Hi, I'm new

[Guest guest]

welcome to the group!!

K

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/28/2004 4:47:50 PM Eastern Standard Time,

areves@... writes:

> I went to a naturopath this past week and discovered that I'm allergic to

> wheat.

There's a celiac website group on . They might help also.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

areves@... writes:

> She didn't mention anything about celiac.

As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a celiac.

[Guest guest]

She didn't mention anything about celiac. Do they usually go hand-in-hand?

Annie

Re: Hi, I'm new

In a message dated 2/28/2004 4:47:50 PM Eastern Standard Time,

areves@... writes:

> I went to a naturopath this past week and discovered that I'm allergic to

> wheat.

There's a celiac website group on . They might help also.

[Guest guest]

That would depend on what in the wheat you are allergic to. If it is the

gluten, then that would mean you are celiac and need a gluten free diet. If

it is today's wheat and not the gluten, then you wouldn't have any problem

with kamut, spelt, rye, or sweet brown rice, if you aren't a Non-secretor

( one who doesn't secret blood antigens in their fluids). Non-secretors are

limited in the grains and sugars they can use.

Re: Hi, I'm new

> In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> areves@... writes:

>

> > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

>

> As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a celiac.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh my heavens! I have no idea about any of this. As I said earlier, this is a

whole new world for me.

She just said that I had a wheat allergy. I don't know if that includes gluten.

And how would I know if I was a secretor or a non-secretor? (And do you know of

anywhere I can go to get a fuller explanation of what this means?)

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed with this right now.

Annie

Re: Hi, I'm new

> In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> areves@... writes:

>

> > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

>

> As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a celiac.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

You can order the kit from me.

A person can be either a secretor or a non-secretor. This is completely

independent of whether your blood type is A, B, AB or O. In a simplified

sense, a secretor is defined as a person who secretes their blood type

antigens into body fluids and secretions like the saliva in your mouth,

the mucus in your digestive tract and respiratory cavities, etc. A

non-secretor on the other hand puts little to none of their blood type

into these same fluids. Many metabolic traits, such as carbohydrate

intolerance, and immune susceptibilities are linked genetically to

secretor subtype.

ABO Specifics Inc. - http://www.foodforyourblood.com

Re: Hi, I'm new

Oh my heavens! I have no idea about any of this. As I said earlier,

this is a whole new world for me.

She just said that I had a wheat allergy. I don't know if that includes

gluten. And how would I know if I was a secretor or a non-secretor?

(And do you know of anywhere I can go to get a fuller explanation of

what this means?)

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed with this right now.

Annie

Re: Hi, I'm new

> In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> areves@... writes:

>

> > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

>

> As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a celiac.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Annie,

Take it one step at a time. What book do you have to start with? Let us help

you from there. I'd first get used to cutting out all wheat. Then each of

the other avoids. Then after all avoids are cut out, in a month or so you

might try some kamut bread, Ezkiel bread, or spelt bread. If you find

yourself having allergic reactions to any or all of these, get the Secretor

test and find out if you need to change to the Non-secretor diet or just

stay off of grains.

Re: Hi, I'm new

>

>

> > In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> > areves@... writes:

> >

> > > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

> >

> > As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a celiac.

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 14:46:28 -0700

From: " AnnieReves " <areves@...>

Subject: Hi, I'm new

Hi everyone,

I'm Annie from northern Canada. I went to a naturopath this past week and

discovered that I'm allergic to wheat. She advised me to get Dr. D'amado's book

on blood typing (which I did) but I'm looking for support from others who are

going this route.

Hoping to get to know you all as I learn about this different way of eating.

Annie

Hello and welcome, Annie Reves. You sure are in for a treat, fellow O.

I'm looking forward to you new people, here.

This is a really friendly, helpful, supportive place.

Isn't that right, fellow Os?

I'm a caucasion english-swedish, jewish polish-austro-hungarian O+ and a

secretor (I'm feeling pretty ishy right now ; ))

What are you?

-Axel

P.S. I don't like wheat, rye, barley and I've not eaten the spelt for so long I

don't even know about that stuff... oats are okay, sort of.

