A magic app AND pill for chronic illness

(I love the happy sound of Purple Martins flitting around their house!)

Happy Saturday friends!

How often does a magic pill come along? Not the kind the makes you bigger or smaller like in Alice in Wonderland, but the kind that makes you feel better? And an app that helps you heal? Wow. I've held off on writing about this for 6 months. Who wants to hear about someone's chronic illness?? Ick. But when it does come up, everyone mentions someone they know with Long Covid, Lyme, Epstein Barr, Fibromyalgia, ME/CFS etc. and they always want to pass on the info. So, here we go...

For those of us who have chronic illness there is this little tracker (you wear it on your arm) with an app called: Visible.

I have my life back because of this app.

With so many chronic illnesses, there is something called post exertional malaise (PEM) that absolutely ruins your life. It's shocking really. In short, PEM is a worsening of symptoms after even minimal physical or mental activity that wouldn't have caused problems before (like walking up a flight of stairs.) PEM typically manifests 12-48 hours after exertion, but it can be immediate or delayed up to a week. The symptoms (fatigue that feels like the flu, brain fog, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, and so much more) can last from a few hours to weeks or even months.

Unlike the Apple watch which tells you, "Great job, your heart rate is at 150bpm, you've closed all your circles, and your 10k steps are complete!", the Visible tells you to slow the hell down. "Your heart rate has spiked into your 'over exertion zone' please take time to rest if you can." This keeps you from a "crash" or a "flare up" where you can't get out of bed for days, weeks, months, or worse. 

It's fairly affordable, the tracker is $70 and the monthly subscription is $20/month (like a Netflix subscription) or $179/year (which breaks down to $15/month.) I wasn't sure if I would like it and started with the monthly version and just switched to the yearly version. I couldn't do what I do without it. I've struggled on and off with Epstein Barr virus for 10+ years (I suppose I really need to do a deep dive into what I've learned in case it helps someone) and then I was run over by a horse (who I no longer own) in 2019. Two years of pain and another round of EBV and I came out the other side just in time to move to North Carolina in June 2021. Mom died in November 2022. Then I got Covid in the spring of 2023. A year and a half of Long Covid/EBV and the worst it's ever been. For several months I spent the majority of time in my bed or a recliner. I had to sit on a stool to cook. Walking up the stairs was exhausting. I had to rest after taking a shower.

I found out that Long Covid research began to show that Covid might be reactivating EBV:

Covid-19, Epstein Barr virus reactivation and autoimmunity

Long Covid could be caused by a virus lingering in the body

Reactivated Epstein Barr Virus in Long Haul Covid patients

The Role of Epstein Barr Virus in Long Covid

Impact of Pre-existing Chronic Viral Infection and Reactivation on the Development of Long Covid

There are many more articles, if you are suffering, do a Google search!

And then I started seeing the Visible App on Facebook. Oh my God. That was me. It took me a while, months actually, before trying it. It took 2 months of wearing it before I started noticing a difference in my health. I'm 6 months in and I couldn't live without it. It tracks your heart rate constantly and in the morning it measures your heart rate variability and gives you a score for the day: 1-5, with 5 being the best. You can imagine where I started 6 months ago but now, I'm often a "4." I've only hit a 5 twice in 6 months. Maybe someday. You also have a daily points budget. A healthy person (who wouldn't be using this lol) might have a daily points budget of say 25. My points budget is 8. I've read some whose budget is 3. Through the day you rack up points when you're in the activity zone (for me that's when my heart rate is between 80-109) or the over exertion zone (when my heart rate is 110 or over). In over exertion, you rack up points really fast.

The things that make the biggest difference for me and keep me starting the day at a daily score of 4 are: 

-consistent neurofeedback (keeps your brain healthy and emotions healthy, keeps stress at bay)
-at least 8 hours of sleep
-consistent low sugar diet
-a nap if I can swing it
-writing, art, time with the animals
-daily breathing practice (part of the app)—I realized how disordered my breathing actually is because of this
-doing things more slowly and breaking tasks down into manageable chunks, hard for this recovering perfectionist—I want to do it ALL RIGHT NOW!

Brad says I will have to wear it forever, he forbids me to be without it lol. The whole idea of it is to make chronic illnesses that look invisible to the world, visible.

He could never really understand what was wrong until I started wearing it. I tell him my morning score, "I'm a 2 today," and he knows I will be going slow and resting a lot. If I have neurofeedback clients on those days, I take a short nap while they are in their 45 minute session. Sometimes, if I'm really low on energy, I nap every time I have a client. I am blessed with the ability to close my eyes and go to sleep quickly :-) When I do this, usually the next day I'm back to normal.

If you're interested in more info or if you've heard enough and are ready to try it, you can get $20 off the tracker by using this link: $20 off Visible.

AND THEN! Around the same time I started Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN). This has also made a HUGE difference in my life. The short version of the LDN story via Google AI: 

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) primarily works by blocking Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which are receptors on immune cells like microglia that play a key role in the production of pro-inflammatory chemicals. By antagonizing TLR4, LDN helps to reduce inflammation and modulate the immune system.

