Has Lyme changed your social interactions?

Several of our extended family members stayed home this year from Christmas brunch and dinner get-togethers with us becaue they had stomach flu or sore throats. Several other family members staying in the homes of the sick family members came to the gatherings because they felt okay and of course we all share hugs and pass each other dishes of food, touch the same serving utensils, etc..

In the "pre-Lyme" days this would not have sent up the red flags to us like they do now. We were cautious, but that didn't help. Two days later our 14 year old son had violent 24 hr stomach flu, and now my husband and I have full-blown head colds and sore throats. I have not recovered from a two month long bout of bronchitis. Our LLMD had me get a blood culture for systemic candida and the results aren't back yet.

I'm full of brain fog right now so I don't know how to phrase this correctly, but we're starting to wonder if a couple hours of social interaction with people/family who are sick is worth it for the risk we take in getting sick. We don't want to isolate, but we don't want to feel even more lousy than we do.

Have you changed how you interact with groups of people, or how you spend your social time because of Lyme? As soon as one of the family members at the brunch said to us "I feel okay other than a sore throat," would you have left the gathering?

It honestly hadn't occurred to me to be more wary of sickies than I ever was B.L. (before lyme). Wash hands and of course always tell them not to make me sick (ha).

Now that you mention it, I haven't had a cold or anything else since getting really ill a year ago. Thank the Lord for that.

Rather than fear of additional illness, what has caused me to reduce social interactions has been the awful fatigue and the rest of the symptoms. Just had to.

I don't know if it has changed my social interactions, but I am extremely careful when in public and I notice everything that anybody who is sick touches. I was pretty upset over the holidays at one family gathering where a relative would not let us greet her with the standard air kiss on the cheek because she had the flu, but later on she was handing out our dinner plates! Really?? I think an air kiss would have been less germ infested. Needless to say I ended up being sick a couple of days later.

One time I invited a couple over for dinner. The wife showed up sick as a dog with a nasty cold that practically had her face disfigured. How could someone that sick go to the home of someone else who is immune compromised? Some people don't think! I have decided that in the future when inviting someone over (not that it happens much) I will tell them if they happen to be sick that day, let's re-schedule for another time.

There have actually been many occasions where I meet up with someone and then they announce they have a sore throat and I may something like, "Well, I will keep my distance then", but so far I have never left because of it. I wish I had the nerve. I then go home and scrub my hands and use a saline nasal solution and rinse my throat with salt water.

None of us want to be sicker than we already are!

It's completely changed my interactions with all people, not just family. If anyone is sick, even with something minor, they don't get to come. If they are staying with people that are sick, they don't get to come. As PeteZa said, if I don't look after my health, who will?

I had to explain to my drama queen of a Mom that if she insisted on bringing that to my door step every time we talked (she did!), that we wouldn't be able to talk until I was healed. Fortunately, she changed (a lot actually!) and she stopped doing that. I was serious and she knew it, and it was a good thing, since I'm still in treatment (for adrenals and thyroid now though) and still very sensitive to stress.

We are now going to have to talk to our kids about this. They get the not being around us with a physical illness, but have no idea about how stress affects me, or my hubby. Them being up and noisy until 2 am when they are here doesn't work.

Again, if I don't look after my own health, who will???

I'm the same as well. I'm pretty open to people about having Lymes, mainly because it helps to talk to people about it, but also so they understand what Lymies are dealing with. I don't expect sympathy, but I get tired of reminding people that I can't function like other people, drink alcohol and party on. When people are sick around me, I'm genuinely frightened that if I catch their cold or whatever it happens to be that its going to finish me off.

Definitely shouldn't feel bad though to ask someone to keep their distance when they're sick, even as a healthy person.

bluelyme, my heart goes out to you. I'm sorry you are in so much pain. Big hug to you.