Lyme Progress Report #10 Are They Related?

 

I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2013 and almost died, I had 18 months of Antibiotic Infusion Treatments and took more prescriptions and supplements than I can count. I’ve been what I consider my normal healthy for years now.

The thing is, the Lyme virus went to my brain and continues to do damage albeit at a slower rate. There is no cure for Lyme Disease and you just have to deal with the relapses as they come. My biggest health problem has been cognitive, I have early onset Dementia and it’s a bitch! I have lost a great deal of my memory and can only drive within a few blocks of the house.

Why am I writing this post? When diagnosed I was told that I would continue to have complications with my immune system for years to come without a clear link to Lyme Disease.

Here we are in 2021and I’ve been diagnosed with a serious Immune Diffecency Disorder. Are they related? No-one will ever know but I have to ask. 

I received devastating news this month about my Immune Deficiency Disorder, Hypogammaglobulinemia. My immune system is in such bad shape that I need Plasma Infusion Therapy. There are a couple of issues right up front, one I feel pretty good, noting like my lab work suggests and I don’t like being dependant on others to give blood for me to get Plasma. To put my illness at the basic level it’s like there are so many players required on the field to win a game but I have a fraction of the players. I can catch almost anything I’m exposed to. That’s a hell of a position to be in. I’m relishing the time I have before my treatments began. I don’t have the complete treatment plan yet so I don’t know if I’ll be having monthly Infusion treatments or what the schedule is. It’s similar to the Antibiotic Infusion Treatments I received for Lyme Disease. Similar in that you sit in a reclining chair with an IV hooked up to your arm for several hours while the Infusion takes place. 

If you’ve been diagnosed with Lyme Diseases and find yourself battling unseeing unrelated illness, you’re not alone. The solace in that is you’re not alone with these challenges, the hurdles trying to get a doctor to understand and you’re not alone, period. One thing I’ve learned since my diagnosis is that there is a large Lyme community willing to listen and help any way they can.

You’re not crazy, it’s the illness that can make you feel that way.

Melinda