I have spent many days in the field in northwestern Wisconsin, which is prime time Lyme disease territory. I have friends and family members who have been treated for Lyme disease, but I've never talked to anyone who has experienced the impact of Lyme. This is my short story of the acute short term impact Lyme disease has had on me. Will it have further impact? Research says probably not, but I guess only time will tell.
Lyme Distribution Map
My Story
I kept a diary during this time starting on Friday, June 12th. On that day I went back and re-created what I experienced June 9 - June 11.
In the days previous to the days listed, I now remember itching what turned out to be the deer tick bite site and noticing a small red area which turned out to be the actual bite.
Tuesday 6.9.09
I woke up with a backache. It's not that unusual for me to have an ache or pain, but I'm in excellent shape and I always know why something aches. In this case, I didn''t know.
Wednesday 6.10.09
I woke up with another backache. I took some ibuprofen as I did the day before and it immediately made my back feel fine. I ran 6 miles and played two games of softball in the evening. I took another dose of ibuprofen before playing ball.
Thursday 6.11.09
I woke up extremely sore...apparently from playing softball. I noticed the rash on my chest.
Friday 6.12.09
I started to think I had Lyme disease because of the rash and unexplained lower backache. I called the doctor in the afternoon and scheduled an appointment for Monday afternoon. Although I had found that ibuprofen completely controlled my backache and the itching of my rash, I forgot to take it when I went to bed and woke up very sore about 2 a.m. I also had a fever and generally felt bad. I got up and had something to eat and took ibuprofen around 3 a.m. I went back to bed wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sweat pants. Sometime after falling asleep my fever must have broken because I woke up sweating around 5:30 a.m. and felt much better.
Saturday 6.13.09
I left to mow the church lawn about 7:45 and finished up around 10:45 and left to meet a friend to go fly fishing. We headed out around 12:30. I drove because I felt fine. AS we fished I went past four hours without taking ibuprofen. By the time I took medication it was 7:20 and I was feeling very bad. My head, neck, and my entire back felt very ache and I was feverish and tired. I felt much better 30 minutes later and we headed to Siverthorne for dinner. By the time I arrived home around 12:30 a.m. I felt extraordinarily tired and lucky to have made it home. Saturday night was very restless and feverish and I slept in heavy clothing again.
Sunday 6.14.09
This was the first really bad full day. I could hardly get out of bed for church. My neck and back and head were very sore. The bite site had itched continuously since Saturday morning and was starting to drive my nuts. We arrived back home from church around 12:30 and I took some ibuprofen and Tylenol and headed to bed. I slept off and on until 4:15 at which time I took more of the same drugs and layed around for a couple of more hours. My head was hurting a bit less but felt heavy and my sinuses were congested. My neck was sore and the bite site was driving my crazy. Overall, I felt like crap. Symptoms included light nausea and generally flu like feelings. At this point, I couldn't get myself to the doctor quick enough
Monday 6.15.09 - First day of antibiotics
Another really tough day. I did get almost three straight hours of sleep between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. so that was a real blessing. I woke up feeling a little bit better. I did begin having some jaw pain today when I yawned and my urine was beginning to turn darker. The color was maybe one step short of freaking me out and early in the evening it lightened a little. I was very ache and very slow today. My neck basically turns with my whole body and my head was killing me as the day went on. My breathing felt a bit labored and I walked sort of hunched forward.
I met with a doctor today and started on antibiotics. I had blood work done for Lyme testing. In the mean time they tested me for HIV. Yes, HIV.
Tuesday 6.16.09
Worst day yet. No sleep . Incredible back discomfort. My kidneys ached like crazy and my urine was very dark. As I puked yellow bile into the waste basked next to my desk in the morning, the lab called to say they wanted me to come in for more blood tests. My liver enzymes were way out of wack and now they were concerned that I might have Hepatitis. Generally speaking this was not a pretty day for me. Neck ache, nausea, constricted chest with a feeling of pressure coming up from my belly.
As the day went on I did fell a little better. By 5 p.m. I managed to eat two granola bars and I have quit puking. At 7:30 I was able to eat some pasta.
Wednesday 6.17.09
I slept better but felt very stiff. Especially my back (mostly kidneys) and it took a while to peel myself out of bed. The more I moved around the better I felt in the morning. My liver enzymes improved slightly and the blood tests were clear in regards to the other testing.
Thursday 6.18.09
I went to bed feeling good and then about midnight my kidneys were burning and sleep was nearly impossible. This has been the basic night time theme and it's getting old. Basically, night time sucks. In the morning I start to feel better around nine or so. Once my backache cleared up and my kidneys quit hurting, all is well. My ability to work is not being negatively impacted. I have worked more than normal because I'm not working out and it keeps my mind off my aches and pains.
Friday 6.19.09
The night continues to be bad. Generally I'm starting to feel ok physically. I have not felt like I could go for a run or anything, but I don't feel bad.
Saturday 6.20.09
Last night was not quite as bad. I was able to sleep for the most part from about 11 until 3. I then tossed around until getting out of bed for good at 4. My back and kidneys hurt and I have a bit of a headache, but I had a good day and did some light gardening.
Sunday 6.21.09
Minor kidney pain in the morning but this was my best day. I still do not feel "strong" like I'm ready to workout, but I'm getting closer.
Monday 6.22.09
This is my best morning. Minor back pain this morning, but I felt really good today.
Wrap up
That's my story so far. I will continue on my three week schedule of antibiotics and expect that my illness will clear up entirely over the next month. For some reason my bite site is itching like crazy tonight, but maybe that is just it's last gasp.
Based on what I understood from others, I would have never expected this type of acute illness from Lyme disease. However, it may be a real blessing because my disease was so obvious and recognizable that there was no doubt I needed treatment.
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