Root Causes of Chronic Illness

Why do we not focus more on the root causes of illness in the United States? I was a pretty “healthy” person before but I did not have the knowledge of what was slowly tearing down my immune system. I lived a clean lifestyle, detoxed and had a great immune system. The first big hit to my immune system was unknowingly contracting Lyme, Bartonella, and Babesia. I had lots of issues after this but could never figure out why. The second big hit was living in a moldy rental house. It wasn’t really a big hit but rather the unraveling of my strong immune system. Why? Mold suppresses the immune system. When the immune system gets tore down, these infections are able to take over. This is a very common story for those with Lyme and co-infections. Also, it is common that people with Lyme will have a plethora of other chronic infections affecting their health such as EBV (mono), strep, mycoplasma, etc.

Genetics play a big role in us being more susceptible to environmental triggers. I heard a quote years ago from an unknown source “genetics are the handgun and environment is the trigger”. After all of the research I’ve done over the past year and a half and the thousands of stories that I have seen, I believe that the majority of diseases (especially auto immune) can be attributed to a combination of genetics, mold, heavy metals, other toxins, and chronic infections. These seem to always be the puzzle pieces people must figure out and treat to try to regain health.

It makes me sick how many people are affected by these things and are never informed about them. Mold can cause repeat infections, sinus issues, breathing issues, adrenal issues, mast cell issues, cancer, neuropsychiatric & behavior disorders in children, and many other symptoms and diseases.

Mold can ruin a good immune system in my experience. I rarely ever got sick before living in this particular house. After we moved out, I got sick EVERY single time we traveled after. I had a sore throat for months solid after getting out of this house. I was very ill. Thankfully, after a year and a half of treatment and hard work, I have gotten a lot better. My immune system and body are still not the same as before but I’m working on it.

It is thought that 40-70% of homes have toxic mold. I would guess that this number is even higher in schools. It is a HUGE problem in our country and starts a lot of dysfunction in our bodies. It is especially harmful to those with Lyme. Also, approximately one fourth of the population has a gene which makes them unable to get rid of mycotoxins well. Even if someone doesn’t have the gene, your body can only handle so much. I want to raise awareness. I believe that if people knew better, they would do better.

How do you know if you have toxic mold in your home?

You can order an ERMI test online and use it to get a general idea of the kinds of mold and amounts in your home.
You can do air sample testing to see how much is in the air; however, the tragic flaw with this is that true black mold and others are very heavy and can be missed in these tests.
You can hire an IEP to thoroughly expect your house for areas of concern and recommend certain testing based on what they find.

What to do if you have toxic mold is a whole other topic. There are so many great experts with info on remediation. Be careful though because there are a lot of “mold experts” who actually have no knowledge of mycotoxins or how mold inside of a wall cavity can affect your health. Fire them! Find someone who deals with people who have Lyme or mold illness. They will be the most knowledgeable.

If you have mold, you must remediate the problem area properly under containment.

How do you know if you have mycotoxins in your body?

You can do a mycotoxin urine test with Great Plains Lab to find out which mycotoxins you are excreting.

A word of caution: some of the sickest people from mold may show basically no mycotoxins. This is likely not because they don’t have any but rather because their detox pathways are blocked and not really detoxing like they should.

All of this is not meant to be medical advice for you. I’m just a mom and wife who has fought the good fight with mold and infections causing chronic illness for my family. Please don’t take what I’m telling you as advice but rather giving you a hint of the kind of provider you need to find who is knowledgeable in these things and can actually help you. Typically, functional doctors see the whole picture and look for root causes and will treat them. Find a good provider and talk to them about figuring out your puzzle pieces.

I wish you all the best!

AIP Chicken Nuggets

These are delicious! We have finally found several recipes worth remaking over and over. This is definitely one of them. This isn’t the only recipe we love from the Unbound Wellness blog either! This is probably my favorite healthy meal and I actually feel confident enough in it that I serve it to friends who aren’t on strict diets like us. We actually ate them last night!

Ingredients

For the chicken nuggets

1 lb chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or avocado oil)
1 5oz box of plantain chips
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Go to the website below to find the rest of the directions.

https://unboundwellness.com/paleo-crispy-chicken-nuggets-aip-chick-fil-a-copycat/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=796899956_30022782_9518

Enjoy!

