vodka and lyme

[jazzfish]

Well, ever since our last episode . . .

A red splotch with a darker center appeared on the back of my knee Wednesday morning. I figured it was just a spider bite. We loaded into Liam's car and headed off for Origins.

The stupid 24-hour bug refused to go away, at /all/. This made my days consist primarily of running Fluxx tournaments with a steadily increasing fever, and then going back to the hotel room to collapse for awhile and let the fever drop a bit. Then repeat in the evening. On the bright side it was totally non-contagious.

I'd been wearing pants so the splotch wasn't really noticeable. Neither was the one that had appeared along my collarbone. On Satyrday Emily noticed that the original one had gotten substantially darker, larger, and generally more unhappy-looking. And we put a few things together and realised that I probably had Lyme disease.

Came home yesterday and went straight out to the doctor, who agreed with our diagnosis and gave me a three-week regimen of antibiotics. The fever broke (for good, it seems) last night. Now I'm just exhausted pretty much all the time. No work today or tomorrow, maybe not Thursday either.

Seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me

I /do/ have two mostly-full bottles of vodka in the freezer, but I hate vodka.

Many many many thanks to everyone who took care of me this week, especially Emily for being Emily, Liam for getting orange juice and a sweatshirt (Ohio State yay!), and Carol for running the Stoner Fluxx tournament at midnight so I could go home and collapse.

?skip=425. 'Bout average, I think.

Comments

[tirani.livejournal.com]

If it is Lyme, you are going to be exhausted for a couple of months. It has taken me over a year to get back to anything approaching what my energy level was like before I had Lyme. Best of luck to you :/

[jazzfish]

. . .

Well, crap.

Thanks for the warning.

[tirani.livejournal.com]

Don't be too terribly surprised if you go through period of memory loss and fatigue over the next 3-6 months. The fall after I had Lyme (Caught it at Gathering of the Tribes, Spring 2005), my husband would still occasionally look at me and say "We had this conversation two days ago, do you remember that?" And for the life of me, I did not. But the infectious disease people swore there was nothing wrong with me. Take lots of notes and try not to overdo it too much. I was worse when I pushed myself too much and didn't take the time to rest.

I've never been more jaded about the care I received from the modern medical establishment than their treatment of the aftermath of Lyme in my system.

[jazzfish]

I'm actually more afraid of getting used to the wooziness and tired than I am of having them. Of the idea that it might /have/ to be like that all the time. I refuse to let this crap dominate my life.

I was worse when I pushed myself too much and didn't take the time to rest.

Yeah, 'bout that. I'm not even sure I know /how/ to not do that. It all feels like slacking to me. Puritan work ethic, combined with self-loathing for having taken so long at college and a fear of being fired.

I've never been more jaded about the care I received from the modern medical establishment than their treatment of the aftermath of Lyme in my system.

It's been a dozen years since I've had to deal with them at all, and over twenty since I had to in any significant way (and that was the mil-docs), so I don't really have much opinion at all. I've got a pathological hatred of medical insurance companies, but that's not the same thing.

[lizthefair.livejournal.com]

wow, how horrible. Hope you are able to get some rest and feel better--at least as "better" as is possible.

[jedibfa.livejournal.com]

Suck! Hope you get better soon.

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

yikes! Wishes to quick recovery!

All the cool kids are doing it

[ancientsong.livejournal.com]

You started a trend. It looks like I have it too.

What is up? Usually, deer ticks aren't that active during the really hot months around here.

Re: All the cool kids are doing it

[jazzfish]

Oh, ugh. I can't say I recommend it to anyone.

I've had two tick bites in the past six weeks, but then I've been in the woods more this year than I have in recent summers. I dunno. Maybe it /is/ the deer population explosion, maybe it's just bad luck on our parts.

[pooka798.livejournal.com]

Oh nos! I hope you feel better soon!

[elvenyukiryu.livejournal.com]

Glad the fever broke. Unhappy you still feel awful. Arashi has started killing the Lyme Disease as promised. Wish I could do something to make it better. *hugs*

[jazzfish]

yay for Arashi. Zie has my moral support.

I suspect that the backrub helped a decent bit. It was certainly appreciated, in any case. *hug*

[scraun23.livejournal.com]

Yikes! But at least you figured it out and went to the doctor's in time. Hope you feel better soon.

[darkfyre-muse.livejournal.com]

Yikes on the Lyme. Definitely an advantage to west coast living. We just don't have that many ticks.

Double suck on the Origins crash.

/hugs feel better soon-ish (even if soon-ish months.)

[jude.livejournal.com]

ugh. At least you caught it pretty early? Definitely one of them diseases that's easier to cope with the sooner it's treated.
Best of luck for continued recovery. Stupid ticks. :P

[vilejynx.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Poor man. despite the ticks down here, no sign of any of that ickiness yet. Wishes for a speedy recovery!

[plumbob78.livejournal.com]

Ack! Will you be able to make the concert?

[jazzfish]

Should be, yeah. Especially since there are chairs. I doubt I will be getting much of my white-boy dancin' on, though.

[playing-tragic.livejournal.com]

Lyme disease is quite serious, it's extremely good you addressed it quickly - many don't recognize what they've got until it's become life threatening. Make sure to take ALL the antibiotics.

[jazzfish]

Oh gosh yes. The list of 'long-term' symptoms & effects had me genuinely scared for awhile. I'm pretty sure I caught it before any of those become an issue, though.

[europasings.livejournal.com]

damn, boy. they can't take you anywhere. bet the car ride was fun. ugh. i'm so sorry...

i hope you feel better very, very soon.

[jazzfish]

I think the trips to all the possible sites of infection were my idea, so it's more like *I* can't take me anywhere.

It's not so bad. Very flu-like, with the added fun of a stiff neck, but nothing compared to, say, having to ride for 18 hrs in very cramped quarters with three people I don't like much. I'd do it again. (I'd just prefer not to.)

I will certainly be feeling sufficiently better to put in an appearance next weekend. If it's anything like today this appearance will consist of smiling vaguely at people, wobbling just a bit, and speaking more quietly than usual.

[kittenchan.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I'm so sorry. I'm glad you caught it early! Take it easy and feel well soon.

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

Yikes! It's good to catch it early, so hopefully you should recover 100%.

Feel better!!!

[babushek.livejournal.com]

SO sorry to hear you have Lyme!! :-( But like everyone is saying, you did catch it early, which is a very very good thing. Let me know if there's anything at all I can do!!