My elbows and knees were aching last weekend and I didn’t think about it too much. When a weird tingle got involved and I felt it spread across my shoulders and upper arms yesterday, I remembered my old dance partner – chronic Lyme Disease. It’s been a couple years since we went waltzing.
It may be a flare up, it may be a new bite, and I’ll schedule an appointment to see a doctor for the ubiquitous and fairly pointless Doxycycline, and order a new glass vial of Teasel drops to help the antibiotics push it back. But even as I slowly realized what I was dealing with again, I realized that I hadn’t realized. And what bizarrely joyful feeling that is – for there was no, ‘no realizing’ for several years.
Real gardening is dirty work – and in this part of the world it comes with the knowledge that a tick check is required after every shower.
It made me go back and look for an article I’d written about Lyme Disease years ago — ten to be precise — when I was somewhat at peace with the little cross I’d carried for at least four years. Reading it and recognizing how far I’ve come in building my immune system since then is a terrific feeling.
That in mind, I thought I’d share it now below for those of you who also deal with Lyme Disease and feel like it might rule your life forever. It’s a badly understood disease (one of several tick borne diseases), and shamefully, sufferers are still dealt with poorly. Long before Long Covid there was Lyme.
But I don’t let it stop me from a life led joyfully outdoors. Take strong precautions against tick bites, and be your own advocate for testing and treatment as quickly as possible (only 30% of people get the obvious ‘bulls-eye’ symptom from a bite) — but I hope you won’t let the fear of it rob you from the joy of what we do everyday as gardeners.
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A Little Litany About Lyme
4/20/14
Today I dug three small holes to plant willow saplings. One more was planned, but halfway through what should have been a minor activity, I gave up – surrendering to the flare up of swelling in my hands, knees and ankles, and a really inconvenient desire to sleep for the next three hours. As I put down the shovel and started toward the house, I thought about other gardeners and outdoorspeople perhaps struggling for the first time with such symptoms, and thought that this week, with the grass lengthening and tick populations burgeoning, I would share my experience.
Four years ago I went to the doctor with mysterious symptoms. My joints were so swollen I could not bend over or grip a pencil. Lyme Disease was suspected, so the most basic of tests were run with negative results. And there I made a mistake that I have lived with ever since – I did not insist on further, more comprehensive testing, and sadly, neither did my doctor. My symptoms got better then would reappear six months later. After a year of feeling run down and not myself, I paid out of pocket to have a better test run. Positive this time….and positively too late to treat.
Lyme Disease is endemic to this region of the world; and gardeners and people of the outdoors are constantly being warned to be on the lookout for its tiny carrier – the deer tick. However, as one who has removed microscopic offenders from various body parts, I am more than aware that ticks will come and go without the host knowing anything about it. It is far better to be aware of all signs of this illness and advocate on your own behalf.
For many, the battle with Lyme Disease has ceased to be a medical one. I have done my sixty days of doxycycline…twice. According to the establishment, I, and others like me, are cured – regardless of persistent, obvious symptoms to the contrary. Of course, there are highly respected doctors who are still searching for answers, but there are also charlatan quacks out there happy to take one’s money.
I’ve ingested herbs and put thousands of drops under my tongue. I’ve juiced more than Jamba, and juggled restricted diets with the dietary needs of a family. In the end, my work is to build up my immune system and give my body the best of food and exercise – and to realize that flare ups will happen. I will feel terrible, and then I will be better.
Perhaps the most difficult thing about Lyme Disease is something that will only be understood by future generations. At some point I have no doubt that there will be a 100% cure. A pill…a two week dose of some miracle drug that forces the Lyme spirochete out of the tissues and out of the body…for good. I’ll be one of the first in line. And at that time, people will look back and think about a father, or a cousin, or a friend, and realize that they weren’t crazy, or eccentric, or seeking attention – that they were just dealing with something that didn’t yet have an answer.
It’s my little weakness. It might be yours too. On good days I consider it a badge of honor for the life I lead outdoors. On bad days I write terrible poetry and read website horror stories until my eyes cross. Then I stiffen my upper lip and remember that there are those out there who are worse off than I. Besides, who knows if I’d be taking such good care of myself without immediate negative consequences guiding my decisions.
It’s tick season almost everyday, and you’re gardeners. Don’t dilly-dally if you’re having odd symptoms – acting quickly is your best chance of a successful cure.
A Gardener’s Reflections on Lyme Disease originally appeared on GardenRant on October 2, 2024.
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