I'm trying to figure out if I have a baseline for what normal feels like.
My chiropractor was asking me if I believe I can be pain-free, to see if I have anything in the way of getting well. I couldn't answer yes.
What does yes mean? I suppose I've had lyme since I was a little kid, and I'm 42 now.
So do people actually live without aches and pains, stiff necks, lower back strain, TMJ, muscle fatigue, stiff joints, cracking knees, headaches, etc.?
How much of that is normal life on a planet with gravity? How much of that is a normal part of being "over 40?"
Then again, is normal the wrong question? Maybe most people experience these symptoms as anormal part of life, due to general ill health from fast food,
heavy metals, chronic stress, and sleep deprivation, or because perhaps most people have a good dose of some form of bacteria, micoplasma, and viruses.
Is it possible to answer yes honestly to the painfree question?
What was normal like for you before the bug got ya?
bejoy
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Dear Bejoy,
Good question. I am not sure how long I have had Lyme, but I do remember days without pain, fatigue, brain fog etc.
I used to be able to do anything I wanted to...walk, run, swim, jump on a trampoline with my kids.
I worked, played and slept well
I used to do great on 7 hours of sleep.
I used to be able to breathe without thinking about getting that deep breath.
Wow. This is kind of sad thinking about how far down I've come. I guess the only direction I can go is up from here.
I have had some subtle symptoms for about two years...that I now know is Lyme/co-infection related.
But then, I look back and remember being dx. with the yuppie flu (CFS) when I was 16.
Hepatitis A when I was 17.
Irritable Bowel syndrome when I was 18.
I had my appendix out when I was 21.
My gall bladder out when I was 34.
Who knows.
There were times of no pain that lasted a few years between the other major events in my life.
This is going to sound strange, but I've kind of assimilated the pain, strange symptoms and other anomalies associated with Lyme/co-infections into my every day.
A good day now is one with less pain, less brain fog, less fatigue, etc.
I am very grateful for those good days and look forward to the day that I "feel" like myself again.
Who knows, maybe I will feel better than I ever have in my life.
Don't give up hope or faith.
Sending you healing hopeful prayers.
Geneal
Posted by lymeinhell (Member # 4622) on :
Hi Bejoy
When 'normal' returns (usually first in small clips, measured in minutes, then hours and gradually into days), you KNOW IT... No doubt about it.
Normal is being able to jump out of the bed (after you slept 8 hours straight) when the alarm goes off so you can get ready for work. And then spend 8 or more hours being just as productive as coworkers 15 years younger.
Normal is not considering showering and dressing your full time job because you have no energy left to do anything afterword.
Normal is being able to dash into a giant store with lots of light and noise and not have a panic attack. Normal is being able to read the labels on items on the shelf without it all becoming one big blur (that leads to a panic attack).
Normal is being able to wash your own car and not be bedbound for 3 days afterword.
I am very close to your age and now that I am recovered and have done tons of detox and aggressive yeast treatment, I can honestly say that I live a pain free life. I feel better than I did in my 20's.
Treating lyme and coinfections is one part of the program but not all. Addressing mineral deficiencies, yeast, parasites, toxins and light exercise are all just as key in the return to 'normal'.
It does happen and it does get better. 42 is much too young to be attributing all you mention to your age.
Wishing you a return to 'normal'. Posted by Cobweb (Member # 10053) on :
quote:Originally posted by lymeinhell: Hi Bejoy
Normal is not considering showering and dressing your full time job because you have no energy left to do anything afterword.
Normal is being able to dash into a giant store with lots of light and noise and not have a panic attack. Normal is being able to read the labels on items on the shelf without it all becoming one big blur (that leads to a panic attack).
Love it! I'm normal for mainstream Lymenet. You all help me so much. Keeps me fired up to kickass. C-H-A-R-G-E-I'm off to my LLMD.
But today's shower is subplanted by need to change guinea pig cage. I am not a multitasker. Subplanted? is that a word? Sounds okay to me-and my guess is you all know what I mean.
Love you Bejoy! Carol
Posted by believe3 (Member # 6216) on :
Normal is a word I forgot at one time. It
seemed as though I was in a pit and no matter
how hard I tried I could not escape it. Then
one day I decided to accept it. Accept that I
was sick and that I may be this way for the rest
of my life. I may always be sick. So I changed
my attitude and I found what peace I could in my
illness. It sounds strange but I got better.
Slowly. Not just because of my attitude but
because I finally found the right combination of
meds
for me. I never thought I would run and work
and play again. But I did and I am. I am not
100% but maybe 80% better. But I will take it.
I had at one time lost all hope and dreamed of
death and the end of it all. I am blessed that
I have found my health again.
I know you too will find it. In time. Try to
live and laugh as much as you can. Even if it
hurts to smile. It will bring your soul the
peace it needs. This is your life and it is
your decision to make it the best life
possible. Pain and all.
I wish you healing and happiness in your life.
