DR H AND HIS CHAIR

My appointment with Dr H was at 1:30pm today.
I was in bed until noon resting and trying to reserve my energy and brain power for my appointment.

The appointment went well. I faded about half way through it but we were able to cover a lot of ground during it. Both Graham and I really like Dr H and even have some fun with him.
He's a great guy and a super smart doctor even though he slouches like a teenager when sitting in his chair.

Graham took some pics of me and Dr H today - however Dr H asked that we not publicly show his picture as he was having a bad hair day.

His chair wasn't nearly as self conscious though. It happily posed for a public photo op.




And of course, I can't forget Anthony. Even though he didn't venture out from behind his little window today, it was still great to see him.



And make him giggle. And pay him a lot of money. He laughs. We cry!

It will take about a week to get Dr H's full medical assessment.


But here is the low down on what we discussed today and our game plan for the next phase of treatment.

I am making progress. Yes, it's slow but that is to be expected - fighting Lyme is a marathon not a sprint. Dr H believes that it will take about another 9-12 months just to get me functioning at about half my normal pre-Lyme capacity.

I will continue on the same IV meds and can expect to be on them for at least another 6 months.

We will also be moving forward with other aspects of treatment -

My endocrine system and adrenal glands have taken a pretty big hit. I need to have some testing done on these systems. As well, he has prescribed some meds to support and build up these systems.

I have a high level of inflammation and swelling in my joints, lymph glands and fascia. Dr H suspects that some of my joint and muscle pain, fatigue and brain fog can be attributed to a build up of toxins and dead Lyme bugs in my system. So he's prescribed several meds as well as some alternative therapies to help my body detox. He had started me on a fairly aggressive detoxing regime back in July however my body couldn't handle it so we had to stop. I will start on a gentler detox protocol and work towards getting back on the more aggressive meds down the road.

In about a month, we'll start specifically targeting my Bartonella co-infection by adding a 3rd abx to my ever increasing cocktail of meds.


So that is the game plan for the time being. I am to expect things to get really rough again as we slowly incorporate it. No pain, no gain. But obviously, the gain will be worth the pain. We talked quite a bit today about how scary it can be to start new meds knowing that they are going to initially make you sicker. In the last couple of weeks, I've been a whole lot more functional and so I am loathe to rock the boat. However, being 'functional' is still a far cry from being healthy and well.

My definition of what feeling 'good' means would make most folks skin crawl but when you have felt so very bad for so very long, you forget what 'good' is supposed to really feel like. Dr H encouraged me to add in the latest treatment protocols in slowly and keep pushing through. And eventually, I'll be working my treatment around my life as opposed to it being my life.



Both Graham and I were really encouraged by today's appointment. We fully understand that the treatment process is a long haul but we are confident that under Dr H's care I will eventually beat this insidious disease.

This evening I had another one of my gall bladder attacks. They are pretty painful to endure. It seems to have settled down now. However, I have Dr H's cell phone number and know that I would be in good hands should something happen down here. Of course, we'd rather not have a tour of the ER in an American hospital so we'd appreciate your prayers.

We are grateful that God led us to Dr H.

He's a super wise doctor with a super cool chair.