Something Happened 6 Months Ago

It’s past time to tell my story. I should divulge it's not a good story either but it still might end well. I AM hopeful, so I’ll go ahead and get started because really...I need to get the telling over with. I’m sick of thinking about it.

Ready. Go:
I was given an antibiotic that was toxic to me. (I took it to clear up a staph and strep infection in my bladder that took SIX months to diagnose.)
It was a drug that I never should have been given, and it has become clear that the doctor who gave it to me has no idea how terrible and dangerous the drug can be to those who might be sensitive to it. The risks do NOT outweigh the benefits.

What did I take? Levaquin. PEOPLE, It was originally developed AS A CHEMO DRUG! However, it was lousy at killing cancer cells. So, instead was marketed as an antibiotic. Obviously then, it’s SUPER STRONG. And just like chemo drugs, it wipes out the good along with the bad. Specifically, it damages the mitochondria in cells, which in turn can cause the break down of connective tissue, as well as other unthinkable things that could comes from having the powerhouse of your cells damaged. Oh, and let’s not forget, it wipes out ALL bacteria too.

I don’t want to list all the things that CAN happen. It has been quite upsetting for me to discover and puts fear in me to think about—a fear that’s been extremely crippling and difficult to overcome.

But here’s what happened to me:

• Probable nerve damage — I’ve had burning, stabbing pain in my sides, flanks, and rib cage for the past 6 months. It was so piercing and deep in the beginning, I thought my kidneys and liver were failing. Testing proved otherwise. Then I thought maybe I had kidney stones, but that was ruled out. Over time the pain has slowly faded and currently is light enough to handle. I can sleep now. So there’s a measure of progress! Hopefully it will continue fading until it’s completely gone. If I had to guess, 3 more months ought to do it. I am however, coming to grips with the fact that it may never go away if it truly is nerve damage.

• Total loss of energy — but don’t worry, with treatment, and supplements, it’s back!

• Random panic attacks — I’m talking middle of the night, wake you up from a deep sleep kind of attack. I’ve NEVER had panic attacks before. But guess what? Those have stopped too! Yessss!

• Complete annihilation of gut health and immune system — I tested positive for TWO kinds of yeast in my gut at the highest levels possible. Tests also showed the good bacteria was all but gone and the protective mucous lining way too thin. Do you know what leaky gut is and how painful it is and weird it can make your body feel? I do. Do you know how the toxins from yeast can effect your emotions and rational thinking? I do. The immune system in my mouth is wasted too and you’ll find candida there as well. Ew. I know. We can’t even treat that yet.

• Rapid Weight Loss — At first it was because I felt nauseous and was in too much pain to eat. Then it was because I was afraid of eating (I didn’t want to cause more damage to my cells and more inflammation in my sides) and then more weight came off because my diet became extremely restrictive. You should see me now. It’s a little shocking at first—but not bad. I’ve never been this thin. I have to buy a new wardrobe! How fun is that?!? (Insert laugh cry here.)

When did this happen? Six months ago. August 3rd. After the 3rd dose of Levaquin. 2 AM.
After waking in terrible pain, with nausea, weakness, light headedness, and tingles, I called my doctor begging her to let me stop taking the drug. She told me the pain would stop in 6 hours when the drug left my system. (Ha! She had no idea did she?) We visited the ER. I thought I was dying! And then later saw more doctors, did blood tests, sonogram, no one knew what to say. Everything was normal. The only diagnosis I got were “tight back muscles” and “a little dehydrated.”

(Above: Anna in the ER. Blood tests. Urine tests. EKG. All came back normal.)

I did my research and a few weeks later I discovered a name for for what I was experiencing: FQ Toxicity. I looked for treatment centers. I found three who knew the term. One, called Progressive Medical Center in Georgia Atlanta was the only one who took insurance. So Adam and I packed for a two week stay. (I couldn’t believe Adam was on board. But really...I didn’t know of any other alternative. I knew we had to act fast before things took a turn for the worst.)

Here I must insert my gratitude to friends and family. Mr. Lee provided us with round trip plane tickets to Atlanta. Adam’s Dad gave up two weeks worth of hotel points so we had a free and comfortable place to stay with a kitchen so I could follow a specific doctor mandated diet. Adam was able to work there while I was in treatment. And he even had points for the rental car. So, though it seems like a drastic and expensive thing we did—due to the help of loved ones it wasn’t SO expensive and didn’t feel like such a ridiculous thing to do. Because of the generosity of other people, the decision to go was easy to make.

The Progressive Medical Center brings all kinds of medicine under one roof: Western, naturopathic, functional, dietary, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and even light wave therapies. Upon arrival patients meet with an MD who the orders appropriate tests and IV therapies. I took a stool test, thyroid test, T3, adrenal stress test, iodine, Vit D test, and food sensitivity test...am I missing any?

During our two week stay I followed a routine each day.

First: an hour in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Inside, oxygen is forced into your cells under pressure. It’s like the pressure change in the cabin of an air plane. You just pop your ears and it feels normal. See what happened to my water bottle?

I napped, I cried, I looked at Instagram and texted friends while I was inside.