[Guest guest]

In regards to the comments below I have a question. In Os are

carbohydrate intolerance and immune susceptibilities greater in non-

secretors vs. secretors?

thanks,

Bill

>

> A person can be either a secretor or a non-secretor. This is

completely

> independent of whether your blood type is A, B, AB or O. In a

simplified

> sense, a secretor is defined as a person who secretes their blood

type

> antigens into body fluids and secretions like the saliva in your

mouth,

> the mucus in your digestive tract and respiratory cavities, etc. A

> non-secretor on the other hand puts little to none of their blood

type

> into these same fluids. Many metabolic traits, such as carbohydrate

> intolerance, and immune susceptibilities are linked genetically to

> secretor subtype.

>

>

> ABO Specifics Inc. - http://www.foodforyourblood.com

> Re: Hi, I'm new

>

> Oh my heavens! I have no idea about any of this. As I said

earlier,

> this is a whole new world for me.

>

> She just said that I had a wheat allergy. I don't know if that

includes

> gluten. And how would I know if I was a secretor or a non-

secretor?

> (And do you know of anywhere I can go to get a fuller explanation

of

> what this means?)

>

> I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed with this right now.

>

> Annie

>

>

> Re: Hi, I'm new

>

>

> > In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> > areves@c... writes:

> >

> > > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

> >

> > As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a

celiac.

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

NON - SECRETORS

ABO Specifics Inc. - http://www.foodforyourblood.com

Re: Hi, I'm new

>

> Oh my heavens! I have no idea about any of this. As I said

earlier,

> this is a whole new world for me.

>

> She just said that I had a wheat allergy. I don't know if that

includes

> gluten. And how would I know if I was a secretor or a non-

secretor?

> (And do you know of anywhere I can go to get a fuller explanation

of

> what this means?)

>

> I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed with this right now.

>

> Annie

>

>

> Re: Hi, I'm new

>

>

> > In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> > areves@c... writes:

> >

> > > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

> >

> > As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a

celiac.

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/1/2004 5:03:05 PM Eastern Standard Time,

areves@... writes:

> I don't get a highly allergic reaction to wheat but it is apparently the

> reason that I'm so exhausted all the time. So far I'm just cutting it out

> altogether.

>

As a type O non-secreter, wheat bloats me up, makes my ankles swell up, makes

me feel awful, and puts me to sleep. I'm not a celiac but I pay attention to

what's an avoid. Grains are not friends to type Os.

[Guest guest]

, I don't have a book on this. All I'm going by is what the naturopath

told me this past week and I'm muddling it out myself.

I don't get a highly allergic reaction to wheat but it is apparently the reason

that I'm so exhausted all the time. So far I'm just cutting it out altogether.

Annie

Re: Hi, I'm new

>

>

> > In a message dated 2/29/2004 11:22:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> > areves@... writes:

> >

> > > She didn't mention anything about celiac.

> >

> > As far as I know, a person who is allergic to wheat is a celiac.

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Good. Do you have a chance to get to the library or order books to be sent

to you from the library? If so, look for the book " Eat Right 4 Your Type " by

D'Adamo. It is a good one to start with. It will also have a list of

foods to show you what is best for us ( beneficial), good for us (neutral),

and what we shouldn't have. Just continue to leave out all wheat. If you

need to thicken or coat any thing get some brown rice flour, Kudzo root, or

Arrowroot. They are good subs for flour and for corn starch. Corn is another

avoid for O's and sweet potatoes are a good sub for regular potatoes. I bake

a regular potato for my husband and a sweet potato for me.

Re: Hi, I'm new

> , I don't have a book on this. All I'm going by is what the

naturopath told me this past week and I'm muddling it out myself.

>

> I don't get a highly allergic reaction to wheat but it is apparently the

reason that I'm so exhausted all the time. So far I'm just cutting it out

altogether.

>

> Annie

[Guest guest]

You can also print out my ER lists

ABO Specifics Inc. - http://www.foodforyourblood.com

Re: Hi, I'm new

Good. Do you have a chance to get to the library or order books to be

sent

to you from the library? If so, look for the book " Eat Right 4 Your

Type " by

D'Adamo. It is a good one to start with. It will also have a list

of

foods to show you what is best for us ( beneficial), good for us

(neutral),

and what we shouldn't have. Just continue to leave out all wheat. If you

need to thicken or coat any thing get some brown rice flour, Kudzo root,

or

Arrowroot. They are good subs for flour and for corn starch. Corn is

another

avoid for O's and sweet potatoes are a good sub for regular potatoes. I

bake

a regular potato for my husband and a sweet potato for me.

