How about an update? Whoops... It's been a while.

Well, I have now been in treatment for my lovely Lyme for 9 weeks and let me say that the first 5 weeks were great... not with how I felt... but with the progress I know I was making.

The next 5... well... not so great.

Here is what has happened. (AKA: the Big Update from the Slacker.)

As you have probably read in a previous post, my first Lyme doctor had his license suspended. I was devastated. However, before I had gotten set up with him, I had made an appointment with another Lyme doctor. But she was a few months out as far as appointments go. So after I had been acquainted with my first doc, and had been on the Clarithromycin for 4 weeks, I had my first appointment with the new Doc.

She is amazing. I am so glad I hadn't cancelled that appointment! There was always some little gut feeling deep inside me, that would not let me cancel that appointment; even after I had such a successful first visit with Doc H. So, here we are. Not an orphaned Lymie, and still under a doctor's care. YAY!

Back to the timeline... The Clarithromycin hits deep. After a few days I began to feel the herx. (Remember, that's the bacteria die-off, resulting in a major neuro-toxin expelling, making the Lymie sicker than before.) Daily, I took steps to detoxify my system, and daily, the herxing increased. I was happy about this, as it meant I was killing these little buggers.

After 3 weeks, I began sweating again! This is part of my autonomic disorder that technically isn't curable. Things were starting to happen, and while I knew it was a long road ahead, I was encouraged.

About a week after my appointment with the new doc (5 weeks into the Clarithromycin treatment), the antibiotic puttered and stalled out. Of course. So I called and she ordered Doxycycline, 100 mg, 2/day. She also had ordered Alinia for my Babesia, as it is really affecting my heart. Well, the Alinia is über "expensivo," so we had to order it through an international pharmacy. And the waiting game began... Only taking the Doxy, and feeling my Lyme symptoms creep back in daily.

So, now, as I sit in the dawnings of the new year, I feel as if the first inklings of my healing were disrupted and a little bit in vain. It's hard to feel this way, after having reported to so many family and friends just how well things were going, and how much improvement I have seen.

I am about 100% back to my pre-treatment Lyme symptoms. The sweating has ceased again... the muscle fatigue, the aching, burning arms and legs, headaches, awful, awful brain fog and memory issues. Etc., etc., etc. It's pretty hard to be a writer with brain fog.

"Uh, honey, what's that word where it's like you really focus on things and pay special attention to detail and etc.?"

"You mean 'devoted'?" 

"Yep. Thanks." 

This convo seriously happened yesterday. And the typing dyslexia... yeah, that's back. It takes me about twice as long to type things as I have to go back and fix mistakes. And I'm way too perfectionist-oriented to allow them to stay that way! Maybe one of these days I will give an example of what my initial typings look like... but not just yet.

Okay, so this is my update, to date. :) I will begin treating the Babs (Babesia) just as soon as I get home from our New Years travels, and will make sure to report in way more frequently. I also have an appointment with my Lyme Doc (yes, the new one), and will have the results of my newest Western Blot Lyme test. It will be nice to see just what has stirred up after the 4 weeks of antibiotics (at the time of the testing). The antibiotics always stir more of the bacteria into the blood stream, so they are more detectable and the body shows more antibody activity... hopefully.

Have a happy New Year everyone, and just say no to Lyme in the coconut! ;-)