What Could Possibly Be Worse Than Chronic Lyme Disease?
Did you know there’s actually something worse than Chronic Lyme Disease? Becoming re-infected and having to recover from it again. And again. And yet again. Especially, when you were finally headed in the right direction and feeling better. If you don’t know anything about Lyme Disease (and you probably don’t unless you have Chronic Lyme Disease yourself) it’s a debilitating disease that steals our lives, our money and for many—our friends and family. There’s no cure and none in the foreseeable future. But that’s a story for another time.
It all started Sunday, when I woke with a sore throat. I thought, great, a second attempt at getting a cold this winter. I’ve not had a cold in at least four years. Mainly, since I learned the importance of good nutrition. It also helps I’m a fan of Andrew Saul who says about Vitamin C, “The reason one vitamin can CURE so many conditions is that a deficiency of one vitamin can CAUSE many conditions.” Whenever I’ve felt a sniffle that feels like a cold coming on, I promptly pay attention to his common sense: Respiratory Illness, (oh yeah, whatever did happen to that bird flu he mentions?) AND I increase my intake of Zija’s Supermix since it has 92 all-natural, from-a-plant nutrients.
Sunday, my symptoms started with a sore throat. I immediately started taking Vitamin C and it didn’t help. Absolutely no relief. Within a couple hours, my temperature soared and I had migrating body aches EVERYWHERE. My symptoms only continued to get worse.
Remembering what a warm winter we’ve had, it suddenly hit me—it’s the Lyme Flu. I remembered back to the other two times I had it. This felt exactly the same. Maybe I should back up.
What’s the Difference Between a Cold and a Flu?
I learned from my daughter’s pediatrician many years ago, the main difference between flus and colds are: with flus we have body aches and fevers, colds we have neither. Antibiotics do not work for either. I later learned we don’t have flus here, in the United States, in the summer.
The first time I realized I had the Lyme Flu was in the middle of summer. I’d been bitten by a tick a couple weeks earlier. I developed a sore throat that, within hours, graduated to a 103.5° temperature and horrible, migrating body aches. The worst sore throat I’ve ever had and body aches were almost intolerable. I couldn’t walk more than 5 feet without wanting to vomit. When the aches seemed to be more concentrated in my knees and neck, I suddenly realized, this is the Lyme Flu.
Since I’d been on high-dose antibiotics for quite some time for Chronic Lyme Disease, I had some leftover antibiotics. I decided the worst that would happen, if it was a regular flu in July, the antibiotics would do nothing. I had nothing to lose by taking them.
I was shocked the next morning when I was actually able to function. I showered and drove a half hour to a scheduled appointment with my doctor. I told her what happened and she said it was probably the plaquenil, an anti-malaria drug, that worked so quickly. She agreed it had to be Lyme Flu because antibiotics don’t work on viruses. I learned antibiotics can be a good diagnostic tool.
You Do WHAT With Bees?
So this Tuesday morning it hit me—this was probably Lyme. Why hadn’t I thought about that possibility yesterday or even Sunday? This has been an unseasonably warm winter—Christmas was almost 70°. My dog had a tick on January 7th.
By now, I could barely swallow and the thought of swallowing a handful of antibiotics was not pleasant. I’m sure glad I did. Within a couple hours my sore throat started to abate and by Tuesday night, I could swallow without horrible pain. Twenty-four hours later, I was much better and could actually function again.
The pain of knowing I’ll still have to fight this longer to avoid more symptoms will linger a long time. If you’re not familiar with Chronic Lyme Disease, many people try BVT (Bee Venom Therapy) in an attempt to recover. That should help you understand how evil Chronic Lyme is, when people resort to stinging themselves 30 stings a week.
My butler is making me some homemade chicken soup. He’ll add lots of garlic just before serving me. It won’t cure Lyme Disease nor cure Chronic Lyme Disease, but it sure will taste great since my appetite is finally back. Okay, so he’s really my husband, but for today, let’s just say he’s my butler.