Hydro-cortisone...My Life Saver

I went to the doctor with my list and went over the entire past eight weeks. I told him everything I could possibly think of. I sat there overwhelmed for a moment trying to figure out where to start. But, I finally just plunged in and told him every little thing I wrote down or could remember. I also got his email so I can email him when I need to instead of trying to talk through the nurses. Talking through nurses is so frustrating. There's just too much stuff and it's all so complicated to try to relay everything third person. So...

Basically, my body is in "crisis" mode. It's overloaded with illness and pain and gut stuff (pancreatitis) all at once. And it's causing my neurological system to go bonkers. So the brain is trying to figure out how to deal with it all and fix everything. In doing so, it's trying to shoot out cortisol (adrenaline) in order to give me the boost I need to heal or make things work right, but there's no cortisol to shoot because my adrenal glands aren't functioning right. No cortisol and the body goes into shock and starts shutting down. Addison's disease.

So, he wants me to up my hydro-cortisone for 7 days and then go back to my normal amount. If I relapse after decreasing, he wants me to double it again for another seven days and then back it down gradually. The hydro is not healing me but, basically, that's what is keeping me alive right now. This is not because I became dependent from taking the hydro-cortison. The hydro-cortisone is what saved my life after the heat stroke I had almost three years ago and it probably saved me again last night. I literally felt like I could go to sleep and never wake up.

Doc still thinks I have sub-acute pancreatitis (thanks to the bartonella co-infection), but we just "didn't happen to catch it in the blood work." Those were his words. I said, "The story of my life." He smiled sympathetically and said, "Yeah."

He also thinks my blood is clotty, causing the migraines...thanks again to the bartonella! So, I'm going back on the Nattokinase (supplement). I was supposed to have stayed on it throughout my treatment, but I quit taking it because of money...trying to cut cost. Anyway, if that works, we'll stick with it. If it doesn't work, he knows of a medication that worked for another patient to keep the red blood cells elastic instead of sticky and he said we can try it.

The bartonella lives in the red blood cells and makes them sticky. They stick to each other, forming tiny clots that make the blood thicker than it should be. Makes it hard for the blood to flow properly. A lot of Lyme patients have strokes because of this. Anyway, this other patient described all the same head issues I described to him and he showed a marked improvement on this medicine. We'll see if the Nattokinase works, first. If it doesn't, we'll try the other med.

He gave me permission to use whatever enzymes work for me, so when I'm finished with the Zenpep($$$), I'll try another one I used while waiting for my Zenpep to come in. They seemed to help when this pancreas stuff first arose and it might be cheaper than the prescription...have to check into that. Of course, I was on the vegan diet then, too. If it doesn't work, I'll simply return to the Zenpep.

He's taking me off the Armour Thyroid for now (it's backordered indefinately) to see how I do. He said there really isn't any good replacement for it. I think it's the most natural thyroid med out there. The others are synthetic, I think. At any rate, he didn't think it worth trying the others at this point.

He's hoping that increasing the hydro-cortisone will give my body the support it needs to get me over this hump. I did feel a small measure of strength return after taking a double dose this morning and I've taken it twice since. Yesterday, I was too weak to get up and take my meds, so I went without it until bedtime...the very medicine I needed to help me.

He said this illness (chronic Lyme disease) is a beast that's hard to conquer and we have to keep plugging along with baby steps for now until we get to where we need to go. He said if we had $15,000-$20,000 for it in the budget, he would send me where I could get well much more quickly...completely clean my system out. I have a friend who did that and she's cured.

I asked him about diet. He told me the same thing he usually says...low carb and make sure I get protein.

That's about it. I know I often say that prayers are so appreciated, but I also want you to know that I feel your prayers. I do. And I thank you.

Blessings, Linnette

PS ~ Since posting this, I have learned there is Adrenal Support supplements available that help to heal the adrenal glands so they can once again produce cortisol. These can only be given to you through a health care professional such as a nutritionist, chiropractor, or other practitioners licensed to sell them. I did not go off my Hydro-cortisone cold turkey. I gradually eased off of it, replacing doses with the Adrenal support. I'm currently still in the experiment mode. I do feel weak and tired a lot. I haven't been doing this long enough to know for certain what the contributing factors are. I'll keep you posted.