The Week is Here!

Hello Everyone! Thank you so much for your prayers this past week. We didn't hear anything until this morning which is why I haven't updated our blog. I just got a call from Dr. J's nurse and she said that my liver enzymes are down. Not completely at normal range, but close enough that I got the "go ahead" to start antibiotic treatment on Wednesday. YAY!!! They are going to have to monitor me very closely, so I will have to do what they call "Safety Draws" the day after my last dose of antibiotics. This will be labs to make sure my body (including my liver) is handling the antibiotics okay. So, I will be become best buddies w/ the lab technician I guess. :0)

What will our week look like? They like you to do a MWF or TTHS schedule, but because this first round we need to make sure Brian is home as much as possible therefore we are going to do the schedule Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. As you can see I will take the large doses of antibiotics every other day. My last day will be Sunday and then off to the lab on Monday afternoon. Then I rest for two weeks (basically recover) and then start it all over again. This will be the pattern until Dr. J thinks my body can handle more frequent dosages. We have a phone appointment to review my progress on October 12th w. Dr. J. By that time I will have done 2 rounds.

So, what are our prayer requests? Please pray that I can tolerate the 3 antibiotics at the large doses and that I will stay allergic reaction free! Please pray that my pain will be minimal and that I don't have too many side effects. It's going to be a tough 5 days, but we are believing God that He will get me through! Please also pray that my liver enzymes will stay low and that all my "safety" blood work will come back normal after my first round of treatment. Please also pray for peace. I do not know what to expect and the unknown of how the treatment will affect me is a bit scary. However, I know God is with me and we will get through it together!!

Also, Brian has two job possibilities that we could use your prayer for. On Friday, he is interviewing for the Arizona Auditor General. It gets tough because the other accounting firms won't be interviewing until October, so if an offer is made, we will have to make some big decisions, especially factoring in the state of the economy. Also, he has been asked to interview for an assistant manager position at his part-time job. This would give us some extra income in this fall and also a fall back plan in case Brian is unable to obtain an accounting job in Tucson right after graduation. Please pray that God's hand would guide and direct Brian on this job course he should take and that God would open the doors He wants Brian to walk-through and close the ones that are not His well.

Thank you again for all of your prayers! We will update towards the end of the week to let you know how treatment is going! Blessings!

Quick and Urgent Prayer Request

This won't be too long of a post, but I wanted to write and ask you to pray. Yesterday we got a call from my Lyme physician and he said my lab work was abnormal. He said that my liver enzymes were elevated. He had me retest yesterday and hopefully we will hear the results by the end of the week. We are praying that this is just a fluke and that they will come back normal. If not, then we will have to probably see my local doctor in Tucson and to search out the cause which might mean lots of tests.

I am unable to start antibiotics until my liver enzymes are no longer raised as long-term antibiotics can be very hard on your liver. So it looks like we might have another speed bump in our journey. If you could please pray that God would have this second test come back and that we can start antibiotics next Wednesday. That is the goal we were shooting for before we found out the latest piece of news. We will update once we hear something!

Flexibility is the Key!

Hello Family and Friends. Tomorrow is Wednesday and unfortunately we will not be able to begin the antibiotics. I (Dawn) am sad as I was excited to actually start attacking this bacteria and working towards better health. However, as with many things in life and especially a long-term chronic illness, flexibility is the key.

Since last Thursday we have dealt with many medication issues. In a way, it's a miracle that I am just now dealing with this, however we were hoping that I would not have too much trouble with the medication that I must take to get well. That has not been the case these last four days. For example, there is a supplement that my physician wanted me to take and I can only tolerate 1/8 of a dose. We tried to increase the dose this evening and it did not work. I am also struggling to find a probiotic that I don't react to. We tried one yesterday and I had asthma and stomach cramping so we are off to find a new one. I did place an order w/ a company today that promotes their product is well tolerated by allergic individuals. This one you have to keep in the refrigerator in order to protect the live organisms inside each pill. That is a comforting thought! LOL I have yet to adjust to swallowing live things even if they are in a capsule. :) I am also still having stomach issues that we need to get resolved before we take antibiotics. I have a medication that will help me do that, however I need to be able to take that one also without reacting.

So all in all, after not being able to ramp up on the medication I had posted on a previous blog, trouble with some of the supplements, on top of other complications, we are unable to start antibiotics tomorrow. It's getting trickier to find a day that Brian will be home so that can be our start date as Brian is starting school on Monday and this is when things get a bit crazy schedule-wise. I think I have explained before that he must be there in case of an emergency as I will be taking such extremely high doses of multiple drugs all at once. We are disappointed and frustrated to have some set backs, but that is what is to be expected with Lyme Disease. I have talked to many of my friends who also have been diagnosed with Lyme and that seems to be a regular occurrence for them.

