iamonica
 |
| Rank | New Member |
| Online Status | OFFLINE |
| Member Since | 09/22/2008 04:26 PM |
| Last Online | 07/31/2012 10:07 AM |
| Gender: | Female |
| Birthdate: | 01/28/1971 |
| City: | Columbia |
| State: | Maryland |
| Occupation: | Home childcare provider |
| A little about me: | Hi, I’m from Columbia Md, I’m a 39 yr old mom of two boys 8 and 12, and a wife of 14 years. I’ve had been a home childcare provider for 4 years. I was diagnosed w/ lyme in May 08. I had to quit my home daycare business in October of last year. I was too unrelyable. I’m tired, weak, and have a never-ending headache. I also have ADD, so I already struggle to stay focused and organized, and now that I have Lyme, I’m in a total fog. I can’t keep up with my own kids and their needs the way I should. And like many of you – "I don’t look like I’m sick!" “My fingers must not hurt because I sure can type when I want to!” “Too bad these fingers couldn’t do the dishes this fast!” “I’m just not trying to pull myself together!” “I find energy only when I want to.” I’ve heard it all! I contracted Lyme in May 2008. I must've picked up a deer tick either in my backyard or during a walk on a bike path through the woods. I live in a planned neighborhood development with small yards but preserved wooded areas with bike paths and tot lots throughout. I haven't actually seen a deer here probably since last winter, dead in the middle of the road across from a fenced in nature preserve area about 1/2 mile away. I used to see deer or deer droppings in my yard a few years ago but as the neighborhood expanded with houses, I haven't actually seen them (deer or dropping) in the yard. I've never known anyone with Lyme. I've never heard anyone talk about someone with Lyme disease. I'm not sure when or where I heard about it in the first place, but all I actually knew about it was that it comes from deer ticks. I never worried about myself or my kids getting bitten. Actually, come to think about it, I took a tick from my son's head about 2 years ago. I made sure I took it out with tweezers without leaving any of it behind. Then we flushed it. I wasn't scared of Lyme at all. I HAD NO CLUE! I listen to the news on t.v. all of the time. I hadn’t heard any warnings about it UNTIL NOW! NOT UNTIL 3 MONTHS AFTER I GOT LYME, DID THEY BEGIN TALKING ABOUT IT ON THE NEWS. It was in the news twice just last week. Sure, I've heard something about how you should tuck your long pants into your socks when in the woods so that you don't get ticks on your skin. BUT I never heard exactly why you don't want those ticks on you, besides the obvious fact that THEY'RE NASTY AND SUCK YOUR BLOOD!!! I guess maybe I thought they could make you sick, like a virus that can go away. LITTLE DID I KNOW! I never imagined I should take precautions every day in my back yard or when I go for a walk with the kids in the stroller on an 85 degree day to the shady tot lot off of the bike path in the woods. My understanding was that HIKERS are the ones who need to be tick conscious and do the pants in sock tuck. Nobody actually thinks they should be wearing long pants tucked in the socks and long sleeve shirts just to go out to your back yard and play with your kids! I don’t think there’s been enough media warnings for Lyme disease. It's just not an obvious, well-known threat like when you see a dead bird on the ground. We automatically go on the defense and warn those around not to touch it and to stay back. Birds carry West Nile Virus, which can then be transmitted to us through mosquitoes. Because of the news coverage on WNV, I know that I should be sure there’s no stagnant water near my home so as to not harbor nesting mosquitoes. Until a half hour ago I thought that West Nile Virus was a deadly virus. People don’t often die from it, in fact from what I’ve read it’s not nearly as dangerous as Lyme disease, yet it’s had more media coverage than Lyme disease. There’s no treatment for it and for most people, it goes away within a week to three weeks. People who are at risk of dying from it tend to be people 80 years old or older. I’m wondering why known cases of Lyme disease from a deer tick isn’t made well-known to the neighbors in that area. Shouldn’t a letter be mailed out to residences in the area where Lyme was contracted? It seems we are always hearing about cases of West Nile. Wouldn’t you want to know if one of your neighbors contracted West Nile Virus out in their back yard? Well from what I’ve read, Lyme is even worse! It’s like knowing that there are rabid raccoons in a