What God wants from us now

Many of you know that I have had quite the journey since June of 2019. I want to share with you what I have learned during this time because I feel that it will help others cope with the uncertainty and despair of this global pandemic.

Last June, I suffered a miscarriage, which was devastating. The next month, my son’s health started to deteriorate with extreme tics and behavioral issues. We learned that it was caused by brain inflammation. Accepting your child is going to have a lifelong neurologic autoimmune condition is the single hardest thing I have done yet in this life. That was followed by me feeling like I was about to die physically from unknown health issues. We learned that there was mold in our rental house which exacerbated the chronic Lyme and co-infections we had but were unaware of before.

Mourning the loss of a third child, juggling a sick son who was not himself, waiting painstakingly for diagnoses, moving out, washing or getting rid of all belongings, doing numerous medical tests, juggling a cabinet full of new medications and supplements for both of us, finishing the selection of everything for our house being built, all while feeling like I may not make it myself was more than I could handle most days. There were days when I didn’t want to keep going. I didn’t want to face the overwhelming hurdles laid in front of me each and everyday. Do you want to know what the one thing that kept me going was? God. Plain and simple, God is the only reason I have made it through the past nine months with hope and my sanity.

I remember feeling scared like I might not make it when “God’s not done with you” by Tauren Wells played on my phone. I sobbed as I listened to it, feeling like God was speaking directly to me. You will never hear God so loudly or clearly as when you are looking to Him in desperation.

We like to control things. We fear what we cannot control. I tried to control getting my son back to 100%. We have made progress and I will keep fighting for him and seeing our specialist as much as it takes. We will keep seeing our Lyme doctor until it’s gone. The truth is though that God is in control. This is what we’re seeing now with COVID-19. We are not in control and neither are the doctors. God is the only one who could stop this in his tracks if he wanted. So let’s pray and ask Him to heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) Also, please turn to Him for your salvation if you haven’t. (John 3:16-17) (Psalms 67:2) If you want to talk to someone about this, please feel free to reach out.

My main point though is to give it to God. It is easy to say but it is so hard to do. Once I handed the control over to God, I had peace about the despair we were going through. I keep fighting like hell and I will do my part and stay home during this pandemic, but give God the reins and trust Him with everything. Trust him with your health, your finances, and your salvation. You won’t regret it. He will show Himself to you like never before right now and it will be beautiful, even through your tears.

I trusted my doctor

First of all, let me preface this with saying that I’m grateful for doctors. This is in no way meant to slander doctors; it is meant to show you that you and you alone must advocate for your family. Sometimes only a very specific doctor or person can help you on your journey. You’ll understand where I’m coming from when you hear my story.

I was in the best health of my life, happily married, and eager to start a family of our own. I was visiting my parents in Texas and noticed I had a fever, felt like I had the flu but no congestion or cough, and my eyes were completely bloodshot and hurt terribly. As I went back home a few days later, I started having insane numbness and tingling on the whole right side of my body. I had awful night sweats and felt so much pressure in my head and body that I thought I might explode. I was terrified. I had no idea what was happening to me but knew it wasn’t good. Then I realized I had two blood marks on my hip like a bite of some sort. ER doctors did cat scans, MRIs…nothing. They asked if I had a bull’s-eye rash…I did not so they did not test me for Lyme at that time!

Did you know that many people do not have the traditional bull’s-eye rash with Lyme and many like myself, never even get a rash at all! Clearly, that is not widely known; I believe we are often the ones who go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. I had one urgent care doctor tell me it was probably just anxiety and that I should ice my numbness and rest!

Fast forward five and a half years, it is Lyme and co-infections. Sadly, now I have given it to both of my children congenitally.

When my son was two, I trusted the doctor and gave him the vaccines for that age. I did not realize that his underlying infections and genetic mutation made it very unsafe for him at the time. I did not even realize he had this mutation or any infections. His immune system slowly went downhill from there. He got sick more often, reacted to many things he didn’t beforehand. He had these weird breathing reactions to things in the night, gasping for air. No one could ever figure this out for me. I figured out a lot of his triggers which spaced out the episodes instead of them happening every night. Now, I realize it was his immune system misfiring.

