Month 5, Week 2: Killin It-One Spirochete At a Time...

"I have to believe the truth of God’s Word over the truth of my circumstances.” -C. Caine

The last two weeks have been wild. I started month five and have now completed week two of the first cycle. (This protocol lasts seven weeks with two cycles.)

So far month five has consisted of lots of oral and IV meds with no breaks between weeks I take orals five days a week as opposed to the prior protocol of three only on IV antibiotic days. Each day has been comprised of a resting state of nausea and a general sense of feeling unwell.

I have been having increased anxiety, some days have been really bad almost to the point of panic. The IV nurse told me at this point with the intensity of treatment its very common for patients to be experiencing increased levels of anxiety. She told me I needed to be detoxing as much as possible. (For more information and tips with anxiety see my August 8th, 2021, post.)

I’ve also been experiencing random nosebleeds, dizzy spells, and adrenal issues. I can talk on the phone for as little as five minutes and crash afterward.

Additionally, Mom did my first bandage change this week since I have had the sutures.

WOW- I felt like the stiches were being ripped out of my body!!! It was awful. SO so painful. As a result, I have been trying to find new central line dressing all week. (I found what I needed but it is a million dollars and only comes in a pack of 50 but I digress…)

Ultimately, the symptoms/effects make days more isolating bc I take meds, detox, and sleep. I can’t do much, so I am more cut off from everyone. It’s pretty tough bc I feel alone, and I’m really exhausted. I don’t have the energy to make things happen socially with treatment and fighting the medical system, and sickness, etc. Its all a lot. But…

-->A HUGE pocket of joy for me was, I had the pleasure of seeing my good friend Jess

last week. I was so anxious because I didn’t feel well and was afraid she would travel all the way to my house and then I would need her to go home. But at the same time, I told her it may be the best and only day she could come see me before treatment got more intense. It turned out to be the best day to visit because treatment got horrible that evening. I am so happy to have seen my dear friend, she really lifted my spirits.

Furthermore, another joy in my week this week is I got to chat with a close friend on the phone. He was so sweet to listen to my medical saga with understanding and compassion, as well as a great deal of encouragement and support. It was a joy to chat and catch up with him.

I will be trying out new medical products over this next week, hoping they will work well

with my system. More on that later.

I will be taking a med next week that I have taken before but in a higher dose. This medicine has proven to produce the most physically painful effects of all the meds I have taken. This is the one, if you recall from a previous post, that feels like I’m in some sort of sci-fi movie with great muscle and nerve pain.

I am continually reminded that this season, this very real season, has been so tough and has lasted countless years. Though there is a complete authenticity to the reality of my suffering, the truth of God’s Word is even more true, more authentic. That may sound odd, but I am experiencing it time and time again. I love that when Christ died, He died not just take away sin, but He also understood in His own flesh, the pain and trials we each have gone through. He didn’t act like the pain wasn’t there or have unauthentic understanding of those things. He even asked if it could be taken from Him... He went through it, acknowledged it, and then acknowledged a greater truth in His Father.

It seems easy to say a catchy little phrase but experiencing suffering that lasts each day, for an extremely long painful season, full of loss everywhere you look, makes that “catchy phrase” develop into a deep well of life changing truth. Moreover, with all that in mind, I am being reminded of how God met so many people in the Bible, as well as stories of people now in real time, who had impossible or unlikely circumstances. How He met them, fully acknowledging that what was going on was truly going on, but also showing them that more was going on greater than the reality here and now. It’s a tough thing, looks even ugly, but also a beautiful stretching work the Lord is developing deep in me.

Please be praying for me this week as I begin this new medication that causes great pain. Also, pray for my anxiety and stress levels and how they may be affecting my adrenals. Pray that I will see the favor of the Father within the medical systems. That I can get the medications I need and in a timely fashion, as well as all the materials I need for bandage changes quickly and at lowest cost available. Thank you for praying for all these things, as well as a peace over my whole self mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Thank you to those who have given me space to speak and listened to things going on in my life with compassionate hearts. I continue to be so grateful to all those who have supported me over the last year; it makes a huge difference!

#lymeisstupid #feelinglymie #detox #chroniclymedisease #lymediseasetreatment #update #lymeadventures