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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Lyme
Now I know why I feel so tired and why my shoulders and arms are painful and why my vision is a bit blurred without an alcoholic reason.
I thought the symptoms mentioned above were due to me getting on just a bit and that they were the usual creaking noises that go with the... uhm... maturing process.
But this morning I noticed a big red circle around an area where I've been bitten by a tick a couple of weeks ago.
A visit to the doctor brought out the artist in the man. He grabbed his pen and drew around the big red circle. There is now a big red circle with a blue outline all over my left hip. He took a step back and admired his artwork. 'You have to touch the line up if it fades', he said. 'In two weeks the redness should be gone.'
Then he prescribed boxes full of antibiotics, to be taken twice a day for the next two weeks. So I have Lyme disease. Oh yippee.
On the upside; it turns out that I'm not thát old.
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Oh poor you! Take care and get plenty of rest as I've heard that otherwise Lyme disease can last for a very long time and be most unpleasant. There, now doesn't that make you feel better? (I'm not known as Job's comforter for nothing . . . )
ReplyDeleteIsn't that terminal? Shouldn't you be getting palliative care?
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Seriously, rest and take good care of yourself!
ReplyDeleteJabblog,
ReplyDeleteyou just sounded like my mother, which actually isn't what you want to sound like, hehe ;-)
Chairman Bill,
Life is terminal.
Why? Are you volunteering?
Pam,
I'll try, thanks ;-)
Bet you are now ticked off!?! Sorry !
ReplyDeleteJinksy,
ReplyDeletehaha and YES!
Well...look at it this way. If that piano tuner guy ever questions you you can always say, "Oh I'm sorry. I forgot I still have my piano. I've had Lyme Disease." Hey...you can thank me later...always able to put a positive spin on things. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMel,
ReplyDeleteLOL
If you read the list of symptoms of Lyme disease, it gives me a good excuse for everything ;-) Finally I can dye my hair another colour than blond.
Thank goodness you caught it early! We have lots of ticks here and I've been bitten many times but, so far, I've managed to pass on the body art.
ReplyDeleteOh, please take care of yourself. Get lots of rest and follow your Dr's directions. I wish I lived closer so I could help you out. Rest, rest, rest and more rest. Sending big, fluffy, comforting hugs, prayers and positive thoughts.
ReplyDeleteCece
Gennasus,
ReplyDeleteLucky you ;-) This year has been all about body art for me, in various sizes and forms. I've had the colourful legs and now it's travelled up to my hip. Whatever next?! ;-)
Cece,
Thanks, but I'm okay. Honestly. Although now I've read the list of symptoms I'm feeling all sorts of little pains I didn't feel before, hehe. Hopefully two weeks of antibiotics do the trick. And if not, another two weeks.
But I never say no to positivity being sent my way ;-)
We're so sorry that an awful tick has gotten you. Oskar is barking at the tick, even though he's now gone.
ReplyDeleteI hope it goes quickly and you get lots of extra rest in the meantime.
{{{hugs}}}
Pam & Oskar
Jakkie bah!
ReplyDeleteSo, what if the redness goes over the blue line? Will you have to put a black line on as well, just so you won't get confused?
Oh no Carolina....I hope you get over it soon, sounds nasty! We do get lots of ticks here but I must not taste so good....I never get bitten! The midges and mossies leave me alone too...apparently it's to do with blood type? I don't even know my blood type!
ReplyDeleteGood to be visiting again (I seem to be saying that every few weeks now, getting so lazy at blogging!)
Hope the menagerie are all fine :D
Slobbers xx
Mimi,
ReplyDeleteCuddles to Oskar for defending me. All be it just a tiny bit too late ;-) Thanks.
Mara,
LOL, you are making it worse! I hope I don't end up with the total contents of my colouring kit all over my hip.
Dughallmor Beagles,
I'm just yummy ;-) I even got stung by a wasp this year. And countless of mossies (lovely word) and a couple of ticks.
I want your bloodtype!
Ticks...I HATE ticks! Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery. Glad you caught this in time, Lyme Disease can be very nasty if allowed to fester.
ReplyDeleteSam,
ReplyDeleteThank you :-)
I hate ticks too. Now more than ever.
