I posted this under a a tick forum in Mountain Biking, But Wanted to get it out there.
Lymes Disease!
It is serious business!
There is a bit of information out there... I don't know which is best.
I do know the earlier one catches it, the better they will fare. Unlike me. While my story may be a bad one...there are worse, there are those that will be permanently damaged or worse, paralyzed.
The fact that I am up an about and posting on the forum again is (I think) a good sign. I just hope I don't stay scatter brained for the rest of my life.... but for now I have an excuse.
It is long winded, and possibly hard to read and I am sorry... I'd just like to see more people informed or made aware of a growing problem Disease illness (bacteria) across North America that can wreck and destroy lives.
Anyways on with the long story of what could happen to those unaware....
I was active, physically fit, alert, some what witty, had good memory, was smart enough to figure stuff out.... and ever single bit of that went away.
I was camping Western PA, Got a spider bite on my left ankle. Within the day It turned brown then black, it had a red circle around it nice skin and then rash. My ankle swelled up so that I couldn't see ankle bone. My first thought was brown recluse. Medics at campground said PA didn't have brown recluses, but If it got worse see a doctor. Little did I know then What a bulls eye rash meant. I came home researched recluse bites and found out that a small percentage of them turn into the skin decay thing. at that point the swelling had gone down so I blew it off as no big deal.
The following is a mix of looking back with 20/20 of what the last 4 years have been like for me. a Total nightmare!
The original nausea that followed I don't remember, I might have blamed it on irritable bowl, or not eating right. The first year, I do know that I started to ride a lot less. Didn't really at the time think about it, might have blamed it on just being busy? But I also unknowingly at the time lost interest in many things. My bicycling, my remote control hobby, my time in the SCA (medieval reenactment). Joints was sore, muscles was sore (again made excuses of not stretching enough, or worked too hard). Although I first noticed it in my left shoulder blade. Stiff neck, out of place neck... Went to chiropractor..and for the first time it didn't help? puzzling. off hand comment to the chiropractor at that time was it felt weird different, when he adjusted me. we both just said hmm.
Then I started seeing massage therapist, once a week. then 2x, then 3x 1 hour sessions deep tissue and she couldn't get the knots out. At that time (this all in first year) I was still riding, I knew I stretched legs- calves. One day from sitting, I got up to walk, and both calve muscles locked up on me. Like a painless charley horse.... almost made me trip and fall, but then as fast as it happened, it went away. I brought it up to the massage therapist and asked if maybe it was a medical condition, but neither of us could come up with an answer. After 2 months of massage lots of $$ eventually it was bearable but not solved ( my shoulder). Looking back to that year, I realized I had also called in sick quite a few days. Way more than I remembered.
going into 2nd year Spring Time:
called in sick quite a bit more, Left work early often, and sometimes just calling in to say that I'd be hour tardy. and then Boom like a switch I was in bed for 6 weeks. absolutely drained. It was to the point of not even caring...I didn't have the energy to even care. Didn't answer phone... I was seriously in lalala land. Finally had a bit of energy, white as a sheet..I struggled to the Doctors office. He said I had mono/epstein bar, and slight amount of protein in my urine. So I maybe worked part time that year, always blaming the epsetin bar. Chances of an adult getting epstein bar 1 in a million? I didn't know that just took doctors word for it. Same year in the fall... I couldn't breath. I went to same doctor and he said Pneumonia 2-3 more days I'd be in the hospital. Go get some x-rays at another place. I didn't catch it right then or did but didn't think much of it at the time, but they took chest x-rays.... came out told me I was looking good and they would send my x-rays to my doctor. WHOAH? wait..... ummm looking good? 2-3 days later I'd be in hospital? Now I know Lymes disease is the mimicker of all diseases. so it does makes sense.
Again looking back through that second year I was forgetful, I'd do things and couldn't remember doing them. Or I'd say I'd do things, and then just never do them. Lucky for me I have/had a very caring boss/friend. I'd even forget how to do simple things at work. I averaged a 99% grade in math in high school and also in college. that year I totally flunked my tax return filings. I made simple math mistakes at work, I made bank deposit slip errors.
at this time I knew something wasn't quite right.... yet I was enough out of it. That I didn't really catch on. My life and world was crumbling around me, but I was clueless.
Going into the third year, now it was no riding, no remote control hobby, no computer gaming, no SCA, and working less than part time hours. I might be out a week at a time no energy. then boom full energy but a brain fog that was like a wicked drunk. Ok see another doctor.... this one wanted to blame bad teeth blood infection, even though blood test showed nothing.
