posted
If this has been discussed before, please point me to the string....
Not desperate yet - but buckling under the load - what do you do with your yard now?
One of the really big issues I am struggling after the diagnosis is my lifestyle / home / future
I worked 10 years (with Lyme) just to keep this place going - it is what I lived for - never could keep it up very well since I was so tired
grass growing tall / deer nest (fawn) 4 yards from the front door / squirrel in the attic (yikes) / wildlife everywhere, even close to the house / roses growing through the deck / lots of cover for mice and others under shrubs and house
I may be able to change all that - but the land clearing company wants 10,000$ for starters, I just called them
(not unreasonable to clear 1-3 acre of trees and shrubs thoroughly with large equipment)
and the concrete company (to get rid of grass growing on our gravel walk and driveway) and, and, and
trying to brace myself for medical expenses, I am quite overwhelmed right now as to what is the right thing to do
move? take my home away from me, too?
anyway, where would I go? I have a horse and ticks are everywhere and moving (selling/buying) is expensive and stressful, too
I am trying to stay calm, face the facts of my new diagnosis (spirochetes in my brain and eyes, just added Bart to the mix),
get treatment, and do something reasonable here while being financially straped and sick and the wildlife growing over my head now more than ever...
If I could only do more myslef...
help!
are any others in a similar position? how do you keep things at bay while you try to recover? or clean up the house/yard during treatments?? how do you do it all?
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
Check with churches, social services, high schools, etc...maybe one of them has a volunteer program that can help you with some of your issues. I know our high school students have to put in so many volunteer hours every year in order to graduate.
You might not get everything done, but any help is good.
BTW, a deer nest with a fawn, awww.....i am an animal lover.
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
pmed you
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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would you please send me a PM again with the number???
your mail-box is full, you must be popular
have a great trip!!
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
mom2kids, good to hear your spirit through this post
I am so spooked about all this and glad it is not out of this world to still adore fawns
I don't know what's crazy and what's right anymore
maybe it will just take a little bit of time
I never pushed an animal away and now I am ready to kill kill kill and lock out of our property - deer fence, yard dogs and cats and traps and keep the birds away and have bugs eaten by Guinea Fowl
my favorite spot is in the summer on the deck seeing the lightening bugs rise out of the tall grass in the yard...
I have an identity crisis - since I always welcomed critters ousted by clear cutting next door
never sparyed anything - always adored the green and the abundance, now it seems more like a threat but I haven't decided yet
if what you live for is gone, why fight so hard to survive in the body...
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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I have the chance to get an MRI but am not enthoused...
not sure what it could show / help me and not sure ti would possibly shift my fillings - don't need a tooth ache, too, now
the spirochetes in the eyes and brain are my diagnosis - why else the throbbing in my head (inflamation) and the pain in my eyes (together with all the other Lyme symptoms: EM rash, arthritis, myalgias, nerve conduction problems, GI inflammation, CNS symptoms)
something is up there and my immune system is going after it - my educated guess: Borrelia burgdorferi, as much as that may grate some MDs
at this point I am not willing ot have my eyes cut up and cultered, so we will jsut have to go with the guess, he he
sorry to be so blunt - bad night - I hope you are doing ok, with your home and your health - or at least on the way to health and happiness
all the best!
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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in case you haev not seen these great resources yet
don't give up!
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
oh, again, the lesion are fixable, too, in some cases, I think - I jsut read in the book "Cure Unknown" by Pamela Weintraub, I think it was in there -
that some patients did images before and after treatment and in some the lesions disappeared
in some they stayed - can't remember if they said the clinical signs were gone, though, that is the imporatnt part for us
Maybe others can chime in - I am just starting imaging and treatments etc....
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
Harmony - on my very first visit with my LLMD he gave me doxy and ordered a brain mri and co infections blood test. I had taken him a copy of my cbc that my md had done right after he diagnosed me with lyme and right before he TOOK THAT diagnose back.
The 2nd visit I hand carried those tests to him and I don't mind telling you that I was scared #$@# less!
He said that's classic lyme and we will watch it. I said will we need to retest and he says maybe down the road if we need to. I do not want to do it again.
I dont think that dye is good for you. I already know they are there and I want to believe they will go away. I just do not want my brain to deteriorate! That is seriously some scary stuff.
And how can I possibly know that the biaxin and doxy are helping to get them out of my brain and yes, my eyes too!
I wonder why some people get the lesions and some dont if they all go to the brains of every lyme victim??
Posts: 33 | From PA | Registered: Jul 2011
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posted
oh yeah and the day after the test, I had a migraine that was a 16 on scale of 1-10 so if I had to do it again, I would have taken something before it got a chance to get out of hand. Also had chest pains, glands hurt bad, just some major stuff but maybe it all wasnt from the mri but sure seemed like it.
My friend has MS but not lyme and she wont let them do it again. She says that the dye can cause something to turn to wood if too many are done. I thought she said the blood. Idk, it sounds hard to believe to me.
Posts: 33 | From PA | Registered: Jul 2011
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posted
mom2kids - it is a good idea about checking with churches. But it just reminded me that our little country church doesnt really believe in lyme problems. I can tell and I resent them now.
One day I was leaving and lost my balance a bit and I was standing in front of preacher and I said something stupid like, did you just lose your balance or did I??!?!?!?!? What?!?!?
That was the dang spirochetes in the brain making me lose my balance and the spirochetes in my mouth making me say something that dumb. I went out of there mumbling to myself-LOL
Posts: 33 | From PA | Registered: Jul 2011
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@lexalou, couldn't you just say you have a chronic bacterial infection, chronic pain syndrome, anything similar to, but not actually LD?
Get a letter from your doc that says you have a chronic, debilitating illness. They (church, etc...) doesn't need an actual DX.