neighborhood but not feeling the need to warn anyone. I HAD NO IDEA HOW BAD LYME DISEASE IS AND NEITHER DO MY NEIGHBORS! I’m so mad that authorities didn’t send me a letter telling me that my neighbors are suffering from a disease that they caught in my neighborhood. I didn’t know that Lyme is right out in my backyard. I'm just realizing now that I should send out a letter to my entire neighborhood telling them of the painful disease that I got in my backyard and that it is probably in theirs too. And my yard is tiny, NOT a deer running field - that's for sure! I've got so much to think about...too much. These deer need to be limited to areas far away from homes. They’re killing people. Literally. My first symptoms described below were within a matter of 7 or 8 days before I went to the E.R. I woke one morning to a sore lymph node in my groin area, along with a dull headache that didn't go away with Tylenol. The next morning the headache was a little worse, and now with neck muscle pain. I continued to take Tylenol. Both were continuing and always worse in the morning. I was also increasingly tired. Around the 7th day of this my morning headache and neck pain was extreme. I thought my head would explode. That evening I decided that If I make it to the morning I would go to the emergency room-and my husband would be bringing me. I got up to go to the bathroom and I felt itchy behind my knee. When I rubbed it, it burned a little. That's when I saw the big red circle rash. It didn't look like a bull's eye but definitely a circle or oval. I had no clue about Lyme disease so the rash wasn't an indication of anything familiar. I didn't think it had anything to do with the headache or neck pain or even associated it with the swollen lymph node. The E.R. triage Dr. didn't conclude anything when hearing about all of the above symptoms. She set me up for a CAT scan. Luckily, once I got a bed in the E.R. the nurse came to take vitals and get my info into the computer and she told me right away - this sounds like Lyme. Her daughter had gone through a bad case of it, so she was very knowledgeable. I didn't take the CAT, I got the 3 weeks of Doxy and soon after the first 2 doses, I began feeling better. During those 3 weeks I would often forget to take the daytime dose (I'd forget about 40% of the time), but would always take the evening dose. I finished all of the Doxy though. BTW, I also have ADD which makes it hard for me to be on-task or consistent with anything. I also take care of babies and toddlers in my home daycare so that's why I'd forget it about 40% of the time. My attention is rarely on myself. Within 5 days after I ran out of antibiotic my dull constant headache was back. I dealt with it for 5 more days before I went to my Primary doctor. It wasn't until then that I had even told him about the trip to the E.R. and Lyme. He gave me one more week of Doxy and gave me a Lyme test which later came back positive. BTW-the lyme test from the E.R. came back inconclusive. But all of the symptoms were there. Thanks to the nurse at the E.R. she informed me that the test could come back falsely negative. I took 7 more days of Doxy forgetting the afternoon dose 3 times, but completing all of it. A week later, dull headache came back. Went to the Dr. again, sent me for a CAT scan. With a shadow on the CAT he wanted to be sure it was nothing so sent me for an MRI. MRI came back negative. During the time it took for the tests to come back, I was extremely tired all of the time and had the headache. Another problem was that I was leaving for a month long vacation overseas to visit my husband's relatives. I didn't get the final Lyme test back in time. When I was gone over seas my headache went away but still felt fatigue. I think that the extremely hot dry weather where I was at (Morocco, North Africa) was actually therapeutic. I heard that people from Europe go there to get some relief from Arthritis and other kind of joint pain. After being in Morocco for a month, I came back home, opened the mail and found that my results were still positive for Lyme. Once I was back, I didn’t get the dull headache for about 5 or 6 days. Neck pain and fatigue increased as well. Before I had left for vacation I was so weak from fatigue that I was barely able pack my family's clothes never mind clean my house. So when I got back I actually hired a girl to come over and help me unpack and put away our 8 suitcases full of luggage, and clean up my house so that I could start daycare again. I just contacted my doctor after being back for