Wednesday, December 23, 2009

'Twas the Night Before Drug Holiday

‘Twas the night before drug Holiday, and although Mom was sick.
Not a creature was threatening, not even a tick.

The Children were bedside praying while they kneel.
While their bellies were full from tonight’s Gluten Free meal.

The drugstore had been called, to order more refills.
For some of the prescription bottles had run out of pills.

Mother in her rocking chair, her PICC line running.
‘Twas the end of a cycle, antiobitics she’d be shunning.

When out in the driveway a ruckus was heard.
I looked out the window to see what had occurred.

When what to my wondering eyes should I see
Eight lovely nurses and our LLMD.

He spoke with authority as he commanded his staff.
And out from his mouth came with a jolly laugh.

“Now Ringers! Now Doxy! Now Clinda and Mepron!
On Ceftin! On Tiga! On Zithro and Merrem!”

He was dressed for the occasion as he peered over his glasses
At once he proclaimed his approach to the masses.

“With pulses and holidays and combination therapies
We’ll rid you of these symptoms and serious maladies”

“Supplements next week, no drugs consumed.
If you don’t watch your gluten, your gut will be doomed.

“As for probiotics, they are important too.
To help fight the damage that antibiotics can do.

“We’ll knock out the Lyme, the Babs and the Bart.
Believe in my tactics and take this to heart.

“We’ll have you back walking and clear in the head
Brain fog will be gone and the spirochetes dead.

As he turned to drive off with all of his team,
He looked back at us, his eyes all agleam.

“May recovery be swift and without delay
Here’s to your health, enjoy your drug holiday!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Wonk

Wonk: a person preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field;

Lorraine Johnson is a tireless advocate for the Lyme community. She has both law and MBA degrees. Her writings on the issues of medicine and its ethical and legal aspects are prolific. Lorraine currently serves as the executive director of the California Lyme Disease Assn., as a member of the Board of Directors of International and Lyme Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), and as a member of the advisory board of the national Lyme Disease Association.

Lorraine maintains a great blog that presents logical arguments against the ways of the IDSA and the uneducated medical community. The things she writes just make so much sense.

http://www.lymedisease.org/news/lymepolicywonk

A recent post compared the struggles of breast cancer sufferers 30 or 40 years ago to Lyme disease patients today. Breast cancer was stigmatized and not talked about. Women had to pass legislation in several states to be able to choose their course of treatment. Drs. were afraid to perform lumpectomies for fear of losing their licenses.

http://www.lymedisease.org/news/lymepolicywonk/284.html

Lynette had a fun time with Flagyl last weekend. This is the drug that she takes morning and night the last 2 days of each antibiotic cycle. It targets the borrelia that have transformed themselves into a cyst form. This state of borrelia is not susceptible to standard antibiotics.

Lynette has been taking this drug as long as she has been under the care of Dr. J. A day or two after she takes Flagyl, she sometimes experiences episodes of depression that last for a day or two. Other times she has felt no ill effects. She took it at the end of last week. Sunday and Monday she had PMS and it wasn't even close to that time of the month. Then it was over.

Anna's volley ball team won the conference championship and now it's on to basketball. Anna is in 7th grade and she is playing on the junior varsity team. Since her school's enrollment stops at 8th grade this makes her one of the leaders on her team. She has shown major improvement in her skills over last year. But most importantly, Anna is reporting that the pain in her ankles and feet has lessened. We've noticed that she's had less headaches and she hasn't complained about her sleep patterns lately. It sounds like Anna's treatment is working well. She should never have to experience what Lynette went through.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Don't Be Late

Lynette's tardiness has always been an annoyance to me.  She thinks that she would be wasting the amount of time between when she arrived and when she was supposed to be there.  I think it's an inconvenience to every one of the the people that she is meeting when she is late.  

She got this message from a fortune cookie one night:

"People who are late are often happier than those who have to wait for them." 

When Lynette was really sick she was the one who had the best of attitudes while the rest of us fretted about her condition.  I guess we were waiting for Lynette and she was handling it better than the rest of us. 

Lynette returned to work today.  She will be working 25 hours a week for the next month or two.  Her pod was decorated with lyme green streamers.  There were other decorations and treats to celebrate her return. 

Lynette is not cured yet, but she is a long way towards recovery.  She still has balance and strength issues.  The numbness in her hand and feet persists.  She notices some affects from the oral antibiotics that she's on.  But she has come a long way. 

Even if she's late.