Happy New Year!  This post is long overdue.  I haven’t posted much these past few months with good reason.  Most of you on IG know what I’ve been dealing with but I wanted to share the full story here.  It only felt right to start the New Year off with a NEW blog post and a little recap of 2022.   I have a lot ot fill you in on and it really seemed like the right time to share now that I’ve started to wrap my mind around things.  I share my experience here so that others can be aware of their health and know when things seem off, they usually are.  The last 6 months have been quite a journey, but really most of 2022 was a whirlwind.  Starting in January we decided it was time to look for a bigger home for our growing family.  We ended up selling our old house in March (without finding a new one yet). Thankfully by some miracle we found a new house, in the same neighborhood (again miracle) in April and moved in May.  Things could not have worked out better and our new home meant that we could also accommodate my parents in a beautifully finished basement in law (I had no idea how timely this would all be).  PLUS, the baby finally had his own room too.   We were all so happy and excited for our new home.

Everything seemed perfect as we settled in.  Now looking back and when I did slow down for a second to check in internally, I was exhausted.  Moving and having a 6 month old, being postpartum, having just finished renovating a rental property it was all taking its toll on me physically.  By early June I felt off.  I was exhausted, so run down that I asked my primary care to do blood tests on me.  I couldn’t really think straight, was having strange shooting pains in my hands and wrist which I just assumed was from painting and moving.  Before I ever got to do the blood work with primary care doctors, it started.  The sickness that I’ve never experienced in my life.  I woke up with chills and a horribly high fever.  I went to urgent care and they ran all the obvious test plus Lyme.  Everything came back negative.  But I was getting more and more sick.  The fever continued to last five days.  Brought me to the ER twice.  The first ER visit resulted with an “everything looks normal” which was devastating.  By the second ER visit, I was getting worse my joints ached, I could barely walk and wasn’t eating.  I was starting to get rashes on my body.  I had tremors and muscle spasms. The only place I wanted to be was in the hospital. By the time the ER doctors saw the rash they decided to put me on Doxy.  Even though all the second rounds of Lyme and ticborn illness panels were still negative.  I had ALL the symptoms.  I had reached one of the lowest points in my life, scared and sick with three kids at home.

I’m so thankful that my parents had been living with us at this point because I was unable to do anything.  My mom and Ben held down the fort while I started to slowly improve.  Once I started the antibiotics things got better and I got through the summer.  But the thing was I would start to feel more myself but then I’d stop the antibiotics and not feel right again.  I decided I needed to reach out to a Lyme doctor.  They ran a test through Igenix labs and while I waited for those labs I also found a functional doctor to do a deep dive of more tests to see if there was something else I was missing.  Why wasn’t I getting better after 7 weeks of antibiotics?  I decided to stop the antibiotics completely because I still didn’t know what I had.  In September I found out from the Lyme Doc that I was positive for Lyme and thankfully no other co-infections.  The functional doctor I was considering using found Mold in my system as well as some other toxins.   We believe this mold exposure was from working in a basement classroom for 8 years where I would get headaches quite frequently.   I was starting to not feel well again and the Lyme doctor suggested more antibiotics, so back on them I went.   Of course in a vicious cycle of feeling better and than not.   The functional doctor wanted 6K to get me on their more natural protocol which was a cost we couldn’t afford.  Especially since most of the testing was all out of pocket.

I didn’t want to pay 6K and I didnt want to continue on another cycle of more antibiotics so thankfully I found a functional doctor to help me with the Lyme and Mold.  I’m going to a place in Newton, MA called Five Journeys they do take insurance and their payment plans are thankfully a lot more manageable.  I’ve only just started with them so I will keep you posted on how it works out but I feel HOPEFUL to be on the right path.  They are treating me with herbs and supplements, I’m getting Vitamin C IV therapy there as well.  Things I’ve been doing that are helping are infared sauna and yoga to help with detox as well as acupuncture and occasionally Chiropractic.   I need to have a very clean diet for awhile which has been hard but when you are so sick you’ll do anything to feel better and giving up bread and beer is fine by me.  Thankfully I’m doing so much better today compared to last summer, however I still don’t feel completely where I want to be yet.  The headaches, brain fog, and occasional “herxing” from the herbs can really throw me off.   I know I’ll get there eventually thanks to all these treatments and having such supportive family and friends.

I really did not want to start 2023 without reflecting on 2022- the year I didn’t see coming. My posts may have been very minimal here and on IG but I was fighting the good fight.   I thought 2020 was the doozy!  Hopefully this wasn’t all too much to share, I share it with you to shine some light on this horrible disease.  I never saw a tic bite, either.  If this one post can help someone that is suffering get the help they need, when they don’t know what is wrong than I feel I went through this for a reason.  You have to be your own best advocate and keep looking for answers/help.   You may seek it and have to keep searching to find the right fit for you.  I know it isn’t home related but you can’t create a home you love nevermind be a good wife/mother/daughter/friend if you aren’t in good health.   This ordeal put so much into perspective for me about what is truly important.  This past year while extremely difficult has taught me sooooo many valuable lessons about having patience with myself as I heal.  In 2023 I hope to get back to doing more of the things I love doing like DIY, decor projects, art, sharing ideas but on a slower more chill scale.  Getting myself back is my top priority for 2023.  Thanks for reading!

 

Jordan