Then, we unknowingly lived in a rental with mold in it while our house was being built. Mold is kryptonite for people with Lyme. It flares it significantly. We both had issues but one day it came to a breaking point. I started having chest tightness and couldn’t breathe. My head felt drugged. My son started having tics uncontrollably and a huge change in his behavior. He couldn’t eat, was extremely emotional, defiant, and had these huge OCD meltdowns. This was all very out of character for him and coincided with the tics. I started looking into it and found out about something called PANDAS/PANS. I found a doctor who dealt with this and we tested for infections. Strep in the blood was negative so it had to be PANS but we hadn’t found the trigger yet. She told me that some of the triggers were mold, Lyme, and many other things.

My son woke up crying so many times one night so I started looking up Lyme to see if I could do something to help him. It was then I discovered roughly 30% of people do not get a bull’s-eye rash, Lyme imitates MS symptoms and it can be passed congenitally (I got pregnant with him within three months of the bite and was incapacitated for two of those months). My mom has MS so everyone attributed all of my symptoms to that.

I called his doctor Monday morning and asked for a Lyme test. We waited for a month for those results. We had already been dealing with this heartbreaking neurologic autoimmune condition for a month prior to this realization. He was Lyme positive. After a month of treatment, he started eating a little more, having less tics and having more normal behavior for him.

We have a slew of problems now but we finally figured out the root cause and are slowly getting better. We wouldn’t have figured this out if I hadn’t done my due diligence, known who could help us and pushed for answers. We went to a plethora of doctors who never figured this out for years. My point of all of this is don’t take one person’s word as truth. Do your research. You know yourself and your kids better than anyone else. Trust your gut. You know when something is not right.

I have been nervous to share our story because sadly Lyme and PANS are both controversial in the medical world. This is solely because they don’t have enough years worth of research. I can tell you that they are very real and we need help. Thankfully, there are experts who only deal with Lyme and can help us.

Here’s where I will get hate messages…

I believe that my son developed PANS because of his two year old vaccines. He had a genetic defect where he can’t detox much at all combined with chronic infections which his body was already working hard to fight and vaccines were just the straw that broke the camel’s back. I now know that those two things made him way more likely to have an adverse reaction. It was the perfect storm. He now has damage to his basal ganglia and his immune system attacks his brain when he’s flaring. Did you know that the vast majority of autistic kids have the same genetic mutation and issues detoxing? Also, most of them have chronic infections they struggle with? PANS gets better when treating the infection and supporting the detox pathway.

My question is why don’t we do genetic testing before vaccines? Or a blood infections panel? Those would be easy to do to prevent our children from having lifelong chronic illnesses.

My point of this whole piece is don’t just blindly trust your doctor, not just in vaccines but all things. Ask questions. Do research before you go. Don’t be filled with regret for not doing so and paying the price. You have to know enough about what’s wrong with you to find a doctor who can help you.

My hope in sharing our very personal story is that I could help prevent one person from ending up in our shoes or help someone put the puzzle pieces together for their health issues. If I help one person, that will be worth all the hate mail I may or may not get sharing our story.

Helping Picky Eaters

If you have kids, you probably have a picky eater or two. There’s two different kinds of picky eaters: voluntary and involuntary. If your child’s eating seems out of their control, it might be. My son went from being a great eater to severely restricting what he could choke down almost overnight. When we treated my son’s infection, the psychological food restriction started getting way better. For most people though, being a picky eater is voluntary and just part of growing up. Some of the things I’ve learned will help people in either camp.

1. Zinc is my best friend. It helps my son so much. There’s some science behind it but all you need to know is to try it. Ask your pediatrician for proper dosage for your little one. We crush up zinc and mix it into our son’s applesauce. It also is great for supporting the body during detoxing which we are always doing as well.

2. Salt can help. I always thought that people said this because of a taste preference but it turns out there is a scientific reason behind using salt as well. It triggers saliva production which helps stimulate the appetite. (If it wasn’t essential, I might consider cutting out salt to help my waistline.)

3. Make it fun. Let them have a part in making their food. Make some healthy muffins, pancakes, or cookies. These foods are the perfect disguise for fruits and veggies at our house when we’re not able to eat the fruits and veggies.

