Life without major relapses

It's been about 2 years now since I had a major relapse (meaning weeks and weeks of more severe symptoms). This is huge -- it means that I am willing to take risks like signing up for a work trip, taking on something larger at work, and being more responsible for things at home without a …

Update on Low Dose Naltrexone

I've been on Low Dose Naltrexone now for almost two months. During the first month, I felt extremely tired, almost from the day I started it. At the end of the month I reduced the dose to almost half, and the tiredness went away. Not only that, but I was out of relapse (something that …

The four stages of relapse

I've decided it's time for an (admittedly tongue in cheek) exploration of my emotional reaction to relapse. Tongue in cheek not only because I'm comparing to a very well known model normally called "The five stages of grief" but also because the evidence suggests that that model is a poor representation of what really happens to …

Relapse #n

Or maybe I should call this YAR (yet another relapse). Who's counting, anyway? This one (maybe) was triggered by international travel and possibly stress. I'm about a week in, and as usual it's both new and the same. Started with night sweats (while still on the trip), transitioned to nausea (new) and dizziness and now …

Repeat Relapses

Being out of treatment, I don't have things to post that often anymore. Or perhaps I'm just too busy. Having gotten back from my sabbatical I've been thrown headlong into a very difficult semester. And when I don't  feel well I have nothing to fall back on because I have no wiggle room left while …

Feeling better and a few firsts

First some news -- I am happy to say that I am no longer suffering from constant headaches, have less dizziness, am not totally soaked when I wake up (though still sweaty) and generally seem to be improving. I still tend to need either an early bed time or a nap or both and have …

Back :(.

Although on sabbatical, I'm going to check in with a brief series of posts this month and next. I am in the midst of a relapse (severe night sweats since early january, more recently fatigue, out of breath, headaches and dizziness). After more than two weeks of symptoms that are getting in the way of …

Dog-gone Lyme

Lyme has been, for the most part, less of a factor in my life in recent months. Sure, it's there, and sometimes worse than others (or is that just the bronchitis I spent a month fighting back from?). But it is something I can push to the side -- it's part of the routine, and …

Relapse #1 Treatment Plan

Now that I've gotten past the denial stage, I am taking action. I figured it's worth documenting. I spent significant time thinking about my options. I don't want to become an antibiotic junkie, nor do I want to give up on having a life again. I need to balance short term (getting out of this) …

Brain Fog

My brain is back in that space where it almost hurts to think. When I work, normally, it's as if I've projected everything I'm keeping in play out into space around me. I move around in that space, project the future, translate from code to action or visuals, and otherwise manipulate information in my head …