A Delay in Progress - Part 2 - Lyme Disease

Once again, it’s been a minute since I posted last. At least I’ve been more active with blogging and writing stories this year than I was last year, so I guess I’ll take that little win for now.

If you read my Delay in Progress post back in July, then you know I came down with an illness. I thought I was getting better when I posted that. In fact, in some ways I felt better, until I didn’t.

Being summer, I’d gotten some sort of insect bite on my one leg before my illness set in. Thought little about it. I did not see what bite me but I just assumed it may have been a spider bite, which I’ve gotten before, no big deal.

However, as time went on, I developed other health issues. I was tired all the time, which is nothing new for me, but this was much worse. I’d developed some joint pain, mainly in my hands and jaw. Red patches showed on my skin in various locations. I wondered if a tick had bitten me and I’d contracted Lyme Disease. Finally, I gave in and went to the local urgent care. The doctor did the test that confirmed my suspicions, that yes, I did in fact have Lyme Disease.

By now, I was dead tired all the time, to the point I barely did anything. In fact, I was tired of being tired. I’d take naps, but still my tiredness persisted.

I scheduled a follow-up visit with my regular doctor, who said I could experience symptoms for the next 3 to 6 months.

Isn’t that just jolly?

Of course, since I hadn’t been to a doctor in some time, she wanted me to get poked and prodded everywhere to make sure I was healthy. Which I’m glad to say all the doctors have confirmed that I am, in fact, normal. Granted, I did not visit a psychiatrist, but let’s just move along and go with the fact that I’m in good health overall.

For a time I was doing well, then a few weeks ago I contracted a cold/flu virus. Apparently, since I had Lyme Disease, I’m immune compromised for the time being. The cold/flu wasn’t too bad other than I wanted to sleep all the time.

I’d get up in the morning to feed the cats. That’s non-negotiable regardless of how I’m feeling because the one house cat makes sure I’m up at a certain time no matter how crappy I feel. After I made the rounds feeding the inside and outside cats, I’d eat breakfast and go back to sleep till lunch time. After lunch, and go back to sleep. Same with dinner.

When my symptoms began to clear, I thought I’d soon be back on my feet. But no. The tiredness from the Lyme Disease sat in on me once again. Worse part is, I had volunteered for an event at the local theater and I felt like a slug moving through dense fog.

Nothing can be done for this. With luck, it’ll all clear up in a few more months. In the meantime, I have to live with this. I have to find a way to get things done regardless of how tired I am. That is my main goal at the moment.

It is a struggle for sure. On the other hand, it’s given me lots of time to think and reflect on many things. Namely, on how to get things done. My hold ups in the past have been of my own mental making, now they are not. I reflected on getting past the mental barriers in order to get me past my current physical barrier.

What really sucks is I rarely get sick and never on this level. I stay healthy for the most part. Believe me, I’m grateful for that.

So I’m trying to pull myself up from this. I am working on a story that I hope to have out by the end of the month, but as always, no promises on that. I should be more active on here as well, with plenty of updates, ramblings, insights, etc.

Learning to live with being tired and drained every day isn’t easy, but I’m finding it is doable if I give myself a little push.