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Read part 1 here.

Part 2 is also know as the gut health and husband update!

The big event in the How We Flourish household was my husband picking up an awful cold at the funeral two weeks ago. He has been absolutely miserable for a week and a half and is only just starting to improve. He had it for a week before I woke up with a tickle in my throat, but I took a few natural remedies (like this one), put a Protective Blend of essential oils on my feet, and drank a lot of water and it never progressed. I have been exhausted as I feel my body fighting to not get sick this past week. I truly believe my healing protocol is what allowed me to not get sick: I ran out of probiotics, and my 3rd day without is when I started to get sick. A probiotic drink was the most delicious thing I put in my mouth that day, and I really think my body needed that and it made a difference.

It’s particularly amazing when you consider that he got this by being near a sick family member, and I was…more exposed than that. 😉

What is really significant, though, is the swellings that my husband got. Every fall, he gets swellings that are red and painful. They are usually on his feet, but he also gets them on his knees, butt, elbows, hips, etc. They are in the flesh, not the joints, and last a few days each. Two years ago, he went into the doctor for them and they suspected Lyme disease. His first test came back positive, but his second came back negative. They told him he probably didn’t have Lyme, but had him go through a 3 week course of antibiotics anyway.

Fast forward 2 years. Last fall his swellings were really minor – he didn’t even mention them to me. Then this year. If we needed any indication that the swellings were immune related, we got it. His swellings showed up with his awful cold and he has been miserable. He got some on the bottom of his feet and he can’t walk. They are the worst he has ever had. I’m doing my best to help him with lemongrass, a Respiratory Blend, and a Protective Blend of essential oils, but the poor guy is so miserable and I don’t know what to do for him at this point other than help him find what he can do to prevent this from happening in the future.

Here’s the thing…the doctor’s were wrong. We didn’t know this until these swellings, which were originally thought to be Lyme, came back and we started doing research. We learned that the first test that is run is an antibody test. His came back positive, which means he has been exposed to Lyme. The second test (a Western Blot) has a 30% false negative rate. Sweet. And if you are past the first year of being infected (which we’re fairly sure he was), antibiotics can’t do much since the infection is in deep tissues and biofilms, where antibiotics can’t penetrate. Awesome. The problem is that there is so little definite knowledge about Lyme, so it’s likely that his doctor just didn’t know.

I spoke with a friend who has overcome her Lyme and she told me that she believes Lyme is an expression of gut dysbiosis. I have believed for quite some time that my husband could use a gut healing and nutrient dense diet on account of his ADD, acne, memory problems, and concern about heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s in his family. Seeing how he responded to this cold versus me (with my health problems and chronic stress, yet being on a gut healing protocol) further convinced me. The fact that he doesn’t want to put the money toward an anti-Lyme protocol yet convinced him.

I eventually want him to do GAPS intro. I have felt for a long time that an intense healing protocol designed for people with exactly the symptoms that he has would be so beneficial to him. But I’m also realistic. We don’t keep much food in the house that I can’t eat, but I still let him eat things I can’t. And when we leave the house all bets are off. When I “wellness consulted” him (which further convinced me that he needs a gut healing protocol), we discovered that he has been doing better in some ways since we moved in together. So we know that something needs to change, but it’s hard for him. He is very attached to some of his foods, and I don’t think he knows how to say no to his mom’s baking.

So we’re starting small. When he’s ready, we’re going to take him off gluten, dairy, sugar, and the last of the processed foods. The only non-gluten grain he eats is rice, and lentils are the only legumes we eat, so he’ll be very close to full GAPS at this point. We’ll keep track of how he feels. After a couple weeks, we will reevaluate. I basically just want him to strictly eliminate these long enough to see if there’s an improvement. We’ll track progress, add and remove things as he needs. After the holidays are over, I would like him to consider GAPS intro, but again, we’ll see.

We’re getting there. 2 years ago I never thought I would be a health blogger, trying to work through her own issues. I thought I would always be a natural, homemade, DIY blogger. But here I am, learning to heal my myself and my family.

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