring and other ingredients that I would prefer not be used in my family. We’re also running cool mist humidifiers and as always I’m diffusing essential oils.
I made homemade chicken soup for everyone because chicken soup stimulates the immune system, thins mucous membranes and is warming and healing. My recipe is here How and Why You Should Make Bone Broth. This post also contains my favorite chicken soup recipe.
My Husband’s Flu Outcome
I continued the Belladonna and Arsenicum and by Thursday my husband was well enough to go to work, although he had a dry hacking cough. I personally think he should have stayed in bed for the remainder of the week. Unfortunately, many employers insist you get a doctor’s note in order to take more time off and who wants to be exposed to more germs. He worked half days both Thursday and Friday and then he was back in bed, but this time his cough has turned into a more productive cough. I’ve been rubbing Thyme, Ravintsara, and Lavender on his chest to help soothe his cough. He’s been pretty amazed at the results and is now asking me for these things when he feels like he needs them.
The long-term benefit of homeopathy to the patient is that it not only alleviates the presenting symptoms but it reestablishes internal order at the deepest levels and thereby provides a lasting cure. – George Vithoulkas
My Son’s Flu Outcome
My son spiked a fever on Thursday in the middle of the night. His fever was 103 and so I administered the same protocol as my husband. An hour later his fever was down to 101 and we went back to sleep. Throughout the following day, I kept giving him the remedies, plenty of electrolyte water, hot herbal tea with raw honey, elderberry syrup and chicken soup.
I had read that putting a little hydrogen peroxide in your ears can also help reduce the duration of illness, so I did that for him and decided I would do it as well to hopefully keep myself well. By Friday afternoon my son’s fever was gone and he only had a headache. He continued to rest until Saturday when he wanted a bath. I made a bath for him and dumped in a cup of epsom salt and some lavender essential oil and let him soak. When I came in to check on him, he was playing and the color in face looked great. As of today, Sunday, he’s up and playing and eating normally and his cough is barely noticeable.
My Flu Outcome
On Sunday, I woke up with a pretty bad headache and I had a lot of body aches the previous night. After breakfast I decided to check my temperature and sure enough my temperature was 101.6. I administered my own homeopathic remedies and got right in bed. Not too longer after, my temperature came down and other than having a bad headache and feeling fatigued I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would. Of course, I rested throughout the day and did all the things I had planned on my protocol. Less than 24 hours later I’m up and functioning with just a little cough. I went ahead to my chiropractor for my weekly adjustment and I feel pretty good.
Why We Recovered So Well
I’m convinced that our pre-flu lifestyle choices, nutritional habits, and the protocol that I had laid out for us once we got the flu kept us from getting as sick as we might have. The success of this protocol was based on the foundation of eating a whole foods diet, eliminating sugar and gluten as much as possible, taking immune building supplements including elderberry and practicing habits such as good handwashing.
I’m planning to continue experimenting with homeopathy, add in herbs when needed and definitely continue our nutritional habits.
Using Caution
The flu can create very serious secondary infections in those who are very young, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. It also seems to be more serious for those who chose the flu shot and Tamiflu. Self-treating is fine but please also use caution, especially if you haven’t done your research. I’ve been researching and applying natural health to my life for over 20 years. I have a friend who is a Physician’s Assistant and a friend who is a Naturopathic Doctor and I counsel with them often. Many times I just want to make sure I’m on the right path and have their reassurance as I learn how to heal naturally.
Do you implement natural healing modalities? What are your favorite ways to prevent or treat the flu?
Homeopathic Resources
Sue Meyer – Homeopathy for Mommies
Joette Calabrese – When a Cold or Flu Hits Hard.. Hit Back
How I’m Preventing the Flu Naturally
Goodness, gracious, this is a really bad year for the flu! With the onslaught of reports on the news, I began to get a little worried. Honestly, I was ready to cancel all of our outside commitments and just put everyone in the safe bubble inside our home but that’s not at all practical and I think we would just get on each other’s nerves. Instead, I came up with a plan for how I would prevent and treat the flu naturally. [Read more…]