tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41307260867023794202024-02-20T04:17:29.786-05:00That Tick is a DickMy journey to find true health after years of searching for answers from multiple medical professionals. Yup, I got the Lyme...Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-29850443971838377272011-06-09T00:41:00.000-04:002011-06-09T00:41:09.683-04:00Emergency Room DramaI had to travel to Denver, Colorado (from Maryland) last week for a work conference. Now, I live below sea level and Denver is a "mile high" so I should have expected some weird effects. But I was there Monday (Memorial Day) through Friday and I felt totally fine.
I got a few minor headaches but I attributed that to being in a hotel conference room all day without windows and sitting for hours Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-32763967163484313672011-05-25T10:14:00.000-04:002011-05-25T10:14:22.554-04:00Lyme, Herxes, and Drug ReactionsYou know those medical questionnaires you have to fill out when you see a new Doctor? They always ask if you have any allergies to any medications. I have proudly always answered NO! I've never had a reaction to any medication except for Prednisone (which I now know was probably a reaction because Lyme and Steroids DO NOT MIX).
Anyway, I was on Doxy for about 6 months over the past year (off andJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-30790523052829594982011-04-19T13:26:00.000-04:002011-04-19T13:26:47.115-04:00More StuffI haven't started the new round of meds yet. The pharmacy had to special order one of them and I wanted to get through the weekend before starting anything.
Today, it's almost 70 degrees outside and I'm sitting in my house FREEZING! The heat is still on, but I'm dressed in long sleeve tee, sweater, socks, and have a blanket wrapped around me. I don't think he ran a thyroid panel on my last Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-60414262370957426882011-04-15T14:35:00.000-04:002011-04-15T14:35:46.548-04:00It's Back!Went to my LLMD today after a 3-month hiatus. I finished the prescriptions in mid-February and I was feeling really great. But then, slowly but surely, old and new symptoms started to pop up. My biggest issue right now is in my torso. I've had heart palpitations and flutters, chest pain/heaviness, and an intermittent ache in my upper stomach.
My joints have been feeling great, my energy levels Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-16199581809587416162011-03-06T20:07:00.000-05:002011-03-06T20:07:24.466-05:00The Rainy Day BluesSo today was a gray, rainy, windy day in Maryland. And my body is paying the price. On damp days, my body hurts. I also went shopping with girlfriends yesterday, walking for hours, carrying loads of clothes to the dressing rooms, and eating "bad" things because I was taking a day off.
I woke up today feeling quite horrible. I'm not sure if it's the weather, or the over-doing it yesterday, or Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-2492211544858325572011-03-05T10:36:00.000-05:002011-03-05T10:36:32.874-05:00Lyme ConnectionsIt's been a while since I've posted here. But I just found some new resources online through Facebook and other outlets which have gotten me in touch with lots of other Lymies. It's powerful to make these connections because it's important to know that we don't suffer alone.
Lyme Disease can be so isolating. Family members and "good" friends who pass our symptoms off as just complaints or drama,Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-30949022890684644492010-10-22T00:29:00.003-04:002010-10-22T00:32:23.704-04:00Lyme Disease ActivismI need to pay it forward. So my new mission in life is to educate people about Lyme Disease. If I can save one person, it will be worth this silly blog, and the dollars spent to mail out this letter. I recently donated $1,000 to Open Eye Pictures who created the amazing Under Our Skin feature-length film.
As a result of my donation, I received five copies of the DVD. As a way to pay it Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-60952958636521755222010-10-13T19:46:00.000-04:002010-10-13T19:46:04.974-04:00Lyme Disease Support GroupMy friend, Jamie, invited me to join her informal Lyme Disease support group after I was diagnosed. The group meets the first Tuesday of each month for dinner and discussion. There are six women so far, maybe more in the future as we meet more people. It's a fantastic outlet to vent your frustrations, discuss what phase of treatment we are in, share the various medications and supplements that weJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-63297381820496083562010-10-13T14:47:00.000-04:002010-10-13T14:47:42.758-04:00Lyme Disease Treatment BeginsI started taking my Doxycycline today. Three 50-mg pills daily with food. The herxes should begin on Day 4-5 typically which might land me in bed all weekend. I have several friends now with varying degrees of Chronic Lyme. Everyone's herx story is different. Some are in bed for a week or more, some are just really tired and take naps in the afternoon to get through. Many fall somewhere in Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-20825519220352074912010-10-01T14:32:00.000-04:002010-10-01T14:32:34.471-04:00Lyme Disease Has a NameI updated the name of my Blog today. It started off called simply "The Symptoms" (cue The Simpsons theme song in the background).