4. Let them pick. Letting me them feel in control a little really helps. Obviously, we don’t want them completely in control or it’d be cookies and ice cream every meal but give them a couple options.

5. Bribery. What’s the end goal? The end goal is to expand their palette. If the bribe of a few dairy free chocolate chips helps them choke down some veggies, I’ll consider that a win. I want them to eat it again and again until they’ve decided it’s not so bad or maybe they even start to like it.

6. Show them grace. Sometimes it’s not in their control and we need to help figure out what’s really going on. If you have concerns about your child’s eating, see a medical professional. There are so many medical reasons that might cause them to struggle: gut issues, infections, and so many others. I would suggest finding a holistic practitioner close to you as they can help get to the bottom of these things a little better.

I hope this helps give you some things to try. I also hope that God helps you with patience and grace because I’ve had to ask for help with these things a lot in our picky eating journey! It definitely can be a struggle. Best of luck to you!

Not Today Satan

Have you ever felt like Satan was trying his best to break you?

Wouldn’t it make him so happy if we just gave up on life and living out our purpose? I have especially felt that way lately so I decided to seek out a shirt with this saying on it.

It all started on June 11 of this year. Not many people knew but we were expecting our third baby. And on this day, I started bleeding and it inevitably led to a miscarriage. I was devastated. I didn’t see it coming since we had had two healthy pregnancies and babies before. No one tells you that the worst part of miscarrying early is that you basically flush what you know was your baby down the toilet. It feels so wrong. Also, the grief is grieving everything that would have been. Would it have been the one girl you’ve hoped for? What are they like? You just want to know them. The hope I have in Christ and meeting Harper someday in heaven is what got me through. And there are so many reminders of the hurt…every time you see someone with their name and every time you see a newborn or pregnant mama. You’re happy Jesus has got them and they never had to experience the hardships of this life but it hurts so much to not get to be with them and do this life with them.

If you’ve experienced a loss, I feel you mama.

I wish I could say this is the only thing we’ve struggled with lately but that would be a lie. We then had an emergency room visit because of a ruptured cyst. My oldest son and I started to have worsening symptoms of things we had struggled with and got sick. We found out that it was from mold in our rental home. We since then have moved and will move again in one month when our new house is finally done.

It turns out that Ashton has Lyme disease and PANS. We waited so long for this answer and a step forward in helping him. I praise God for a diagnosis and starting treatment but it is still rough. I’m still awaiting my Lyme results but we think I passed it to him during pregnancy. We prayed for an answer to my health issues after the miscarriage so we could get me healthy. God is answering our prayers.

The stress of moving and getting rid of things, the thousands of dollars for medical tests and actually executing all those tests, the stress of figuring out how to do medications and special diets, the stress of building and just normal life have been too much for me on days. Some days, I just wanted to give up.

God works everything for His good though. If it wasn’t for the mold, it wouldn’t have amplified the Lyme symptoms as much and we likely wouldn’t have caught it when we did. My in-laws hadn’t sold their house even though they had moved so that allowed a place for us to stay. My sister-in-law didn’t use the mattress we had given her so that gave us a bed to use when we got rid of all our mattresses and pillows. God has blessed us and allowed us to pay for so many unexpected medical costs. Sometimes you have to recognize the good. Find the silver lining.

The main point I want to make is God is good. Despite all of these trials, God has given me the strength to keep going. I’m not going to lie…there were days I didn’t feel like it. I felt depressed plenty of days. I felt like I was going to die before we got out of the rental but here I am alive and feeling much better. He delivered me out of that situation. He has provided for us and allowed us to be able to get the treatments we need. I still have my sanity. You never realize how much you can handle until you go through it. God will make Himself known when you feel so alone in what you’re going through. He’s there for you too.

We’re not out of the darkness yet but God is walking beside us. I could not have got through this without Him. I wanted to share my story so that others could find hope that they can get through their struggles too. You’re not alone. Keep fighting. Live out your purpose in life. Don’t let your circumstances shut you down.

