These past 3 weeks have been kind of a blur. Week before last, I had severe nausea. No vomiting. But let me tell you, the nausea kicked my butt. I missed a couple of days of work, and it was a huge pain to get into my doctor’s office. I saw her PA and he prescribed me an anti-nausea medication along with Tama -Flu. He told me that most likely I had picked up a bug. And since I am a teacher, this seemed plausible. Except for the fact that my left elbow has been hurting daily, my left knee has been hurting, and there’s the nausea to top it all off.
I took all of my meds as instructed. Then last week, I caught a cold, I guess. Luckily, I already had an appointment with my doctor that I had made months in advance and forgot to cancel. This time I had all of the above plus lower back pain and the incessant cough. After xrays for my back and a check-up, I was diagnosed with Bronchitis which I do get occassionlly. I was sent home with antibiotics and a day off from work. Before I left the office, my doctor ran a CBC as well as a Lyme test. She does this almost every 3 months to see what if anything is showing up. You can check out more information about Lyme disease testing here.
Honestly, I didn’t think twice about the bloodwork since it is done so regularly and most of the time, not much changes. This time, however, I am a winner of the Lyme contest! I tested 100% CDC positive for Lyme. Again. I have not had this result since I tested almost 3 years ago to the day when I was first diagnosed. Yet, this is not a new infection. In fact, this is the SAME infection as I have had for several years now!
I am sure this is why I have felt yucky these past few weeks with no relief.
My guess is that since I was taken off of the antibiotics in November, the bacteria have now come out to play. Oh, Borrelia burgdorferi, you are definitely a worthy opponent! See, this bacteria is very smart. It can and will leave the bloodstream to hide in tissues, joints, muscles, brain, nerves. Anywhere it can burrow to be out of harm’s way. It can also build cysts around itself for defense. Anyway, NOW WHAT? My doctor put me on a Z pack. But that is only for 5 days. What am I doing about this for the next 3 weeks until I see her again and my other doctor out of town? As you can see, I’m a little freaked out about it all. I have a call into my doctor to check on this treatment protocol and in the meantime, I am going to see a Rheumatologist who supposedly treats Lyme. We’ll see.
All I know is I have to keep trying whatever I can to get rid of this infection. It has reared its ugly head at a time I thought I could move beyond traditional medicine to treat and boost my immune system. But it has proven me wrong for now. I hope all is well in Bloggerland. Take care and make sure you always assume ticks are out there whever you live!
Peace – B
