Monday, July 3, 2017

A gardener's tragedy....

My Yucca bloomed. This was a gift from my neighbor Rita. I didn't care for them, but this bloom stalk is gorgeous, so now I'm hooked!
If you love gardening like I do, then you'll understand when you hear my sad story of what has happened over the past few weeks, and why I consider it a tragedy.

That is, what happened to this gardener, not her garden...

I wasn't feeling well at all....I had a headache, a stiff neck, and a few other things. I went to my doctor who said I had a virus. No medicine was required.

A week later I felt worse. I went to the ER. When I went to put on the hospital gown, I had a gigantic rash on my right shoulder.  They took blood and everything came back normal. The doc agreed I had a virus. He gave me an antibiotic and I went home.

A week later I had an ear infection. I went to MedExpress. I told the nurse practitioner about the rash, and I said I was surprised it was still there. She looked at it and asked if I was tested for Lyme disease. I said the hospital talked about sending it out. She called over there and they never did. She took my blood and a week later I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Level 1. She prescribed doxycycline - she said this is the drug you take for Lyme. It'll cure your ear infection, and if you do have Lyme, you'll get a total of 21 days' worth of the drug.

~and that same week~

I was almost done with my "floating" perennial garden. My grandson Max hauled twenty five bags of brown mulch from the store and down the hill to my back yard. I had been saving a ton of newspapers to spread out among the plants, and my friend came and spread the mulch around the plants. I helped. It was 90 degrees out.




I had asked my friend to weed whack the back of my yard where there was tall brush. I thought I should get rid of it to cut down on the ticks. We got everything done and I was pleased with my floating garden.

I can't even remember when it started, but I got the worse case of poison ivy I've ever had in my life. It just seems to keep going on and on. I believe I inhaled the vapors and it got in my blood stream, if possible.

I've done a lot of research on Lyme disease and it's not pretty. I'm going to write another post on it.

Have any of you gotten Lyme disease? Please share your story so we can all learn from each other.



Be safe my gardening friends,
~Ann
libbylottie@yahoo.com









20 comments:

  1. Lyme disease is no joke!! Glad you are on the mend!

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  2. Oh my goodness Ann, so sorry that you are going through this. I had a client that had Lyme disease, and you are right, not a pretty picture. I sincerely hope you don't suffer any long lasting problems��

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    1. Thanks, Cheryl. I hopefully got it very early on...

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  3. I am so sorry to hear you have this terrible disease we've heard so much about. I hope you feel better soon. And your garden is lovely! I don't know how you did it feeling so bad.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Kim! I had all the hard work done before I got feeling kind of yucky. I have a lot more plans to plant all around my yard, so I have to start protecting myself!

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  4. That is serious. You are fortunate to have caught this early. My brother-in-law in Western PA was treated for Lyme disease last year. He's doing well because it was also caught early. He has been working in his garden again, being careful to keep the ticks at bay. It seems more common now as the family has lived in that area for generations and he's the first to get Lyme or at least be diagnosed.

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    1. I live about two minutes from Western PA - the tri-state area of PA, WV and Ohio. They say tick problems are on the rise all over. There are a lot of horror stories about Lyme, but I remain hopeful because it was caught early. Thank you so much for your comment, Shirley, and I hope your brother-in-law remains well.

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  5. Please be sure & follow up with a good infectious disease doctor. There are other blood tests you may need to have drawn!

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    1. Thank you Linda. I will definitely find one.

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  6. I am sp thankful it was caught and treated early and pray for a full recovery for you, Ann. Your garden is beautiful...come and get any flowers you want...we have a few!!

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  8. These bacteria are cork screwed looking and they can and do bore their way throughout every part of the body. They drill through muscle and bone! They migrate everywhere in the body and that is why one day you hurt in one place and another day that pain or sickness is gone but you hurt in another.
    The tests they use are less than 50% accurate. Lyme is also contagious, you can pass it to your husband like I did and it's not wise to share your drink or food with anyone. My husband now has it and my two children have also been diagnosed with Lyme as well. My eldest most likely caught it while living in Maryland and my youngest got bit here at the beach in Jacksonville Florida and had the classic bullseye rash. We did live in Groton Connecticut back in the 80's just a few miles from Lyme Connecticut so there may be a connection there too but no one really knows.

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  9. Here is one link on the subject of biofilm.
    http://www.tiredoflyme.com/biofilm.html
    https://rawlsmd.com/health-articles/understanding-biofilm
    https://thehealthyapple.com/what-is-biofilm/
    https://www.facebook.com/GlobalLymeAlliance/posts/1151119811646747
    posted on Facebook October 21, 2016

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    1. Oh Janet, I'm so sorry you have suffered so much with this. Thanks for all the information. I will def. look into everything.
      I hope fellow gardeners are reading this.

      ~Ann

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    2. Thank you Ann. I am so sorry to hear yet another person has this disease. Please get a Lyme Literate doctor asap!! I can not stress this enough. Antibiotics alone will not kill these bugs. Sorry about blowing your blog up with so much info but it is very important for you and others learn this stuff to become an educated patient and get quick and accurate help. If you or anyone else has any questions please do not hesitate to contact me and I will help in any way possible.

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  10. The Biology of Lyme Disease: An Expert's Perspective (Part 1 of 3)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8tESJVvM88

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  11. Lyme Disease evades antibiotics through biofilm colonies
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSXAUxg_F4s

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  12. you also need to be aware that it is the Lyme waste of daily living puts off neurotoxins that cause all the havoc. You need to be aware of the term Herximer response as well which is the symptoms you get with what we call die off, if you get too big of a die off all of a sudden you could end up at the ER. There are simple treatments to avoid this. One example is Herx Lemonade: Mix in the Ninja blender:
    1 lemon quartered, unpeeled with seeds. 1 cup water 1/2 tray ice 3 tsp xylitol
    blend and sip through straw throughout afternoon.
    I can not do xylotol and use stevia instead.
    New research is showing stevia may kill lyme too. I buy Sweet Leaf liquid stevia.
    Nutrition and herbs are an integral part of healing as well.

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  13. Ok, last post and may be most important for you. A link to community resources to find a Lyme Literate Doctor. ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society) doctor.
    http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=2466509

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