Day 2: Rocephin and Misc. Stuff

As I said, I will blog my progress on the daily IV. But, I also intend on blogging what else is happening in my life. So, if you personally don't want to hear the IV stuff... skip over and enjoy the rest.

Thank you goes out to all those who have expressed concern and compassion for my current difficulties with Lyme. This has been a very trying time and I really do appreciate the encouragement.

Ok... onto day two of Rocephin. Last night, the cat decided that my arm needed "cat love". She decided to work on the bandage and IV tube while I was sleeping and had the tubing almost uncovered by morning. Lucky for me, the IV was still in place. But, to be on the safe side, they still decided to change my IV. After the tech working with me dug the first one for about 2 minutes with no success, she called in another nurse. This one dug another 3 minutes in another spot. THEN went back and dug at the first spot for another 2 before moving onto my left arm. When she saw where yesterday's IV was located, she made the comment, "Oh, yes! This is going to be a difficult one." Then, she proceeded to put in a IV about 2 inches above my yesterday's IV and root at it for about a minute or two before she finally got it. I really was working hard to stay calm... but the pain was overtaking my desire to remain calm, cool, and collected. I asked if we were going to have to do this at least every three days if this would make me a good candidate for a PICC line. The nurse agreed I would be... but warned me that PICC lines come with their own "bad things". I am not saying I really want to be attached to a PICC line... but I am saying with great certainty that I cannot go through being jabbed in the arm multiple times with IV's for 28 days straight. Just think... what if this goes LONGER than 28 days??? NOooooooooooo! Anyways... the treatment went well with minimal burning. I still have a killer headache and my muscles hurt and burn like I hope to never feel again.

I then had a CT scan, by orders of the new infectious diseases doctor, Dr. Shah. The tech decided he wanted to try to make me smile. After I assured him that I was "old hat" at the CT thing and that I was going to get "a little warm" all over... and if I had problems breathing, let him know. He smiled and had me sign the paperwork. The next words out of his mouth were, "Just remember, when you get warm, you may feel like you are need to go to the bathroom. That's normal. It is even normal to feel like you are releasing urine. Although, if you start to feel liquid running down your legs, you probably just peed. That's not normal and we'll have to call in the hazardous waste janitor." Then gave me a killer grin. I had to laugh. He then smiled and said he was so glad he made my day brighter. I had to smile at him again when he was injecting the dye. I thought about what he said when I started to get that "flash warmth" and had to chuckle. So, the CT scan went well and hopefully we will have results soon.

I'd like to take time now to give a virtual hug to some of my family. They had to put their 16 year old cat down. She was a very sweet, loving, friendly cat and my heart goes out to the family. Anyone who has had to put a beloved animal to sleep knows how hard it is to do and how selfless one has to be to stop the animal's suffering when all you want is your little buddy making you feel as happy as they do on a regular basis. I hope, with time, they will be willing to open their hearts to a new kitten or a shelter cat. There are too many animals out there who just need a little love and they have so much love to share.

One last thing... last night, Jane and I decided to sit down and watch a "classic" movie. We chose The Prime of Miss Jean Brody with Dame Maggie Smith in the lead. I can understand why Dame Maggie won the Oscar for her portrayal of Miss Jean Brody, the misguided, eccentric, liberated educator of the 193o's Scotland. Her portrayal makes you both feel love for her character at the same time you realize that, no matter what she thinks she is doing, she is poisoning the minds of her students she is trying to enrich. You can see an educator who, at one time, was the end all to end alls of teachers. The kind of teacher who gives her all to teaching. The problem is... she is no longer at her prime. She is spewing propaganda and exercising loose judgment and poor moral values. She seems to miss the fact that, no matter how much she wants to mold society and the youth of today, she is also suffocating those whom she takes under her wings and trying to control destiny... something that no one has a right to do for another person. I absolutely loved the movie and look forward to viewing it every once in awhile. I have to say, I see a little of Miss Jean Brody in Dame Maggie's portrayal of Professor McGonagal from Harry Potter. I wonder if that is intentional???

