Lyme disease strikes the unsuspecting (me!)

Hello friends,
Early in July, I was feeling not quite like myself . . . I was achy and tired  . . . so tired that I would fall asleep while watching Gibbs (!) . . . and periodically had the chills  . . . my mind was scattered and everything seemed to take longer than usual . . . then I woke up one day with a ridiculously painful stiff neck - pain radiated up behind my ears, making it truly uncomfortable to wear my glasses and to touch my head or comb my hair.  I soon realized that driving my car was a challenge (and I spend a goodly amount of time on the road) since I couldn't turn my head much.  I was popping  Aleve like candy but nothing helped the discomfort. Car-guy son said "Mom you are sick . . . there's something wrong with you . . .you never sleep this much."

On Saturday, July 18, after about 10 days of misery and lousy golf, one of the gals walked up behind me on the 18th green and asked if I had been hit by a baseball "or something" on my shoulder blade.  She noticed I had what looked like a big round bruise.  My friend, Jan, looked and said "oh no,  that's a tick bite bulls eye." So off I went to the clinic where Dr. Motyl confirmed that surely I had been a "meal for a tick," and prescribed a 21 day course of  antibiotics. She also let me know that no matter how many Aleve or other like pain relievers I took, they wouldn't touch the nerve pain caused by Lyme.

So  . . . I took my last blue capsule on Saturday morning and had been feeling worlds better until I woke up this morning with another headache. Dismayed that perhaps this was not gone, I dialed up the Center for Disease Control website for some confidence-building information. Anyone heard of PTLDS?

Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome . . . "lingering symptoms of fatigue, pain, or joint and muscle aches after finishing treatment, most likely caused by residual damage to tissues and the immune system." Studies show that additional courses of antibiotics are not helpful and cause more harm than good.  Most symptoms normally disappear within six months.  Let's hope I'm better than normal . . .

So my plan is to soldier forth, think positive thoughts, get plenty of sleep and resume my normal activities.  A plan.