Sunday, September 25, 2016

Actually Click On It.

Okay. What should the title be for a post like this? Nothing too somber, but something catchy. I mean after all, I need it to stick out among the other posts so people will actually click on it. Oh, that works.

First things first, I don't know where to start. Well, that doesn't really make sense, but bare with me. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Correction -- years -- but more on that later.

Long story short, there is not a short version to this story. The end ended up being the beginning, so I guess I'll average it out and fill you in starting in the middle.




For the past 11 months, I have been working diligently to recover from a mysterious back pain. I saw 5 different chiropractors, 2 orthopedists, got x-rays, MRIs, massages and was gettin' pretty dang good at yoga if I do say so myself. Nothing explained the pain. Mysterious. I know.

The pain came on gradually and for no apparent reason. At first I felt "jammed", but then a sharp distinct pain like a knife. I was tender and sore all over, but mainly in the joints. I had shooting pain down my left then right leg. "Sciatica-ish" if you will.

I was sore. But, not like I worked out too hard and need a bubble bath kinda pain ... it was different. Mysterious.  As the pain got worse, the compensatory stiffness seemed to set in all over my body, and I was in chronic, unceasing, indescribable pain. 24/7. If Waffle House was open, I was in pain. Okay. You get the point.

Then came the trembling. My legs would flinch, and my hands would shake the way my Pepa's used to when he tried to cut his steak. My toes felt so brittle I thought they could fall right off. Sometimes, I wished they would. I could hardly sit down, stand up, lie down, curl up. By the time I hobbled into my latest chiropractors office, the pain was severe. I called her in tears on a Friday morning, and said -- "I don't have an appointment with you until Monday, but I need you to see me today because I literally can't walk." And thank God she did! This is the sweet soul that really solved the riddle. LYME DISEASE. Crap. That's the end of the story. The end that I said ended up being the beginning. Okay, that's confusing. Back to the story...

Fast forward a few weeks since I'm rambling. At this point, I was having full body muscle spasms. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I remember I was lying face down in excruciating pain when she asked if I had ever been bit by a tick. A tick? Ew. Who does this lady think I am? I mean, I know I look pretty rough in all this pain, but I am not the camping type. Trust me! And what does a tick have to do with this anyway?

Fast forward through a long list of expensive specialists and confusing blood work, and bingo -- she was right! Lyme Disease. Oh, and that confirms I was in fact bit by a tick because this particular bacteria is isolated to ticks. So, she was right again. Ew.

Prior to this, I had only heard of Lyme Disease on the Real Housewives, so you can imagine my shock when learning about the effects of borrelia burgdorferi -- especially when left untreated for so long. How long? Well that's a whole nother story! And nother isn't a real word.

Stay tuned for my next post. I'll tell you all about where I (think) I contracted the disease. Trust me -- you will not believe me! Wait. That doesn't make sense. (<< Maybe that could be the title!)