As I focus in on coiling for Bartonella, in the absence of activity from both the Lyme and Babesia infections, I’m reinterpreting some of my experiences with these illnesses. Rocephin Experience Rocephin was the last antibiotic treatment I did for the tick-borne illnesses. Intravenous Rocephin was the first treatment I ever used that kills Bartonella in the central nervous system (CNS). At the time, however, I was only thinking about […]
I’ve had countless medical tests since the Lyme Disease adventure started in earnest, never mind the tests for the mysterious problems in the years before that. The majority of tests were performed by perfectly nice, competent people who saw me as a body needing testing. On some special occasions, I’ve run into medical technicians who saw me as a person, not just a body. Yesterday was such a day. I […]
In early summer 2008, I cut the back of my hair off. It was a very practical decision. I had terrible night sweats. I woke up with sopping wet hair night after night. It was unbearable to try to go back to sleep without towel drying my hair. It was like stepping out of the shower straight into bed. I hated it. Cutting off my hair worked wonders. I still […]
When I first got the coil machine, it was in the midst of a struggle with kidney stones. Everyone knows they hurt. Seriously, it’s true. At the time, I wasn’t sure if it had passed or was still stuck somewhere in my ureter. Well, I coiled and found out it was still stuck. Herxing is not a great idea when only one kidney can drain and you spend each day […]
Last night I slept like a baby. Or actually, I’ve learned that babies wake up a lot during the night. So actually, I slept better than a baby. I slept like I was drugged. I slept deeply through the night. I slept all the way to 6am and I woke up groggy with a full bladder (probably could have slept longer otherwise). Then I was ready to keep sleeping until […]
Every month, during my menstrual cycle, I’m reminded of what Lyme disease has done to my body and what it has done to the trajectory of my life. Menstrual Problems For years (specifically 2002-2010) my menses were horrible. As I mentioned yesterday, in addition to killer cramps and headaches, I had vomiting, diarrhea, weakness all over my body–especially my legs–that made it nearly impossible for me to stand up, chills […]
That title could easily be referring to the conditions of the roads in New York as the snow has melted and left behind a mess for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Alas, it is not. Kidney Stone follow-up I went to the urologist today. We had a chat about my bloodwork and urinalysis. They don’t match. Evidence for one problem is in my urine. Evidence for a different kind of problem […]
I’ll start with two things I mentioned in passing yesterday: my diet and my juicing recipe. Juicing Recipe The juicing recipe is easy. At present, my mother puts the following in the juicer and I drink it. 1/2 a cucumber (peeled) 2 carrots (not peeled, but scrubbed until there is no dirt) 1/2 a bunch of parsley 4 stalks of celery plenty of romaine lettuce 2 leaves of collards or […]
This evening I watched the movie Crazy Sexy Cancer. It was great. It was great because Kris Carr is all about living a full life with whatever she has to face and enjoying herself all the while. I love her attitude. It’s almost what I wish this blog was: fierce, irreverent, funny and informative. The main difference is that she is not sick. By sick, I mean overrun with symptoms […]
As I look at my posts after I write them, they show me how sad I feel. Today I’m more acutely aware of it than usual. After holding my own for 4 years of this illness, it’s finally wearing on me. The fact that I’m feeling losses in other areas of my life brings the melancholy feelings into focus. I did my best to fight it off by reaching out […]
Coiling for Lyme 