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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posted
Oops! Harmony, nothing will ever deter my love for animals. I actually recued turtle eggs in my yard last week and am now the "mom" to 4 turtle babies.
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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my aunt used to rescue hedgehogs in Germany and feed them little sausages of ground beef she rolled in her fingers
turtles are mostly vegetarians, are they?
we also have black snakes, eggs, adults and juveniles
I moved black snake eggs once, leathery little buggers, , but I did not raise them, - Momma!?!
we have copper heads and black widows, too, and I always thought they would get me once, now I am afraid of tick nymphs and spirochetes - ahhh, it's a full world
I would rather not loose the beautiful snakes and turtles and foxes, coons, skunk, possum - but I do have a quarrel with the groundhog - he he
settled it with some used kitty litter - that did the trick
well, the thing is, if I move to the city - I just drove through some neighborhoods today and started thinking - there are trees and shrubs and deer, too
unless I go for the inner city - and God knows what you can catch there, ha ha
What do you do?
Can you "tick-proof" your yard?
Is the risk reasonable?
Questions, questions
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
I like the volunteers to help idea - never thought of being the recipient -
I really like that idea for that, to give myself the credit I deserve, I always helped others, too - my turn now
but in the given circumstances, I worry about them getting a tick....
I know they don't believe in the problem but they could still get it
and if they don't check themselves that makes it even riskier
especially kids or young people who htink they are invincible anyway
I am pretty sure we have infected ticks here
don't even feel good about the professionals coming out, but they are doing it every day for a job and get exposure elsewhere already and I can warn them and they have equipment to pick up stuff
I'll think about it - maybe there is something "safe" for volunteers to do
it is a very good idea!
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
So, what exactly did the groundhog do? And how did used kitty litter help?
Our yard is like "wild kingdom" too, minus the black widows and copperheads! I do have pics of coyotes in my yard and the fisher cats wake me up in the middle of the night.
There is a river behind my house and 100's of acres of undeveloped (or barely) land. The turtles come up every year and lay their eggs in our yard and when they start hatching we collect them and take them back to the river.
Last year I found a 1 week old squirrel and hand raised him, then released him when he was weaned. He still comes to eat, but won't come near me now. That's how I wanted it though, he is a wild animal.
Tell the volunteers or whoever comes to help about the ticks and that they should check themselves when they are done. You can't be responsible for anything that happens after that and you shouldn't feel guilty.
I don't know about tick proofing the yard, I think it's just easier to check the dog and use the flea/tick treatments on him and the stupid cat.
I am not leaving my beautiful, peaceful neighborhood, so I just need to be vigilent (sp) about the bugs.
Take care and good luck!
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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thanks for saying you won't leave because most people are afraid and I am, too, now, but there are always different views
thanks for those how said they would leave - I really wanted to hear it all - see what others think
people also warn me about horses, especially those that had life altering injuries, but I still work around them and would not give them up because of that
a personal choice, I guess
glad my hubby respects that (he races cars)
it's just so eerie with the ticks, since you don't see them coming and you get sooooo sick and it is sooo difficult/expensive/open ended to get well
I did not see the tick that caused my bull's eye - that really annoyed me! they can jsut feed on me and infect me and I don't even know!
well, I'll give the life style / tick exposure risk some more thought but really: thanks so much for your input, animal lover!!
so, about the groundhog: well, he or maybe she, dug out a tunnel right next to our water holding tank (we have a well) under the house and burried the spigot (sp?)for the garden hose (horse water) and would not leave
looked me right in the eye when I had to go down there to tuen the water on
he/she can't live there and make a mess - it is our house!
Hubby wanted to trap him/her but then what?
I made a lot of noise and tried to disturb the "nest", even threw the dirt back in but she/he thrwe it right back out - the rascal!!
so, a friend, who is a farmer, said to dump used kitty litter into their hole "they don't like that", she said
and sure enough, one dose was enough and she/he was gone for good
now you know the rest of the story
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
LOL! I can just picture Bill Murray (?)in "Caddy Shack"! Harmony doing the GI Joe crawl through the yard in full camo...
I understand the "fear" about ticks, but I personally won't allow fear to rule my life. If I did, I'd never get in a car, airplane or a boat. I'd never eat in a restaurant or pretty much any food, due to parasites or ID's. I would not send my kids to school, due to school shootings.
The "fear factor" is never ending, you might as well not live if you allowed it to "rule". That is just how I feel though.
I know many may consider me nuts and I may be, but that is me.
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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you know, the irony is already there: I never kissed a guy, didn't have sex, wash my hands 30 times a day, don't travel to countries where I could "catch something", don't sit on public toilet seats, etc etc
and now I got a cocktail of the foulest bacteria in my system that is taking me for a ride!
It reminds me of the quote by Helen Keller(1880- 1968) American Writer: "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold."
maybe it's because life itself is the greatest "exposure" and we don't always know where threats come from....
if I move away from all I love (animals and grass) to the inner city, maybe I'll be shot in the head by some looney inner city dweller who's had enough, and be in a wheel chair with brain damage for life
so, maybe not so loco after all to go ahead and just live your life!!
...I am still thinking on this - here is another quote: "Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)" by Walt Whitman
-------------------- Persistence, persistence, persistence!!! "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence... Persistence and determination are omnipotent." attributed to Calvin Coolidge Posts: 599 | From USA | Registered: Jun 2011
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My thing is, is if it is your time, it's your time. If you refuse to fly and you are meant to die from a plane crash, then you are either going to fall from the sky in one or one is going to fall from the sky and get you while you sleep in your bed.
I think I was meant to get sick. Somebody wanted me to slow down and observe or participate in life, instead of racing through it. I have learned so much about myself and the more important things in life because of it.
You just never know and that is part of life....
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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