Re: Hi, I'm new

> , I don't have a book on this. All I'm going by is what the

naturopath told me this past week and I'm muddling it out myself.

>

> I don't get a highly allergic reaction to wheat but it is apparently

the

reason that I'm so exhausted all the time. So far I'm just cutting it

out

altogether.

>

> Annie

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the recommendation, . I do have Dr. D'amado's books on hold at

the library and I'm looking forward to getting them soon.

Annie

Re: Hi, I'm new

> , I don't have a book on this. All I'm going by is what the

naturopath told me this past week and I'm muddling it out myself.

>

> I don't get a highly allergic reaction to wheat but it is apparently the

reason that I'm so exhausted all the time. So far I'm just cutting it out

altogether.

>

> Annie

[Guest guest]

D'Adamo

-------

I keep spelling this fellow's name wrong! Sorry.

Annie

Re: Hi, I'm new

> , I don't have a book on this. All I'm going by is what the

naturopath told me this past week and I'm muddling it out myself.

>

> I don't get a highly allergic reaction to wheat but it is apparently the

reason that I'm so exhausted all the time. So far I'm just cutting it out

altogether.

>

> Annie

[Guest guest]

Hi , this is a world wide group, I'm uk based, you'll learn

lots of new things here.

SHame your family has had so many problems, not unlike many here

have experienced. I'd be inclined to stay vaccine free with the

youngest and do no more with the middle child, especially after the

others history there.

Its good you have some support, not everyone will understand/agre

with you but thats not important.

s problems could be many a thing and its worth investigating

every angle as it might be something minor or unexpected.

My daughter nearly 20 months and completely unvaxed, and very well,

active and alert i should add. I'm part vaxed as is dh. It's hard

to remember sometimes that there are many people living quite well

this way.

bw

A

[Guest guest]

Cheri,

Glad you came on over!

You will like this group. very helpful and you learn alot!

I'm Kathy.40 years old. We have 3 kids..23, 20 and 7 years of age.

I found out this past January that I have overlapping liver diseases. I have

Autoimmune

Hepatitis, and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis. I am in stage 2..fibrosis..no

cirrhosis yet and I

am hoping that the mds do theyr job and stop the progression.

When I feel up to it. I walk for exercise and love movies and we also raise and

breed

Siberian Huskies. My hubby is in the Air Force and is a weather forecaster. I am

originally

from Alabama and my hubby is from Hawaii.

Nice to meet you and welcome to the group!

...· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-

¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) Take Care,

((¸¸.·´ .·´ Kathy -:¦:-

-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

May your troubles be less, your blessings more, and nothing but happiness comes

through your

door!

§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§

Our loved ones never truly leave us...they live on in the kindness they showed,

the love

they gave, and the memories we have of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KeeslerAFBRelocationAssistance-subscribe

http://kmsavelio.tripod.com/chinookwindssiberianhuskies

SiberianHuskyDogBreeders-subscribe

MilitaryWeatherWives-subscribe

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 23:45 , 'cherielynngree' keypit-smpl@...> sent:

>

>

>

>

>Hello everyone.  I found out about this group while waiting to join

>

>another group.  I look forward to reading your posts and hopefully

>

>learning alot and offering support. 

>

>

>

>I almost lost my life last September, 2004 and enjoyed the " Flight for

>

>Life " helicopter ride to a wonderful hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

>

>with excellent Doctors and nurses who saved my life.  I was later

>

>diagnosed with Cirrhosis of the Liver. 

>

>

>

>I'm 47, married with two daughters age 17 and 12.  When I find

>

>some time...I garden and try to stay out of the way of our overly

>

>energetic 6 year-old golden retriever. 

>

>

>

>May God Bless!  Cherie

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I lived in DC for many years and there is an excellent infectious diseases

practice in Falls Church, VA. Dr. Eron was the doctor I used to see (but

not for lyme).

Your doctor is wrong about doxycycline -- at least going by the prevailing

medical guidelines. It is not to be prescribed to children under 8 because

it can cause teeth staining when the permanent teeth are coming in.

However, it is perfectly safe for a 13-year old with his adult teeth already

in. Gosh, I was given doxycycline and its cousin, minocycline when I was 13

and 14 for acne -- I took it every day, and dermatologists prescribe it to

young teenagers to take every day for acne. Have your doctor read the PDR

-it's right in there -- only children under 8 shouldn't take it.