While standard doses (50mg) of Naltrexone primarily block opioid receptors to treat addiction, LDN (1.5—4.5mg), utilizes a different mechanism. Instead of a full, sustained block, the transient blockage of opioid receptors by low doses of naltrexone leads to a rebound increase in the body's natural opioid production, like endorphins and opioid growth factor (OGF), which contributes to its pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. 

In essence, LDN does not directly hold back the production of something in the sense of eliminating it. Rather, it modulates the activity of inflammatory pathways (specifically TLR4) and stimulates the release of beneficial compounds (endorphins and OGF) that have therapeutic effects.

You start low at 1.5mg or less if you know you're super sensitive to things. It's taken at night to start, with food so it doesn't upset your stomach. The first few nights it hit me like a good dose of Nyquil in the 1980s, goodnight and sleep tight!, wow! The first two nights I had vivid dreams (not nightmares) and not much different that my normal dreams which are pretty vivid anyway. It was described by my doctor to me this way: it holds back your endorphin production, your body senses a deficiency in endorphins and increases the production. This "rebound effect" leads to a 300% increase of endorphin production. Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers and mood boosters—they also play a role in modulating the immune system and reducing inflammation.

Because I am so sensitive and typically respond quickly to medication, I woke up the next day feeling like a different person. I participated in morning farm chores (carefully). Brad and I were both shocked. This isn't typical, usually it takes a few weeks to a few months or more. 

Even though most people take it at night, over time I found that what worked best for me was 1.5mg with breakfast and 1.5mg at dinner. 

I've been getting my prescription through my integrative doctor in Chapel Hill but they are so expensive (not the LDN but the visit) and so I'm going to try one of the online doctors like AgelessRX next. I'll let you know what I think!

If you have questions about any of this, please reach out, I'm happy to talk about it!

THE RANCH:

Art Classes! One morning this week I had a teacher who was off for the summer and her friend come for a 2 hour, fun and easy watercolor class. I had so much fun I decided to offer the same to others! Are you a teacher who is off for the summer? A mom whose kids are off at camp during the day and you have a bit of free time? A college student back home for the summer? A retiree who wants to learn something new? I'm offering art classes this summer! Send me a text or give me a call, let me know how many (I can take 9 students) and if you'd like to visit the animals after and we will get it figured out!

•••

The unpacking continues to be slow going this week as work has picked up and I'm still finding places for everything unpacked. I'm both dreading and feeling excited about tackling the garage/bonus room boxes that are stacked to the ceiling in the garage. It could be worse, the ENTIRE garage could be full:

I keep working on making little spaces pretty, I love my new battery lamp in the half bath:

Brad got the privacy cling up in the office bathroom, yay, thank GOD:

Maybe this weekend I will get all the new toilet paper holders installed! :-) Tired of them not being where they belong lol.

I found this set of fun and funky lamps on Marketplace this week and I'm loving them:

The Portal to Another Dimension Chandelier finally came down and will be sold:

This fits us better:

Much better light too! Still some work to do, moving that antique icebox into another room, art on the walls, maybe moving my antique Hoosier cabinet in there? Not sure yet. We also made the art tables a little shorter and narrower so they fit the space better, and they got brand new legs. Brad and I made these years ago for my studio in Colorado when I had a much bigger space that was completely dedicated to art and classes:

Man I LOVED that space! I think I'm going to paint all those mismatched chairs a matching color but that will be after I'm done unpacking!

It's been SO hot here in North Carolina this week with the heat index reaching above 100º, the humidity is brutal, ugh. The horses are sweating through their coats. Unfortunately, only Cash our boarded horse, is willing to put up with a cool hose down:

And finally, who knew sweet Polar Bear was willing to be so silly??

THE MEMES:

And this 👆🏽 doesn't really happen anymore (knock on wood) because of the Visible app. I get to see in real time what is going on with my body and adjust so I don't have a flare up.

•••

Art Classes: Are you a teacher who is off for the summer? A mom whose kids are off at camp during the day and you have a bit of free time? A college student back home for the summer? A retiree who wants to learn something new? I'm offering art classes this summer! One morning this week I had a teacher who was off for the summer and her friend come for a fun 2 hour easy and fun watercolor class. I had so much fun I decided to offer the same to others! Give me a call, let me know how many (I can take 9 students) and if you'd like to visit the animals after and we will get it figured out!

Women’s Circles: we just started last week on June 25th, and I have one more spot still available, contact me if you'd like to join! (2 people were out on Wednesday night so you won't be alone in catching up, and it's not much to catch up on!) Wednesday nights, 6-8pm, runs 6 weeks, $210 (which is only $35/night!)

Aug/Sept Women's Circle is also 6 weeks: Aug 20 and 27, Sept 3, 10, 17, 24. Women are finally starting to hear about these groups, they are finally filling up completely, yay! I can and will start another one, maybe another night time or maybe one during the day :-) Contact me if you'd like to join!

Equine Gestalt Coaching Sessions

NeurOptimal Neurofeedback, you know you've been thinking about trying this, contact me if you'd like to try a session!

Reiki Sessions

To schedule a free call click here: Let's talk!

•••

The Mother Ranch on YouTube.

The Mother Ranch art on Substack.

Thank you for reading :-)

If a friend forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here.