Life with Lyme-Part 1

Lyme sucks. A little history first: I got sick a lot growing up.

I grew up in a ranch style home in a small, damp town. A creek ran behind our house. Not surprisingly, there were some mold growth issues. I had wicked allergies, asthma, I was often cold at night, my smaller respiratory illnesses often morphed into bronchitis. Once, at age 15, I even developed pneumonia. I missed 3 weeks of school because of that. In fact, I missed a lot of school days from age 9 through 18.

When the house was being prepared to be sold when I was 18 and a half, maybe 19, my father decided to complete some renovations. The walls of my room were replaced and insulation was added. My asthma cleared up in just a few weeks. My mother was frustrated because she had told my father repeatedly while I was growing up that the mold was probably affecting me. He would use bleach water to scrub off the visible black blotches from my walls. But it always grew back.

I struggled as a teenager, as many do, with body image and mental health issues. Mainly I wanted to stay small to avoid adulthood. I was both anorexic and bulimic for several years. Which probably did not help me. I did however, develop a love of hiking and running during that time. It aided my appetite to keep moving, instead of starving and being bed ridden. I enjoyed many benefits of hiking. Increased lung capacity, fresh floral smells, better long distance vision, and increased stamina and strength.

I enjoyed hiking and walking for many years into adulthood. But one fateful day in January of 2015, I went for a short hike with a friend in my Bay Area hometown. I had not noticed the tick that clung to my clothing. After the hike, I went home. Had a bite to eat. Sat down at my computer to check emails. After a few minutes of scrolling, I felt what seemed like a stray clothing tag brushing my shoulder/clavicle area. I looked over and saw a tick holding onto me, its butt in the air. I pulled at it, straight out and upward, like I had read to do. But he clamped down harder and hit a nerve. “YEEOWTCH!” A burning, caustic sensation pulsed through my skin. I decided panicking was a good idea. I ran to my neighbor’s door to get some help. I flapped about, explaining hurriedly to her, and pointed at the little bug doing so much damage to me. She brought me inside, went for tweezers, and pulled it off of me. I was so relieved. I thanked her profusely and left.

Over the next couple of days, the bite area scabbed over, red and crusty. After a week or so, I developed a round, red rash around the bite. It was probably two inches in diameter. I had only heard of the “bullseye” style EM rash. But I went to the doctor anyway to get tested and checked out.

My doctor at the time did not have much knowledge about Lyme disease or any other tick-borne illnesses. She only knew what I knew. Bullseye rash equals Lyme. Get the Western Blot test. Possibly get on antibiotics IF the western blot came back positive. I now know that antibiotics should be administered asap, even if the western blot comes back negative, or if I opt for no test. I will explain why in future entries.

Part 2 to be revealed in the future…