Health Update: 6 months since Exosome Therapy at Infusio

I appreciate it’s been a while since I wrote a health update. It’s now 6 months on from my Exosome Therapy at Infusio and almost 2 years since I had my initial stem cell procedure.

I felt it was a good time to sit down and write about how I’ve been.

Why I had Exosome Therapy

To give a very brief re-cap, I had Exosome Therapy back in March. I decided to have this treatment as I had experienced the return of some symptoms around a year after I had stem cell therapy.

My main issues were the return of fatigue and an increase in histamine intolerance symptoms (itching, rashes, sinus pain and headaches).

My Infusio doctor felt these were happening due to energy or hormonal imbalances.

What hadn’t helped was that I had suffered from the flu over the Christmas period and I was also asking too much of my body.

I had been pushing myself too hard and, although I did then slow down, I felt I needed some help to get myself back on track.

I stayed in touch with the team at Infusio during this time and, on the advice of my Infusio doctor, I decided to return to the clinic for Exosome Therapy.

This was a treatment Infusio had just begun offering and, I’ll admit, I did feel a little anxious about it. Being a new treatment on offer, it felt experimental to me.

However, I rationalised that SVF (the stem cell treatment I had) is experimental too! In that, there’s no science backing its use for treating Lyme or Fibromyalgia patients. Or at least there wasn’t when I had treatment; it’s a very new field of medicine.

However, given my experience with Infusio thus far, I had nothing but trust in the Infusio medical team. I, therefore, trusted their advice that this treatment would help me.

I was told that Exosomes would have a regulatory effect and work similarly to a second round of stem cells.

So, off I headed to Germany.

What Has Recovery Been Like Following Exosome Therapy?

As I mentioned in my blog post about having Exosome Therapy, healing afterwards has neither been easy nor straightforward.

Recovery has been very reminiscent of the roller coaster I experienced following my initial stem cell treatment (SVF). In that, I had periods of time where I experienced an increase in symptoms and other times where I felt a little better.

It just felt less intense this time around.

In some respects, I found healing after Exosomes to be more mentally challenging than SVF. I’m not sure if that’s an expected part of the process or if it’s simply because I personally understood Exosomes less than SVF.

By that, I mean I had a general idea of what stem cells do and the processes that happen in the body after SVF treatment. In contrast, Exosomes felt like a bit of an unknown quantity.

How long would they take to help? Would I go through another phase of neurological healing? Would they help at all?

Time would tell.

At TimeS I Worried If I had Done THe Right Thing

I’ll be completely blunt here. There were times during the first couple of months after Exosome Therapy where I wondered what the hell I had done to myself.

I had days where I felt utterly exhausted and poorly. I’d struggle to get up in the mornings and was dragging myself through the day.

Not only that, but there were days where my brain fog was terrible and others where I was having histamine reactions left, right and centre.

Initially, following Exosome treatment, I discovered I was reacting to a medication my Infusio doctor sent me home with (low dose naltrexone).

I also realised I was reacting more to certain foods (I’m looking at you tomatoes and chocolate!).

I got some relief from stopping all of these things. But then, some days, the rashes, itching and sinus pain would randomly happen and leave me feeling utterly miserable.

I should mention that I was taking supplements to help with histamine intolerance (the histamine scavenger from Infusio and DAO enzyme). Yet, I was still suffering from these symptoms.

Antihistamines became my friend on the days I couldn’t suffer through it.

Experiencing the Reoccurrence of Old symptoms

I also went through times where I experienced the reoccurrence of old symptoms.

Air hunger re-appeared for the first time in years (that left me thinking WTF?!).

I had the return of issues with my left leg. I noticed tingling and reduced sensation in my left thigh (plus random twitching, electric shocks and buzzing feelings all over).

These neurological symptoms actually began back in 2013. They improved during the time I took herbal therapies and ultimately resolved following stem cell treatment (SVF) at Infusio in 2017.

