I will be brief as I do not feel well enough to type a long summary at
this point. I was seeing a psychiatrist for a few years for depression
and anxiety. I dismissed any physical symptoms as getting older(at
35). My days started out with pain in my joints and ended that way,
along with the worst "flu" I had ever felt. I had low grade fevers,
knee, back and neck pain all day, everyday.
I thought I must be doing
too much in one day, and needed to slow down. My vision got blurry,
when I could ALWAYS see very well, so this alarmed me also.
My memory
was at its worst, and I thought "how could I be so forgetful and
confused at 35 years old?"
I spoke to my psychiatrist a lot about these peculiar symptoms, as I
thought I was losing it!
Well, relief FINALLY came, when I soon discovered she too had Lyme
Disease. She recommended that I be tested and sure enough I came back
positive, with many bands showing that I had this disease.
I was ecstatic --
they had a name to the hell I had been going through!! I wasn't crazy!
More tests were done to be sure, one being the Western Blot and the other an ELISA test; both were
positive. I was soon referred to a specialist, Dr. Sam Donta, who has
been a blessing; he's one of THE best!! Someone finally understood and
cared!! He ordered more tests, and also, a brain SPECT scan which showed
one area of my brain having inadequate blood flow, which affected my
memory.
A year later another scan was done to compare (after LOTS of
antibiotics) to the last scan, and ANOTHER area shows inadequate blood
supply! I have been on oral antibiotics as well as IV antibiotics, and
very little relief was offered. I got the infamous Herxheimer reaction
each time I was on another regimen of antibiotics, which makes you feel
so much sicker.
My boyfriend of 16 years was diagnosed a year before
me, and at first, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He thought maybe this is it,
as his cousin has it, and is in a wheelchair at 43 years old.
He will
tell his own story soon, here! I can not write anymore at this pont; my
neck is in agony, and my memory is not serving me the way I'd like. I
feel so hopeless and down much of the time. I was supposed to start more
IV antibiotics about 6 months ago, but I was so sick of it all that I never
went to get another PICC line put in.
I know, I need to get another appointment with Dr. Donta who works
at Boston University, and get that IV PICC line put in again!
I just
want to be the way I used to b -- active, happy, etc.
Thanks for listening to my story. I've left a lot out but will keep you
posted. I will update you with any progress. I love you all, and God
Bless each and everyone, and Special Thanks To PSpatches!! I wasn't as
brief as I thought I'd be!!
Bless all, Marie D.
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