We would just ask for your prayers. Please pray that I am able to take the medication for my stomach and that it works! Please also pray that I can take the much needed supplements at the dosages the doctor is requesting. Finally, our biggest prayer request is that I am able to take the new probiotic. I have to find a probiotic to take that I am not allergic to in order to counteract all of the good bacteria that will be destroyed by the antibiotics. It is a must and we can't start taking the medication without it.

Well, that is where we are today. We know God will provide the right medication for us, it's just the difficult task of finding it that can be frustrating. His timing has always been perfect and it's a good reminder for us to remember his promises that his eternal plan far out weighs the circumstances we are currently facing.

A Couple of Changes

We have made a couple of changes to this coming week because of some issues that I have had w/ medication and also Brian's work. Starting on Thursday, I developed horrible stomach pains as a result of all the different kinds of medication and supplements I am on. So, we have to get that calmed down before we start the antibiotics, which means another mecication will be on its way. I also have been having intense migraines after increasing dosages on another one of my medications. We are going to drop it back down to what it was before and hope that everything will subside. We are thankful that none of these updates have contained allergic reaction complications, but this last round of side effects have not been too fun.

Also, Brian received his schedule from work where he has only been getting scheduled about 20 hours a week and this next week he is scheduled for 36 hours. We can't do much about that, but we were hoping he would be home more as I go through this first stretch of antibiotic therapy as we know it will be tough. As a result, we are going to start this part of the treatment on Wednesay. So, I will be taking the dosages WFSu instead of MWF. If you all could definitely pray for this week and specifically those days, we would appreciate it. Please also pray for safety as I will be alone quite a bit. Brian will be home the entire first day that we do the treatment, so that will be a blessing.

We hope you are having a wonderful weekend and have a blessed Sunday!

A Calming Week!

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful week as many of you have sent the kiddos back to school! Brian starts school on the 24th at the U of A and my online UNK class starts that same day. However, on Monday, the 17th, I start at the University of Colorado. I am excited to begin, but know it will be a rough week.

As many of you know, I have kind of changed around our blog layout. At the top under our heading are links now to different pages. They contain much of what was on my home page, but I was excited to get creative. :0) I have added a bit more about Lyme Disease so you can check it out!

We have had a pretty uneventful week, which has been kind of nice. The doctor gave the okay for me to stop the medication that was causing my heart to race, but we are still ramping up on dosages and supplements. Brian is still enjoying the humorous moments of me being super "out of it". The nights are the worse, so studying for me will have to be done in the day! :) The good news is that the drugs are working to calm the nervous system down and I am sleeping better! That is very important in the healing process. I have 2 more supplements to take, one being the most important which is the probiotic. We are trying that on Saturday or Sunday and it is vital I am able to take it. The large doses of antibiotics will be killing all the good bacteria while it also attacks the Lyme bacteria. The probiotic will replace the good bacteria in my system. We would appreciate your prayers that I would be able to take that pill w/out any allergic reactions.

August 17th is the big day! We start the big drugs that day. There are 3 antibiotics that I am going to take and I will be taking between 5000 and 6000mg MWF. It is going to be a tough week for my body. We would really appreciate your prayers. Please pray that I will be able to tolerate the large doses of medication and that I make it through the herx reactions. Please pray for safety and for toleration of the increase of Lyme symptoms that I will most likely experience. Please also pray that the intense treatment will not affect the number of foods I am able to eat. Thankfully, my system has calmed back down after the trip, so I am able to eat about 15-20 different foods, however it seems like whenever we throw anything new at me, my food options seem to dwindle. However, God is in control and He is our protector!! Again and again we see the Lord provide for us in so many ways. It has been an absolute miracle with how sensitive I am to chemicals and foods that I have been able to tolerate all of these new medications. God's presence has been with us every step of the way and it is wonderful to see Him work!! Our faith has really been stretched on this long journey, but we continue to grow in our trust that He truly knows what is best for us.

A little piece of news...the "Under our Skin" incredible documentary about Lyme Disease is available for pre-order as they are releasing it September 15th to the public. The trailer is under the section of my blog titled Lyme Disease (link is at the top of the page). Anyways, I would highly recommend anyone who is interested in learning more about the disease, the controversy that surrounds it and how our current health system is the cause of so much destruction to many Lyme Disease victims and their families. You can purchase the documentary through this link: Under Our Skin: An Infectious New Film .