Their sudden reappearance was concerning. Was my Lyme coming back?!

This all, understandably, got me down and I definitely went into myself for a while. I isolated myself and didn’t want to really see or speak to anyone.

It Wasn’t All Bad

Within all of that, though, I did have my good days. The days where my energy was higher and where I  felt better in myself.

Glimmers of hope that sometimes felt subtle, but were a welcome sign that things would improve and this was all part of the process. A process I needed to be patient with and get through with time.

But, what is it about our brains that give the bad days more precedence?

My mind kept telling me Exosomes Therapy hadn’t worked. That it had been a waste of time and money.

Part of me felt like a failure and that I’d gone through all of this expensive treatment only to be sliding backwards.

I think I struggled with the subtlety of Exosomes. With SVF, the swings up and down were very obvious making it clear the stem cells were doing something.

Exosomes were… almost underwhelming in their subtlety. It’s been small steps and progression that’s been built little-by-little. 

The early progress only really being evident with hindsight. Which made it all the easier to overlook it at the time and think nothing much was happening.

Things Took An Upwards Turn

Yet, I remained patient. I dipped into my toolbox of things that help me with my mental health and focused on self-care.

It’s challenging, though; doing nothing other than placing trust in a process and waiting to see what happens.

It’s what I essentially had to do for a year following my initial treatment at Infusio. And, here I was going through the same testing time again.

Thankfully, though, things did begin to swing more obviously upwards. Towards the end of May, I started to be able to do more and felt stronger.

I still had poorly days but the good days were getting better.

Doing More

I put my focus into strengthening and building my body up during those better days. I started doing some basic exercises with weights and some cardio at home (this was in addition to daily walks with my dog).

As someone who has previously lived with debilitating fatigue that was made worse with exercise, it’s been a process learning to trust my body again. Especially since doing too much was part of the reason I experienced my setback earlier this year.

I feel like I’ve already gone through this process last year with stem cells and here I was, again, re-learning the same lessons.

Thankfully, I discovered that exercising made me feel good (especially if it made me sweat a lot!). So, I tried to do as much as I felt able.

Getting into a Daily Routine

As we headed into summer, I began to form a daily routine that gave me a sense of normality.

I’d get up each day, walk my dog then spend time at my parents’ house. On the better days, I’d come home to do a few hours of work or some more exercise in the afternoon.

There were still days where I felt poorly and needed to prioritise rest, though. The key was listening to my body and surrendering to how I was feeling when I needed to.

However, the better days kept me going and feeling optimistic.

Events happened that made me appreciate just how much stronger and more resilient my body was becoming.

And, I also realised I was able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted without experiencing any histamine reactions (with the exception of dairy, which has always been a problem for me).

That just kind of snuck up on me, to be honest! But it was very welcomed, given this was one of the main outcomes I’d hoped for following Exosome Therapy.

Leaving The Fear OF Lyme Disease behind

It felt like things had finally settled on the Lyme front and I was moving on and leaving it behind me.

I didn’t think about Lyme Disease in regards to how I felt. And, I even trialled stopping the few supplements I was taking. 

I’m happy to say that I’ve continued to do well and improve without them. I, therefore, haven’t been taking any Lyme-related supplements for around 3 months now.

An Insight TO How Much Stronger I am

More recently, I have been feeling so well on my good days that I started the couch to 5k program. I only got as far as the first day of running (for reasons I’ll explain in a moment).

However, this was another insight into just how much stronger my body is compared to this time last year.

I tried to do couch to 5k last summer. I struggled, was breathless and ultimately gave up not long after I started as it was too much for my body.

This time, I wasn’t at all breathless and took it in my stride. I only felt like I was pushing myself a bit on the very last run of the training session.

It’s Not All Been Great, Though

The good days were becoming great days but, as I said, I still had my poorly days within all of this.

If you have been following my story, you may recall me talking about hormonal problems in my stem cell progress updates.

