MAIN coping skill halted

By ctrygirl Sunday, August 24, 2008

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I am posting this for many reasons...one to get this OUTTA ME and basically utilize this forum as therapy to get it off my mind per say...and another to WARN others of this danger.

IF you have never read my posts, know that i am a rapid rapid cycler,mixedmood, bp who has DAILY hallucinations of some sort or another and there have actually been MANY times they come all in one day (auditory, visual, and olfactory...and on those horrid times tactiles which thanks to someone on here i have recognized when those are coming and call my pdoc IMMEDIATELY...ANYWAY)

I utilize NATURE as my main coping skill just being out in the woods whether walking, sitting or hiking or hunting or what ever just out in the woods and nature period in any form(which i live in appalachia so that is most likely the reason it is so vitally and ESSENTIAL to me to come down from mania or uplift me when depressed....i can literally FEEL the healing taking place amongst my oaks and sycamores, fields and valleys, hollers and mountains, and uhm not sure but bet it courses through my veins tehee)

Well, nature being one of my coping skills i prefer the most, i was out yellowroot hunting with my husband and had gotten bit by a tick,

the previous week i had gotten bit over 5 times during the week and we utilize preventive measures too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but anyway, the 5 times never resulted in anything except having to remove the tick and watch the spot...

THEN CAME THE LATEST BITE>>>>I noticed 7 days after that i had a bullseye right where the tick was removed.....and thought oh it will fade it was where we pulled it off too hard trying to make sure we got the whole thing out of my skin...

well, it didn't fade for 3 days, then began to change color, and then began to fade a bit on day 5 but i began to feel "odd" and my husband THANK GOODNESS FOR HIM MY GREATEST SUPPORTER IN ALL AREAS>>>> insisted that i go and have it checked just for good measure for he suspected exactly what the doctor found in my blood

LYME DISEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yep, on top of all the 15 other physical illnesses, and NUMEROUS mental illnesses i now was faced with Lyme disease

....however it is wholely and completely treatable with antibiotics when caught in the early stages and hasn't had time to affect the other areas of the body .....the doctor told me if i had waited until the "bullseye" faded it would have led to a gammet of testing for they would never have known where to look and it would have taken them solong to find out what it was that it would have affected my health...possibly permanently....as if i needed anything else huh?

But suffice it to say this is a WARNING WARNING WARNING>>>>

lyme is not contagious the tick has to have bitten another animal and contracted the bacteria itself and then bite YOU , you can't give someone lyme by any means but the bite of a tick that HAS the bacteria...so that was a relief due to having 2 small grandchildren, a husband, 2 daughters, a stepson, and a widowed momma.

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Comments (8) | Add comment

su1

8/24/08 11:40am

Glad to hear you are going to be OK! Lyme disease is nasty - good to know it can be treated in the early stages. Nick & I found a tick on his back once when we were out hiking (there was a poster warning people about ticks & lyme disease) & I could see it actually trying to dig into his fleece (but the fleece was too thick, of course). Knocked it off his back & we high-tailed it outta there. Oh well, we still need nature, just have to be aware of such things.

ctrygirl

8/25/08 7:27am

Hey there SU1 so great to hear from you!! Hope all is well up your way. YES we sure do need that nature...for without it i'd be totally lost!! I love it in all seasons, but the hot afternoons that is....argh...that reeks havoc on me literally. BUT yes, thank you SOOO much for your concern and so glad you got that tick off your husband!! We have them pretty bad in our area this year and like i said in the post been bit already 5 other times but that ONE time i got the bad tick...should've known I'd find the one that was infected geez....but honestly they told me that if i stay the course with the antibiotics that it will thwart it...still feeling a little uhm sluggish but other than that i sure as heck can't complain could've been so much worse Lyme is a HORRID disease according to my MD anyway, and from what i've read up on it it can lead to heart, brain, and other illnesses and actually can be fatal if not found. SO watch for any of the bullseyes...I took pics but since its on my belly and I can't lay out I figured i'd scare others with that lilly white belly a shining teehee...so didn't post what it looked like, guess i should have to give others heads up.

Well girl, you take care and glad to hear from you!!!!!! Hope you've been feeling better, posted onyour last post and knew you were really going through it at that time. All settling for ya?? You take care girl!
love

ctrygirl

Anonymous

8/24/08 7:48pm

Hey ctrgirl,

Great article about Lyme Disease. When I am out and about, I will be mindful of this possibility. Otherwise, I am sure I would never have thought about it.

Thanks again for sharing this information.