If he has early lyme disease and still has the bulls-eye rash, it should be

completely curable with a short dose of antibiotics. Septra, by the way, is

not effective against lyme, and I'm allergic to Septra too. Biaxin is an

acceptable 3rd choice, according to the literature, but doxycycline is the

best because it can also kill related tick-borne diseases and mycoplasma.

I would ask the doctor to switch him to doxycycline and see how he does.

Hopefully, he'll be ok after 20 or so days on that and it will at least keep

the lyme from moving to stages II or III. My doctor delayed antibiotics for

me, even though I had figured out through my own research that I had lyme

and demanded both doxycycline and the test. He resisted, but my research

proved right, and my Western Blot was positive, but it didn't get done until

4 months later and by then, I had severe meningitis and neurological

problems that landed me in the hospital.

Greg

[Norton AntiSpam] [ ] Hi, I'm new

My name is and my 13 year old son, Ben, was diagnosed with

Lyme Disease yesterday. He has a bullseye on his right hip bone, a

fever of 102, chills/sweats, terrible headache, and sore knees. Ben

is allergic to several of the meds families used to fight Lyme's

(Septra, Ceclor, & Augmentin) and his pediatrician won't give him the

doxycyclene because it may stain his teeth. His pediatrician is a

wonderful old gentleman who is not up to speed on Lyme. He has him on

500mg of Biaxin 2x a day and he says he will only leave him on it for

20 days. From what I have read this is inadequate. I am going to

search for an infectious disease specialist who has many lyme patients

under his/her belt. Is this the right way to go? We live near

Baltimore land so if anyone can give me a name of someone you

trust, I'd appreciate it. You can mail me off the board and I won't

publicize it. Any advice of any kind is welcome. I'm off to read the

archives now.

Feel better,

Questions and/or comments can be directed to the list owner at

-Owner

[Guest guest]

go to dr jones my son goes there..do not go to anybody

but an llmd.

eric

--- Q <pinewoodglen@...> wrote:

> My name is and my 13 year old son, Ben, was

> diagnosed with

> Lyme Disease yesterday. He has a bullseye on his

> right hip bone, a

> fever of 102, chills/sweats, terrible headache, and

> sore knees. Ben

> is allergic to several of the meds families used to

> fight Lyme's

> (Septra, Ceclor, & Augmentin) and his pediatrician

> won't give him the

> doxycyclene because it may stain his teeth. His

> pediatrician is a

> wonderful old gentleman who is not up to speed on

> Lyme. He has him on

> 500mg of Biaxin 2x a day and he says he will only

> leave him on it for

> 20 days. From what I have read this is inadequate.

> I am going to

> search for an infectious disease specialist who has

> many lyme patients

> under his/her belt. Is this the right way to go?

> We live near

> Baltimore land so if anyone can give me a name

> of someone you

> trust, I'd appreciate it. You can mail me off the

> board and I won't

> publicize it. Any advice of any kind is welcome.

> I'm off to read the

> archives now.

> Feel better,

>

>

>

>

>

>

__________________________________

Discover

Find restaurants, movies, travel and more fun for the weekend. Check it out!

http://discover./weekend.html

[Guest guest]

i can sooo relate to your story...however i get deathly ill in summer and when

ever the humidity is high.The cold weather changes does cause me to have more

joint pain for some reason but the mental stuff and headaches are triggered by

the sun,heat and high humidity...buts thats just me

hope you feel better soon

--- " Micki " <mickisuzanne@...> wrote:

From: " Micki " <mickisuzanne@...>

Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:30:51 -0000

Subject: [ ] Hi, I'm new

I'm probably pretty typical. I got very, very sick about three

years

ago. The usual - crushing exhaustion, joint pain, mental fog. I

thought it was CFS. At that time my lab tests revealed some

Epstein

Barr virus and my doctor bombarded me with anti-viral meds;

which

made me better for a bit, preceding a huge crash. I did get

very

close to suicidal, having lost my job, been denied disability,

lost

my looks, gained weight ... ugh.

By the time two years had passed I was on a lot of medication

to

control my rapid heartrate, antidepressants ... I can hardly

remember what all. But I no longer had prescription coverage

(or

income) so I had to take myself off everything.

