Into the Fall!

Peg had a pretty good summer with her Lyme disease. Some days it was one step forward and two steps backward, and occasionally she had some “episodes” (more about that later), but she made it thru OK. She was able to reduce some of her medications and supplements without negative impact. Like many others, we had difficulty obtaining Armor thyroid medication because of the nationwide shortage, but we have been able to receive the amount Peg needed for now.

Last month, Peg had her first opportunity in ten months to return to her naturopath in Southern California to check out where she’s at physically. We were given some extra money to cover the travel costs and office visits, so she braved the 5-hour trip (with Andrew and David). After the tests, the report from the doctor was encouraging. He uses a “bio-feedback” scan to see what things might not be right in your body, and, for the first time ever, Peg was right in balance without any supplements or medications. The test results proved that she no longer needs most of the supplements that she previously needed. We attribute much of this balancing to the JuicePlus that Peg has been taking regularly since the spring. Peg had a lot of energy and did really well on the trip.

Recently, though, Peg has been struggling a bit. Sometimes, she has what we refer to as “episodes” with more frequency, usually after a day with more activity than usual. Peg has difficulty describing how she feels, but they appear to be sort of like a light seizure. At first, she feels a sensation in her hip muscles, and then there is some involuntary tensing of some of her muscles. These episodes are not painful, but they are uncomfortable, and she is exhausted afterwards, and she has a lot of muscle soreness, especially in her hips and neck. We honestly don’t know what is causing these episodes, but they seem to be more muscle-related than neurological. At this point, there is no hope of funding any further medical tests, so we just need to pray for healing.

Peg also seems to be at more risk of the episodes when she sits for long periods without elevating her feet or when she over-exerts herself. For example, last week she sat on a hard chair (even with some padding) at a Bible study we attend, and afterwards, she had an episode in the car. Also, this past weekend, Peg went to a JuicePlus conference in Clovis. There were meetings on Friday evening and all day Saturday. She had some episodes after the meetings, and yesterday she was just feeling sick all over. She’s been a bit better today, but not 100%.

Peg realizes she needs to take thing a little easier. She works hard around the home as a mom and homeschooling our 9th grade son, plus she is involved in ministries at church. In order to avoid overtaxing herself, Peg is stepping down from the work she is doing with the Awana girls each week. She will still continue with her freshman girls class in the student ministries and the student ministries worship team once a month, as long as she is able. Also, she continues her part-time work as a Wellness Consultant with JuicePlus.

So, life has been quite a struggle for Peg recently. Maybe she is just going thru another level of de-toxing, or maybe her Lyme disease is gaining ground. Whatever it is, we covet your prayers for her healing.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

- Psalm 91: 1-4 (NIV)

Time keeps on spinnin'...into the future

We are still in a holding pattern, waiting for Peg's blood pressure medication to take effect. Her BP numbers have been down, but not enough (at least consistently enough) to start the HBOT, so we will probably wait out this week.

In the mean time, Peg visited her naturopathic doctor, Dr. Pomroy, again on Monday. He is based in Calabasas (New Horizon Naturopathic Clinic), and he has been instrumental in Peg's health improvement over the last two years. Peg has recently undergone IV treatments, including chelation (to help the body rid itself of toxins) and vitamin and mineral boosts. These IV treatments have had a pretty dramatic effect in rebuilding Peg's weakened immune system and have been helpful in preparing her for the HBOT treatments. Under Dr. Pomroy's care, Peg experienced a steady improvement in her BP, without the use of prescription medication.

Please do pray for us during this time of watching and waiting. It has been discouraging to be at the point where Peg is "ready" for HBOT, and yet we have been unable to proceed because her BP is not consistently down. And, in fact, Peg has long suffered from a case of "white coat hypertension", where her BP rises in clinical settings, even in the relatively comfortable and non-threatening setting of the Hyperbaric Center we are using.

Starting with 'Plan B'

We are waiting for a while before trying to begin the HBOT again...today Peg was checked out by a doctor and received a prescription for Benicar, which she will start taking right away. We don't really know how long it will take for the Benicar to have a positive effect on Peg's blood pressure. Of course, we are hoping and praying that Peg will have a quick response to the medication and that her BP will fall into a good range soon, but everyone's experience with BP medication is a little bit different.

Peg does have HBOT appointments for next week, so if the Benicar works fast, maybe she can keep those appointments.

Peg is in good spirits, and she is tired, but generally feeling well.

Still Waiting...

Well, today we tried again to start the HBOT. In the morning when we checked, Peg's blood pressure was absolutely normal, so we thought that this one would go through. We took our time, got there early, and Peg relaxed and chatted with some young girls that were waiting for their mom to finish her HBOT.

But, when it came time to take Peg's BP, it was well above normal and even higher than Monday! It doesn't seem like stress was a factor today, just some fluctuation brought about by her condition.

There was an opening in the "mono chamber" (Peg calls it the "Sleeping Beauty" chamber, because it is a horizontal chamber with an acrylic cover, a lot like the casket the 7 dwarfs put Sleeping Beauty into), so we decided to take a walk along the beach to see if Peg's BP would drop. We enjoyed the beautiful day and the crashing surf, and Peg's BP did drop a bit, but not low enough for the HBOT.

So, we will continue with 'plan B' - we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow with the goal of getting some blood pressure medication that will be effective and have few side effects.

If you ignore the failed attempt at the HBOT, we actually had a pretty nice day. The weather was beautiful, the drive was pleasant, the beach was refreshing, and the company was great (Peg and I always like to spend our time together). Even though she couldn't play Sleeping Beauty, Peg still got her kiss from her prince charming ;)

PS - many thanks to Matt S. at FeedBurner...he repaired the problem with email subscriptions, so everything should be working fine now.

Regrouping...

Yesterday was a difficult day...Peg was pretty discouraged that the most promising thing to help her was "out of reach" because of her blood pressure. And today, when she checked her blood pressure, it was down 20 points...go figure.

Our plan is this: we will try again tomorrow to do the HBOT. We will try to eliminate sources of stress, and we will pray that Peg's BP will not peak again. If her BP is within range, she can proceed with the HBOT treatment tomorrow. Even so, we are anticipating that there is a good chance she will not be within range, so we are prepared for that disappointment.

In the mean time, Peg has a doctor's appointment on Thursday to check into getting some medication for high blood pressure. She has resisted using prescription medications in the past (opting for alternative, natural solutions), but her naturopath said that limited and temporary use of a prescription medication may be the best thing in order to help her get into the HBOT. Several Lyme patients have had good results with Benicar, and it has relatively minor side effects compared to other BP medications.

Either way (if Peg's BP drops naturally, or if she needs to use a BP medication for a while), we hope to resume regular HBOT visits next week. Again, we appreciate your prayers regarding these steps of our journey.