People DO get cured

This is a post that I have owed for years. I was sick with Lyme disease for almost one year in 2006/7. I went through a nightmare that included most of the symptoms that you all know, from joint pain, to skin burning, to abdominal pains,to cardiac dysrythmia, to madening tinitus…. to constant and dreadful panic attacks. As most of you, I tried all imaginable cures, from oral and IV abx to Chinese medicine, to homeopathy, to rife machines, to a Nigerian quack that took some blood then did something to it then re-injected it (for ‘only’ $4,000 dollars!) I ended up spending tens of thousands that I didn’t have so I was rapidly draining my loved ones finances too. I was in the deepest depression imaginable. The worst thing of all was that some doctors said the opposite to others and as a pacient I felt that they were pulling me around in all directions (and charging me thousands in the process.) I was so depressed and panicked that I ended up in the ER after a suicide attempt.

While I was at the worse of the ordeal, I read on a yahoo group forum or something where someone started a poll asking if there was anyone in the whole forum that had gotten cured or knew anyone that had. The result was that there was no one. This generated a debate wondering if that meant that no one gets cured from Lyme, or that those who get cured just abandon the forum and go on with their lives not wanting to ever look back at the hell that they had left behind. At the time I was sick, and I thought that if I ever got cured I would never do that. How could anyone be so ungrateful and selfish?!

Well, I had been long convicted that I had become a chronic patient, that there was no hope for me, and I was only looking for another opportunity to take my life when one antibiotic started to do the job and after a few weeks I was out of the woods! I was (and still am today!) so ecstatic. But at the same time I was so traumatized by the experience that I  took years to be able to get back to the forums and try to help others. Then I knew the answer: people DO get cured, even when the disease has gotten resilient for a long time. They are just too bruised psychologically to be able to stay on the issue and help others. I wanted to do it, but I just needed a time out.

It is only now that I am ready to get back to the fray, to volunteer and help. Maybe my first contribution is just to bring this message: don’t get discouraged if it looks like no one ever gets cured because there are no posts saying “I got cured!”. If others are like myself, it is understandable that they don’t want to look back for a long time, not even to share the good news.

What was the antibiotic that finally worked for you?

We're all different as to which one or which combo will make us turn the corner and get well....

.....but I'm still curious. Also, how long has it been since you stopped treatment?

It's fantastic that you are cured.....and thank you for the uplifting post!

I was Azythromicin. I don't remember the dosage, but I remember that it was low, for about 3 months, but I started to feel better in 3 weeks or so. Before I had done Doxycicline, IV Rocephin, etc, to no avail. Aside for the myriad "alternative" things and supplements that I did.

I don't know it is appropiate to mention doctors names here. But Iwould have a lot to say about that. I felt abused by most of them. The one that cured me is probably the only one that treated me decently and that I would recommend.

HI Absinte!
Thank you for such a wonderful post!! And you can help out around here, 'talking' to those who are still searching for answers!! I believe that it takes an entire group, and one that's quite diversified, to be able to help very many people, as every one responds so differently not only to the abx, but to the different styles of medicine as well. Western Medicine didn't do me any favors, as a matter of fact it hindered me in many ways from healing - but that was me.

As long as the rules are followed, we would love to have you here to help! And congratulations and thank you for coming back after healing to help those of us still on the other side!

I think it is just great that you kept trying different things until you found something that got you well.

Are you doing anything particular to maintain your health these days? I mean, apart from avoiding getting bitten by another tick, are you taking supplements or using some cure to prevent re-infection or relapse?

I fully agree with Achievinggrace, it's great that you were open to all kinds of different types of medical care in order to find your healing path!! That's what I did as well, it's just that the abx route didn't work for me. I am sooo glad that you are able to say it worked!!- no matter what 'it' was!!

Congrats again!!

Thanks for coming back and sharing your story i hope others do the same thank you god bless you

This was 5 years ago, and they never did come back again. Looks like it was too difficult to re-visit.

Which is why we can appreciate Traveler so much, (which we all, already do) for staying 9 years, in spite of the 40 year long nightmare she endured to get well, and then be here for all of us!

Huddie said...
LOL! How does a five year old post come back to life?

I promise to come back - it may be in between work, exercise, vacations, biking, hiking, and love of life - but I'm paying it forward big time.

You bet I will, too!

I wish zith was all that ..it did help joint pain but made ears ring worse and heart skip more.dime to dolla i bet abinthe is still chronic if is still alive ..i hope im wrong

We will likely never know . Bless their soul...

Why aren't those that have healed here?

Well, that is easy to answer for me. I see I am here less and less now that I have healed. And, the reason is that life comes back to where you came from.

I WAS a photographer, painter, I read a lot, crochet, worked 25 hrs a month as a bookkeeper, ran a household with all the chores of that, a chef continually making new recipes for a wonderful husband, an avid outdoors person hiking, swimming, bike riding and just a very active person that wasn't on the computer but maybe 30 minutes a day checking emails and maybe FB.

Lyme came and it was the end to many of those things that I loved. I found I sat at this computer looking for answers to my disease HOURS of the day. I read every thread and just sat in this chair by the computer. It was all I had the energy to do.

When you heal, you find your loved things again and there are just only so many hours in the day. You find life and living and you don't have to keep up with lyme protocols. You try and "fit in" to a fun filled day, sitting in front of the computer. You realize what a gift your health is and you go out and enjoy it.

That's my take on why my post have diminished. I now have to schedule time to get here. I am once again busy. And, my hope is that you will all be here someday too.

I try and give encouragement and uplift y'all, but gosh it is nice to get back to my life. I totally understand those that heal and are not here. This forum is for the sick and those in need of help. I sometimes feel guilty knowing I am well and there are so many suffering so badly. It is not a good feeling to feel guilty and not a healthy feeling.

Just my 2 cents.

What PeteZa said makes sense. I think we have spent so much time with this disease...it must be like freedom once we are well...and trying to catch up on all that we have missed in life.