Lyme it is!

Yesterday I was officially diagnosed with Lyme Disease.

Even though I had the test results for a week (via email from Germany), I suppose I was still in denial.  Having a doctor confirm this was something else. Luckily, I had hubby in with me and he was able to ask questions, confirm my treatment plan and generally be my ‘brain’ as I forget things so easily.

Here I was thinking that now I have a diagnosis, it will be easy…. I will just start treatment… uh uh 😦

I also had a stool sample analysis and the results were terrible (and to me terrifying).  It seems that I have not enough of every good bug and am riddled with the bad ones.  One baddie in particular is Streptococcus.  A normal reading is <5%.  My level is 50%.  So before we can even tackle the LD issue, I have had to start on strong antibiotics to kill off this bug.  I will then go through the process of improving the levels of the good flora.  *sigh*  I never realised the effect that gut flora has on anxiety and depression.  So much is controlled by the gut.

I have also had to stop my sugar intake immediately as the bad bugs thrive on it. This is going to be a long process.

I started on Abx last night and already today I feel nauseous.  I had a couple of hours this morning where I had a sprinkling of energy, but that soon subsided and I feel totally washed out again.

I have had to order a spray from the US and it costs a fortune.  But my LLMD said he has patients who have reported remarkable improvements using it.  Can you put a price on good health?

I feel that I am at the beginning of a roller coaster ride, scared of the ride ahead but looking forward to that exhilarating feeling when it is over.

So Many Emotions

In the short space of one week, I have felt so many emotions, both high and low….

On Friday after arriving home, Sunny was still very drowsy but we had to take her to our vet where we were taught how to use and inject her with an Epi-pen.  Memories flooded back after all these years of experiencing the same thing with our son who also had anaphylactic reactions to many things.

Luckily we had plans to catch up with friends in the evening.   The guys went to watch QLD vs WA in lawn bowls and my girlfriend and I had the best pizza ever and a good catch up.  It was a great night.

Unfortunately, upon our return, I found out that a friend’s daughter had taken her own life while we were away.  She had lived with Lymes for 14 years and lived in constant agony, bed bound and enduring suffering that no-one should ever have to.

I also learnt that our son had been quite ill while we were away with a throat infection on top of his Lymes.  His illness had put pressure on his relationship and his girlfriend was finding it difficult to cope with.  They had decided to have a few days apart to get their thoughts/feelings into perspective.

I spent Saturday crying and lethargic.  A quick jolt back to reality.

Sunday, I pulled myself together and had the best day that I have had since becoming ill again last December.  I manged to get so many jobs done around the house and even went shopping by myself.  This meant driving the car and also going into the supermarket.  I walked in like I owned it and it was a glorious feeling.  On top of the world!

Monday I saw the new Lyme Doctor and I was very emotional as I had to tell my story from A-Z yet again.  He ordered a ton of blood tests and I see him again in a fortnight’s time.  It is then that I will have more blood tests which will be sent to Germany.

On Tuesday, hubby came home with car problems and I had to cancel my appointment with my psych.  Luckily there was nothing major wrong with his car and our mechanic was able to look at it immediately.

But Tuesday only got worse.  When our son arrived home, he told us that his relationship had ended.  His girlfriend had packed a few things and had moved out.  I was devastated for my son as it was his birthday the next day!

So Wednesday, my heart broke for our son and I was really down.  I could tell that I was starting the downward spiral again.  I just don’t handle things as well as I used to.  We had a special dinner for him and tried to make the night as happy as we could.  Thank God for his friends (guys and girls) who rallied around him and made sure he had a great day/night.

I saw my nurse on Thursday and ‘let it all out’.  So many different emotions and so many tears….

Our son is coping well and really thinks it is for the best.  He amazes me no end.

Sunny is bounding around again and up to her playful antics of bringing pebbles and leaves in from outside.  She has so much energy.

I had ten days without feeling off-balance, but the stress of the week has brought back some jerking and dizziness.  I have taken a day off today and just rested as I have been very depressed the last two days.  I am hoping this will give me energy and a renewed vigour to stay positive and cope with what this week has to offer.

Karri Valley

View from our balcony.

After much anxiety just thinking about going away, I actually started to get a little excited a couple of days before we went.  Maybe this coincided with the fact that I had two days of virtually no jerking or feeling off balance.  I felt grounded and that felt WONDERFUL!

We visited Karri Valley twice last year.  I call it my ‘place of serenity’.  It is so peaceful. Nestled away in the forest, 20 km from the local town, it is built around a lake.

We always stay in a lakeside room which has a balcony literally over the lake.

The lake is stocked with trout regularly (or so they say) and hubby always settles in with a scotch in hand and throws in a line.  In our three visits, he has only ever caught one trout, which he returned immediately to the lake.  It is his way to ‘come down’ and forget about work and the pressures of day to day living and the running of his business.

Parrot on our balcony.

The resort has no internet or mobile access, so we would catch up on messages when we drove in to town.

I coped really well, getting up early for breakfast and visiting a few of our favourite places.  We went to Beedelup falls and I was determined to walk across the suspension bridge. Unfortunately, 6 steps in and panic overcame me.  But it was still nice to have the walk through the forest and to be able to cope with the many steps down to see the waterfall.  We also visited the Lavender Farm and the dam.

Apart from trying to cross the bridge, the only other time I felt strong anxiety was while we were eating lunch at the local pub.  I knew hubby was looking forward to the huge steaks they have on offer, so I persevered, made it through, even though I felt very uncomfortable. I must say that I enjoyed my lunch of marron also.

We had a beautiful time, relaxed and rested – just what we both needed.

Beedelup Falls

Unfortunately on the last night, we received a call from our son to say that our little pup, Sunny, had been rushed to our local veterinary hospital.  She was in a bad way.  Her heartbeat was 229 bpm and her blood pressure was very low.  We kept in touch with the hospital and they said she had a severe allergic anaphylactic reaction to something.  Most probably a bite from a bee, wasp or ant.

We decided to leave earlier than planned the next morning to get home and help out with the situation.  Luckily, she had responded well to treatment and was back at home before we arrived.

Suspension Bridge

Forest Seclusion