Kay

ctrygirl

8/26/08 8:21am

Thank you honey,

I just felt that since it is such a horrid disease to have and especially if NOT diagnosed as the poster beneath this states...it was important that others know about it!! I hope you are doing good.....and be careful out there!! TAKE CARE and hope you have a great day!
sincerely,

ctrygirl

Choronzon

8/26/08 5:12am

My mother has had Lyme disease for almost 20 years now because she caught it too late to ever completely rid herself of it. Fortunately, she can still keep it at bay with antibiotics. We've learned much from our experiences and have met many others with similar ones along the way. Your case is good as it was diagnosed early so you have the opportunity to actually get rid of it. So often it goes misdiagnosed because it can manifest as the symptoms of fibromyalgia, epstein barr, chronic fatigue, etc. Unfortunately, bipolar individuals may become much more unstable if they catch it at all; since it is a disease that attacks the nervous system, including the central nervous system, ie: the brain. A bipolar friend of mine was stable for about a decade, but then she caught Lyme disease and became worse than ever. I don't mean to sound like the voice of doom, but just make sure to take more precautions against ticks in the future such as checking yourself in the shower and after you get out of the woods. Tick repellant can be a good idea as well, you can read about two in this link. Keep in mind that not every bite from a Lyme infected tick will produce a rash. I think only about 60% of infecting bites produce any rash at all, so any tick that bites you should be tested. Yeah, just some bits of advice. If you ever want to know anything else about the disease or how to navigate the attempt to get treatment from doctors who are actually knowledgeable about it (not that I know if yours is or isn't, but most of them are not at all), feel free to message me.

ctrygirl

8/26/08 8:36am

OH MY GOODNESS Thank you so much for your post. I will be contacting you again if that is alright....i soooo didn't know that after the antibiotics it could be still there....my doc is very knowledgeable on the issue and knew before the tests even were back that is what it was....but your poor mother....i so feel for her and get this i too have fibro, cfs, CHRONIC epstein barr, and various other issues similar....pleasetell her to hang in there and keep fighting it....it is a horrid horrid disease...and also...i noticed what little time i wasn't being treated...and get this only 2 weeks...until husband insisted i go...that i was TACTILE and that i was having issues with my bp...
i have an appt but will be getting back to you if you really meant that i can ask away!! THANK YOU SO MUCH SO VERY MUCH!!!! I know i'll want to learn more since i'm an education addict and so proactive in my health issues...it meant the WORLD that you shared this with me!!
Thanks beyond words and trust me we'll be in touch again if you really don't mind!!
Sincerely

ctrygirl

Choronzon

8/26/08 5:43pm

Yeah, feel free to ask away. I'd love to share whatever I can. My family has a wealth of knowledge of both bipolar and lyme diseases, so yeah, we'd hate to let others go through anything similar if there's a way to make it even a little better. When it comes to antibiotics, make sure to replenish to "good bacteria" in your gut such as acidophilus, etc. They make acidophilus supplements and such, but I generally just get a few tubs of Stoneyfield farms plain yogurt which has active cultures, throw in a some fruit, granola, and cinnamon: healthy, delicious, and not overly full of sugar. This will help keep the antibiotics from wrecking your immune system as they don't discriminate when it comes to what bacteria they kill even though they're essential when it comes to battling acute lyme disease. Anyway, yeah, my mom is actually doing much much better now, but I'd hate to see anyone go through any of the terrible things that we did in the past. Ask away, my friend.

ctrygirl

8/27/08 2:29pm

Thank you so very very much! You don't know how much that means....and yeah I too have fibromyalgia and cfs AND epstein barr and have had those since 2000 and 2001....soooo i so know what misery your momma has went through and i'm so sorry that she had to endure all that and then all the meds they give ya to thwart it and boom they create issues too!! ARGH!

BUT gotta keep head up and keep going, sure won't keep this ctry girl outta the woods that is for SURE SURE SURE>>>my coping skill BIG TIME and oh how i love the essence of being in the woods and such, but will dress appropriate and use insect repellant from now on....for sure.....

One qestion i have already......DOES The tetracycline get rid like completely RID of the LYME??????I wondered about that...and i will take advice on the yogurt and good bacteria too ...thanks for that one, never thought of THAT!!! Geez....the things they don't tell us, wondered why she told me to eat more yogurt and such for knows i'm lactose intolerant ....sooooo that helped me a lot to thwart other issues...THANKS SOMUCH!!!!
your friend, and GREAT APPRECIATOR>>>>>
ctrygirl

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