Well, that is all for now! Brian will probably doing the updating next week because during my good moments I will need to be working on school work. Thank you again for all of your prayers!! There is a lot of unknown about next week, but we are excited to finally get started fighting this disease. Blessings to you my friends!!!

Happy Weekend! I hope everyone gets a chance to rest and relax this weekend! I can't believe we are a week into August. "Back to School" is coming soon! :0)

I will do non-medical as that always seems to be more fun. :) Last Friday, I (Dawn) got an e-mail letting me know I was accepted into the University of Colorado graduate program to begin working towards a Master of Arts in E-Learning Design and Implementation. I was ecstatic! I have since registered and classes will begin August 17th. I will be taking one class (six credit hours) at CU and then will also be taking one class (3 credit hours) at my alma mater, UNK. The UNK course is so that I can keep my NE teaching certificate active. I don't want to let it lapse in case some day I am able to teach in a brick and mortar classroom again, Lord willing!! We do have a prayer request for both colleges. We are in the middle of getting set-up with disability services an academic accommodation plan because of my illness. It was suggested to us to get one just in case it is needed for assignment adjustments or extensions. We have started the process, but it's a lengthy one. Please pray that my physician will respond quickly with his documentation and that it will be approved!

I just asked Brian if he wanted to update anything on the blog and he said "Nope, just plugging away." :0) He is such a trooper! I have such a wonderful husband. God has truly blessed me with such a gift. I have to brag and give you an example. Just today, as it was a rough day for me symptom-wise, he said I should put together an easy to follow cookbook so that he can cook for me when I get very ill in the coming months. How awesome is that!! He does start his last semester of school at the University of Arizona on August 24th. This will be a busy semester for him with searching for a job and interviewing on top of doing course work and working a part-time job.

Now onto the medical update...I am on my third week of medication and hanging in there. I have encountered many unpleasant side effects on these medications and just when I seem to adjust, we have to increase the dosage or add another one. I do have to praise God for a good day on Tuesday. I was able to go to Wal-mart to get school supplies for about 25min! It was nice to have a break from the dizziness, nausea, and strange nerve sensations in my face and arms. However, we added another medication yesterday and everything seems to be back along with a racing heart and flushing reactions. It is also causing my allergic reactions to food to increase. My physician is trying to calm my nervous system down, but this last medication seems to be doing the opposite and causing more problems. A call to the doctor will be in order for Monday. Please pray that my food limitations don't get dwindled down too much. I am already at a low amount of choices. I am hoping that when I stop this new drug, things will up right themselves. I still have about 3 supplements to try before we start antibiotics. I am encouraged that we have only had an issue with one medication and one supplement out of all the ones I have tried already. God is good!

Some of these drugs are quite humorous to be on as I try to communicate and end up leaving words out of sentences or can't for the life of me find a particular word that I am trying to say. Brian is getting very good at finishing my sentences for me. We tried to play boggle a day ago and I think I had 10 words and Brian had 26. That is not like me! Since Lyme for me has taken root in my autonomic nervous system, we tend to think it's more the drugs, however lyme can always affect you cognitively. We are praying that the Lord keeps the bacteria contained in the one part of my brain.

Our goal for right now is to start the tough drugs on August 17th. I added up the amount of antibiotics I will be on and per day I will be taking 5000mg. Crazy! I remember how much pain and horrible Lyme symptoms I had on 1500mg of amoxicillin. If you could begin praying for my toleration of the large antibiotic doses and a probiotic that I must take that will replace the good bacteria in my system that the drugs will destroy. Also please pray that I stay safe and reaction free. These are huge doses to have in your system and then to react to them would be very dangerous. This will begin the hard part of this journey. This will be the first time we start fighting the disease.

In the coming weeks, you will most likely hear me reference the term "herx". "The Herxheimer reaction (also known as Jarisch-Herxheimer or Herx) occurs when large quantities of toxins released into the body as bacteria (typically Spirochetal bacteria) die, due to antibiotic treatment or rapid detoxification." This definition taken out of wikipedia and the link is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herx. Since Lyme bacteria is a spirochete, it causes this reaction. This "herx" is the cause of so much pain and the horrible escalation of all of the Lyme symptoms. However, it is also how you know the medication is working! So in a way, the herx reaction is a good sign, it's just hard to endure.

Well, this post is long enough. God continues to use all of you to encourage us during a time of such uncertainty. Thank you for your prayers! God is using them in mighty ways! We will update soon!!