Vegan Paleo Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips

I have tried making a lot of healthier muffin options and these are my favorite so far. My kids will actually eat them! It’s hard to find something yummy with all of our restrictions but this one is one I will keep making for sure. It’s a delicious chocolate, nut butter, and banana flavor. The texture is actually pretty normal too which is one of the hardest things to find when not using egg or grains.

INGREDIENTS

Wet ingredients

1 cup mashed ripe banana (I used 3 bananas)

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or you could use coconut milk too)

2 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal

1/4 cup creamy natural almond butter (or sub peanut butter like I did if you don’t mind using legumes occasionally)

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

1 cup fine blanched almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I think I added a bit more)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I doubled this to ensure they were a hit with the kids), plus 1-2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top

Please visit https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/paleo-banana-muffins-chocolate-chips/ for the rest of the directions! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Green Goodies

I thought I would have a cute picture of the boys eating their cookies at one of our other favorites. I couldn’t get the picture to upload but one child was not facing the camera and the other one had his mouth wide open with the cookie visible. This is what you get with two boy toddlers!

Green Goodies is one of our other favorite allergy friendly places in Oklahoma City. They have vegan desserts, gluten free desserts, and they also have gluten free and vegan desserts. They mostly have cookies and cupcakes with occasional scones or other treats. It is so nice to buy a bunch of their vegan and gluten free cupcakes and freeze them.

First of all, their cupcakes are just as delicious defrosted. Second, it is so nice to have them on hand when something comes up. I keep them for school birthday parties when someone brings cupcakes so Ashton can have a cupcake too. I also bring our own cupcakes to birthday parties so my kids don’t feel like they’re missing out.

They typically last for up to two months. I saran wrap them and then put them in Ziploc bags in the freezer. Ideally, my kids wouldn’t eat cupcakes very often but I love for them to get to be kids and enjoy treats too. I’m always concerned about them feeling left out too. Honestly, they don’t know any different. They’re used to their health nut mama managing their issues with food and supplements.

Finding Fun Food With Allergies

Sometimes it’s hard to find fun things to eat when you have food allergies! It’s so boring to just eat meat and veggies everywhere you go. Most of the time, you feel like here is your “normal” bread and my smashed piece of crap bread that I make at home. Let’s face it…some things just can’t be the same without gluten, dairy or especially eggs. It wouldn’t be so bad with just one of these restrictions, but finding things free of all three can be a challenge.

Last night, we had a date night to Stone Sisters Pizza in Oklahoma City which we have been to before but it was the best pizza I’ve had there so far. It was cooked just perfect! I highly recommend it to anyone who can’t have gluten, dairy, egg or all of the above! I got the gluten free crust with the vegan cheese blend, creamy cauliflower sauce, tomatoes, basil and pepperoni. The pepperoni made it not totally vegan but I mostly look for vegan options because I don’t eat dairy or eggs. You definitely could take off the pepperonis and do a delicious all vegan, gluten free pizza here. And of course the wine is fun too!

I will keep you guys posted on more great Oklahoma City restaurants or finds!

Southwest Paleo Chicken and Fries

This salad topped with chicken and sweet potato fries was amazing! I love sweet potato fries but I never would’ve thought to have thrown them on a salad. I got this recipe from Paleo Gluten Free Eats and I highly recommend it. It is gluten free, dairy free and egg free which is a win for me since I can’t have any of those! Also, it’s really easy to sub out certain things for any restrictions or preferences that you have!

Ingredients

Chicken

4 chicken tenderloins

2 teaspoons cumin powder

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic granules

1 tablespoon avocado oil

Fries

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons avocado oil

1 tablespoon arrowroot flour

1-2 tablespoons chili lime seasoning blend (or cumin powder is what I used)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

sea salt flakes to taste

Greens

4-6 cups chopped cabbage (or I used a spinach and kale blend)

8 cherry tomatoes

1 persian cucumber (it was my preference to leave this out)

12 pitted kalamata olives (I left this out)

1 cup clover sprouts (I left this out)

Sauce

1/2 large avocado pitted

1/4 cup paleo mayonnaise

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 teaspoons cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 small garlic clove (or a pinch of garlic salt if you’re like me)

1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Cook Time: 1 hour

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Please find full directions at: https://paleoglutenfree.com/recipes/southwest-paleo-chicken-and-fries/

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!