I tried implementing advice from Infusio for balancing my hormones. But, I didn’t feel I was seeing enough of an improvement and my periods were becoming more and more difficult.

Going To See My GP

I knew I needed to bite the bullet to go and see my GP, which I first did in October of last year. A little voice in my head was worried about having a condition called Endometriosis.

This is where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places. As it is influenced by hormones and reacts in the same way as the uterine lining, it grows and breaks down each month causing inflammation and pain.

I told my GP all about my symptoms and she was the one who actually mentioned Endometriosis to me. She highly suspected I had it.

If I am being completely honest with myself, Endometriosis is something I have been concerned about for a few years. I’ve always had a tough time of it with my periods and I started to experience worrying stabbing pains on the left side of my pelvic area around 2016.

Lyme, though, was the bigger beast I needed to deal with and I convinced myself that my pelvic pain and period issues were likely due to my Fibromyalgia or Lyme.

I guess the optimist in me had hoped they’d resolve with treatment at Infusio.

A Pattern to My Poorly Days

As it has turned out, treatment at Infusio has definitely worked to resolve my Fibromyalgia and Lyme Disease symptoms.

I feel like my Fibromyalgia symptoms resolved following my initial SVF treatment. And, I have now reached a point where I can confidently say my Lyme Disease is no longer active.

As I moved on from Lyme Disease, though, it became glaringly obvious that my remaining symptoms were tied to my menstrual cycle.

Tracking My cycle

I began tracking my cycle and, in doing so, I realised a definite pattern.

I actually reached a point where I pretty much knew which days of the month I’d feel well and energised and which I’d be poorly and experience symptoms.

I’ll write more about all of this in a future post but, armed with this knowledge, I went to see a gynaecologist (for the second time) in August.

Long story, short, I had a diagnostic laparoscopy on the 20th of September (hence the couch to 5k training came to an abrupt stop just as I was getting started). This was a cancellation appointment so it all happened very quickly.

The surgeon found a cyst on my right ovary, which was removed. And, she found endometriosis on my left-side.

Unfortunately, this couldn’t be treated during the surgery. It was deep-infiltrating and was in a difficult position (to remove it they would need to first stent my ureter, which is the tube between the kidney and bladder).

Where I am Now

So, that’s where I am now.

I am recovering well following surgery and feel proud of my body for taking it all in its stride.

I’ve been impressed by how quickly I seem to be healing. Though I am still taking things easy and resting as much as I need to since it’s not even been two weeks yet.

I honestly feel as though I have moved forward leaving Lyme Disease in my past. However, chronic illness is a complicated beast.

Putting out various fires has ultimately unearthed another.

One I suspect has been there all along in the background. I’ll share more of my thoughts about that another day, though.

For now, all I’ll say is I feel like I have a clearer picture of what’s going on with my health. And, I hope that this new knowledge will help lead me towards consistent better health.

Some THoughts on Exosome Therapy

Exosome Therapy has most definitely been worth it for me. It’s been challenging and it’s taken a long time for me to see the benefits. But I am grateful to be where I am today.

I’m not sure how I would have done with Exosome Therapy alone. But, it’s been a positive adjunction to stem cell therapy (SVF) for me.

Stem cell therapy (SVF) took me far into my recovery and Exosome Therapy has taken me even further. Two years after starting treatment at Infusio, my health is the best it’s been in years. Something I once believed would never be possible.

And, I remain hopeful it can improve even further.

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If treatment at Infusio is something you are interested in for yourself, be sure to address any questions or concerns you may have with Infusio directly. I can only speak for my own experience with treatment.

Read all of my posts about Infusio.

Further Reading:

• My Follow-up Appointment at Infusio, Frankfurt: ACT treatment
• It’s Been A Year Since I Received My Stem Cell Therapy at Infusio, Frankfurt!
• Stem Cell Therapy: One Year Post Treatment Q&A
• Do I Wish I Had Stem Cell Therapy for Lyme Disease Sooner?

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