kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
I have recently started zithromax due to a positive band 41 and a newly developed symptom of seizures.
Back in 1990, my husband and I came down with, what was known at the time, the epstein-barre virus. We were really ill for about three years.
In 1994, I came down with Parvo-virus and my daughter got the child equivalent of fifths disease.
In 1995, I developed double viral pneumonia, during a week when the temperature in my town was hovering around 122 degrees. It laid me in the hospital teetering on the brink for over a week, and took me almost a year to recover. But, it really weakened my lungs.
I have been generally healthy since, with the exception of asthma symptoms which I have been told I do not have. And every four weeks a crushing fatigue. Oh, depression that Wellbutrin really helps with, but I don't know if the bacteria caused it or nutty family tree.
My question. I am 47...is it WORTH IT? If I were infected in 1990 with lyme or whatever, is it worth going through the whole antibiotic rigamarole?
I can see working my butt off to get my daughter in health, so she can live her life. But, I have had an exciting one. With the exception of seeing my kids married and have their kids, I'm done.
We gotta die of something. I have the choice of letting the vermin have their way in my body and let it go, or ingest pink pills for years.
Is there hope of getting rid of some symptoms after being infected for this long? I'm not depressed, I just want to know if anyone had a hope of success after being infected for 17 years.
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
kelmo,
go to SUCCESS STORIES found at the top ofgeneral support. look for TUTU's own story since she's had lyme 47+ years! best example i can give you of the stories i can still remember!
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CaliforniaLyme
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 7136
posted
Oh yes very possible- one of our older members locally is having romance and travel (actually more than one member!!!) like never before and she was sick years and years and years- a couple people who are older have traveled all over the world and been so happy now- yes- it is worth it!
Maybe not when you wrote it though- we all have our moments!!!
Take care-
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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lymemomtooo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5396
posted
kelmo, life if worth living. No matter how ill you are, you can help others or be there for your children. Do not give up.
I am sure that if you start treatment, you will feel like dirt for awhile but there is hope that you will get thru it and if only you are partially better, it will be a better quality of life.
My daughter does not take her abx anymore due to major psych issues, but a new psych told her that her worries about the side effects of abx were insignificant if she got heart complications, so for no other reason, you should take something to keep it from migrating to your heart.
Good luck..lymemomtooo
Posts: 2360 | From SE PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
Thanks lymemom, I do have an elevated cardio protein and mild microvascular issues in my brain.
Thanks, guys. Still wondering why I would continue. I'll just keep taking the pills and see where it goes.
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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cactus
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7347
posted
kelmo, it is worth it - for yourself and for your daughter, too.
And I do believe it is possible for you to get well and post your story in the success stories thread - with plenty of time for living and enjoying every moment of wellness.
Please don't give up on your treatment, doing so would be a loss for all of us, but most of all for you and for your family.
You have worked so hard to be there for your daughter, and fought for her care and her well-being... You have been a rock for her, and an inspiration to many of us.
You want to continue to be there for her, and to see her reap the benefits of good health, and the joy of really living her own life. And those little pink pills may make it possible for you to feel better than ever while you enjoy seeing your daughter thrive.
Gosh, I hope I haven't over-stepped by saying any of this... You have just been such an example of strength and love over the years that I don't want to see you give up on yourself...
Healthy, happy thoughts, Cactus
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
Cactus? I didn't know...I see myself as more of a nuisance. Please don't respond, it wasn't to milk any more affirmation.
You have all convinced me to stay the course. I suppose if I give up now, I'll create that superbug we all fear.
Thank you, you've touched my heart.
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Absolutely it's worth it. If you made a decision right now to just stop lyme Tx, you would be making it on the basis of your current healthy/sometimes not so healthy condition. But if you really do have Babs and Lyme, maybe even Bart, then you must be prepared to face a continued worsening of your health to possibly even being in a wheel chair.
You've read the horrow stories on lymenet about how bad untreated lyme can be. Would you really want to endure a debilitating life of 20 or more years? It will only continue to progress at an increased rate if you stop Tx.
You have to make up (or satisfy) your mind as to whether or not you really do have lyme. I think that is why you are questioning treatment at this point. Beause who wants to go through something as tough and costly as this when it may be a waste?
-------------------- You're only a failure when you stop trying. Posts: 945 | From U.S | Registered: Oct 2004
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Keep going! Keep going! I'm 49 and I'm looking forward to more life at a new capacity.
I want my kids to see me working towards taking my life back. I seize any energy that decides to surface and try to do something good with them. Plenty of down times too, but I know they'll have some strong memories of the fun too.
I can't say whether I'll ever be cured, but I'd rather be sick trying out something that might push me towards health in years. The alternative is to have my kids see me decline without hope -- a gift I do not ever want to give them as a memory or an example.
You are only 47! There is a whole new you to discover -- a self that is more than the sum of the dimension of your illness!
I am not minimizing the painful symptoms that keep rearing their ugly heads, muchless the new ones. I have Babesia and Bart and Lyme too, and I fear the new dimensions that can unfold.
That said, there is a lot more out there to be a part of and celebrate. I want "The Dark Side" to lose!
As Dory in Nemo said, "Keep on swimming, Keep on swimming, keep on swimming..."
Much Love and Care,
wiserforit
Posts: 508 | From Banks of the Hudson | Registered: Jul 2006
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So sorry you are feeling this way,believe me I have felt the same way. Then I just have to look at my two beautiful grandkids and keep going.
I was infected in 1988 and wasn't treated until 2002. Was doing better until a few months ago all the symptoms have come back. I going to have to get my butt in gear and find another LLMD. I was seeing Dr. B. It is difficult here in Canada we have one doc and he is out west. It is closer for us to drive to New York State.
You have friends here that care,take one day at a time
Take care your friend Cassie
-------------------- Posts: 564 | From Toronto Ontario Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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