If you’ve followed my story, you know this past year has been one of the most intense healing seasons of my life. After nearly three years of Long COVID symptoms, toxic mold exposure, crippling fatigue, Alpha 1 lung dysfunction, Lyme co-infections, including Babesia and Anaplasmosis, and autoimmune flares. I’m sitting here today feeling better than I have since my first bout with COVID in 2020, around the same time my mom passed away, in March of that year. Over 5 years total.

And I don’t mean slightly better. I mean measurably, noticeably, physiologically better.

My HRV is up by more than 10 points on average, with many days in the 60s. As someone with a chronic illness, this is pretty amazing.
My respiratory rate finally dropped under 15 for the first time since my first COVID in 2020 (this is the number of times you breathe per minute)
My resting heart rate is hovering around 50, rather than the high 50s. Almost as good as my marathon days, and I’m not running!
My energy is steady and there every morning. I wake feeling refreshed and ready. I want to go to the gym and crush it once again! I’m quiet and reserved on the outside, but I have an inner competitor that is insane.

I didn’t bounce back. I slowly and intentionally rebuilt every cell of my body over the last 6 months.

And it was not one “thing.” It was a layered system, and a lot of daily work.

Here’s what made the most significant difference, and why it worked.

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Step One: Addressing Parasites & Gut Dysfunction

**Approximately 20-30% of people in the US carry at least one intestinal parasite.**

Protocol: CellCore parasite cleanse + binders + castor oil packs + sauna support + fiber

Gut dysfunction was a massive bottleneck for me. Parasites, yeast, bacterial overgrowth, all of it keeps the immune system constantly alert. Gut dysbiosis is common in autoimmunity, and someone with Celiac (I’ve never been officially tested here, as I went off gluten on my own 15 years ago and have never looked back; however, a genetic test said I was most likely Celiac).

Here’s why clearing parasites mattered:

• They steal nutrients

• They impair energy production

• They slow detox pathways

• They increase histamine responses

• They produce metabolic waste that affects mood, hormones, and immunity

When I addressed parasites, my GI symptoms eased, my bloating decreased, my bowel movements normalized, and my energy began to improve.

I paired this with:

• Castor oil packs (especially liver-focused)

• Sauna to increase circulation and drainage

• Binders so toxins didn’t recirculate

• High fiber diet

This step alone moved the needle.

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Step Two: Mold Detox

I was surprised (but also not surprised) that mold showed up strongly on labs. If you haven’t followed my story, you know I was most likely sleeping on mold because a faulty cooling system in my mattress pad cover was leaking. This absolutely crushed my lungs and my energy,

Truthfully, mold will break you if you don’t deal with it. Especially someone like me with a genetic long-term disease called Alpha 1.

My NP prescribed:
✔ targeted binders
✔ mold detox supplements

✔ a high-fiber diet
✔ sauna
✔ castor oil packs

Mold elevates inflammatory cytokines, suppresses immune signaling, and dysregulates hormones, and this was my most prominent manifestation; it elevates respiratory rate and, in my case, a chronic cough and lung clearing. I also have a history of severe pneumonias (most likely tied to the Alpha 1) that have left me with lung scarring and bronchiectasis.

Seeing my respiratory rate finally dip below 15 felt like victory. I am back to having virtually no coughing episodes, and I can sense my lungs are rebuilding when I lie down, and don’t hear the old crackle from the pneumonias.

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Step Three: Treating Anaplasmosis & Babesia

Many people walk around with tick-borne infections for years without knowing it.
They quietly drain your resources. I was diagnosed with Lyme in 2016 after training and running the NYC marathon. I went from running 26.2 miles to not being able to run a block in a week. I worked on my Lyme recovery for a year, but still showed signs of co-infections on a recent test.

Symptoms masking as:

• anxiety

• shortness of breath

• heart palpitations

• insomnia

• unexplained fatigue

• immune dysfunction

Antibiotics finally cleared the lingering load. My energy shifted dramatically after that protocol. I was terrified of taking them as I know what they do to your gut, but I supported my gut daily with probiotics, fermented foods, my own detox protocol, sauna, red light, and more. I still need to be retested here, but I can feel the difference.

