The Lyme Light

The pain is still here. My body still hurts to touch. It still hurts to get dressed. It still hurts everywhere. In addition to this crazy inflammation, the joint pain was bad today. I had to take a pain pill to get through 2 quick errands, going to the pharmacy and target. I think I might have moved strangely or done something, aside from being on my feet a bit too long last night, because I experienced sudden, intense pain in my right hip joint when I got out of my car. It was so bad that I could barely walk. Each step I took felt like stepping on an open wound. It was prohibitive. Thank god I didn't have very far to go. When I sat down I took some Aleve and a cyclobenzaprine to make sure that didn't happen again. 

That type of hip joint pain started a couple of years ago. When it started, it was really only a problem when I took the first few steps after getting up. After those first few steps the joint would adjust to the change in position and the pain would get much better. But one day the pain didn't go away after those first few steps. From then on, I have been living with and managing it with medicine and physical therapy, etc. All that to say that today, each agonizing step I took from my car to the theater was like a flash back to when the pain was out of control and completely devastating. This time, it did get better and I was able to go about my day.

Now approaching the 2 week mark of this inflammation and pain, I decided to call my new doctor, Dr. Reifsnyder, to see what he thinks I should do. He suggested I stop the new antibiotic Cedax for 3 days to see if the pain goes away. It should. But if it doesn't, then I need to go in for an evaluation because it may be a new problem to address. This is day one without Cedax. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning.

The good news is that I definitely have more energy. Last night, for the first time in a long time, I had enough energy to go out to dinner and a movie and be alert and enjoy myself. It was wonderful. I started taking Acyclovir  2 days ago as part of the new protocol to suppress any active viral infections, especially Epstein-Barr. I don't know how quickly it's supposed to work. But the combination of getting better quality sleep so I've been waking up more rested and, maybe, the anti-viral is giving me much more energey. It's been nice to wake up in the morning at reasonable time and be relatively alert right away. These days, mornings are easier and getting my coffee, breakfast and pills has been a much less daunting. I am still taking good, long naps in the afternoons or early evenings. And I am going to sleep around 10pm or so most nights! That's huge. My sleep schedule has been off for years. It's amazing to sleep like a normal person. Well, you know, if you don't count all the pills it takes to knock me out, special pillows, and the positions I have to sleep in to try to keep the pain to a minimum. Even still, it's a big deal that the sleep thing is more on track.