Slow Learner

So, I've had this overwhelming desire for the past 6 months or so to get to the point of building my stamina, strength, and endurance back up. Every time I've tried in any form, and against medical advice, I've had to humbly accept defeat and deal with my consequences. Today was no different.

I was feeling good, all joint pain had gone away again, and I decide what better time than now to disobey my doctor and try to push myself. I started small, of course, which is disheartening in itself...2 sets of 3 different arm exercises with 3 pound weights, exercises I used to do with 8 pound weights. I at least had enough sense to stop there.

I felt GREAT afterwards, had the addictive good muscle burn I've been craving. Then 20 minutes later my heart started to race. Aw, shoot. Ten minutes after than my arms started trembling, followed by throbbing leg pains (wait, I did arm exercises...?), and then a trembling jaw that even made my teeth chatter and my lips went numb and started to swell. This is how weird Lyme Disease can be...stupid borrelia burgdorferi.

My heart rate recovered after about a half hour, the leg throbbing has let up a little bit and now feels like a throbbing numbness, and the trembling is now feeling like more of an electric buzz in my arms and jaw. My bottle of water still shakes when I pick it up. I'm sure this was just the proverbial slap on the hand, and tonight or tomorrow, and possibly for the next couple days, will be when I really pay for it.

Oh, well. I'll probably try again in a few days.

A Flare-Up

So, it's been awhile since my last post. The day after my appointment my health started to take a dip, and got a little worse each day until late last week. I had quite a bit of pain and stiffness come back, and some of the dreaded fatigue that I jinxed myself by saying was lifting came back, too, with a couple of headaches to remind me just how not done with this I am.

But, I've been on the upswing again for the past few days. Welcome to my roller coaster. A couple days with a lot of napping helped bring the fatigue to a near functional level and also, with the help of a little caffeine and giving in to a couple Excedrin Migraine pills, helped chase away the headaches. But the joint pain and stiffness is still fighting with me a bit.

The flare up is perhaps partly due to the drastic weather changes that are so fun during a Wisconsin spring. We've seen rain, snow, 70's with sun, and more rain all in the last 5 days. I continue to be better at predicting the weather than our local tv stations, also a symptom of several chronic illnesses.

So it could be proven...unless planned, big gaps in blog posts are probably filled with naps, pain, and dizzying weariness. Sad, but true...for now at least.

Here's to hoping for more dead bacteria and more subtle weather changes! Cheers!

A Great Appointment

I just got back home from my latest Lyme appointment, and it was great! Not great enough to stop my antibiotics yet, but still relatively great.

My thyroid is now functioning normally - yay!!! Decreases in any medications or supplements is good news for me.

The rest of my bloodwork came back really good. All deficiencies have been conquered, and I'm at optimal levels in most everything. I had one test that came back ever-so-slightly elevated, that the doc said would be indication of infection. He believes it could be Babesia, which is a Lyme co-infection, but will wait until next month's bloodwork to decide if he needs to pursue it. I am already on three antibiotics, so we'll see what comes of that in a few weeks.

Adjustments to my treatment plan are minor - dropping in a few supplements and increasing in a couple others. I even get to drop dosage in two prescriptions...and I'm more than okay with that.

Overall though, I'm feeling better. Fatigue is lifting, symptoms are continuing to fade into oblivion. And he tells me just as importantly as how I'm feeling is how I look, and he said I look great - a lot better than the last time I saw me.

Thanks for your prayers, and keep 'em coming! I'm not out of the woods yet (no pun intended), but after a dreadfully long and ill-feeling winter, things are quickly moving the right direction. It looks (and feels!) like we might have the best summer of our married lives so far. Who wants to celebrate with us?? :)

A Must-See Film

There is a documentary being released in theaters in June called Under Our Skin. It's about the reality of Lyme Disease and is going to shock lots of people when they find out the information that's been greatly withheld from the public. I strongly encourage EVERYONE to see it, at least on DVD after it's released in that form. Here's a glimpse...




Lyme Disease is extremely misdiagnosed and very often under treated. Aside from getting this information on the disease out, I've heard that the documentary is captivating and beautifully done. Please see it for one reason or another. And if all else fails, see it for me!