Climbing Out of the Darkness

I feel like I have been the star of a show about vampires lately. I have literally spent the greater part of the last 3 weeks in the pitch black darkness. This round has been a rough one. The first week was the worst. I was completely not functional, taking Septra, Omnicef, Rifabutin, Artemisinin, Mepron, Diflucan, and Flagyl. This combo is a full-fledged war against Babesia and judging from how I felt and the nearly ten days I spent in complete darkness, my own energy and every ounce of my existence being a temporary casualty of war along with, hopefully, millions of spirochetes and their friends.

Week two was easier on my body - taking just Omnicef and Cipro, but I was still expelling the remnants of the week before, so I remained in a state of emergency, without power physically or electrically in my room for that week.  I do fine on Omnicef, but Cipro for me, like most is very upsetting to the stomach and so trips outside my bedroom remained mostly a direct route to the bathroom.

I just finished Week 3 of treatment, which was Coartem alone, of course with the usual 50 pills a day of neurotropics and natural supplements, and my body, once again took a beating.  I've required a lot of sleep and rest and with that, a lot of help. I am now on a three-week antibiotic holiday, so as not to start the wretched Week One of the same cycle over Thanksgiving.

Most of my readers know that I historically feel AWFUL on my antibiotic holidays, a time when one is supposed to feel better. I never do, although I can at least sit up and sometimes eat a little. I am considered "highly reactive" to everything and will remain on Rifabutin and Minocycline during my holiday, making it not exactly "antibiotic-free". I am, however, willing to do what needs to be done to be gentle on my body.

I had a scary episode five days ago, while lying on my bed. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, my body heated up, I started to itch everywhere and then I broke into full body hives, the worst being on my arms and my bright red face. My Benedryl had expired and I had just thrown it out. So I raced around, trying to find anything that would work. I found a bottle of Children's Benedryl and chugged half the bottle. That helped. In the meantime, I feared my breathing may be effected, so I called my parents and they came over in case there would be a hospital visit. As a Lyme patient, you want to avoid all ER visits unless completely necessary, because if you are to get injected with any kind of prednisone/steroid, it can completely disrupt treatment. Thankfully, by the time my parents arrived, the itching started to calm and Dad had brought real Benedryl, I promptly fell asleep and everything was fine.

I thought that was the end of that, but it happened again last night and I am not sure why. I have been told now to take Benedryl around the clock for 48 hours (and each time this happens) because something from the treatment is blowing up in my body causing me to react. Hives does not seem to be a positive step, but if I look at it as a rash of illness trying to expel itself from my body, I find myself quite content with the idea.

Yesterday I saw a new acupuncturist. She was very Lyme-knowledgeable and I was referred to her by my wonderful massage/physical therapist. After a lengthy intake, we started treatment. She used traditional needles in my ears and I certainly feel an electrical jolt in areas which do not surprise me - liver, spleen, and emotional areas all located on the ears. Then she did energy work to find where my body was calling for acupuncture. It was amazing because she would say "What do you think about right here?" and I would either say "Yes, I have pain there" the feel the pain of the needle followed by an eventual release, or I would say "Nah, I am fine there." "No, I'm not sure about that" and WHACK! YOWZER  You win!

The cool thing is that she uses these tiny needles that you keep in you. They have small caps on them and circular band aids and when they fall out after showering, you thrown them away until the next treatment when you get new ones.  The beauty of this? I have NO SPINAL PAIN whatsoever for the first time in years. I am so thrilled. What a gift.

As of today, I still needed a three-hour nap, but my mind feels lucid and I think I can finally take care of my daughter on my own tonight. That feels very rewarding. Since I tend to have terrible holidays, I expect it won't be this way every day, but I have learned to live for the moment and in this moment, unless I have a crash, I get to be Mommy again and climb out of the darkness.

The book is now available for purchase on the website using PayPal. Gift wrapping will also be an option for the holidays and will be added shortly. THANK YOU to those of you who have already bought your copy. Please consider those around you who may need a copy. If you have a book club, email me about how you can get your free copy. I am grateful for the support I have been shown so far and hope that the book will reciprocate that support through being relatable and common ground.