One Last Hoorah!

So last Thursday I had a doctors appointment with my llnd. We did it over the phone which was nice. Her price is the same for the appointment but I save on gas and time off. The results are in from all of the co-infection testing. To get to the point and not make this to complicated my blood work showed no signs of having babesia but did show signs for erlichia. Like so many things in life, and lyme, nothing is definitve, 100%, without a doubt. My llnd is not convinced that I don't have babesia but we aren't going to worry so much about tackling that first. Some of the lyme antibiotics will also tackle the erlichia which is good. We talked about the results, how I had been feeling, and then the big question...Do you think you are ready to start antibiotics? It is almost a trick question. I am ready because I want to get this over with as soon a possible. I am not ready because I am afraid of what may come. It's almost like I should be hoping to feel absolutely miserable because that means the medicine is working. How can you hope for that? So yes I am as ready as I am going to be. The decesion is to start on two different medications- doxycycline (from the tetracycline family) and tinidazole (in place of the more commonly used flagyl). I have to start the doxy slow because I have been herxing with just supplements so the doc pretty much says be ready. When I'm on full dose doxy it will be 400 mg a day. That is double a standard dose. My llnd explains that only 200 mg merely stops the nasty spirochete from growing but doesn't kill it. Because there are so many strains (if thats the right word) of lyme, it can take on different forms (ex. cyst form), and it can only be killed during certain points in its life cycle you have to tackle it from multiple angles with multiple medications. That brings me to use of tinidaozole. This is being used in place of the more commonly used and less exspensive flagyl. However tinidazole is much easier on the gut. With the amount and timing of meds, things like trying to control yeast issues and keeping your stomach as happy as possible become a priority. Lots of probiotics and a totally new diet. I am so blessed to have a llnd that believes and is knowledgeable in the natural things plus the antibiotics to kill this disease. She just released a book a few weeks after I became her patient called the Lyme Diet that tackles everything you need to know to make this process go as smoothly as possible. The only down side to that is I am a junk food junkie to the max. I have always had bad eating habits and I love and usually crave junk food (mostly the sweet stuff). So to give up things like dairy and try to go gluten free is certainly not the easiest thing for me to tackle. Trying to do that, plus eat enough so I can keep up energy, and squeeze it all around my med schedule and what I can eat when...I need a miracle. The other thing I wanted to mention before I sign off for now (I have a bunch of topics I could cover right now) is that a 1 month supply of my doxy, which is 120 pills, from Target without insurance $20. Thats is $20 bucks. The Target pharmacy is one of new favorite things for a lot of reasons. I figured my approximate total pills with meds I was already on, supplements, new meds...ya about 28 pills a day. I got one of those $10 pill organizers that holds am, noon, evening, bedtime for each day of the week. Crazy! All of those pills doesn't include my liquid and powder supplements. My husband said I'll be full from the pills and wo't have room for food. Let's hope he's not right. So now onto why I titled this post "One Last Hoorah!". That would be because I am in this odd state of mind just kind of numb today as I process everything and what the future may hold in the coming weeks with how bad this could get. I gave in to the craving for something sweet knowing I really need to change the diet starting, oh yesterday, or last month. But now the real stuff is coming so I sat in my car this afternoon, by myself, after running into the grocery store, and consumed a piece of triple choclate mouse cake. Margaritaville was on the radio and for a moment I wished there was a way to be in a hammock, on the beach, numbed by a good margarita, while fighting this stupid disease. Back to reality though...so one final, kind of pathetic, hoorah and now the real battle begins!