Three months after the onset of Lyme disease, my symptoms are not yet gone. The first month was all downhill until I was slumped in a wheelchair, so I have been improving for two months. As of now:
My jaw is weak, sore and shaky. (Not nearly as weak. Eating a meal doesn't wear me out.)
My salivary glands sting intensely whenever I start to salivate; ie, every time I start eating. If this is the weirdest thing you've ever heard of, you're not alone. When I described this to a nurse on the phone yesterday, it was met with silence. Followed by a request to hold please.
My shoulders are stiff. I can raise my arms momentarily now before it starts to hurt.
My triceps, quads, and calves are sore. It hurts when the kids sit on my lap or when I squat onto my calves.
My fingertips are tingly. It's nothing like the numbness that overspread a large portion of my body before, though.
My face is sore. My cheeks hurt to the touch.
I can't move quickly, as in run, even in short bursts, say, to stop a child running into a road. My legs are too heavy to move suddenly.
All this is part of my public service announcement: Check For Ticks! If you find one on or near you: Panic and renounce all hope.
But seriously, if it's attached to you, grasp it carefully and calmly with tweezers and pull it out.
And panic.
I'm at least 90% healthy. My strength is lagging but I am living normally: walking, talking, picking up my kids, putting meals on the table (thanks to many generous providers we still have meals in the freezer), going up and down stairs like a boss.
I'm a big fan of the Lyme vaccine idea. When they finally invent that, that is one needle I will eagerly sign up for.
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