Around that same time (just before eliminating meds) my

symptoms got

really odd. My psychiarist asked if I had Bell's Palsy because

my

face gets crooked when the disorder hits. And that same week I

wound

up in ER because a numbing sensation crawled up my arms,

starting at

my fingertips and working back to my shoulders as I was

driving.

My friends on the CFS board said " that's all lyme!!! " Then I

thought

back to when I might have been exposed. I am in swampy areas in

the

summer in Michigan, but nothing worse than the usual mosquito

bite.

Then I remembered I was sitting in the Lazy Boy at my

boyfriends

house (on 5 wooded acres) and I felt something on the back of

my

leg. Some " bug " had burrowed itself into my flesh. I can

remember

totally freaking out. I dug it out with my nails and it was big

and

round and I had to stomp on it with a 4 " thick phonebook to

kill it.

There was a lot of blood. (My mother later said " yeah, YOUR

blood.)

I can remember thinking at the time " this could be significant "

but

my boyfriend thought I was nuts.

I looked up deer ticks on a DNR site and saw the culprit -

yeah,

exactly what I dug out of my leg 2 1/2 years prior. My doctor

put me

on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks. I was somewhat better, but not

much.

After that I went to Florida and was shocked to find I felt

pretty

close to normal in a warmer climate. I am in Florida now. There

was

a cold snap this weekend that brought back all my symptoms.

This

sounds awful, but now - when I get bad - I take one Vicodin and

it

seems to snap me out of a full cycle. I also force myself to

exercise now and find walking is much easier on me than

swimming -

which actually made me more ill.

Alarmingly, I feel like I'm suddenly battling depression again.

I

have freelance work now, but even so, I am on the verge of

bankruptcy from being sick so long without disability. Someone

asked

me today if I couldn't continue going after it (Social Security

disability) and I said " how do I prove how sick I WAS? "

My blood did not test positive for lyme; but my doctor has no

doubt

that's what I have.

At any rate, someone told me they had a friend with lyme

disease who

said the same thing about being unable to tolerate a cold

climate. I

was wondering if there were others here who could relate.

[Guest guest]

Micki,

Welcome to the group! I'm sorry you've had to join it, but this a good

group of folks with a lot of knowledge.

I've never noticed that my Lyme is worse with hot or cold weather.

Since the bug hits us all differently, it's entirely possible that you

can't take the cold courtesy of Lyme.

Have you had your thyroid tested? Lyme can make a person hypothyroid,

which in turn can make a person cold-sensitive. Thyroid is cheap to

test and cheap to treat, so it's worth checking out.

Jessie

>

>

> At any rate, someone told me they had a friend with lyme disease who

> said the same thing about being unable to tolerate a cold climate. I

> was wondering if there were others here who could relate.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Micki!! Are you the same Micki I talked to in the CFS web-site??

Kathy

>

> I'm probably pretty typical. I got very, very sick about three

years

> ago. The usual - crushing exhaustion, joint pain, mental fog. I

> thought it was CFS. At that time my lab tests revealed some

Epstein

> Barr virus and my doctor bombarded me with anti-viral meds; which

> made me better for a bit, preceding a huge crash. I did get very

> close to suicidal, having lost my job, been denied disability,

lost

> my looks, gained weight ... ugh.

>

> By the time two years had passed I was on a lot of medication to

> control my rapid heartrate, antidepressants ... I can hardly

> remember what all. But I no longer had prescription coverage (or

> income) so I had to take myself off everything.

>

> Around that same time (just before eliminating meds) my symptoms

got

> really odd. My psychiarist asked if I had Bell's Palsy because my

> face gets crooked when the disorder hits. And that same week I

wound

> up in ER because a numbing sensation crawled up my arms, starting

at

> my fingertips and working back to my shoulders as I was driving.

>

> My friends on the CFS board said " that's all lyme!!! " Then I

thought

> back to when I might have been exposed. I am in swampy areas in

the

> summer in Michigan, but nothing worse than the usual mosquito

bite.

> Then I remembered I was sitting in the Lazy Boy at my boyfriends

> house (on 5 wooded acres) and I felt something on the back of my

> leg. Some " bug " had burrowed itself into my flesh. I can remember

> totally freaking out. I dug it out with my nails and it was big

and

> round and I had to stomp on it with a 4 " thick phonebook to kill

it.

