I shared last week that I have Lyme disease. So I wanted to share my Lyme story with you. And there's more about my Lyme regarding my upcoming trip.
Please know I'm not asking for sympathy. At all. I just wanted to share as many have asked, and in hopes that it can encourage others battling Lyme as well. To my fellow Lymies stuck in the trenches, there will be better days, I promise. Stay strong! ♥
Oh, and I scattered random pics from Instagram of my siblings through out the post because it needed some pictures, and I don't have any that went with the post. ;) Follow us @mygodislord!!
For those who don't know, you get Lyme from getting bitten by a deer tick (also called black-legged tick).
We believe I got bitten Ukraine 2.5+ years ago, as I had flu like symptoms while there, which I now know to be early signs of Lyme. I might of also had a bulls eye looking rash, it's hard to remember, but since it disappeared, we dismissed it, and I forgot to tell my mom.
After I got home, my mom said I complained of feeling achy and tired all the time. Then fast forward to this last Dec and Jan/Feb when I got really sick in Kansas. We think the stress of my trip triggered it.
After getting home, being on another round of antibiotics, using an inhaler, and living off of ibuprofen for my near constant headache, the doctor has no idea why I'm still sick and getting headaches. They wanted me to get a CT scan and see a neurologist next. Mom didn't want to go that route yet, so she got me tested by a homeopathic doctor who diagnosed at the beginning of March with Lyme, and a host of other things including hormonal imbalance.
So right now, we are doing natural/homeopathic treatment. I was told I would get worse before getting better as my body was detoxing and working it's way out of the disease, and get worse I did. So bad that I thought at one point if I got any worse I would be bedridden.
I'm now on week 10 of 11 weeks of treatment, and last week, I was doing really good. Only occasional headaches, some joint pain, not taking ibuprofen more than 2x a week, and nearly no fatigue (but still lots of insomnia).
That was until I found out I was going to Spitz's and started two weeks of very intensive school work. Since then I've been regressing and getting worse. Getting symptoms again that I thought I had long seen the end of. I believe part of it is spiritual attack because I know the evil one doesn't like me doing these trips, but also mostly due to the fact my stress level shot up. Which would further confirm why I got sick in KS.
Most of the stress was from studying for a big test I took yesterday, not so much from the trip itself. After you make a certain number of these trips, trip preparation isn't stressful anymore! Like having kids, after the 3rd one, it's easy (or so I've heard). LOL
Now, I'm hoping that since I'm done with the test, I'll be on the upswing again!
(Test: See here, I now have 6 more credits from American Literture! Yay!)
During the trip itself, I don't feel like I'll be too stressed, and am going to do everything possible to not be so I can stay healthy and be helpful! There are many things I feel will make this trip less stressful than past trips, the big one being Rachel will be there. She's very good at keeping me laughing, happy, and non-stressed, I know from experience. :) Plus having another pair of hands just as willing as I am to help will be huge.
So that's where I'm at with my Lyme, and where I hope to be at in the coming weeks.
There is no official cure for Lyme, and things that work for some may not work for others. I think the homeopathic treatment is helping a LOT, even if it's not getting rid of it completely.
While I am (was?) doing so much better, I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to get rid of it completely, no matter what treatment option we take. I pray I will, but it's a very real possibility I'll live with it, or at least some minor symptoms of it, the rest of my life. As long as I'm not really sick the rest of my life, and it just remains like it was the 2 yrs between when I got it and when I got really sick, I think I could deal with it.
However, I could give any future biological children congenital Lyme. That is not something I want, and is the big thing that scares me about not being able to get rid of it. Good thing I'm already so open to adoption!!! lol I guess it'll be quite awhile before I have to worry about it though. ;)
Please know I'm not asking for sympathy. At all. I just wanted to share as many have asked, and in hopes that it can encourage others battling Lyme as well. To my fellow Lymies stuck in the trenches, there will be better days, I promise. Stay strong! ♥
Oh, and I scattered random pics from Instagram of my siblings through out the post because it needed some pictures, and I don't have any that went with the post. ;) Follow us @mygodislord!!
For those who don't know, you get Lyme from getting bitten by a deer tick (also called black-legged tick).
We believe I got bitten Ukraine 2.5+ years ago, as I had flu like symptoms while there, which I now know to be early signs of Lyme. I might of also had a bulls eye looking rash, it's hard to remember, but since it disappeared, we dismissed it, and I forgot to tell my mom.
After I got home, my mom said I complained of feeling achy and tired all the time. Then fast forward to this last Dec and Jan/Feb when I got really sick in Kansas. We think the stress of my trip triggered it.
After getting home, being on another round of antibiotics, using an inhaler, and living off of ibuprofen for my near constant headache, the doctor has no idea why I'm still sick and getting headaches. They wanted me to get a CT scan and see a neurologist next. Mom didn't want to go that route yet, so she got me tested by a homeopathic doctor who diagnosed at the beginning of March with Lyme, and a host of other things including hormonal imbalance.
So right now, we are doing natural/homeopathic treatment. I was told I would get worse before getting better as my body was detoxing and working it's way out of the disease, and get worse I did. So bad that I thought at one point if I got any worse I would be bedridden.
I'm now on week 10 of 11 weeks of treatment, and last week, I was doing really good. Only occasional headaches, some joint pain, not taking ibuprofen more than 2x a week, and nearly no fatigue (but still lots of insomnia).
That was until I found out I was going to Spitz's and started two weeks of very intensive school work. Since then I've been regressing and getting worse. Getting symptoms again that I thought I had long seen the end of. I believe part of it is spiritual attack because I know the evil one doesn't like me doing these trips, but also mostly due to the fact my stress level shot up. Which would further confirm why I got sick in KS.
Most of the stress was from studying for a big test I took yesterday, not so much from the trip itself. After you make a certain number of these trips, trip preparation isn't stressful anymore! Like having kids, after the 3rd one, it's easy (or so I've heard). LOL
Now, I'm hoping that since I'm done with the test, I'll be on the upswing again!
(Test: See here, I now have 6 more credits from American Literture! Yay!)
During the trip itself, I don't feel like I'll be too stressed, and am going to do everything possible to not be so I can stay healthy and be helpful! There are many things I feel will make this trip less stressful than past trips, the big one being Rachel will be there. She's very good at keeping me laughing, happy, and non-stressed, I know from experience. :) Plus having another pair of hands just as willing as I am to help will be huge.
So that's where I'm at with my Lyme, and where I hope to be at in the coming weeks.
There is no official cure for Lyme, and things that work for some may not work for others. I think the homeopathic treatment is helping a LOT, even if it's not getting rid of it completely.
While I am (was?) doing so much better, I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to get rid of it completely, no matter what treatment option we take. I pray I will, but it's a very real possibility I'll live with it, or at least some minor symptoms of it, the rest of my life. As long as I'm not really sick the rest of my life, and it just remains like it was the 2 yrs between when I got it and when I got really sick, I think I could deal with it.
However, I could give any future biological children congenital Lyme. That is not something I want, and is the big thing that scares me about not being able to get rid of it. Good thing I'm already so open to adoption!!! lol I guess it'll be quite awhile before I have to worry about it though. ;)
Praying for you Sarah! May you be blessed!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, Sarah. What a roller coaster you have been through. Continued prayers. . . btw, love the family pics!
ReplyDelete