Day One: Rocephen

Well, as I sit here, I have my arm IV bandaged. 28 days of Rocephen, to start. So far, tolerating it well. Will probably blog every day to keep updated on how I'm doing. Right now, feel no different.... just exhausted. Kinda hoping Monday brings the decision for a PICC line. This new IV daily is going to be a real pain.... literally.

Holy Blood Brain Barrier, Batman!

For those of you who have been following my blog, you know they suspected I have Lyme Disease (thank you Ticks of America!). Well... the ever icky saga continues....

Yesterday, I went to see my PCP and he was astounded at the fact the ER hadn't called me with my results. My Lyme IGG AND IGM were positive. My new infectious diseases doctor informs me that I probably (lucky me) have contacted Lyme Disease twice and my latest is causing some of the nicer problems (the rash), and the older one is causing the headache (breaking the blood brain barrier anyone?). So, today, at 9 am, I get to go in to start my IV antibiotics. Lucky, lucky, lucky me.

Both doctors are also freaked out because of a couple of my blood tests, too. Last month, my AST level was at 35. Normal is between 10 and 30. They figured they'd redo it this month and not worry so much. IN the ER, the AST level was 110. THEY FREAKED! They might have also freaked because ALK PHOS was at 145 (normal is 42-98) or the ALT was at 194 (normal is 0-31). They are hoping that the Lyme is the reason my levels are going haywire. I'm just plain scared.

So, as I venture towards the Hospital this morning, I realize several simple things. First of all, life is funny. I was so looking forward to my new job which I think I might as well kiss goodbye (despite the fact they are being so kind about the whole thing). A UPS in the bush is worth many DHL's in the hand... or something like that. Second of all, if you put anything in Batman speak, it sounds so much less scary. No... really! When I told Stephen my news yesterday, the only thing I could think of was my title. Maybe I can hope it is affecting my brain, too and that, once out of my system, my brain will think normal thoughts, too.

How Are You Feeling Now, Kristin?

For all of you who have emailed to ask (or all of you who wanted to and haven't yet), I'm hanging in there. I am discovering muscles in my body that I never knew existed. The doctor likened it to having the arthritis of an 80 year old woman. Well, I know my grandmother is older than 80... but she has pretty bad arthritis. If this is how she feels every day, she has, in the last 24 hours, become my biggest hero. You don't know headache or muscle ache until your muscles are spazzing out so badly that you are cramping up and bouncing objects resting against them. I've also learned that painful rashes are much worse than non-painful ones... mainly because of the heat they produce. I have also learned, while sleeping is a good thing, Lyme Disease has found a way to ruin that, too. Every time you move, you are going to wake up in pain. You will be so sweaty that you will change shirts three times a night for 5 days. And, your migraine is going to make you not want to get up in the morning and start the whole experience all over again. But, I am hoping that these problems will get better daily. My head is a TINY bit better than yesterday. But it is still in the top 5 migraine headaches that I have ever experienced. What pain!

Blog at ya later!

Life Learning Lesson #240 - The EKG Sticker

As you read earlier, I was at the local Emergency Room today and found out that I have or "have been diagnosed with (despite blood test not being back yet)" Lyme Disease. While there, you probably also remember I had an EKG. Well, my friends, this experience has created a totally new experience for me. Although I have had my share of EKG's, THIS has never happened to me before. Let me explain...

First of all, I want to state, before leaving the ER, I got the stickers off my leg after Jane reminded me I forgot to take them off. Remember I have a temperature of 101.6 as I type this and am not exactly at my brightest bulb moment.

When we got home, I immediately took my new med and a pain killer, as my head was splitting open. Not a thought in the world was given to removing the 10 more stickers from the EKG. What can I say... MY BAD!!??!! If only I had know what reaction those dang thing have with higher body temperature, I may have just been more motivated to remove those darn stickers soon.

