Occupational Hazards

I am not one to "push through" the pain. When I am feeling sick or under the weather or just fatigued, I take it easy. I've always admired people who seemingly never experience these things or are just able to keep going regardless of what they're feeling.

So last weekend when I developed symptoms of severe stomach flu (as in: all of the contents in my gastro-intestinal tract needed to be removed immediately) I didn't even argue--just took a break on the couch with my favorite movies (HP 1 through 7, P1).

But the other symptoms that had been plaguing me for the past few weeks--fatigue and general malaise--well, those I tried to ignore and just go on with life. Thinking that it was related to low iron (which seems to be a fact of my life) I made the best of it, albeit, grudgingly--what else can you do?

So when I took a shower Friday morning and found an interesting looking rash on my upper left thigh, I began to put some pieces together.

Lyme disease?

The headache I had all week that just didn't ever seem to go completely away?

Lyme.

Bone tired?

Lyme.

Achy jaw, neck and joints?

Lyme.

Severe craving for chocolate peanut butter ice cream?

Okay-that's not lyme--just my favorite ice cream. Which sounds really good right now..........

Anyhoo, the blood test is in and yes, it's lyme. Just an occupational hazard I suppose, or one element of summers in Wisconsin.

There are ways to protect yourself, but I don't envision myself gardening in a space suit, nor using any kind of chemical spray--at least not yet.

Lyme is scary--it needs to be taken seriously and I suppose the best way to deal with it is to protect myself and my family to the greatest extent possible, weighing the pros and cons of each method.

In the meantime, I am just glad to have the answers for my mysterious illnesses--it really explains a lot.