Oh! That's actually a fairly serious condition, as I understand, so please do take care of yourself in all ways prescribed! You're too nice to leave us! :-)
ReplyDeleteSulgod,
ReplyDeleteI mean dear Suldog, I wasn't planning on dying yet. Still, you never know. If only I had a collection of Focus records I would leave it to you. It's the thought that counts ;-)
Wow I had no idea. I've heard of it of course, and ticks are pretty common down here but I didn't know they transmitted Lyme disease, poor you. I hope the antibiotics kick in soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel a lot better soon. It doesn't sound a nice thing to have.
ReplyDeleteBaino,
ReplyDeleteNasty little buggers they are, ticks. Thanks ;-)
Samantha,
Thanks. I hope so too ;-)
I'm so sorry to hear that you have Lyme disease, about which I know very little except that humans get it from ticks and that it was named for the town of Lyme, Connecticut, in the USA, where it was first identified, and I do hope you are better soon. But I don't understand at all why the doctor drew a blue outline around the red circle and told you to "touch it up" if the line fades. Are you saying that some property in the ink prevents Lyme disease from spreading past the inkline? I'm probably missing something here, or maybe you didn't explain it fully, all I know is we're back to the day you mentioned that when your father is wearing a hat he says if he didn't have ears he would be blind and we got into our whole discussion about Prince Charles of England and how you might even be related to Charlemagne. I mean, I'm just that confused once again. Ink! Really! What medical school taught your doctor that?
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps he just wanted to see whether the red ring spread past the blue ring to assess whether the antibiotics were having any effect?
ReplyDeleteRhymeswithplague,
ReplyDeleteWhy he drew the thin blue line? He did that so I can see if the red ring becomes any smaller in which case the antibiotics are doing their job. At least that is how I understood it. But as you know, I'm always quite confused.
Or maybe he is a pervert who likes to draw on people and grabs any chance he gets. But that is a scary thought, so I'm choosing option one.
Ticks..UGH. Do they serve any real purpose in this world? Perhaps they do, as chicken feed!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry poor Caroline. First your black and blue legs, and now this! Feel better soon, take care of YOU! :)
Many hugs~
Oz Girl
I am so disappointed to hear this. I hope you are able to beat it quickly. Lyme disease is no fun whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteHearing this makes me want to wear a beekeper's suit when I walk the dogs.
I thought the blue line was something to do with ice hockey.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, do take care and now when you go wandering in the fields and woods wear long pants tucked into the tops of your socks.
Oh dear,
ReplyDeleteCarolina, please do take care of yourself. Lyme is something to take very seriously. I hope you heal up very quickly.
Hugs
You poor thing I hope you recover soon. My friend's horse recently went down with Lymes. It took 3 vets to diagnose it and about £600 in vet bills. I can't remember them drawing anything on the horse though, maybe vets can't draw circles.
ReplyDeletePoor thing! I've always said I prefer ticks to fleas, because you can catch them more easily when they bite. Lyme's is no fun though. Please take care - and enjoy your antibiotics ;)
ReplyDeleteSweet thing...drat it all! So sorry for the news here on that tick getting the bite on you. I pray that the anti B's can cure it!
ReplyDeleteMy big-ol'(((HUG)))to you goes!
KacyK
Oh gosh!!!!! =(
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloweeeeeen!
Oh dear, how horrible! I have heard about how nasty Lyme is. The good thing (apart from the fact that you aren't as old as you thought ;)) is that you caught it early. Often it's months or sometimes years before it's diagnosed and then it's harder to get rid of and more damage is done.
ReplyDeleteNow, promise me you'll take ALL of those antibiotics, and at the proper intervals too. There aren't that many that are effective against TBDs and you don't want to mess this one up.
I have not been blogging much, so have totally missed out on this. I am glad you are on the mend.
ReplyDeleteNice job in finding the upside in the situation! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was terrible to read about this, but I see your latest post indicates your doing much better!!
We take ticks of the cats daily. I'll often get paranoid that one will get on me.
You posted this whilst I was on hiatus from the blogging world. I must say I am much less confused now. For a while I thought you were getting a citrus fruit fetish and it was causing you to spell incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteI managed to piece together that this is a serious thing, but you seem made of sterner stuff than the rest of us mortals so I'm guessing you'll kick it's ass.
This is the part where I hide my genuine concern behind inappropriate humor because I don't know what to say. If you don't get better I'll be really pissed off.
xoxo