After speaking to my mom on the phone, I went downstairs because something was running down the front of my bra. It was what had been gel from the stickers and was now some kind of, well the best word for it was now, WET STICKY GOO. When my temp. went up again, as it is want to do on occasion recently, the gel became WET, STICKY, and turned into a liquid. This liquid was all over my shirt and shorts and some had dried to my skin... making it VERY hard to separate my skin from shirt... RIP!!!!!!!!

After taking 15 minutes to clean this crud off my body, I came up here to blog about this experience. As I read this to my mother in law, who finds the situation less than blogworthy, I discover this lovely substance IS now stuck to the bottom of my foot and is webbing between my toes. OH GEE! How'd that happen... it travels?????

Life lesson: TAKE stickers from EKG off upon removing gown at Emergency Room. If you don't, you could have a bigger problem than just sticker marks. You could just have a WET STICKY GOO mess!

"So..... You've Got Lyme Disease!"

Ok... many of the people who read my blog probably were unaware that I have been suffering for the last three days with what I thought was the mother of all migraines. My head hurt so badly that it honestly felt like my head was going to crack open. It felt better when I had a spinal fluid leak after my spinal tap several years ago than the head pain I've had in the last three days. The first day, Wednesday, around 1 pm, just before it started to rain heavily, my head started to throb. Jane kindly gave me a Advil Cold and Sinus and, before heading out to my SIL's Books, Cookies, and Conversation meeting (I didn't want to miss another one. My SIL is WAY too important for me to not be there for her), I downed two tylenol in an effort to control that evil throb. I am glad to say that it was a mild annoyance during the Book talk. But, on the way home, it started to kick up again. I took one of my "Vicodin" that I keep in reserve for the REALLY bad head pain migraines and went to bed. I woke up feeling better and felt that we really nailed that migraine before it took over. If only I had known...


The next evening, after a day of working in basement, in which I understand I was a little bit on the "grouchy" side (Ok... another word would fit better... this is a family blog), I noticed that I was getting a really odd rash. It didn't bother me toooooooo much, since I figured it was one of two things. It was either a heat rash or it was some kind of dermo-skin allergy rash. Around 9 pm, I started to feel "funny". Lightheaded, blurred vision, waves of warmth, neck stiffness. Immediately, I went downstairs to take my glucose reading (being hypoglycemic for 20 years, lightheaded is usually my first reaction). It was normal. I, on a whim, took my temp. I couldn't believe my thermometer! 101.6! No way could that be right. I, in general, felt fine. So, I borrowed Stephen's thermometer. 101.7! Hmmmm! Let's find a non-digital thermometer. So, I borrowed Jane's thermometer. As I sat there, I realized I couldn't read the clock. So, I counted to 300 and found Jane to read it for me. In Jane's defense, I don't think she understood HOW much pain I was in with my head. She is a very caring wonderful lady who would never let me unneedlessly suffer. Jane read it as 99.something. I breathe a sigh of relief and settle down to watch the ceiling start sprouting blurry grass.

As I prepared for bed, I grabbed my puke bucket (Hyacinth) - a reference that British Comedy lovers will understand - and went to bed. No stomach awareness moments occurred that night, but the temp., according to Stephen's thermometer, was 102.8, at 3 am. I was getting worried.

The next morning, I was back to normal, temp wise, but still had a lingering headache. I thought that this was starting to get VERY annoying and, perhaps I should go to Urgent Care to get some pain meds. I decided, at that point, since I was schedule to see my family doctor on Saturday, wait it out. My fever was gone... I was fine, right?


AT quarter to 4, I took my temp. again. 101.8! YIKE! We started pushing fluids and gave me aspirin at 4. When we took the temp. right before dinner, after three bottles of water and two full strength aspirin, it was now 102.4! Jane was now looking a little worried. I asked when, if at all, we should start worrying about this temp. I never register a normal temp.! So, to me, this was starting to worry me... especially as my neck was getting MORE and more stiff. Jane told me to wait til Saturday, since I already had an appointment. My Stephen concurred. I wasn't totally sold on this, since I was still getting a little scared, since I start work on MONDAY. But, I trust my family, RIGHT?????


