So, yes. As I ever so very side-note-ish-ly mentioned in my last post, Sweetie is back to her old ways.
At least that's how it appears. Based on one day. Well, one morning, actually. But I know these things, man. I'm tellin' ya.
How else would you explain that my dear darling Sweetie has been vomit-free since February - right before starting on long-term antibiotics for Lyme. Then, just 6 weeks after coming off the drugs, there it is again. No other symptoms. She feels much better shortly afterwards. Just throwing up. Just like before. Yeah - it's the Lyme.
Because of this, her Artemisia is now a double dose. One in the morning and one at night. We're hopeful that this will combat her symptoms. She has another doctor's appointment at the beginning of January, but I'm to call the doctor in the meantime if Sweetie vomits again. If so, we have some decisions to make. Go back on antibiotics? Probably. We'll see. Let's not assume right now that that's even a probability, m'kay? Time will tell.
And while I do appreciate those who are trying to help, I'm sorry, but I know my daughter and I know what we're dealing with. "Maybe it's just her system struggling with getting back to 'normal' after the antibiotics that made her throw up." Or "maybe she was overly excited about her 1st DI meeting of the year that day she threw up", which had her end up sick. Everyone seems to know someone, too, that "just throws up." Maybe it's not Lyme - it's just something Sweetie does. And the headaches she's experienced since too? Well, one time was probably due to exposure to loud noises, right?. Another time - well, she was probably hungry, I bet. And anyway, recent reports have shown that chronic Lyme really doesn't even exist - it's a new tick bite every time the symptoms reappear. Obviously I'm just a terrible parent for not noticing all the ticks crawling on and devouring my child every single day.
Okay, maybe no one has actually said that last one to me. But, yes, that's what I heard in my head when that article was brought up. You're daughter attracts ticks and you suck for not preventing it.
Like I said, I know everyone is just trying to be helpful and show me how maybe, just maybe, we're actually dealing with common, everyday kid stuff and not big scary Lyme. And I'll even grant you that teeny tiny minuscule possibility. But in reality? I know it's the Lyme, people. My daughter has Lyme and the way it presents in her is via her gastrointestinal system. She was sick, she was on meds and not sick, now she's on herbals and is sick again. Lyme.
Hopefully the upped dosage of the Artemisia will be the answer we need. Because if it comes down to the decision to put her on antibiotics again or have her throw up every 4-6 weeks... I don't know. I'm almost thisclose to wondering if having her be sick every once in awhile might not be an okay thing to deal with. I mean, seriously. Yes, she feels really yucky before and while she's throwing up. But shortly afterwards, every time, she's up and good and even great! Back to her old self. As is the case with all the days and weeks between each sick episode. She's fine, until she isn't for a few hours, then she's great again. What's wrong with just letting that be the way of things for her? In some ways, doesn't that beat out ravaging her system with long term doses of heavy drugs? Long term doses that may in fact "ruin her" for antibiotics in the future? I mean, what if she has strep throat or something at some point, but now she's unable to fight it with antibiotics because her system is so "used to" the medication, it doesn't recognize it as something that will fight other infections? All because we didn't want her to throw up every once in awhile but otherwise be good.
But, I know. The answer is to go back to antibiotics if we need to. If we don't - sure, she's "just" throwing up now. But, unmedicated, it can and most likely would get worse. Worse symptoms. Longer periods of feeling sick. Just not good in any way. Best to fight the smaller issues so that the bigger ones never take hold. And also, who's to say Lyme isn't effecting Sweetie other than her monthly throwing up? With the little amount of talking Sweetie does with us concerning how she's feeling, contradicted with the sickly way she sometimes looks (sometimes worse than other times), I know we've got to fight hard now with whatever ammunition available to us.
Then again - we also have to consider the smarts of our old friend Lyme. Yes, Lyme is smart. It recognizes when Lyme fighting meds are in the system and, in fact, shields itself and hides from the drugs. Not getting killed off from the drugs. Actually hiding and hanging out in the system until it's "safe" to come out again. And when that person is off the medication? Well, the Lyme recognizes this and comes out to play. Which seems to be our case here with Sweetie. The Lyme realized there was no more antibiotics in Sweetie's system, so it came back out and made her sick once again, just like it did before. So what if we put her back on antibiotics? Isn't the Lyme just going to realize this and hide again? I would think so.
The Artemisia is a great herbal remedy for Lyme, as I've been told. It actually recognizes that the Lyme shields itself and cuts through that shield to kill the bacteria. So, yes. By all rights, as long as Sweetie has the right dosage of Artemisia in her system, one would think that it would effectively take care of the Lyme for her.
Then again, we are also assuming that Sweetie is dealing only with Lyme and not any of the co-infections. Or maybe her doctor is considering co-infections as well and knows that the Artemisia is the proper supplement to take care of whatever tick borne diseases we're dealing with. I am not an Artemisia expert by any stretch of the imagination but I know Sweetie's doc is a fantastic Lyme Literate source. Listening to and trusting her is really the best thing we can do for Sweetie right now.
I suppose I also haven't considered that maybe, if the Artemisia still proves ineffective, there's yet another herbal remedy we can turn to next instead of heading straight back to the antibiotics. Again, this is something to talk about with Sweetie's doctor, if need be.
For now, I suppose all we do is wait. If this is the Lyme talking to us, then Sweetie is "due" to be sick again anytime between 2 - 4 weeks from now. Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to her!
Fun times ahead, indeed.