But that was before I was diagnosed. Now that I know the name of my predator, I've renamed my Blog accordingly. Hoping more people with Lyme Disease will find me now.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-28605868099701614362010-10-01T13:13:00.000-04:002010-10-01T13:13:59.910-04:00Lyme Disease ResearchMy research into Lyme Disease began about four months ago, after a close friend was diagnosed. When I saw how sick she was, I realized that I probably didn't know everything about Lyme Disease that I thought I did. And to be honest, I'm not really sure what I "thought" I knew anyway. All I knew is that a few people have had it over the years, they take an antibiotic for a few weeks and they are Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-41483225286448482222010-09-23T21:06:00.001-04:002010-10-01T12:11:20.189-04:00Night MusicOne of the strangest, and frankly the scariest, random symptoms I've experienced over the past year or so is when I hear what I call my "Night Music". It sounds a little less scary when I call it that, and it calmed me down when I thought I was truly losing my mind.
I’ve had really bad insomnia for a while now, several years at least. It comes and goes with severity, usually a week on/week off. Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-882712534699462802010-09-23T14:36:00.001-04:002010-10-01T12:09:01.714-04:00Anemia be damnedAnother piece of my bloodwork that was interesting is that my H&H (hematocrit & hemoglobin) are back within normal range but my Iron Serum level was higher than the normal range (depending on who you ask for a normal range).
This lab lists 35-155 ug/dL for the normal range but I've seen online that other labs consider 60-170 being the norm. My Iron Serum came in at 169 which got flagged Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-50904929730609677022010-09-22T21:32:00.001-04:002010-10-01T12:07:38.113-04:00D-DayI received the results from my blood test in the mail today. I have to call my Doctor in the morning, his office was closed by the time I got around to opening my mail. Turns out I have Lyme Disease. My CD57 count was a low 44. Anything below the normal range of 60-360 is indicative of Lyme. I don't know how many bands I have, I'm hoping to get more info from the Doc tomorrow. He will most likelyJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-72582824930505839822010-09-19T17:28:00.001-04:002010-10-01T12:05:53.207-04:00The MedsSo after seeing the Holistic doctor, here is what I'm taking the first month of treatment. I have a follow-up with the Doctor in 4 weeks to review my bloodwork and assess how I'm feeling:
1. Diflucan - anti-fungal medicine for one month, to be re-evaluated at my next visit. May have to continue. There is a Herxheimer Effect from Candida die-off which produces toxins in your body as the yeast Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-15946948620728271742010-09-16T01:21:00.002-04:002010-10-01T12:04:27.422-04:00My SymptomsFirst, let me document my most annoying symptoms, the ones I've been visiting doctors for, for years...
Anemia - This is a new and short-term issue. I had a bad miscarriage in May 2010 and hemorrhaged badly. I called 911, lost consciousness on the way to the Hospital and almost had to get a transfusion. Thankfully that didn't happen but I was left with a very low Hematocrit and Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130726086702379420.post-21315976431053846802010-09-16T00:46:00.001-04:002010-10-01T12:02:10.186-04:00Sinuses, Insomnia, and Stomach, Oh My!I've started a new journey. I'm not traveling anywhere. Not starting a new job. I'm not pregnant. I've been happily married for almost 10 years. And I'm not switching religious or political affiliations. I'm searching for health. The kind of health where I wake up feeling, well.....? Healthy! The kind of health where I don't grunt and groan when I get out of bed, where I can peel my Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420252166217185178noreply@blogger.com0