Before bed, my temp. was 102.7. At 3 am, it was over 103! Now, I am getting really freaked. The shower I had before bed and the icee weren't working!!!! And my neck was now feeling worse than my head. And, my head was no picnic. Believe me! FLASH forward to this morning.... at 9:10 am, I walk into the doctor's office. He sees me within 5 minutes of getting in the room and checks my rash that appeared several days earlier and that "mysterious bruise" I'd had for several weeks. Needless to say, my bruise kinda looked like a bullseye. But, with the neck stiffness, I got sent to the ER. L. Regional, here we come!


Before you ask... no, that isn't my bullseye. Mine is in a place that I really cannot show on the internet. But it looked like the very first inside ring level of the one above. Expect mine is perfectly round.

Ok.... back to my story! When we get to L. Regional, we get triaged immediately. They shove a mask on me, put me in a low pressure room, and pretty much quarantine the hospital room. They took an EKG, a chest x-ray, and several LARGE bottles of blood... three of them looking remarkably like large Tabasco bottles ( I was told they were specimen bottles for CBC) - they still were trying to rule out Meningitis. Then, they did a chest x-ray and told me to hang on to see if they were going to have to do a lumbar puncture. EEEEEEEK! Not another one! NEVER! But, I didn't say that. I just started praying VERY hard. Jane stayed with me and read from her Jasper Fforde book (Something Rotten - book 4 in the Thursday Next series). Something about Jane and Emergency Rooms makes her want to read to me and I LOVED every second of it.

In comes the chest xray. Then, after about 2 hours, the doctor comes back and says, "You don't have meningitis. Tests won't be back on Lyme for three days... but..." I leave with a script for an antibiotic, a paper that might as well say, "SO you have Lyme Disease!" that details what it is, how it is treated, symptoms, and how you'll probably feel, and the normal 'if you feel worse' letter.

I want to know... WHY ME? Why three days before the start of my new job do I have to go and get diagnosed with something that may or may not (doctor danced around that one) reduce my headache to the point I can shove boxes on Monday. ACKKKKKK!

Oh Tree... Oh, TREE!

The county finally came for the tree today. When Jane called, they said they had three phone calls about the tree and would be there ASAP. I have to give them credit, they got here within 2 hours after that and got to work immediately. ONE small issue, though. They left the branch attached to the wires. Only Verizon may touch the rest of the branch. When we called them, they said they'll be here on the 5th of August. Jane pointed out to them that our neighbors are without phone because of this and asked if we could send them these pictures. I guess the lady acted offended and said, "There is no where to send us emails. So, no... we don't want your photos." Verizon should be ashamed of itself. In this photo, taken from the right side of the log, you can see the exposed wiring and how the line literally runs RIGHT through the tree branch.
This is from the other side (left) of the tree. It literally demonstrates how that line had the tree grow around it over a number of years. It isn't like we didn't warn them years ago.
This is one of my favorite pictures. This is my father in law, Bill, demonstrating how low that wire is to the ground. He is about 6 feet tall and, with putting his hand slightly above his head, can touch the branch leftover. Also, see the pile of wood... that is what was left over from the fallen branch that they left us for firewood. I cannot remember EVER having a fire in the fireplace, much less needing firewood in this house. But, I bet the wood will be gone when we wake up tomorrow. Neighbors will scavenge.
This is the log/branch leftover from the front of the house. You can see Bill's hand. This thing is probably a 20 to 30 lb., if not MORE, log still hanging on the phone line. AND they want to wait until the 5th of August?

A closer picture of Bill to show how very little he had to stretch to touch this chunk of wood hanging in our front yard.

I wanted to get one last picture of this &^(*-ing phone line log. The darn thing is just "THERE" and I still feel a fat squirrel walking on it can make the whole kit and caboodle snap. This honestly worries me. Verizon is very foolish to leave a branch of this magnitude hanging there... especially with that exposed wire. THEN again, it is a utility. When have they ever been really rationale. That is, unless they want their payment. Then the deadline is a RIGHT NOW. :)