My boss was still covering me with Ins and then the Ins. said "no go" I wasn't working full time. Now I lost my health Ins. See another doctor, this one says catscan... it comes back normal. I am a total mess, can't really make choices on my own, no control. No will. no enregy. most the time I couldn't think. attention span of about 20 seconds. I couldn't see straight enough or focus enough to be able to read... I knew something was seriously wrong with me, but no clue what was wrong. No Insurance. Already blew my savings on doctors that didn't have any answers.
finally my Dad walks in on me, shakes me out of a slumber... says he is paying and I am going to see a doctor...I was like whats the point they know nothing? I agreed to see a dermatologist because I had a cyst on the back of my head. They can't get me in for 2 months.... so they take me to their doctor. She thinks it is my thyroids. I just rolled my eyes. I demanded to see a dermatologist, that doctor pulled some strings and got me an appointment 2 weeks out.
That dermatologist checked moles etc, said they all looked good, looked at the cyst and said no way that would make me feel like I was feeling, but he could do out patient surgery and remove it $3500, no ins. and I was broke. But then he said it sounded like I have Lymes disease have I ever been tested? what in the heck is lymes disease? I got to thinking about it, and remembered the spider bite.
Back to the Doctor that wanted to check my thyroids... that doctor said lymes disease, no way.
I go home beat.... I basically didn't even care anymore. I was like what ever, eventually somethings gonna give, I'll end up in hospital and then they'll know.
I had people telling me to go to doctors anyways, I argued I already have a stack of bills I can't pay, I can't go to a doctor knowing I can't pay. My boss was telling me to go to the state. I was like what will they do for me? he said then that he'd fire me, or lay me off, or release me, or what ever terminology he had to use to get me help.
Finally my sister in law drags me out of the house, state says no medical I am single male, with no dependents. But they can give me food stamps. Same thing for rent assistance etc... I don't qualify go to SS.
I apply for disability, and SS denies me because lymes disease doesn't qualify me as being disabled. Yes at this point we know it is LD, because my mom sprang the $500 to get my blood sent to a lab in California.
this year my 4th year in...
I haven't paid rent in 6 months now.
I am a mess. I have no clue if this post is even readable.
Recently I sold my truck to pay the state tax that went from owing $300 to $500 penalties fines, fees, interest .... I needed money!! Sold the truck, and bought a cheap car plus paid a few bills. that money went through my checking account, and the state saw it and cut me off of food stamps.
I still have no energy, bad brain fogs, some weeks bad leg swelling,
Oh side track...... to make matters worse. The LD testing lab reported me to Ohio disease w/e. they called me up asking me what is Lymes disease, where did I get it, when did I get it. I am like why are they asking me what it is???? the lady tells me over the phone they have no other reports in this county of lymes disease.
Anyways outside of word of mouth, that this machine (a rife machine) works to kill lymes disease I have no treatment, I have no check up doctor appointments to monitor lymes or my heart kidney liver etc. My Mom talked my grandpa into buying this machine for me to use. And he also buys me supplements to support/strengthen such things as my liver/kidneys immune system.
back to the side track, the lady from ohio disease center calls me back 5 min after hanging up first time, and says she was reading up on lymes disease and says if I am not I need to be seeing a heart specialist and have my heart monitored. (It is a good thing I bicycled as much as I did aye?)
So as of today I have lymes disease, I've lost everything, but a cheap car, and my 2 bicycles. I have $40 to my name ( yeah I sold a chest I made/crafted for $100 woots).
my health is as unpredictable as it can get... and when the food in the kitchen runs out....that is it.
Lymes disease is not a joke
For a single middle aged male of 37 the state is no help to me.
I made $7000 one year
then I got $2700 in unemployment +$1000 charity
This year I've received $500 charity + the $100 (chest charity)
All said and done......... and have lost everything... I'd jump on my bike ride when I can, lay in a ditch or on a sidewalk for 3 days to a week or whatever it was until I could ride another mile just to get the word out of what lymes disease is. the tell tale signs of it.
Okay I haven't lost everything exactly, I still have my faith in God. And for what a mess the last 4 years have been, I haven't starved yet, and I still have a roof over my head.
For those of you that have been able to read all that to the end......thank you for your ear.
And please be careful, and be warned of what lymes disease is, and what it can do. There is hundreds of horror stories out there, and many more untold horror stories of lymes disease.