a month now. (I'm always putting off my own health) I called and gave his admin the message saying that I’d like to be seen ASAP because my headache is becoming worse. She called me back and said that the Dr. said that your lyme results may come back positive for months or years, but that you took 4 weeks worth of Doxy and that’s all you need. I was really frustrated because although I told her that I needed to come in and see the Doc, she made it sound like I just wanted him to phone in an RX for more Doxy. So now I have an appt. in 2 days. I don’t like this doctor any more. I don’t trust him. He should have wanted me to be seen due to the fact that my results were still positive AND I still have symptoms. I felt like he was saying “deal with it!” So, days have gone by and I went to the dr. appt. He told me that the really bad headache that I have may not have to do with lyme, because headache isn’t a typical symptom. I told him that I joined a Lyme support forum and that it definitely is. He said, “No, that’s not true in my experience”. A bit arrogant – ya think?? He said, Okay, I’ll give you 3 weeks of doxy and if you have symptoms after that you’ll need to do a spinal tap. Yea, right like I’m going back to see him! I’ve taken Doxy for 3 ½ days now. I slept all day and night on Friday, and woke on Saturday at 11:30. My headache is still throbbing even after taking Tylenol. That’s my story. I’ve had lyme now for 4 months (only 4 - months with respect for those suffering for years) BTW, I just started a colon cleanser and detoxification. It’s by Dr. Natura. www.drnatura.com Nobody recommended this to me, I was actually thinking of doing a detox/cleanser before I got Lyme. I've felt like I may have parasites in my stomach. I've never done a detox/colon cleanser. I looked for a reputable one on the internet and was amazed when I went to drnatura.com. I can't say anything about it yet because it's my first week. Has anyone reading this heard of a long term (3 month) colon cleanser doing the trick for their lyme disease illness? If anyone who’s read this feels like they have any helpful info for me, I’d love to hear from you. Thanks for your interest and good luck to those with lyme. Well the anti-biotic is working minimally. I mean I was in more pain when I first got it but I'm back to having all day headaches, neck pain, brain fog and now I sometimes have joint pain in my hips, ankles and wrists. And my bones always pop like cracking knuckles. It's been about 15 days since I've been on anti biotics and I'm not counting on the anti biotic to start helping. I stopped doing the cleanser/detox because I can't even remember to feed myself and drink water, never mind take a regime of capsules and fiber. I could really use a personal nurse to come in and make sure I'm at least eating, drinking, taking meds, and make phone calls to see a different doctor. I've been spending so many hours on the computer researching alternative medicines. I become fixated on different areas of the health field where it relates to helping with lyme. I don't know what to decide. Oh and on top of my slow brain function, forgetfulness, and confusion, I struggle with ADD (another one that people question exists.) The worst part of this whole illness isn't the discomfort or pain. It is the effect it has had on my family. Our quality of life hasn't been very much fun. I don't feel like I'm being a good mom or wife. I'm holding us back from doing things as a family. I feel like a lump on a log. I'm just there. |
My Hugs
 | Sending hugs and prayers to you, my fellow Lyme Warriors.... Let us stand strong and united this weekend for Worldwide Lyme Disease Protest day... Let us speak the truth... the ugly, shocking, scary, unbelievable truth... Let us be heard... and Let us be healed. *hugs and prayers* purple |
| Hugs to all my fellow Lyme Warriors and Lyme Supporters :)~~~~~~~ Until the site problems are cleared up. ~~~~~Please use the GREEN REPLY button instead of the quick reply box when responding to a post.~~~~~ hugs and blessings, purple |
| Hi Lyme Group, I'm sorry for not being around so much the last month. A lot of personal issues came with the New Year. I hope you all are doing well and hope to catch up soon. Please always feel free to PM me if you need anything. Blessings and light - purple |
Give iamonica...
My Diary
No diary yet
My Health Topics Contributions
No health topics contributed yet
My Photos
No photos added
My Support Groups
My Friends
My Recent Posts
| Neck sweats | 06/12/2009 | ||
My Articles
No articles published