so i got the lyme, getting a pick line installed today for a 14 day IV drip due to block 2 in my heart. the good news i'm feeling great after the body crushing symptoms passed and got on dioxycyline, been riding but not hard. i feel the pick line will curtail riding a bit tho can't lift more than 5 lbs. So being the ever optimistic indestructable 54 yr old that i feel i am, who's got lyme success stories to share?
I have a story for you, and it sounds a bit nuts, but it does have a happy ending ...
I had Lyme in 2009. Symptoms started to appear in early June and peaked around mid-June. Despite the fact that I had classic symptoms (rapidly fluctuating fever, crippling joint pain, and a big red bullseye in the center of my chest), the doctor I was forced to see at my primary refused to diagnose it. I was so sick when I saw him that I couldn't even put up a fight on it, but my wife stepped up and told him that I spent a lot of time in the woods and we wanted to at least test for it. He kept insisting that the bullseye on my chest was just irritation from a shirt or something. Finally, my wife flipped out on him and he agreed to order the test. And "just to be safe" he decided he'd put me on a heavy dose of amoxycillin. After a week of taking the drug, I come home to two messages on my voicemail. The first is from the doctor himself and he says, "I'm calling about your tests results. They are negative. It's not Lyme. Have a good day." The second call -- which happens less than three minutes after the first -- is
also from the doctor himself and he says, "Hello. I'm calling about your test results. Good thing we put you on the antibiotic -- test results were positive for Lyme." So at that point I was really confused. The second call didn't reference the first, and from his tone, I had the distinct impression that he wasn't even aware that he had just called a moment before. So I called the office back and told them what happened. The admin agreed it was very odd and went to check. She pulled my results and told me that
my actual results did confirm Lyme Disease and that I need to continue on my treatment and there was a strong possibility I'd be able to eradicate it. So I said, "Well what did he mean by the other call then? Is it possible he dialed the wrong number on that one, and now someone else doesn't know their results?" She replied, "That must be it." So I said, "well, is he going to call whoever he should have called?" And she said, "That's not your concern." So I hung up and immediately changed my primary on my insurance. Never went back there again.
After I finished my round of ABs, I started to feel better. The aches and pains gradually went away, and about a month after my initial "diagnosis", I completed my first 24 hour solo race out in Wisconsin (and got 2nd place!) Later that summer, my mother-in-law set up an appointment for me with a specialist at her hospital (she was an OR nurse in a hospital system in NE Philly.) I got a few tests and confirmed that I had pretty much eliminated the infection. I was really happy about that because the pain I felt in my individual presentation of Lyme Disease were the worst I ever experienced. It felt like someone was pouring molten steel into my hip, knee, elbow and shoulder joints. It was simultaneously sharp and lingering pain.
Afterward, the only lingering thing I dealt with was that for the next few years, every time I felt an ache or pain after riding or just generally under the weather, I worried that I hadn't actually gotten rid of it and was now having a flare up. Eventually, that kind of faded, but just be aware that the concern may linger in your head and that doesn't mean you still have it.
