This is my personal experience with Lyme, it does not in any way constitute as medical advice, or intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article does not dictate how you, or anyone else may or is experiencing Lyme. I share this real human experience, ok I'm venting, in a world shared with other critters.
You can imagine my surprise when I scratched my lower back to find something so tiny-tinny stuck left under my nail! Was it really a tick!?! “Noo, oh yah, yup, and crap.” For the last couple of days, I wasn’t even in the woods! Where did that little thing come from! Likely my dog had dropped it, as I often find time to cuddle with him during my work day, my lovable Brittany.
I immediately flushed the tick, and cleansed the site with rubbing alcohol, then grabbed a new flea/tick collar to equip my dog. In the heat of the moment, I was not thinking too much about it. I’m a clinical herbalist, why did I not experiment in that moment and heed my own advice!?! I could have reached for something more cleansing and nourishing to the skin, and maybe some echinacea tincture to stimulate my local immunity…. even better a cleanse of witch hazel and some calendula salve for some lymphatic support. Better yet, I had under my sink a pre-made herbal oil infusion of violets, figwort, and pokeroot.
A week and a half pass, I had forgotten all about the tick bite. Getting out the shower, looking in the mirror, “crap,” I developed the bull-eyes rash. “Well maybe it’s not Lyme,” utter denial. For the shock value I take a picture to best of my ability and sent it to my mom, and partner. I got the quietish “you should check that out.” To which I replied “I’ll keep watch.” I mean, not everyone who gets the rash, gets Lyme, right!? A day or two passes, a time of indulgence and visitors, wine and sweets. It was a wakeup call: the treats and alcohol impaired my immunity and spiked inflammation, compromising my body’s ability to fight the Lyme bacteria. The following morning (of day 2) the rash has now engulfed the good part of my lower back, and it burns – not itchy, but burns. No other symptoms.
As an experiment I tried the echinacea tincture topically, feeling relief, but wow, now the site is red, and angry, and spreading.
The thought of trucking my toddler daughter to the walk-in clinic to wait an hour or two was almost enough to deter me. To my luck, there was only three patients ahead of me, and the wait was an easy 20-minutes with minimum co-pay (luckily only $25). The doctor, well bed-side mannered, looked at my back, and sternly said “you have Lyme.” Great, the confirmation. She continued to explain the challenge with Lyme tests, and the high probability of false-negatives for early detection, etc. Wow, she actually took time to explain this, I’m impressed. She asked me how long I had “this” – to which I explained five days (since that day I took that token shock-like photo). How easily I forget,….or wait did she mean when I noticed the rash, or when I was bitten by the tick? Regardless, I had forgotten how much time had passed.
I left with a 10-day script of doxycycline with directions to take twice a day, morning and evening to take with meals. In fact, mid-way though a meal stop eating, take the pill and drink a glass of water, resume eating. That will staunch my appetite. Also, ready for the drum roll….. “do not go in the sun, you are super fair, you will get burned and blisters, I have seen people come in with blisters!” Great, it’s the middle of summer. Bummer. “Ok, how long does the photosensitivity last?” To which she replied “a week after.”
I left the clinic satisfied, knowing that script in this case was a strategy I was willing to do to kick this tick-bacteria. But had I waited too long? Will it be effective enough? Two days into the script, the rash started to disappear and the burning…gone…relief. My new daily look was long-sleeved and covered in near 90+ degree weather, and slathered white in zinc sunscreen. A not-so-great-weird-summer-look, but at least I was sporting white-linen, a fabric of summer. Also, call me vain, but after this script I don’t want to be covered in brown spots or melasma.
But I’m not putting all my faith into the medication, a clinical herbalist has so many tools to work with! In a twisted way, I’m excited to explore my herbal-tool-kit, experiment and experience. I was diligent about my doxy, and took it every day morning and evening with food and no upset. Three hours after my morning dose, I would roundup my handful of supplements of bone marrow, magnesium, vitamin D3/K2, garlic, amla, and Japanese Knotweed. Many of which I took anyway as part of personalized regime, apart from garlic and knotweed. I also did some shopping, buying some probiotics to use during and after for the recovery phase. I’ll need to repopulate all my good bugs, after I’m done with the doxy bomb.
This was also a great opportunity to really focus on my health. I now have a good excuse! As if I need one to take care of myself, but in this society, it often feels like I do. “Oh ya, going full out DIVA,” I’m getting in that 12 hours of sleep, and one late morning nap with my daughter, and I am not apologizing. My meals are borderline indulgence with 30-35 grams of protein for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to supply the immune system with the needed building blocks. To satisfy that savory-salty craving, I’m scooping on the kimchi and sauerkraut, heaps of berries and plenty of garlic. LOL if my partner eats the same garlic-infused food, he will not mind me as much smelling anti-vampiric (he’ll be off gassing the same beautiful breath of life).
Oh, and I reduced my work-load, the first thing to go was social media (clients are always my priority). I was seriously focused on stress reduction, calling on skullcap when I even started to feel that slow rise of anxiety of not being as productive. The pressure is real, even if you run your own practice! Now, I was not sitting on my butt, my energy was redirected to stretching, gentle yoga, lymphatic moving movements, and gentle resistance training.
An added tool I incorporated was the sauna. My family is Finnish, so this was something very assessable. A good ol’ cedar sauna, which I forget, “how F**king delightful it is.” How did I let this practice slip away for so long! I was glad to reincorporate this back into my evening routine, after my daughter falls asleep.
So, it's Wednesday, three days after my last dose of doxy, and feeling well. My rash is no more, and my energy feels good. Keeping up the good habits, with additional doses of probiotics morning and evening, and a gut-heal blend of sun tea. At least the tea can be in the sun. It will be another 5 days before I return to regular activity in the sunshine, and join all of you, my friends.
I'll keep you posted.
XO
Ash
****This article is not intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This is just a sincere sharing of my personal experience, my ups and downs, and does not in anyway predict/or directly dictate your or someone’s experience of Lyme.****
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