I've never liked doctors, and don't have a history of going to them. So 25 years ago when my symptoms first appeared, I didn't go to a doctor. When I was in my early twenties I was thin, I ran, danced and roller-skated. I also had a social life and was always busy doing something. Looking back on it now, I suddenly gained lots of weight and soon after I lost a lot of my physical mobility.
I can vividly remember that I lived in an apartment that was on the 4th floor and I'd run up and down the stairs with no problem. Then one day I started using the elevator to go up to my floor, and would just gingerly walk downstairs. Then soon after that I'd use the elevator to go down as well. Then I couldn't get up off my couch. I had to hold on to the arm and pull myself up. This all took place in the matter of weeks. I never felt sick or thought it was something real, and hating doctors as I did, I just coped with my new body. I remember watching people stand up from a sitting position and just studying them and wondering why I forgot how to stand up. Anyhow, here I am 25 years later getting some answers.
Since my last hospitalization in 2005, I've had high blood sugar and edema in my legs, which has forced me to see a doctor weekly. For the past couple of years, I've been going to a naturopath who is wonderful. I've slowly began to open up to her. She knows my history of me being in coma and multiple organ failure.
A couple months ago I told her that one day I could walk stairs and get up off a couch and the next I couldn't, and she stopped me mid-way through and said, "I think you may have Lyme Disease". She then said I may have to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life, but I would be healthy. I'm not even sure of the words she used, but that was the essence. My partner of 20 years, Chris, was with me that day and as we walked out of my doctor’s office we just looked at each other and said is that all I have? Could it be this simple?
We were speechless. We've didn't realize how much fear we'd both been living in that I'd get sick again, with no answers as to why. When I first got sick in 2001, I was called a miracle. I was hospitalized for five months. Chris was told I'd die the first night. I had literally no major symptoms other than an stomach flu. I stopped breathing on the way to the hospital and by the time I got there I was bleeding internally and had a blood sugar of 1400. My pancreas shut down. My kidneys shut down and my respiratory system shut down. Then things got complicated after that. I was in a coma for 40 days.
Part of the complications were that I had a systemic yeast infection and I was put on high powered antibiotics. It was the antibiotics, I believe, that saved my life and gave my body the ability to heal. My blood sugar went back to normal. I could breathe on my own and my kidneys began to function normally again. It took me a couple of years to recover fully. In my opinion, the antibiotics allowed the Lyme Disease to be minimized for awhile.
I'm not taking Lyme Disease lightly. I should have been dead a few times over. I'm just very grateful I don't have to live with the fear of dropping dead for no apparent reason. I can get control back in my life. I'm starting to get some of my mobility back. I've spent half of my life with Lyme Disease running wild in my body ... And only a couple of months of treatment. I've got a wonderful journey ahead of me.
Cee
I can vividly remember that I lived in an apartment that was on the 4th floor and I'd run up and down the stairs with no problem. Then one day I started using the elevator to go up to my floor, and would just gingerly walk downstairs. Then soon after that I'd use the elevator to go down as well. Then I couldn't get up off my couch. I had to hold on to the arm and pull myself up. This all took place in the matter of weeks. I never felt sick or thought it was something real, and hating doctors as I did, I just coped with my new body. I remember watching people stand up from a sitting position and just studying them and wondering why I forgot how to stand up. Anyhow, here I am 25 years later getting some answers.
Since my last hospitalization in 2005, I've had high blood sugar and edema in my legs, which has forced me to see a doctor weekly. For the past couple of years, I've been going to a naturopath who is wonderful. I've slowly began to open up to her. She knows my history of me being in coma and multiple organ failure.
A couple months ago I told her that one day I could walk stairs and get up off a couch and the next I couldn't, and she stopped me mid-way through and said, "I think you may have Lyme Disease". She then said I may have to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life, but I would be healthy. I'm not even sure of the words she used, but that was the essence. My partner of 20 years, Chris, was with me that day and as we walked out of my doctor’s office we just looked at each other and said is that all I have? Could it be this simple?
We were speechless. We've didn't realize how much fear we'd both been living in that I'd get sick again, with no answers as to why. When I first got sick in 2001, I was called a miracle. I was hospitalized for five months. Chris was told I'd die the first night. I had literally no major symptoms other than an stomach flu. I stopped breathing on the way to the hospital and by the time I got there I was bleeding internally and had a blood sugar of 1400. My pancreas shut down. My kidneys shut down and my respiratory system shut down. Then things got complicated after that. I was in a coma for 40 days.
Part of the complications were that I had a systemic yeast infection and I was put on high powered antibiotics. It was the antibiotics, I believe, that saved my life and gave my body the ability to heal. My blood sugar went back to normal. I could breathe on my own and my kidneys began to function normally again. It took me a couple of years to recover fully. In my opinion, the antibiotics allowed the Lyme Disease to be minimized for awhile.
I'm not taking Lyme Disease lightly. I should have been dead a few times over. I'm just very grateful I don't have to live with the fear of dropping dead for no apparent reason. I can get control back in my life. I'm starting to get some of my mobility back. I've spent half of my life with Lyme Disease running wild in my body ... And only a couple of months of treatment. I've got a wonderful journey ahead of me.
Cee
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