> There was a lot of blood. (My mother later said " yeah, YOUR

blood.)

> I can remember thinking at the time " this could be significant "

but

> my boyfriend thought I was nuts.

>

> I looked up deer ticks on a DNR site and saw the culprit - yeah,

> exactly what I dug out of my leg 2 1/2 years prior. My doctor put

me

> on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks. I was somewhat better, but not much.

>

> After that I went to Florida and was shocked to find I felt pretty

> close to normal in a warmer climate. I am in Florida now. There

was

> a cold snap this weekend that brought back all my symptoms. This

> sounds awful, but now - when I get bad - I take one Vicodin and it

> seems to snap me out of a full cycle. I also force myself to

> exercise now and find walking is much easier on me than swimming -

> which actually made me more ill.

>

> Alarmingly, I feel like I'm suddenly battling depression again. I

> have freelance work now, but even so, I am on the verge of

> bankruptcy from being sick so long without disability. Someone

asked

> me today if I couldn't continue going after it (Social Security

> disability) and I said " how do I prove how sick I WAS? "

>

> My blood did not test positive for lyme; but my doctor has no

doubt

> that's what I have.

>

> At any rate, someone told me they had a friend with lyme disease

who

> said the same thing about being unable to tolerate a cold climate.

I

> was wondering if there were others here who could relate.

>

[Guest guest]

I do but I have Fibromylagia or Lyme manifested as fibro.

In , " Micki " <mickisuzanne@y...> wrote:

>

> I'm probably pretty typical. I got very, very sick about three

years

> ago. The usual - crushing exhaustion, joint pain, mental fog. I

> thought it was CFS. At that time my lab tests revealed some

Epstein

> Barr virus and my doctor bombarded me with anti-viral meds; which

> made me better for a bit, preceding a huge crash. I did get very

> close to suicidal, having lost my job, been denied disability,

lost

> my looks, gained weight ... ugh.

>

> By the time two years had passed I was on a lot of medication to

> control my rapid heartrate, antidepressants ... I can hardly

> remember what all. But I no longer had prescription coverage (or

> income) so I had to take myself off everything.

>

> Around that same time (just before eliminating meds) my symptoms

got

> really odd. My psychiarist asked if I had Bell's Palsy because my

> face gets crooked when the disorder hits. And that same week I

wound

> up in ER because a numbing sensation crawled up my arms, starting

at

> my fingertips and working back to my shoulders as I was driving.

>

> My friends on the CFS board said " that's all lyme!!! " Then I

thought

> back to when I might have been exposed. I am in swampy areas in

the

> summer in Michigan, but nothing worse than the usual mosquito

bite.

> Then I remembered I was sitting in the Lazy Boy at my boyfriends

> house (on 5 wooded acres) and I felt something on the back of my

> leg. Some " bug " had burrowed itself into my flesh. I can remember

> totally freaking out. I dug it out with my nails and it was big

and

> round and I had to stomp on it with a 4 " thick phonebook to kill

it.

> There was a lot of blood. (My mother later said " yeah, YOUR

blood.)

> I can remember thinking at the time " this could be significant "

but

> my boyfriend thought I was nuts.

>

> I looked up deer ticks on a DNR site and saw the culprit - yeah,

> exactly what I dug out of my leg 2 1/2 years prior. My doctor put

me

> on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks. I was somewhat better, but not much.

>

> After that I went to Florida and was shocked to find I felt pretty

> close to normal in a warmer climate. I am in Florida now. There

was

> a cold snap this weekend that brought back all my symptoms. This

> sounds awful, but now - when I get bad - I take one Vicodin and it

> seems to snap me out of a full cycle. I also force myself to

> exercise now and find walking is much easier on me than swimming -

> which actually made me more ill.

>

> Alarmingly, I feel like I'm suddenly battling depression again. I

> have freelance work now, but even so, I am on the verge of

> bankruptcy from being sick so long without disability. Someone

asked

> me today if I couldn't continue going after it (Social Security

> disability) and I said " how do I prove how sick I WAS? "

>

> My blood did not test positive for lyme; but my doctor has no

doubt

> that's what I have.

>

> At any rate, someone told me they had a friend with lyme disease

who

> said the same thing about being unable to tolerate a cold climate.

I

> was wondering if there were others here who could relate.

>