Note: for those who may be new to this blog due to the Elf in a Coop series – on Thursdays I give on update on my and 5 of my kids status as we all cope with Lyme disease. We live in New Hampshire where Lyme disease is rampant and yet, many in our medical community don’t recognize the disease or know how to properly treat it.
I’m just one voice of the many out there.
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Well I sure wasn’t expecting to be writing this status report. I have been off of all meds now since Thanksgiving and just last week I saw Doc Holiday and told him that I felt great. I even gave him that list that showed all of my symptoms that have disappeared. Terrific we both agreed, even though we sort of shook our heads in realization that treating Lyme disease “just doesn’t work this way.”
Oh but what a difference a week makes.
My leg muscles are twitching (jumping around) again. My tennis elbow is back (and can I just say that it’s not fair to have tennis elbow without at least having played a good game or two of tennis), my shoulder tendonitis is acting up (I know it is because I’m reflexively not using my left hand when I drive), the bottoms of my feet are very sore again and the Achilles tendonitis, although not as sore as it was, is definitely noticeable.
I’ve also noticed that after reading a page in a book, I couldn’t remember what I had read and I’m forgetting things (which really stinks when you are a journalist.)
Lyme? Or gluten? Beer? (both of which I’ve had since stopping the meds.) Again, to be fair, I even have to revisit that ‘ol ghost of all chronic illnesses past – hypochondria? Stress of the holidays?
Am I just too weak?
There could be a million factors, all I know is that for about 2 months, while on medication I had none of these symptoms. Now that I am off of medication, they are starting to come back.
Guess Lyme didn’t work that way after all.
I’m going to wait until after the holidays (New Year’s) and then I’ll talk to Doc Holiday. I’m pretty sure that the answer is to go back on meds but this time, I’ll also add some of the herbal and supplement elements that are popular in the Lyme community. And while I’m certainly willing to go back on the meds, I’d rather wait until after the holidays to start the nausea/vomiting routine. It’s not a lot of fun.
Next time though, I’m not going to be in such a rush to be done. Superwoman, I clearly, am not.
Trust me, all of this is giving me new found respect for those who continue to be treated for Lyme disease. It takes a long time. The meds can be literally gut-wrenching. There are days when you’ll do anything not to have to take medication. “I feel okay today, maybe I don’t need it.”
I think back to the constant arguments I had with my son when on some days he would refuse to take his meds while he was in high school.
At the time, I had thought he was being stubborn. A child. Didn’t he realize how serious this was?
Now I realize that he was just sick of being sick all the time. It sucks to constantly not feel good, especially when you are a kid.
I had read long ago, that when you are being treated for chronic Lyme (not acute Lyme) that you should expect to be treated for as long as you’ve had the disease. I’m not completely convinced that this is the case, however, it’s pretty clear for me anyway, that when treating my chronic Lyme, 3 months of treatment is not going to do it.
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Thank you all for your comments and discussion. I read every single reply and find much value in your experiences.
Disclaimer, this is an account of my Lyme symptoms and treatment, it is not intended to be used in the treatment of anyone else’s condition. Please consult and work with your physician if you think you may have Lyme.
Let me know if you have any questions about my Lyme symptoms and/or treatment, if I don’t have the answer, I’ll find someone who does.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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