When it Rains It Pours

I started having symptoms of anxiety and insomnia in the fall due to Lyme, and didn't know it at the time. This was right around the time my boss started getting on my case. I am a pharmacist you see, but I am a mom first, pharmacist second. So when my boss expected me to work ALONE (now this is the day and age of the oxycodone addicts) for a few hrs - I would not do so. He got mad, thought I was telling him how to run his store, and it went downhill from there. So his arrogance at work didn't help my anxiety, and b/c I wasn't sleeping, I was making really silly, administrative errors (note, not medication errors!) - stuff like not correcting a drug price, forgetting to add something to someone's order, leaving my cooler in the parking lot, LOL. Ok, I had to throw out something funny, but true! Anyway, he starts getting really nasty and yelling at me for things I didn't even do, asking me where my head is, telling me not to use my hearing impairment as an excuse for misspelling a new patient's name over the phone (that was the worst), and finally, in January when I got really bad with the tingling and muscle issues - "is there anything else wrong with you besides just being sick?" OMG that was it - I had already planned to quit, but I was trying to hold on to my job a little longer, just to get the xtra money so I could manage to take the summer off and spend time with the kids (oh, and this job was super part time, only 8 hrs a week - but it was still income).

So while I finally got diagnosed and started treating for Lyme, he was away on vacation, and I had to work xtra - it was Torture, bc I was so sick. So when he came back, I told him what was going on, figuring he would understand why I had been so out of it. Instead of saying, oh, I am sorry, he says, first it's a uti, then its mono, now you think its lyme? (bc I was turning my head upside down trying to figure out what it was initially). At that point I knew he was a world class you know what. So the next day I went into work and told him I needed two weeks off just for a breather. And said I was going to stop working on May 22nd. I gave him 2 months notice bc I figured if he knew I was leaving, he would stop pestering me. Well, that plan didn't work. I came in today, and he's like, "so how's the Lyme"? And the other guy said, "hey are you cured yet?" I felt like punching them in their faces!! And this is an INDEPENDENT pharmacy by the way.......10 minutes after the fax came in with my kids' lab results (and he handed them to me - so he knows I wasn't making it up), he said this "You told me you were quitting, so I had to find someone to replace you, and I did, so I don't need you anymore. here is your pay, and give me the keys back" I just walked into the bathroom and lost it. HOW CAN ANYONE POSSIBLY BE THIS CRUEL??? Holy cow - I just couldn't believe it. So here is my story - I lost my job, and my kids all have lyme!

But this is only the negative side to the story - I always find a silver lining somewhere. I am a pharmacist, and in only a few weeks time, I feel I have helped so many people on the forum already, not even with medication questions, but with finding LLMDs and helping them cope, and that is my favorite part of my profession. And so many people have helped me. I have actually made friends on here - people who understand. And if and when I do beat this, I will never leave the forum, no matter what. I am going to be an advocate somehow, I want to make a difference. I have always felt like there was something else for me to do - and this is it. This is why I got Lyme - it may sound crazy, but I truly believe it. And of course, I also didn't get diagnosed with lyme earlier on, bc if I had, I never would have suspected it in my kids. So for that reason alone, it was worth every inch of pain, bc they are in the very early stages of the disease, and are going to be fine. If I hadn't done all the research I did, I never would have picked up on the subtle symptoms they exhibited.

Being sick has somehow added an element to my marriage and to my life that was never there before. It is hard to explain. Its not that I never appreciated things before, but somehow I appreciate them differently now. I was so scared when I first realized I had Lyme, bc I said to myself, what if I am never 100% again? And now, only a few weeks later, I am saying, maybe I won't be 100% again, or maybe I will, but whatever it is, I will be the best that I can be.

Oh and you're babies are going to be just fine because they have you as a mom!

Chapelle, Sorry about the job situation and the kids dx. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge on this forum. Maybe there is bigger and better things to come in our lives!

Wow...you are so amazing! Your positive attitude and your generosity trying to help and lift other people up is so inspiring! Thank you for being so generous to me during this very difficult time. Without your friendship and help I would definitely be lost! xox

Thank you all for your kind words!!

Stacestar,
just read this quick - there is no such thing as amoxicillin 500mg/5 ml
the pharmacist should have called the Dr if he indeed write that on the Rx and they should have adjusted the dosage if that is indeed what he wants

for example 400mg/5 - 6.25ml instead of 5ml - check the label, maybe they did do that for you. What mg did the Dr. want him to take again I forgot? And why is he on azithromycin - is it bc of the strept concern? Bc amoxil would take care of the strept, so I don't quite understand that part. I would if they suspected a coinfection though....

most pharmacists are clueless about lyme, just like Drs, but if they get an rx like that, they should call the Dr and document the diagnosis on the Rx, that's all. Even my children's pediatrician told me to lower the dose of the amoxil and that celine should just be taking it for three weeks, bc that's what the "guidelines" say..... I am only listening to celine's LLMD, bc he knows exactly what he is doing!!!

throw out any ?s you may have - gotta run and get my daughter to school

Yes it does! You have a great attitude! I could give you a story of people showing me similar cruelty!

Can't let it make you bitter...

Hats off to you for your passion, tenacity and courage.  Your boss -ie, former boss?  A clear reminder that each person is on their own path and there are folks out there that are just plain unhealthy to be around - let alone work for! I am sorry you had to be treated as such and yet, as you said, you have decided to find the silver lining - that is courageous and so admirable.

Just take good care of yourself and your children - that is what matters.