Not feeling very good this week

So, I started new meds recently and at the beginning of the year I added a new medication. It's causing me to have a herx reaction which is good because it demonstrates that the medication is working. The herx happens when you get a rapid die off of bacteria and then you have a toxic load causing your symptoms to increase for a while. I don't know who long this is going to last.

Lately, I've been thinking about everything and I'm getting very suspicious that I may have gotten Lyme or some co-infections from my first tick bite in the spring of 2003. I've been realizing that some of these symptoms such as getting sick all the time and having my left arm hurt go all the way back to when I lived in Santa Rosa. I'm also realizing that I may not have pieced it all together earlier because my memory may have been decreasing even way back then. I'm still trying to piece it all together so if you remember something about my health from 5 or 6 years ago please remind me so I can put the pieces together.

Here is a little bit of what I'm experiencing right now.
-chronic fatigue
-memory loss
-difficulty recalling
-pain around major joints
-severe itching
-difficulty sleeping
-lower back pain
-congestion
-foggy head
-shortness of breath
-hot and cold flashes
-extreme desire to sit or lay down
-feelings of isolation
-emotional roller coaster
-muscle weakness
-lightheadedness
-etc.

It means a lot to me when people offer to help out. It's helpful when people bring over food, or stop by to cook something I already have, drive me places so i can get out of the house, drop off dvds or books, or just stop by to say hi and mentally distract me for a while. I'd appreciate some help or visits this week.

I don't feel good.

So I'm having flash backs to last winter and how I felt then. I have been feeling pretty yucky for the last week and I have a feeling this is going to hang around for a bit longer. I can't do very much when I feel like this and I don't get out of the house much because I don't feel good and can't drive like this. I would love it if friends could stop by this coming week. My husband is back to work and soccer and won't be home very much, it would be nice to have some company. Call or send me an email if you want to stop by, or just come over.
Here's a link explaining what is happening inside my body right now, in case you want to know.


http://www.lymebook.com/jarisch-jarish-herxheimer-reaction-herx-lyme-disease

also I have the DVD of the film UNDER OUR SKIN and would love to share it or watch it with anyone who wants to learn more about Lyme Disease. Just let me know. You can watch the trailer on you tube on their movie website. I'm too tired to look up the link.

Test results

I had a visit with my doctor last week to review my recent test results and assess my progress. I feel I teeny bit better and have a little bit more energy on more days then I used to which is really nice. That could be because I'm getting better, but I suspect that it is because the lil buggers have adapted to the current course of meds I'm taking. My CD-57 test score went from a 60 to 69. An upward trend, but not enough to get excited yet because everyone has daily fluxuations and it won't be considered a truely higher score until it is either 15 points higher or consistently higher with each retest. I'll be getting another one on 8 weeks to recheck.
The plan for now is to take a 10 day break from all meds and detox, then start a new pair of antibiotics that will traget the Lyme more then the co-infections, an enzyme that will help to break the barrier around the little colonies they form, and a sleeping aid to insure that I hit stage 4 sleep way more often. I have mixed feelings about the sleeping aid, but really would love to have refreshing sleep and feel rested in fewer then 12 hours a night, and oh how nice it would be to be rid of the insomnia. The new course of meds should produce another herx reaction so i may be feeling worse for a little while, but that will mean it's working!

The debt ball is rolling!

Inspired by a total lack of money, Suzie Orman's book Young Broke and Fabulous, and the Dave Ramsey system that my friends Michael and Hosanna have used to get completely out of debt(yes totally except for their house!) my husband and I have began paying off our debt. It hasn't been easy living on only his salary, my disability check and having ton of medical bills while trying to pay off debt but we've got the ball rolling.
Earlier this year we began by paying off our new bed before the crazy interest kicked in. The next step was to get take a good look at every debt we owed and keep the list handy to remind us how much we want to eliminate it. Then we tightened a few screws and began budgeting for things that can vary grossly like food and entertainment. Doing that and insuring that all things get paid on time has helped us to be able to pay off my car today!
Now the ball is really rolling. From now on each month we'll take the money were were already paying and put it toward our next debt plus what we normally pay for that bill. Our next account should be paid off in two months. Then we'll take that money and use it to pay off the next bill starting with the smallest amount and moving up our list. We're also going to use our tax return this year to pay off debt. If we get a lot like last year we'll also buy a new couch cause we really need it and can not wait until all of our debt is paid before buying it, but only if our return is over a certain amount. With all the medical bills I'm claiming this year is should be big. So anyway, I just wanted to share our success and maybe inspire you to do them same with your debt.

WORKSHOP

Join Janine and I for our Earring Workshop Sat. Nov. 21st in Santa Cruz. In this 90 minute workshop you'll have fun learning a new skill and leave with 2 finished pairs of earrings to keep for yourself or give as holiday gifts. $35 includes all supplies and 2 talented instructors! Tell your friends and see you there.

Spaces are limited call to reserve your spot today!

Random Lyme Update

People are always asking me how the Lyme thing is going (which is really nice) so I though I'd share with everyone. All in all, things are pretty much the same. I do think I'm getting a bit more energy, but just a bit. However, I am way more sore! Both of my arms are so sore that it hurts really bad to lift the blankets off when I turn over or get out of bed. It hurts to lift my arms over my head to take off a shirt and I can barely put any weight on them. My hips are also really stiff and sore and I'm getting so skinny I hardly recognize myself. I'm not exactly sure what is making me get so small. Maybe it's the wheat and dairy free diet or my muscles getting smaller or maybe it's just a weird side effect of the Lyme. I don't think I've been this small since college or maybe even high school. It's weird. But mostly I'm just in pretty bad pain all day long. I'm taking several things to help, but they only do so much. The best thing is really hot baths. So, I think I'll go and soak right now.
Thanks for asking!

CD-57

Sorry for the delay. I did get my test results and had another appointment with my Lyme Dr. on Oct. 5th. She reviewed everything with me and said that I'm doing pretty well compared to other patients she has. She said my increase in pain is due to the meds working and killing off the lil buggers and that I have lots of dead things floating around in my body so I have to up my detox program. She suggested I drink tons of water, take a homeopathic liquid detox med, soak in HOT baths with Epsom salt, hot tub/sauna for at least 20 minutes, take anti-inflammatories, and use those detox foot pads. I increased my baths, am taking some of my supplements again to help with inflammation (zyflamend is awesome stuff), Advil twice a day, arnica rub downs nightly and arnica caps daily, detox kit daily, and I have started using those detox foot patch things, so gross what comes out of your feet. I think I'm going to need these by the case!

As far as test results go, she said that my white blood cell count is low suggesting a co-infection of Erlichia. She said it'd difficult to distinguish from Lyme because it's symptoms are nearly identical and it rarely occurs without Lyme. That doesn't change anything in my treatment, just gives more info. The CD-57 test also came back. The score for "normal" ranges form 60-360, a score in the 50s or below is concerning, scores in the teens mean you've got a very long uphill fight, single digits mean you might not recover or survive (I have a friend who recovered from single digit scores!!!! Our Dr. told her several times she might not make it and should begin making plans. So scary.) My score was 60! This is a good place to start. However, it doesn't mean very much until we have a few more scores to compare it to. Scores can vary on a person from day to day and even hour to hour, so we need to get several scores with an upward trend for months to know that we are on the right track. If nothing changes in the score, then we switch meds to attack it a different way. She said that her goal is to get me into the 250s and stay there for 3 months then she can have me back off on treatment and see how I do. We're hopping for at least a 10 point improvement with my next test that I'll get at the end of November(I think). Darn Memory. Wish me luck!