Help Is On The Way

As you likely imagine, by this point I am feeling very disappointed and hopeless.  Not knowing if I would ever find out what’s wrong with me is very disturbing to say the least.  At night while my family sleeps, I pray to God to guide me in the right direction to get the answers I sought.  He did just that!

In a previous post I mentioned that I met someone who also had Chronic Lyme Disease.  I reached out to her to gain more information about her treatment and the doctor she that was treating her.  After many hours of discussion and research, my husband and I decided it was worth a shot.  You see the doctor that I would begin seeing is located in Louisiana!  6 hours away from where I live in the Austin, Texas area.  The costs of travel and the unknown costs for copays, labs and potential medicine was worth me getting the answers I needed and longed for.  You may be asking why I need to drive all the way to Louisiana.  What I am learning is that in Texas there are not many doctors who are Lyme literate (more to come on that) and I have heard of people with Chronic Lyme Disease traveling as far as Chicago and California to seek treatment.  I know, it sounds crazy but it’s true.

So off we go to Louisiana.  As you can imagine I am feeling a wide range of emotions at this point.  Excited about getting some answers to scared of what I might find out to anger that I had to drive all this way because my own doctor brushed me off.  My wonderful husband is doing a great job at keeping me calm and focused.  He’s great at that…that’s one of the reasons I love him so.

We arrive.  We walk in an there are several patients in the waiting room.  My husband checks me in while I get situated in the lobby.  I am comforted by the many scriptures posted around the office.  God knew I needed to see that.  When I finally get called back to see the doctor, I provided him with all my medical records and he asked me a series of questions and such.  He did an exam, drew blood for lab work and some x-rays of my head.  Based on what he saw in my file, my symptoms and his examination he determined that there was a strong likelihood that I did in fact have Lyme Disease as well as a Co-Infection of Lyme Disease called Bartonella.  To be completely certain of a positive result, he wanted to wait to get the blood tests back.  

At this point, you may be wondering just what kind of symptoms I am having so I thought I’d share some with you (this is not all my any means):

Hand tremors, Brain Fog, Short Term Memory Loss, Unable to Focus or concentrate, pain, tingling and numbness in my feet/legs/arms, shooting pain in legs, insomnia, loss of balance, involuntary muscle movement, involuntary movement of limbs, weakness in hands/legs/arms, dizziness, abdominal pain, vertigo, extreme exhaustion (all the time), low-grade fever, loss of voice, eye infection, tenderness in the crown of my head, swelling and tender joints (fibromyalgia),blurred vision and back pain.  In total, I have a combination of 140+ symptoms.  Not all at the same time and not every day.  Each day is different, so I never know how I am going to feel when I wake up each day.

Finally after about 4 weeks, I go back to Louisiana for my second visit and got my test results.  I tested positive for “Chronic” Lyme Disease and during this appointment he also determined that I have Fibromyalgia and of course the Co-Infection Bartonella.  He started me on a treatment plan which consisted of a combination of various antibiotics and other medicine that would get me started.  He could mot make a determination how long this treatment would last though it has been said that for every year a person with Lyme Disease goes misdiagnosed, you need about 4-6 months worth of treatment.  I have been misdiagnosed since 2003…

On the way home and I am feeling relieved that I finally got some answers.  I am happy and a little nervous about what lies ahead, but with God on my side I know that I am up for the challenge!

Thanks for reading,

WJC

 

2 thoughts on “Help Is On The Way

  1. Careese

    Windy – thank you for sharing this info and your journey. It also allows us to know what exactly we can be praying for! Love you.

  2. Windy, it is encouraging to see you take control and ownership of your personal health and trust our God to lead you and heal you completely. Thanks for being vulnerable and willing to encourage others who are confused about their own health to seek real answers and do what it takes to heal. We only get this one body and this one life on earth. Praying for speedy, full, miraculous recovery. Hugs!

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