Update

I just emailed a friend an update, which I've mostly copied here.

Hey-
I keep meaning to update the Lyme blog, but seriously I cannot even tell you how horrible this last month has been.

Two weeks ago I had the stomach flu (to the point where all I could keep down were ice chips). I had just gotten better when I got the call that my grandmother had this major stoke, and at this point, we might be pulling the feeding tube and calling hospice. It's horrible. And my aunt just got here from Portland. She's supposed to be recovering from brain surgery (her second this year). My uncle was taking care of her and got H1N1 followed by pneumonia. Anyhow... it's just been awful.

I had a doctor appointment over the phone on Friday with my Lyme dr. My last test came back definitive for Lyme, so I guess that's good. I started my Lyme antibiotics on Friday. They treat the intracellular form of the bacteria (it comes in three forms and it is really good at hiding from antibiotics and the immune system). Anyhow, I started getting insanely dizzy last night at Costco and nauseated. It was all I could do just to get into bed when we got home. And I haven't moved much since. I called the dr. and he said that 1-2% of people have this reaction to the antibiotic, and we need to switch drugs. Usually they would switch to Doxycycline, but it causes worse GI issues, so I need to switch drug classes. There are only so many drugs I can cycle through. If I can't handle them with my stomach, we will probably have to switch to IV. At this point it's a matter of getting the right combo of drugs. Once we have them, the theory is to stay on them until all symptoms are gone (or 90% better) for 2-3 months. It doesn't guarantee that the bacteria are gone, but it's a good shot.

The thyroid meds and the yeast meds have already made such a difference!

Getting sick while you're sick

I've been fighting a cold for a while. It's been a mild irritation, but nothing that's a big deal. I've been a little stressed about H1N1, but we stay pretty isolated, so I figure we're ok.

I had breakfast and my decaf coffee (I can't have caffeine during treatment, and I probably shouldn't have decaf). I poured the small amount remaining in my cup and came upstairs. That's when the rumble in my tummy began. Let's just say that deciding which end takes priority is not a fun way to spend the day.

I would like to take some Pepto or better yet some anti-nausea medicine (which I'm pretty sure I don't have since the fire). But I really don't want to add to my medicine cocktail as I don't know what is "safe" and what's not.

The other problem is that I knew it was pointless to take any meds today... when Gatorade won't stay down, I don't think pills will either.

I'm hoping this passes quickly. And this is a good reminder of what sick *can* feel like. I am fatigued. My hands and feet do weird numb things. I forget which version of there/their/they're I need to use. But really, those are just annoyances. It's not so bad that I can't sleep because of the stomach cramps. That's sick!