Oct 1, 2016
The worst part about having Lyme is that if you start talking about how horrible you feel, people tell you to stop whining because it can't be that bad.
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The worst part about having Lyme is that if you start talking about how horrible you feel, people tell you to stop whining because it can't be that bad.
Brain Fog Problems
That awkward moment when I just squirted a bunch of stevia extract in my mouth as opposed to my herbal remedy b/c the bottles look super similar. Gross.
Me: *taking meds for my chronic illness*
Me: *feels incredibly nauseated*
Me: *too tired to function*
Me: *is completely numb head to toe*
Me: ... but am I really sick tho
Having a suppressed immune system in winter is like walking outside into a field of infectious landmines ...
No me gusta.
People Are Pretty Dumb
So, as my followers know by now I have Lyme disease. Today I finally got up enough energy to take my dog to the beach. This is big for me, because I always have to be careful with her. Sometimes she pulls too much and that can throw my neck and back out (on top of having my illness).
When I got to the beach, I spent some time getting her to sit whenever she pulled. This always gets her to slow down a bit and focus. She is crazy obstinate, but I love her anyway and try to walk her as much as my body will allow.
As I approached the access to the water she suddenly decided to poo right on the path. A woman standing nearby of course had to give a running commentary on the moment while I tried to get my dog to sit so I could pick up after her.
While I was working on opening the plastic bag I had with me, a family started walking toward us. My dog, like most dogs before her, got excited and I had to struggle to keep her calm (while holding various objects necessary for taking a dog to the beach, mind you).
As I finally opened the bag, and the woman making the running commentary continued to speak at me, a man walking toward me and my dog was holding out a baseball to me, just above my dog’s head. She of course got excited because she wants to play ball with anyone with the ability throw a ball, or possibly anyone with a pulse. When I got her to settle down again I managed to hear a question he seemed to be repeating at me. “Is this your ball?”
Mind you, the ball I have for my dog was in plain sight and in my hand. I shook my head no, and then continued the struggle to keep my excited dog still enough to let me pick up after her, but then, the idiot guy threw the ball just out of my dog’s reach and she yanked me forward, tweaking my neck.
As I struggled more with my dog, all I could hear was the guy repeating the word sorry as he hurried away. Though I forgive him for his error, I will be paying for it the next two weeks. And it’s people like this that make it that much more difficult for me to walk my dog.
I guess the moral to my story is that people are all guilty of being unaware, but sometimes insignificant errors can have a lot bigger ramifications than we can ever know. Maybe this is what I struggle with most in life. People go around unintentionally hurting each other every day.
thanks for writing back to me!! np abt your family reunion, how was it? it sounds a lot more simple to get diagnosed w coinfections than i thought. i think i probably have bart too. a dermatologist told me i had stretch marks (i had gained some weight) but i always thought they seemed way too random and severe? idk. have you ever had candida? i am struggling a lot with that right now. sounds like we are in a similar situation with new treatments. good luck, hope byron white works for you!!
family reunion was mixed haha. on the bright side we went to some great concerts, i got to talk to my younger cousin about Buffy, we celebrated my grandma turning 90 and went through old photos, and my siblings and I had an intense discussion with my cousins about the representation of women/poc in academia and the media. on the other hand, the creepy and musty old house we stayed in was full of spiders, i got very little sleep, my brother got me sick (UGHHH), there was absolutely no alone time, and i had to interact with a relative i would have preferred to avoid.
about the bart: obviously i can’t say for certain that the dermatologist was wrong, but i actually thought my striations were stretch marks (on my hip and inner thigh) until someone at Horowitz’s office confirmed they were from bart. given that you already know you have issues with lyme, and also that i think you mentioned sore feet at some point, i’d say chances are good you have it.
i have had issues with candida, and honestly i still might... but i haven’t had any flareups in a while. aside from the diflucan i took when i was on antibiotics, i also take probiotics regularly (duh), and took the NOW candida support (http://www.nowfoods.com/Candida-Support-90-Veg-Capsules.htm) and AZO yeast tablets for a while (the AZO definitely at least helped with immediate issues).
sending you lots of spoons!
Monday Lyme Rant
This week the PICC line in my arm which delivers the Lyme disease treatment to my heart has been having issues. I have developed a rash underneath my sterile dressing. It is likely from an allergic or sensitive reaction to some part of the sterile dressing kit. Possibly either the bandage itself or the cleaning solution for the bandage. Either way I have a huge raw area under my bandage that’s oozing yellow liquid and it’s not getting better and the nurses won't call me back. FML.