Lyme wreaked havoc with my body and mind.
My body was riddled with shooting pains and inflammation. I stopped exercising and walking the dog down my private country lane because I was afraid my knees would give out. I stopped practicing yoga because it was too difficult to get up off the mat.
Mornings were absolute hell. I could barely get out of bed and when I stood up, I felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly in the middle of my back behind my heart. It would lessen after walking around a bit, but there was always a chronic annoying pain like a toothache.
Fatigue consumed me and I needed several naps throughout the day. The rash on my sternum and breasts was dry and extremely itchy.
Severe and unpredictable diarrhea made me dread traveling fifty minutes to town for groceries. I never knew when the cramps would start and I would need a bathroom ASAP.
I can’t say I had a fever or flu-like symptoms; but my body temperature fluctuated from one minute to the next between hot flashes, sweats, and cold chills. I would put on one or often two sweaters and sweatpants to warm up only to claw them off a few minutes later.
I was forgetful; I couldn’t remember where I left things. I’d walk into a room for something and not remember why. When traveling I had to use a map program to find my way to places I may have been to several times before.
When speaking or writing, I was challenged to find the right words, and if I did remember the word I forgot how to spell it.
I shook, most noticeably in my hands while typing. I lost dexterity and found detailed manual tasks, like creating my hand-crafted jewelry and handwriting very challenging.
I choked on food due to trouble swallowing. I thought it might be that the Hashimoto’s Thyroid symptoms were worsening. I told my doctor about it during my August visit and he told me to drink water while I ate to help the food slide down. I never needed to do that before, why now all of sudden was I having problems swallowing?
Electrical charges ricocheted from my foot to my head, to my knees, to my wrist, anywhere and everywhere zapping me with sharp excruciating pain.
This is really embarrassing to say, but I also experienced bladder issues. I already had TB (tiny bladder), but now in the night on several occasions I woke up wetting the bed.
The symptoms you just read were all prior to the diagnosis. During treatment other, more challenging symptoms surfaced.
In my next installment, I will talk about Herxheimer Reaction.
To read other posts in this Lyme Disease series click on the links below:
