Lyme Symptoms-and there's a lot of them!!

I probably should have done this post about Lyme Disease symptoms at the very beginning of treatment, but it is still valid now. It is so important to know what symptoms to look for if you have been bitten by a tick. The best option is to get 4-6 weeks of antibiotics as soon as you are bitten by a tick. Not all doctors agree with this, but it is by far the best thing to do. Not everyone who has been bitten by a tick will show symptoms. Not every bite transmits Lyme, and not everyone who has been exposed to it gets it.  *Note-I'm currently doing a detox treatment and it makes it hard to write. Please excuse mistakes!!*

The best way for a doctor to figure out if you do have Lyme's is for the doctor to use a clinical diagnosis. Many, many times the blood work will give a false negative and it can even give a false positive. So what do you do if you suspect you have it? See a doctor and have this checklist (see below) ready. It will help you communicate to your doctor what your symptoms are, and you won't forget when the doc asks you. This checklist comes from http://www.ilads.org/ (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society). Beware, the list is long! I'll probably highlight some and then send you to the checklist in case you ever need it.

Lyme Disease Symptoms:

Persistent swollen glands

Sore throat

Fevers

Sore soles, esp. in the AM

Joint pain: Fingers, toes, ankles, wrists, knees, elbows, hips, shoulders

Joint swelling: fingers, toes, ankles, wrists, knees, elbows, hips, shoulders

Unexplained back pain

Stiffness of the joints or back

Muscle pain or cramps

Obvious muscle weakness

Twitching of the face or other muscles

Confusion, difficulty thinking

Difficulty with concentration, reading, problem absorbing new information

Word search, name block

Forgetfulness, poor short term memory, poor attention

Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places

Speech errors: wrong word, misspeaking

Mood swings, irritability, depression

Anxiety, panic attacks

Psychosis (hallucinations,

delusions, paranoia, bipolar)

Tremor

Seizures

Headache

Light sensitivity

Sound sensitivity

This is by no means a complete list.  These symptoms were taken from http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf#search=%22symptoms%22 pages 9 and 10. There, you can find the complete list.

When I first went in to be diagnosed, I think I counted 30 symptoms that I had. Over the years symptoms  come and go and even change. I have no desire to count now :-) However, it is great to have this list to refer to. I hope this post hasn't been too boring... Next post is about detoxing and I'll update how things are going around here.

allison

Two hundred and thirty days.

Two hundred and thirty days. That is how long I've been doing treatment. I hit a wall for a little bit today. I was tired and I stayed in bed for 5 1/2 hours this afternoon. I really haven't done that in a long time and my body still protested when I got up. :-) Today was my last day of treatment till we return to the doctor to get the next treatment schedule. Thankfully I can rest the next two weeks. I can't imagine what it will be like, though I do have to catch up on chicken chores. I feel like I've been fighting my chickens lately. Two broody hens that had to be broken, one chicken with a bum leg, and another with prolapse. I'm not sure whether she will make it or not. Ugh. But I'll have time to work with her tomorrow.

Fall seems to have come on quite suddenly and I definitely don't look forward to putting on 4 layers just to do my chicken chores... But I do look forward to be able to do them without sweating profusely!! And oh, the fair! When a chill hits the air and the leave start turning and falling, I start to dream of the fair. Fun filled days full of delicious food and sweet animals to look at. Those two things are what I love! I have found quite a few gluten-free foods that I can eat at the fair. This year I really want a dill pickle. Those full size ones that they sell for something like 50 cents. Oh, they are so good! Fudge, nachos, roasted corn, pickles, kettle corn, ice cream, apple cider, and Al's fries. I'm a happy girl when the fair comes to town and it's less than a month away. In the past five years I've been to the fair once in a walking boot (broken foot), once in a wheelchair, and once on a mobility scooter (really broken foot). This year I am going most likely by wheelchair, but I am definitely going! And I'm going twice. Never less than twice.

The first week of this medicine cycle I had a lot of bad herxes and I needed someone with me every day. Joel, my mom, and my aunt normally handle this, but I thought they needed a break. So I called my Mema who came for 3 days. It was so wonderful to have her here. We talked and talked; she graciously cooked and even indulged me when I asked for fried chicken livers! She brought Peso, her Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. He kept things lively for sure! But I was really glad she brought him. Overall, having a small yapping dog went well :-)

So here's to two hundred and thirty days of treatment and to the fair! There are hard things in life and fun things in life. Even when you feel like you've hit a wall, there is always something to look forward to!

September 6: National Read A Book Day

I've been wanting to a post on books since I've had a short break from the last 2 months of treatment. My word, they were hard! I couldn't have done it without my family who really kept me going when I really wanted to quit. Thankfully the doctor has pulled back my treatment so that it will take longer but not be so harsh. I am so thankful for that! I'm working on detoxing and regaining energy, but neither of them are easy. My animals are the perfect diversion-especially the chickens. Annie the dog and Obi-Wan the cat will take a nap with me, but Jasper the crazy kitty just gets into everything possible and then I get tired from chasing him around. Poor thing doesn't come in a lot because of that, but I don't think he has put 2 and 2 together. Jasper has a habit of eating things he's not supposed to (like shower curtains and fabric)so we have to be super alert when he's in. Craziness!!!

On to my favorite topic... Books! I really have a problem with acquiring books, but at least I do buy them at thrift stores and antique shops where they are 50 cents to $1.50. I have a ridiculous amount of books in the living room, and no, none of them are on a book shelf. Here they are in no particular order:

A NEW SELECTED POEMS by Galway Kinnell
 "STAND BACK," SAID THE ELEPHANT, "I'M GOING TO SNEEZE!" by Patricia Thomas 
LITTLE TOOT by Hardie Gramatky
Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
The Fabric & Yarn Dyer's Handbook by Tracy Kendall
THE FEDERALIST PAPERS by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison -edited by Richard Beeman
ESSAYS Old and New -edited by Robert U. Jameson
STORM OF SWORDS by George R.R. Martin
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
LINCOLN SPEECHES edited by Richard Beeman
BARNES'S PRIMARY HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES from the AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
THE SOUND AND THE FURY/AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
HALF BROKE HORSES by Jeannette Walls
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown
KNOW YOUR CHICKENS by Jack Byard
Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni by Allan Hayes and John Blom
Storey's Guide to RAISING CHICKENS by Gail Damerow
my Bible
CAST of CHARACTERS by Max Lucado
THE HEAVENLY MAN: the remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun -with Paul Hattaway OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck
ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card
THE EARTH MOVED: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms by Amy Stewart
another Bible
Jesus Today by Sarah Young
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
FARM CITY: THE EDUCATION OF AN URBAN FARMER by Novella Carpenter
Bound Feet and Western Dress by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang
CHERRY AMES CLINIC NURSE by Julie Tatham
CHERRY AMES AT SPENCER by Julie Tatham
CHERRY AMES SENIOR NURSE by Helen Wells
and... and an untold amount of chicken magazines.

35+ books on my living room floor.
I have a SERIOUS, SERIOUS problem.
I'm currently reading 8 of them.
Oh.My.Word.