As The World Turns in Lyme Land

Y'all know when I'm not around it is normally due to illness.
Same old, same old.

My body is fighting me again. I am so swollen. 
So so swollen. No rings, no shoes no clothes are fitting right now. 
My feet don't even fit in shoes. My pants are tight.
It has nothing to do with eating or weight gain, it's all just swollen and ugly and oh so very painful. Adrenals are the main issue. Sucks, painful and looks horrific. Yipee. Enough about me. It's all about Rick right now.

He is feeling better but as you all know this is a chronic illness and it will be going on for a long time. Thankfully the horrific side effects of all these medications are simmering down and his body is adjusting. Just not to nausea unfortunately.  
Why oh why can't pot be legal so he wouldn't have to deal with all this nausea. 
His moods are better but he's not his normal self. I miss that guy. Last night we laughed so hard we were both crying. He was actually like normal and cracking me up.
So he's somewhat back if we are laughing again around here....but not quite.

He saw the specialist yesterday.
He loved her, which helps if you ask me. So not only is she smart as a whip in regards to lyme but she's warm and funny too.  She was on the Lyme.org site and mentioned in some CDC info he read, as a leader in this field and that is how he picked her.  It was wonderful to know there was someone in this area that was so highly recommended and knowledgeable about this disease.

He is on these 3 meds currently for the next 6-8 months. 
Then they go to a different protocol. There will be several protocols apparently.
You see these little suckers that invade your body attack your organs 
(including your heart, hence why he was having palpitations)  
She told him that they protect themselves from all the antibiotics by making a mucus type shell over themselves to hide. The drugs can not penetrate them. So the dr. said she likes to do a every other day and weekends off. 
Just when the buggers think, "whew they're gone" and sluff off the lining they are hiding under then they hit 'em with the drugs. Then they stop the drugs because they have scurried and hid and then they hit 'em with the drugs a few days later when the suckers come out because they think it's safe. Crazy huh?

Three of Rick's favorite things from his visit were the following:
1. He now has a plan. He likes things in a linear fashion as do I so I get that.

2. When they were discussing his extreme nausea from all the medications she told him she wished she could give him marijuana but she can't prescribe it in this state and he can't go to DC because he doesn't live there. That shocked him that she was so forthright.  But he liked that she was open to it and not closed minded on all options for him to feel well.

3. The other thing was how well she understood his symptoms. 
She actually asked him if he had shortness of breath or felt as though he wasn't drawing in a full breath. YES! He thought he was going nuts. 
She then explained the why and how of all that fun stuff.
This  is called oxygen hungry. It causes you to not be able to breath well or take deep breathes. Honestly that is scary as shit to watch him try to breath. It's been a tough symptom.  He came home from walking the dog and I thought he was having a heart attack. He fell to the floor and he was trying so hard to breath and was giving me this blank stare. Scary shit is all I can say. And scary how these little buggers are so devious, strong and unrelenting.

The news he really hated hearing was that these buggers feed off sugar and gluten so she asked him to try to eliminate those from his diet. I thought he was going to cry. 
I was thrilled. I won't have to make 2 different meals all the time. 
He won't be eating cakes, cookies and the like while I watch him. Its all about me right?

He told the doctor, "My wife just made me the day before homemade Reese's peanut butter cups and they are friggin' amazing. REALLY? You are making me do this now? Can I eat those first?"   
The doctor laughed and said, "well you gotta live Rick" 

So he will finish those bad boys and then begin to eat like me. No fake chemical sugar like splenda etc either. So there goes his pop.  He drinks fresca and that is all chemical.
When he asked about drinking pop she asked, "you're from the east aren't you?"  
He realized he said POP and not soda like those around here say.
She laughed and said she was from Syracuse and she says pop too so it felt good to hear that. So they bonded over the word pop and now he can't drink it. She said if he must a couple here or there but not daily. I am thrilled to pieces about this information. Diet Pop is the worst thing you can put in your body. You might as well take drugs. It is that harmful. Aspartame is a chemical killer yet people ingest it daily AND they think they are taking in less sugar and it is good for a diet. It is the worst thing for a diet. 
(google it and add donald rumsfeld and dick cheney's name - amazing!)

It will cause weight gain. Silly silly people. So again I am thrilled to pieces he can't have all that crap anymore. No liquor either. Now that is going to be difficult for him.  
While he can have wine from time to time, like every 3 months or so from time to time. 
NO alcohol or beer at all. 
Giving up food would be easier for the poor guy. Good for him, but difficult for him.

But.... he is luckier than most. It was diagnosed. He is seeing someone who really knows how to combat this as well as one can. And she is 20 minutes away and that too is great for us. Now expensive you ask? Oh yea. A lot of this is not covered or we will just be reimbursed for some of it later. The office visit alone was $450 yesterday.  They don't take insurance as is the case with most around here. So that was fun. Thankfully the meds are covered. Whew.

In other news around the world. The plumber from the White House called and asked about having some work done in the W.House. He spoke to Rick and Rick text me that he will be calling to schedule. Wonder how that works? Clearance needed? At the very least a pat down? Do you take a check from the White house? do you bill the president when that isn't your policy? I imagine you do whatever the hell they want because we don't need the IRS on our asses now do we? No siree, we don't need audited.
Hell Rick said he'd do it free just to see the inside of the White House but then decided he prefers eating instead.

I did speak to the house engineer this morning and he was a damn hoot. You don't normally find those types to be funny. He joked about what they needed about Rick to allow him into the house. All of it having nothing to do with the work. Just normal clearance type stuff. But he joked about it and we had some fun banter which surprised me.

Then he asked if only 1 person would be coming. 
I said yes, unless you'll allow me to come too. He laughed. 
"Come on I voted for him twice and I have his health care does any of that count?" 
He chuckled and said, "It doesn't hurt but do you have any job to do when you get here?"
"Actually not in the sense of remodeling but I would love to chat with Michelle and tour the place."  He just laughed at me.  
Oh well so much for meeting the President or First Lady huh?