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Step Four: Peptides, Repairing What Was Damaged

The peptide stack for me was:

✨ Thymosin Alpha
✨ TB4 (Thymosin Beta 4)
✨ BPC-157

And here is exactly what they helped with:

Thymosin Alpha → immune regulation
TB4 → tissue repair + inflammation
BPC-157 → gut lining + mitochondrial recovery

This was the “deep repair” layer, supporting chronically inflamed tissue

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Peptides didn’t give me energy…They gave my body the ability to recover. They aren’t a miracle, but they are definitely an enabler. I would not suggest going it alone here; work with someone who knows what they are doing.

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Step Five: Hormone Support (BHRT)

At 54, I’m no longer pretending hormones don’t matter despite still being in perimenopause. I want to get ahead of the curve here.

Progesterone specifically helped:
✔ deep sleep
✔ anxious rumination
✔ muscle recovery
✔ nervous system calm

Estrogen helped: 

✔ muscle pain
✔ vasomotor symptoms

Testosterone:

✔ muscle pain

✔ strength

✔feeling more connected to my husband

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Step Six: I Cut Back On Alcohol

I was never a big drinker, but alcohol is an inflammatory burden.

Now I average two drinks per week.
That’s it. And it shows.

Sleep improves
Glucose stabilizes
The nervous system calms
Recovery accelerates

You can’t pay off inflammation with supplements. I’m still not a teetotaller, as I do see the benefits of the blue zone balance in a shared glass of wine with friends and family.

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Step Seven: Eating for Metabolic Strength

I returned to my Strong + Lean approach after a June vacation in Italy. I’ve never strayed too far, but this was a double down on my efforts:

💪 120 grams of protein daily (this is actually more than 1 gram per lb for me)
🌱 ~40 grams of fiber (don’t go straight here if you are not used to this much fiber, go slow and steady)
🍽 real food, no gluten, no industrial seed oils
🩵 balanced meals over perfection

When you give your body amino acids and fiber:

✔ blood sugar stabilizes
✔ hunger normalizes
✔ cravings disappear
✔ muscle protein synthesis increases

Your metabolism finally stops defending itself. When your energy stops coming from adrenaline, you stop crashing.

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Step Eight: Nervous System Repair

Not sexy. Not trendy. Not instant. This was most likely the most critical step that I didn’t understand until this year.

It was also the most challenging part for me.

I committed to daily nervous system support:

• meditation

• walking outdoors unplugged

• heat + cold exposure

• reducing HIIT intensity

• journaling

• breathwork + Heart Coherence Training

• less multitasking

• slower mornings

• therapy

• fewer invitations, fewer obligations

• surrounding myself with the right people (you know who you are)
• taking a step to stop people pleasing and being ok saying no

Just healing.

I’m still a work in progress.

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Step Nine: Sleep As a Non-Negotiable

Minimum 7.5 hours, but an eight-hour window.

When sleep became predictable:

• inflammation dropped

• morning readiness returned

• mood stabilized

• recovery improved

Sleep is treatment.

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So Where Am I Now?

• Strong
• Energized
• Clear
• Rested
• More capable
• More grounded
• More intuitive

And most importantly…

I wake up energized.
Not struggling.
Not dragging.
Not rationing my day based on fatigue.

That is something I will never take for granted. I am so grateful, and I had assumed that with my chronic conditions, this was just not possible. In fact, my allopathic physticians had told me as much. I was the “healthiest” Alpha 1 patient they had. That wasn’t good enough for me.

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For Anyone Still in the Storm

Healing is slow work. I’ve been at this for decades.

It is tedious work. It is unglamorous work. It is consistency without applause.

It often feels fruitless and like it will NEVER happen for you.

And sometimes, the world doesn’t see the effort, only the result. I look the same as I did when I started this journey. Zero visible results.

But if you’re in it, hear this clearly:

You are not failing. You are rebuilding.

One parasite protocol.
One therapy session.
One castor oil pack.
One walk.
One meal.
One supplement tray.
One night’s sleep.

This year, I did less externally…but more internally than ever before. And my body responded.

With gratitude,
With repair,
With energy,
With resilience.

And that feels like a rebirth. I actually saw all of this in a deep meditation. I rebuilt myself cell by cell. This was on May 17th. It is December 15th as I type this. That’s 7 months. There were days when I felt it wouldn’t happen, but I would watch those thoughts and let them fall away.

Cheers to Your Health,
XDeeDee

PS-I would love to hear your story. Please share below.