Then came my favorite, 45 minutes in the infrared sauna and a refreshing shower after. I liked the visual of the sweat and toxins dripping out of my body. It calmed me and gave me hope. While inside, I spoke aloud to my body, begging it to let go of the toxins, rid itself of the damaged cells, and gave it permission to heal. I prayed. A lot.

After the sauna I headed to the IV room where I had been prescribed 3 different IVs (one per day, alternating days) all to detox and/or support the healing of cells.

Below: See the yellow liquid going into my arm? That’s a Meyers Cocktail plus Glutathione: magnesium, calcium, B-vitamins (including B12,) and vitamin C. Glutathione is the mother of all antioxidants found in every cell. I’m still taking double doses of it orally a day.

Below: Another IV called UBI (Ultra Violet Light Irradiation) with Ozone. They suck your blood out, mix ozone with it and it becomes a very bright red. Then they drip it back into your arm, but not before running it through an Ultra Violet light. There's a very lengthy list of benefits to this, but you can look it up.

Below: the blood running through the Ultra Violet light machine.

The third IV (not pictured) called Poly-MVA, was light sensitive and came in a black bag. The drip took FOREVER, about an hour and a half. It’s a bunch of minerals etc. and usually administered to chemo patients to get vital nutrients back into their cells.  So I’d sit with a pull-up tray and watch a show on my ipad while munching on nuts. (It’s prohibited to administer as an IV in Texas, so now I take it orally daily as well.)

My sweet Adam would sometimes arrive early to pick me up and joined me in the comfy chairs while I finished up my IV. The nurses asked where he was if he couldn’t join me. Everyone got used to seeing us around. They took wonderful care of me, were so kind, and helped calm my fears. I’ve never experienced that from the healthcare world. Especially not in the weeks before our arrival.

We’d then go back to the hotel where I normally went back to bed or lounged around. I was often tired, and in low energy and spirits when we got back. But we DID get out on the weekends, and met some WONDERFUL people and saw some Georgia sights. All of which I look forward to writing about in another post. But let’s continue.

It was an emotional, painful, difficult, and scary trip for me. But we did the only thing I knew to do and we did it all the way. Adam stood by me. Supported me. Prayed with me. Prayed for me. Held me. Patiently listened to me say over and over again, how much I hurt. I can’t tell you how much I needed him and how well he filled his role and is still filling it.

We came home with a bag full of supplements, new eating instructions from the nutritionist, and other “assignments” from the naturopathic doctor to accomplish every day. The pain had lessened considerably and I was finally sleeping through the night (and have been ever since). I felt better than when we had left. So it was worth it.

Currently I drive into Dallas to continue my IVs and sessions in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber (HBOT), this time on a monthly basis and it will continue until at least June 2020. (They are SO GOOD to me there at Carpathia Collaborative.) I also purchased a personal infrared sauna which I use almost daily. Want to come over and take a turn while you watch a movie? We can throw popcorn into your mouth (Jamison.)

Remember all those tests? The results came in a few weeks later and that’s when we discovered other “issues." I don’t need to share all of it. By now, most have been reversed and my LONG lineup of supplements has actually started shrinking. YAY! They are EXPENSIVE and I can hear the money gushing out of our emergency fund.

The discovery of yeast in my gut however is another story. It employs THE WORST DIET EVER. It’s VERY low carb so as to not feed the candida. I can’t eat any foods that showed up on my sensitivity test either. The only fruit I get is 1/2 cup of berries a day. Most veggies are ok. I can’t go over 50 net carbs daily. Nuts and nut butters are ok. Healthy fats are ok. High quality meat is ok. I have to eat 1-2 servings of a cruciferous veggie EVERY SINGLE DAY. No dairy, gluten, egg soy, peanuts, corn, peas, potatoes, grains, beans... I make everything from scratch. I eat a lot of nut butters and avocados to keep from loosing more weight.

It normally takes 3-6 months kill off yeast in the gut. Slow and steady is the game as to not cause overwhelming pain or to overload the body from the toxins let out by die-off. We tried to be aggressive with treatment at first but I couldn’t handle the pain, so we had to back off. It’s now been 3 months and one week since starting candida treatment. I have at least three weeks left on treatment (that’s so soon!!! I’m starting to get excited.) Then we test again. If all goes well, I will start introducing food back into my diet sometime in April. I miss eating. I miss baking. I miss pizza, hamburgers and tacos, pie, cookies, and cinnamon rolls. I missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year food traditions with family, the Superbowl was a bust. No chocolate for Valentines. We don’t go out to eat with friends or have them over for meals. Travel is mostly a no go. I mourn my “normal” life.

I've been in pain in my sides for six months. My gut and intestines have been sore for over 3 months. And now, my stomach has started to hurt terribly. (I think I’m not getting the variety nutrients I need for my stomach to produce appropriate acid levels.) When healing takes this long, and includes chronic and new pain, I do break down occasionally (usually all over Adam’s shirt.) I have had to remind myself:

I AM healing. Someday, today will be far behind me. And gratitude for everyone who has supported us will be all the emotion I have left from this experience. Onward and upward!