It was a Wheelchair Weekend

Having been given a new dose of Plaquenil for Stage III (chronic) Lyme Disease, I was having severe symptoms last week after only six days. My LLMD (that's Lyme Literate Doctor) prescribed this to me as I was beginning to have tremors that resembled my symptoms that I experienced back in 2009. During this time, I was evaluated at Nursing Home Level of Care, needing a wheelchair most of the time. Although I have gotten exponentially better and seldom need even a walker, I have been taking teasel root tinctures and Unda numbers for seven months now. I have learned that as you there is a die-off of the spirochetes, it releases neurotoxins that must be released. So, while on antibiotic therapy, it is imperative to detox as well. With the Plaquenil, which is an anti-malarial drug, the Lyme spirochetes were dying off too quickly for my body to get rid of them. My symptoms are now back to where they were at Nursing Level of Care. I have not sat in that wheelchair for two years, and I am now returning to it. But I know it is temporary, and only a symptom during my healing process.

The first symptom I noticed when I first popped Plaquenil down the hatch was a buzzing in my head within 15 minutes. I felt dizzy like the room was spinning. The second symptom I noticed was the aching in my stomach after I had taken the dose, and this did not appear to me until after a few doses. By the third day, I grew incredibly exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep. This was a throwback to when I first contracted Lyme back in 2007. I grew too tired to notice or even care about the crazy acne outbursts, hives, lower GI issues and seeing bright light flashes. Then the cognitive fog began to weave its way into my thought processes until word processing regarding speech diction and even not being able to think of a particular word began to resurface... and is still affecting the writing of this blog.

Most noticeable to others: the increase of tremors, which is exactly the opposite of why my LLMD prescribed this stuff in the first place. Of course, the brain fog is the worst because you are not as aware as you would be go notice what is happening to you. But as they grew worse, the tremors were starting to become worse than they had ever been, sending shock-like electric pulse waves down my spine and hips, causing my thighs to "clap" together forcefully, painfully. My right wrist and hand twisting inwardly repeatedly and pulsing, twitching, shaking. This would go on repeatedly throughout the day, exhausting my muscles in contractions, the pain becoming so strong I would pass out, only to be woken up by the same twitches and convulsing. Neurontin is the only thing that calms this down, however, medical science does not know how this medicine works.

Although I had called my LLMD had he told me that the Plaquenil seemed to strong for me right now and to discontinue, it seemed to be still killing off the spirochetes. He told me to take sarsaparilla, which would give me the additional help to clarify the blood and help with the liver and kidney to detox the bacteria out of my body. But within one week I was in that wheelchair again.

Today, Sunday, the pain in my hips from the tremors is rather strong. My mother used a heated massager on my hip and low back area. During this time, my tremors increased dramatically, but the massage felt so relieving I began to cry. The trade-off is that my hip muscles seem to have relaxed so much that they are not firing at all. I tried to make it to the bathroom and needed help from both of my folks. So, it's back to the darn wheelchair today.

Who knew that after 3.5 years the diagnosis I so hoped for would be so anticlimactic and the healing would be like walking on coals... all over again?


But I know this time I can do it. If I made it this far, I can do ANYTHING.