Before 2005, I don't think I had ever heard of Lyme disease. I first heard about it when my mom was diagnosed with Lyme that year. She had been mis-diagnosed with Fibromyalgia since 98. My sisters and I also found out we had it in the years to come. The bills, finding a Lyme literate doctor, and all the drugs were really overwhelming, but it has been worth it to feel as good as I do today.
My mom had it the worst. When she went un-diagnosed for so many years, her symptoms left her bed ridden for close to a year, and she started to lose some of her senses. She noticed that her senses of smell and taste were diminished and she described her sense of touch as "having gloves on my hands." She also had some major nerve damage so when she would pick things up, sometimes they would drop right out of her hands because her nerves would force her hands open. She also had heart problems and there were days where she couldn't move from bed.
My symptoms were a little different. Besides Lyme, I also had a co-infection called Babesia. I had severe fatigue which made it hard to wake up and stay awake during the day. Luckily, I caught my Lyme disease much earlier than my mom. After spending months on meds, I lost over 30 pounds, felt all of my energy come back, and was able to go back to college.
Even though I've had relapses since then, I have been doing so much better in the last couple years. I've gone back to college and have been able to maintain over a 3.5 GPA since.
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