Ask me about where I live and I won't hesitate to bore you with stories of how wonderful it is to live in the woods. I enjoy my home and my property ....... a true paradise.
But there is a downside, and it has hit home. I found out from my doctor this morning that I have Lyme Disease.
This all started around 3 to 4 weeks ago when I noticed an area on my upper thigh that was slightly tender to the touch. When I finally examined it, was a dark purple (looked like a bruise) circle, with a red ring around it. Now, being in the woods bug bites are not uncommon. However this one would fade away, and just when I thought it was gone , it would come back in a slightly different form. The second iteration was a red circle with a red ring around it. The third was just a large, red swollen area. At that point I visited the doctor, and he ordered up the blood tests.
I will note that, to date, I've not had any symptoms like fatigue, weakness, lethargy, memory impairment, aching joints, etc. that seem to be common with Lyme disease. At least that's the story as of today. I'm quite aware from the little reading I've done on the subject that this could change. Or not. Evidently about 25% of the folks who get Lyme Disease don't ever exhibit any symptoms. Some don't even know they have it.
In any event, wish me luck with this.
OTOH, there was some good news today. My cholesterol levels look great. Considering my eating habits, I view that as nothing less than a miracle.
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5 comments:
DOH!! I've much experience with Lyme Disease. Both parents had it, and unfortunately, Mom has it chronically because she never got a bulls-eye. She's had it for 10 years now and still has to have 3-4 month rounds of amoxicillin at times. She's currently 4 months into her latest round and really doesn't want to stop it since she feels so much better. Dad had a bulls-eye and wiped it out with one round. We've had 4 dogs with it as well - all contracted at my parent's house. Luckily, me, hubby and the boys have escaped it so far, but here in Allegany, they don't have much of it, if any yet.
Since you caught it early, you'll probably be okay once you're done with antibiotics. If you have ANY questions or problems, I can try to help, and I also have the name and number of a few lyme specialists my mom has been seeing.
Good luck, man - and be glad you got the bulls-eye. Early detection is the difference between a treatable acute infection and a chronic issue that lasts the rest of your life....
Thanks for the concern and information. I'm guessing here that the bulls eye is a good thing in that it's an indicator of what's actually happening, and hence spurs a person to seek treatment early ??
I guess my only other concern at this point is that if this is in fact considered an infection, it's in a really bad spot as it's in the immediate vicinity of an artificial hip joint I had installed 5 years ago. Hope Lyme doesn't affect that joint.
As an aside, we're constantly pulling those ultra tiny deer ticks off the kids all the time. They're pretty prevalent around here.
Oh gosh, so sorry to hear this. Prayers are going up.
Maybe it is time to retire then after all. To enjoy life?
I'm not sure this is an event that should dictate retirement... or not. At best this will be a minor inconvenience, and the antibiotics will knock it out and I'll cruise into the future as if nothing happened. At worst it could cause serious damage, now or in the future, if the antibiotics don't fully get rid of it...... Lets hope for the former. As mentioned in my blog, I don't feel at all bad. Wouldn't know I had anything wrong if it wasn't for that weird, red, (now itchy) area on my thigh.
Oh good. Well keep us posted. :-)
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