After one bite from a tiny little bug my life was radically changed. When I finally got the official Lyme diagnosis I had no idea just how serious things would be. Nothing could have prepared me for the life of chronic suffering that lay ahead.
I wasn’t just diagnosed with Lyme disease. I also was infected with some of the co-infections. The main ones are Bartonella and Babesia. Here are some of the common symptoms:
Lyme disease can be really hard to detect because the bacteria doesn’t do well in our blood (making blood tests largely unreliable), but prefers to live in our tissue, especially connective tissue. In my case this has caused a condition I was likely born with to flare up. Elhers Danlos Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder. Now there are a variety of types of this, but for me I have hypermobility, weak and sore joints (except lyme makes them stiff), digestive issues, and sometimes my ribs move around causing more chest pain.
Lyme has no cure. There are treatments available to help you fight it, and to improve quality of life, but Lyme is also very good at hiding from treatments especially antibiotics. Here’s a picture explaining why:
Living with these conditions makes my days very unpredictable. One minute I might be handling things okay, and the next I could be in unbearable agony. Dealing with this during the COVID-19 pandemic is extra hard because I don’t have access to many of the treatments and therapies to help me cope. I am thankful that I can still see my Lyme specialist virtually. It’s not the same, but at least it’s something. Over this month I hope to use this space to cover more Lyme related topics to continue to raise awareness.
This week I would really appreciate prayers for patience and hope in all the uncertainty, strength to endure the pain, and to be able to keep functioning on some levels (even on really bad days).
Lyme disease can be really hard to detect because the bacteria doesn’t do well in our blood (making blood tests largely unreliable), but prefers to live in our tissue, especially connective tissue. In my case this has caused a condition I was likely born with to flare up. Elhers Danlos Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder. Now there are a variety of types of this, but for me I have hypermobility, weak and sore joints (except lyme makes them stiff), digestive issues, and sometimes my ribs move around causing more chest pain.
Lyme has no cure. There are treatments available to help you fight it, and to improve quality of life, but Lyme is also very good at hiding from treatments especially antibiotics. Here’s a picture explaining why:
Living with these conditions makes my days very unpredictable. One minute I might be handling things okay, and the next I could be in unbearable agony. Dealing with this during the COVID-19 pandemic is extra hard because I don’t have access to many of the treatments and therapies to help me cope. I am thankful that I can still see my Lyme specialist virtually. It’s not the same, but at least it’s something. Over this month I hope to use this space to cover more Lyme related topics to continue to raise awareness.
This week I would really appreciate prayers for patience and hope in all the uncertainty, strength to endure the pain, and to be able to keep functioning on some levels (even on really bad days).
