Hey guys!
So you may have seen my Instagram post a couple weeks ago about my periodontist appointment and signing on for Lyme cavitation surgery, which is now TOMORROW.
I wanted to do a quick check-in with you guys before the surgery to tell you how I have been preparing (good info for anyone going into any surgery – not just dental!) and answer a few questions about the cavitations themselves.
So… before recently, I had no idea what a cavitation was. I had read over the last year or so that many people who have Lyme disease are extra compromised by dental work or anything foreign in their mouths post-root canal, cavity fillings, mercury (of course), etc.
But my dental history was been squeaky clean, or so I thought. I have never had a cavity so I don’t have any fillings, mercury, or metal in my mouth. I have also never had a root canal which I know can cause issues.
But what I have had are my wisdom teeth removed. When I was about 17 or 18 I had all four wisdom teeth removed, and all four of them were impacted (meaning under the bone). The recovery from the surgery at that time was pretty easy — I used the cleaning tools they sent me home with, avoided the foods they said to, and remember being out with my friends just a few nights later.
Well… it turns out those wisdom teeth sites did not heal properly. So over the last 10ish years, bacteria and toxins have made a home there.
A few months ago (ever since I did an NAD IV that I posted about on Instagram…) I have been INTENSE, UNRELENTING jaw pain. Sometimes so intense that it hurts to talk. It keeps me up at night, causes migraines, and even affects the low impact workouts that I do like long walks and steep hikes. (I don’t do any high impact workouts at the moment but it would DEFINITELY be irritated with those.)
About a month ago I found myself chatting with my nurse Amber about my jaw pain. Amber has Lyme too and we have a lot of the same symptoms, and being a nurse (and a patient!) she is super knowledge on all things Lyme and co-infections. She started talking about cavitations and how I should get them checked out and how almost all Lyme patients who have had any mouth surgeries have these cavitation issues and BOOM — it all made sense.
So my amazing doctor, Dr. Erica Lehman, who I text with on the daily, told me to reach out to Dr. Sanda Moldovan in Beverly Hills. She is a periodontist so she works with the gums, bones, and nerves around the teeth.
We did an X-Ray in her office and within minutes she was telling me that I have a heavy load of toxins in not one, not two… but ALL FOUR wisdom teeth removal sites. In fact, there are tiny little holes in my jaw from the toxins eating away at the bone.
PAINFUL. SCARY. Also… thank goodness we found it because my jaw pain would have only gotten worse.
(And for all wondering if I have TMJ, yes, I also have that and the cavitations have made things a whole lot worse.)
Once the toxins are out and the sites are cleaned (with ozone and more- more info coming on this post-surgery), the toxins will be sent for a biopsy to determine if they are in fact Lyme, mold, parasites, etc.
Surgery Prep //
The surgery itself is comparable to other oral surgeries, but will be a bit more intense because as a Lyme patient I will be HEAVILY detoxing from the toxins in my mouth.
I already detox heavily on a daily basis. My body is toxic from the toxic load of Lyme, mold, parasites, heavy metals, and then some.
So prepping for the surgery and planning for detox afterward is key.
What I have been doing this week is…
+ chewing king chlorella (6 tabs, 2x a day) which will help bind to and sop up the toxins pre and post surgery (I have added my favorite one to the medical section of my Amazon shop page!)
+ sitting in the sauna once or twice a day – I have a Clearlight sauna at home, you can use the code BLONDE at healwithheat.com for a big discount on a home sauna, or the code BLONDE at Sunlighten for a big discount on their saunas. If it’s not feasible to have a sauna in your home, find a place in your area where you can sweat or start SWEATING the toxins out pre or post surgery
+ Myers Cocktail IVs & Glutathione injections – I have scheduled vitamin drips and Glutathione injections for right after the surgery and for the 3 days post-surgery to make sure I am boosting my immune system to support in the healing and detoxing.
+ Taking binders like charcoal, bentonite clay, and pectin (even apples are great for this!) to bind to toxins pre and post surgery
+ Getting tons of rest (big one)
+ Meditating daily and envisioning my mouth as clean, clear, bacteria-free, and healed.
+ Upping my leafy greens, carrots and sweet potatoes (beta-carotene), and fresh green juices to boost my immune system and get all of the natural support that I can.
+ I will be getting stem cells injected a few days post-surgery to boost my healing response on top of all of this!
+ I made my daily herbs and supplements for Lyme to keep the toxic load down as much as possible, and have been even more diligent than usual about making sure I don’t miss everything. (3x a day all these supplements and herbs and tinctures is no joke… a full time job.)
+ Upping the herbs my body seems to love most — ashwaghanda, zinc, ionic minerals, tulsi, turmeric — anti-inflammatory and great for healing
+ ARNICA! I have a homeopathic arnica tincture here that I will use for anti-inflammatory purposes post surgery.
+ I got a cupping massage yesterday to pull toxins to the surface and make sure I am hydrating majorly extra to get them all out — I want to go into the surgery as detoxed as I possibly can to prepare my body for the overload on its way.
+ Daily coffee enemas (read more here), & weekly colonics to keep the detoxing going strong
+ Post surgery I will be upping my fresh cold-pressed JUICE game like crazy for more easy to assimilate vitamins, nutrients, and minerals!
& I have made sure to clear my calendar so I can rest and re-charge post surgery, which will be so, so necessary.
I am getting as much work stuff out of the way beforehand as I possibly can (which yes, can be exhausting in itself so I am trying not to get too exhausted on top of it all).
Toxins in the MOUTH have been linked to heart issues, breast cancer, unexplained weight gain, hormone imbalances, gut issues, microbiome problems, and more. If you think about it, our mouth is directly linked to EVERYTHING in our bodies.
Plus, with my body not having to work so hard to fight off the toxins in my mouth, my immune system will get a natural boost. I have a very good feeling about this surgery.
Also… my doctor is the same periodontist that Yolanda Hadid saw her for cavitation surgery, which I read all about in her book last year. Yolanda has been a great inspiration to me on this journey so I take this synchronicity as a sign from the universe. 🙂
Sometimes we have to get uncomfortable before we can heal. That is what the next few weeks will be for me, and they will be so worth it.
*You can shop my Amazon page here with a bunch of my favorite supplements, herbs, and home remedies. <3
Would love to hear from you below! Have you had this surgery? Heard of it? Have any questions about it? Thank you for your continued support. You guys give me a reason to get up in the morning. Truly. <3 Thank you for coming on this journey with me, whether or not you are a fellow chronic illness warrior. XO