Embracing My Health

So, the l-lysine eliminated or at a minimum kept my abscesses from increasing or getting worse. I had no further pain after taking the lysine from the infection, all the way up to my surgery last Wednesday. I can’t tell you what a life-saver it was. My testimonial: when amoxicillan and clindamycin didn’t help reduce the abscess infections and with it the extreme pain I was experiencing… taking 10,000 mg of l-lysine daily did.

My regimen:  Zinc intake above 150 mg a day begins to be associated with zinc toxicity. Because of this, I took 5,000 mg of Solaray L-Lysine with Vitamin C, B-6 and Zinc. The remaining 5,000 mg a day came from pure Now Foods L-Lysine.

Here’s the skinny on l-lysine. It’s an essential amino acid that our bodies have to have but cannot make. It strengthens our immune systems , increases the body’s ability to manufacture antibodies and has anti-viral properties. (This is my guess as to why and how I personally found relief.)

L-lysine doesn’t stop there. It’s popular for treating and preventing cold sores, is critical for collagen formation (think less wrinkles!), provides energy and more. If you have a deficiency in lysine, these are some of the symptoms you are likely to have:

• bloodshot eyes
• fatigue
• moodiness
• anemia
• problems concentrating
• reproductive issues
• weakened skeletal, circulatory and immune systems
• kidney stones
• inability to breakdown and utilize dietary fat properly
• accelerated aging
• elongated healing processes

Typically, raw, vegan, vegetarians and extreme athletes are most at risk for lysine deficiency. But without a balanced and attentive diet, anyone can become low or deficient. For optimal lysine levels, add lysine in your diet by eating (in no particular order):

• meat
• wheat germ (but not wheat)
• cheese (Parmesan is best)
• eggs
• fish, particularly cod and sardines
• limas
• nuts
• spirulina
• fermented foods like miso and yogurt

If you aren’t getting enough of these in your diet – daily dosage recommendations are 12-30 mg per each 2 lbs of body weight. To treat symptoms: 3,000-9,0000 mg per day divided into doses.

Note: if you have cardiovascular diseases, elevated cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels – work with your naturopath. There is controversy for and against Linus Pauling’s therapy for cardiovascular disease consisting of megadoses of Vit C and Lysine. (Sources to begin your research: http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/vitcheart.htm, http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/)

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

If you follow my personal blog, you know that I’m about to undergo oral surgery to have 7 teeth removed (my wisdom teeth, plus three more).  I have a chronic mouth infection caused by the caries bacteria.  All decay is caused by the caries bacteria, but in some people, an infection can take hold.  The four things that cause a chronic oral infection are:

1. Teeth. Well, duh, right? But it turns out that the condition of your teeth (sometimes determined by genetics) to begin with can and will either encourage or discourage bacterial growth
2. Presence of the caries-causing bacteria, which by the way, is communicable… mother to child, husband to wife, and so on
3. Fermentable carbohydrates
4. Time

So to recap: A chronic infection of acid-producing bacteria is caused when an individual has a long-term acidic oral environment caused by a predisposition, lack of saliva, a diet heavy in sugary and/or acidic foods.

In my mouth, I had the perfect storm.  Problems with tooth enamel is in my genetic background.  I didn’t know this until very recently.  So, #1… genetic predisposition.  Check.  #2. Presence of caries-causing bacteria, check.  I could have gotten it from my mom, from a boyfriend, who knows.  But I got it.  #3. Fermentable carbohydrates.  Check.   Up until 4 years ago, I ate the traditional SAD (standard American diet)… filled with sugary sweets, lots of starchy breads and pastas, and so all.  I also drank, for years, more diet Coke than you can imagine (incredibly acidic!!).  All of these were turned into lactic acid by the bacteria in my mouth and immediately set to work on my teeth.  And finally, time.  Check.  Up until last year, I hadn’t been into a dentist for around 20 years.  The bacteria had 15-20 odd years to do it’s damage.  And do damage, it did!!

When I finally made it into the dentist last year, it was because of extreme pain tooth pain.  The dentist took one look at it and told me that it was abscessed.  The infection had punched a hole through my upper jawbone and was threatening to cause a systemic infection (which worse case scenario can be life-threatening).  The only choice was to pull the tooth.  Immediately.

When we could afford to, I went back into the dentist for a full comprehensive exam. It confirmed the chronic bacterial infection and the profound damage it had done to my teeth.  I had two more abscessed teeth, and a third tooth that was broken and beyond repair.  All three must come out.  My wisdom teeth are also in bad condition and given my infection, it’s best to have those pulled now too.

I’ve had my surgery scheduled for a while now.  July 22nd.  And, up until, two weeks ago, I had no pain. Then, suddenly, I did. And it was horrible. I’ve never had pain like that.  My dentist immediately put me on antibiotics (amoxicillian) and a pain killer (Vicoden).  Vicoden helped a little, although I hated how it made me feel.   A few days later, the pain returned, despite the antiobiotics and narcotics.  My dentist swapped out my antibiotic, putting me on Clindamycin.  He at the same time switched me off of Vicoden (because of the recent concerns with acetametaphin sited by FDA reports) and put me on Vicoprofen.  I seemed to do better on the new combination, but still *hated* how I felt on the narcotic.  And again, 2-3 days later, the intense pain returned.   One last time, the dentist switched my painkillers, this time to ketorolac.  The pain remained severe and I had to continue using the ketorolac at full dosages for 3 days.

Then… and this is a big THEN… I heard a health podcast by David Wolfe.  In passing, he mentioned that l-lysine, an amino acid, can help remove any kind of infection at a 10,000 mg dose.  Given the pain I continued to be in, and the fact that my surgery was still nearly 2 weeks away, I figured I had nothing to lose.

And presto. Within 24 hours, I was off my pain pill.  Now, as an acknowledgement, it’s possible that the antibiotic finally kicked in and made all the difference.  But, the standard rule of thumb is that antibiotics will kick in 24-48 hours after you start taking them.  I had been on them for 2 1/2 weeks with no improvement.  I started the l-lysine and within 24 hours, I was without pain and off pain killers completely.

I have 4 days left until my surgery.   I’m continuing the l-lysine at 10,000 mg a day.  I’ll let you know if the infection returns to the point of pain between now an then.  But, right now, I’m feeling confident that I will continue to stay ahead of the infection and have no pain.

Next post – so what exactly is l-lysine?

My question for you today: What surprise or little-known cure or health aid works for you?

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!