When I wake up from a nap while travelling in the back seat of my beloved’s Dodge Magnum, I often ask, “so where are we now?”  We may have been on the road travelling for hours when I finally settle down enough to fall asleep then wake up in a daze and ask this question.  Perhaps I could sound like a kid who would go the next step and ask, “are we there yet?”  Well since I’ve already used that question for the title of another blog post, I opted to go with the first question!

So if you are a gracious reader who has been following my story of recovery from Lyme Disease, Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), and Fibromyalgia, you have read in three prior posts about some new treatment directions (reference April 29th, May 11th, and June 20th of this year).  You have also read perhaps with horror of my battle with my most noxious complication of illness:  seizure attacks and all of its variants.  After 16 months since the “neuromuscular events” began, I have some good news for you:  beginning two days ago, the pattern of seizure attacks has started to change!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!

What prompted the new direction?  It appears that I’m close to landing on:  1) just the right dose of Losartan (an off-label application which has lowered TGF beta-1 levels and chest-compression pain) and 2) VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide for CIRS which causes me to react negatively to most intense sensory stimuli in any form).  Additionally, a fifth type of antibiotic taken in the past 7 months is reducing the symptoms of a urinary tract infection within a matter of hours after taking it; nothing else has come that close, a la natural or by prescription.  While I am also still feeling spacey, sick, low level headaches, aches and pains, ringing in my ears and a host of other symptoms, the bottom line is that I am starting to get better!  The violence and frequency of the seizure attacks/pre-tics/tic attacks is coming down.  Praise the Lord!

I wouldn’t write about these things if it didn’t feel real to me.  I have had false hope many times before only to have my hopes dashed with more sickness.  Still I have kept the faith and persisted with the strength the Lord has provided; to Him be the glory if any good has come from this blog.  It’s time now to acknowledge that it is too early in this new direction to say any more than I already have written here.  So now I will end this post.

For today, please join me in being encouraged that after 16 months of hellish suffering, some relief has come.  I wish I could hug you out there for standing by me.  Thank you.  Just Julie