Posted by mag (Member # 8920) on :
hi bejoy,
After lyme and the clan infection--what is "normal" ?
for me -that would be scheduling another hectic day and seeing how much of it will be accomplished with out an fear of a physical meltdown.
for me - typing as fast as i can and not worrying about all the mistakes - since i know that i can fix them in a jiffy.- now i hate use the cap key too much energy.
for me - getting excited about going to bed - cause i know that it is crash time - dreams and the next morning --full of excitement and wonder.
for me-- planning a shopping trip without a care in the world about food,getting sick, bathrooms, will i make it, and what ifs.
Twitching, unusual pain, daggers in the muscles, brain fog,fever, chills, night sweats, hopeless sensations and a sense of abnormalcy are part of my life train.
for me- that would be knowing that someday Jesus is coming and I will be standing to hear the shout and will we cought up in the air with him instead of being flat on my back wondering if i will miss the trumpet sound
I try to ignore these distraction or pretend i am making them up - hoping "they" will get tired and fall off - but alas they remain. sometimes they are on the front burner of my mind and occassionaly back
Every day continues to be a new day - I continue to trust that God will carry me though this valley- there are rest times when i am feeling less of the abnormal - but i have a hope that this will some day be gone and if not -God give me grace to hold on and count my blessings thanks for helping me feel normal
mags
Posted by Beverly (Member # 1271) on :
Hi bejoy,
Very good question and one that I struggle with all the time. I read the book, "Coping with Lyme Disease " by Denise Lang and in the chapter about children it really hit me hard.
Since I was sick since a very young child (I believe I was born with it)I don't know what normal is, I have never been without pain and certain other symptoms, especially the cognitive ones, like being able to read/speak well. I have nothing to compare it too. I wasn't once *well* and then got sick.
But I do think this ends up happening to everyone (who is chronic) because you can be sick for so long and you forget what it's like to be well also.
I have had to teach myself to be grateful for small things and not to focus on my pain or what these diseases have taken away from me. Sometimes that is hard. I wonder what I could have done with my life if I hadn't been sick?
But then I look at my son and I was still able have children and some kind of a life despite what I have been though. I have good doctors and my family, my sisters....and many other things.
I think today I do have to change what normal will be for me though, I have a chronic illness.
Huggss to you all..... Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I have had Lyme since I was a child and am 43. I have had 4 flare-ups, the most recent before this one was in 1991.
In '91 I had my amalgams out and started on a supplement program to detox the mercury. I also went on a strict anti-candida diet. Of course, I did not know it was Lyme.
I felt fine after that, except when I was pregnant, which was much of the time LOL.
After my youngest (age 8) was born, I felt great. I had lots of energy and except for TMJ and some neck pain, I had no pain.
I am having my TMJ fixed. I wore a splint for a year and now have braces. It was well-worth the trouble.
This flare-up started in 2003 as a result of excessive stress. I fully expect to get back to 100% with no pain! I did it before even though I didn't address the Lyme, so I fully intend to stick this out until I do it again.
Okay, I'm new to this, maybe I'm overly optimistic, but that's my intention, to get better. Posted by Beverly (Member # 1271) on :
Hi all,
Just wanted to add. I watched a video today called "The Secret.''It was very inspirational and uplifting to me. Maybe it would help someone else to feel uplifted or comforted in some way.
It had really good stories on it which made me feel better.
hugggss... Posted by AZURE WISH (Member # 804) on :
I was 10 when I got sick and I am now 30.
When I was a freshman in college my finger joints hurt so bad and I could not straighten them...
I figured well I guess the pain is getting worse from old age since I will be 20 in a year or so...
So I think my concept of what normal should be dissappeared eons ago...
But here is what I am striving for and is good enough for me to consider it normal.
1. Stop being so tired that probaly an average of about 20% of my thoughts are "ok... just don't fall..... ok.... just dont fall"
2. Being able to work (I went to school to be an art teacher and I intend on being able to do it someday)
3. Being able to be present. Now I feel so bad almost all the time that only parts and pieces of me are present most of the time (this makes creating art quite difficult to virtually impossible)
4. My brain must be more than mush.
I think thats the most imporatnat of it. If I have those things I will be ecstatic ...
I dont have to be perfect becuase I have no memory of that anyway..
In my opinion feeling "normal" is overated.... I just want to be able to live again..
Being able to live my life will be what makes me feel NORMAL.
Posted by stymielymie (Member # 10044) on :
NORMAL, is a relative term, that has brought men to there knees over the years.
it is a term that relates to the mass population and nothing else.
if everbody in the country had lyme ,then that would be normal.
normal with lyme, has no definition, because it is relative to the individual ,rather than the group.
everyone that has lyme, has some point ,maybe not perfect where they feel normal. there are others that would love to see that amount of normalcy.
so the answer is, i dunno!!!!!lol
if you have weeks that you can function at 50% and feel good ,that may be YOUR NORMAL POINT. enjoy while you can.
exercise and the stimulation of endophins and norepinephrine can help the body achieve normalcy without the use of drugs.
exercise is the most important thing you can do to increase the bodies immune system to infection.
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