I have had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) since March 2002. Both of my sons also got ME/CFS at ages 6 and 10. Our younger son fully recovered after 10 years of mild illness. Our older son still has ME/CFS and also has Lyme disease plus two other tick infections. This blog is about how our family lives with chronic illness, with a focus on improving our conditions and enjoying our lives in spite of these challenges.
It is a great article, Sue! Jody writes such good stuff and it was nice to see you quoted in it.
ReplyDeleteWow, Sue. That may have been more than I wanted to know about Lyme Disease! On account of I am waiting to learn if I have it or not. It is much more serious than CFIDS, right? If you have Lyme doesn't that mean you don't have CFIDS? I sure hope for the best for you and Jamie!!!
ReplyDeleteJudy
I better understand now how important it has been for me over the years that I have slowly increased exercising, that I am eating healthy, and taking good supplements. Not to mention stopping drinking (the hardest one for me)!
Judy -
ReplyDeleteNo, Lyme and CFS are NOT mutually exclusive!! Jamie and I both have both, as do many people. Lyme is one of the known triggering infections for CFS, like mono. 10% of the people who get Lyme and are successfully treated develop CFS (just like the 10% with mono or parvovirus). My case was the opposite - I had CFS for 8 years and just got Lyme 2 summers ago (click on the Lyme category under this post if you want to read more about my experience).
Lyme is treatable with antibiotics. If it is diagnosed and treated early, then it is relatively easy to eradicate, often with just 4-8 weeks of antibiotics. The problems come up when it goes undiagnosed for a long time...then the Lyme spirochetes "hide" in the tissues (not in the bloodstream) and it becomes difficult for the antibiotics to get at them. I also think mine has been more difficult to treat because of the immune dysfunction of CFS - people with CFS have immune systems that UNDER react to bacterial infections, so my immune system isn't doing its part in the fight against Lyme...still, my Lyme doctor is confident I can get rid of it.
As for you, my own personal opinion is that it is unlikely you have Lyme simply because you HAVE improved over time - if you had an untreated Lyme infection all these years, you'd be getting worse, especially with neurological symptoms. Still, I think it was smart to get tested! Let me know when you get the results -
Sue