Conflict Resolution

Today, a personal note on living with Lyme Disease for Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

By now you've probably heard so many stories of people with Lyme and their symptoms. Maybe you've heard it brings joint pain and chronic fatigue. Or maybe you've heard it makes people foggy, gives them memory problems and unable to think. Maybe you've even heard that it can bring on migraines, seizures, nerve pain or mimic multiple other diseases like MS, ALS, Parkinsons, Lupus and more. And by now you are completely confused because how can one pathogen cause so many completely different problems?

That is the $64 million question. As a person living through this hell called Lyme disease, I suspect the answer lies within the effect it has on the immune system. Every single day I face both immune suppression AND autoimmune disease. Think about that for a minute. Immune suppression means I don't have enough antibodies in my body to fight infection. Autoimmune disease involves the immune system on overdrive making too many antibodies and attacking itself. Both cause the same symptoms. It's a little bit like having a third degree burn plus frost bite in the same place at the same time. Which is causing the pain and which do you treat first?

It's exhausting to live day after day in a body with conflicting health issues, both of which were brought on by Lyme. I watch every morsel of food I eat so not to bring on Celiac/autoimmune pain. I also take roughly 20 supplements per day plus monthly intravenous IGg antibodies to bring back the immune system. Pairing cause with symptoms is half the battle. This week, as my joint pain disappeared, the migraines came back slowly until they reached unbearable levels. Thankfully my awesome doctors and I could track the migraines to the cause and even the right medication. So after 5 weeks off all antibiotics, I'm back on antibiotic shots in the ass again. It may be a relapse, but I'm counting this as progress. It's only one symptom out of the 30+ that I've had. Besides, a shot in the ass feels a lot better than a blinding migraine.

Here's a macro shot of a Protea flower.  Just because Lyme Don't Kill My Vibe!