Kidnapped

My body has once again been kidnapped. It's amazing how quickly it happens. This round we are going full charge against the Babesia and Lyme which were successfully released by ripping through the biofilm last cycle by using the usual antibiotic cocktail and lactoferrin and xylitol water, a treatment that no other doctor is using yet. It's astonishingly successful. 

And so we have no choice but to attack what has been unleashed. I felt it happen all last cycle, as my spinal fluid scream in pain from my sacrum to my C1. I had uncontrollable constant migraines, exhaustion, joint pain, rages, some hallucinations, definitive memory loss and many other symptoms. 

And so tonight I lay here under my flannel sheet under my new comforter and am realizing that I will have to add an electric blanket to the mix and increase my dose of clonidine if I am to get through this fall without falling back into my regular state of hypothermia. 

About two hours after I took my cocktail of the month, which is more like a Long Island Iced Tea than last month wine spritzer. Yes, my ass is about to be thoroughly kicked. WIthin a couple of hours after the first dose, this was confirmed by my assistant who asked me if I knew the right side of my face was drooping. I didn't. I knew my tongue had been tingly and numb, but not my face. So I looked at my face and sure enough - Bell's Palsy. Thankfully, it only lasted for a couple of hours, but it is likely to come back and join the crowd of symptoms for a longer stay, thinking the more the merrier.   

I stayed in bed until 3pm when I decided I would go to my daughter's dance class because soon there will be days I can't. It took every ounce out of me, but I made it and she was very happy. We got home and she got a little sneaky then fed part of her dinner to the dog pretending "he stole it", so I had to redo her dinner a bit. I was spent, but I made it. 

The stomach issues are back. This is my least favorite because it keeps me up and is generally unpleasant, but it is reality.  I know all of you going through this know what I mean.

So, Day 1 was ok. There are still a few hours to go, but I have survived. We'll see how tomorrow goes. Usually, the schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but this time we're doing Monday - Friday without any stops. This should be a pretty good weight loss plan.  

There will be no escape from these little kidnappers for a few weeks, but I will get away. In 3 weeks, I will slowly make my way back to myself during the first week of the holiday and then I will have a good week. Then I get to go through it all over again. But I soldier on. 

Thank you all for the well wishes and requests to continue blogging. As you know, it helps me immensely and I appreciate that it helps many of you too. I also appreciate those who read in support of me and just to learn about Lyme. It's a pandemic that must be screamed about until we are heard. We exist. We hurt. We are broken, but not unfixable. We want our lives back. And there is no one in the IDSA or AMA paying any attention to us, because our disease "doesn't exist". 

And this is precisely why my book will be released four weeks from now. I hope to support my fellow Lymies and their loved ones, but also make some noise. It's been exhausting writing a book while going through treatment, but I have done it and I am proud of it. Four weeks. It's overwhelming. 

Now I will go back to The West Wing on Netflix and fall asleep. That sounds just right.