TMI Thursdays... kind of.

My new favorite humor/life blogger, Lilu, started this blog trend called "TMI Thursdays."  Now, to preface this post, this is not your average TMI Thursday post.  So, Lilu, I adore you and read these posts voraciously, but you should probably not share this one with your readers, seeing as illness tends to make people way more uncomfortable than lewdness, drunkness, and STDs... put together.

Sad, but true?

Anyway, in mild concurrence with the spirit of the event, I must confide that I am slightly drunk.  Yup. Had multiple glasses of a really classy wine with the moniker, "Cat Pee."  I'm a *classy* gal, yessiree.

I do not drink that often since it sometimes interferes with my many, many meds.  You guys probably understand this.

But, you (hopefully!) also may have read my post where I shared, among other things, my undying love for anything Italian.  This love DEFINITELY extends to wine.  And pasta.   And really good pizza that you can only find in Italy.  And clothes.  Oh, and did I mention, WINE AND PASTA.

(Sigh).

Thanks for the many congratulations on my recent Lyme diagnosis.  I too am thrilled to have an answer (though, as we know, in medical things, it may not be the only answer) and a clear (well, sort of) treatment path.  But, here's the kicker:

Once again, there is no quick fix, no magic pill, no easy out.  The goal here is to put the Lyme into remission, not cure it completely (since that's not possible).  That means that many of the changes I have to make (on top of the MANY changes I've already made) have to be permanent.  This isn't a "I'll do this to get better, then go back to my normal life" type of treatment.

Anyway, Lyme bacteria feed on sugars and carbs, much like myself.  In order to get rid of these Lymie nuisances, I have to eliminate sugar and carbs from my diet.  That means no pasta, no bread, no coffee (except decaf, sugar-free), no soda (same as coffee), no ORANGE JUICE (which I drink every morning) or fruit juice or sugary fruits of any kind, no cereal, and, most devastatingly, NO WINE WHATSOEVER.

*Sobs softly.*

The addition of antibiotics makes this new diet even MORE important since the antibiotics will target all bacteria, good AND bad, and I want to give the good kind more of a fighting chance than the bad, Lymey kind.  Also, long-term antibiotics can lead to really gross side effects like thrush, where bad bacteria grow all up in your mouth and turn your tongue beige, then they go into your digestive track and cause all kinds of nasty business.  Not cute.

(Oh yeah, that bacteria grossness? That's just the beginning of my TMI Thursday).

In addition to this grossness, I also have something called Babesia, a co-infection for Lyme disease.  It's a parasite, ya'll.  How gross is that?  It's born in the tick, moves through the deer, my cat, and finally onto me, where it gestates and breeds and junk.  SICK.  So I'm going on treatment for that as well, and my new diet will help there as well.

Some of you that have chronic illnesses that severely limit your diets will probably think I'm being a big baby, and I totally am.  But I've given up my lifestyle and my independence already.  I've been lucky enough to not have to diet for weight reasons, and when I've eaten healthier the last couple years, it's definitely been fruit-intensive (now off-limits).

So I'm whiny.  A bit whiny.  But I'm going to try to make this my last whiny post.  I'm already looking up great recipes on Lymenaide; I'm remembering my love for Lyme-ok'd foods like goat cheese, avocado, and tofu; and I'm currently having my last big hoo-rah.  Yeah, you heard me right.  I'm hoo-rah-ing.  I don't start antibiotics til tomorrow, so today I had a sub, pasta, and a ton of wine.  I also had a Starbucks latte and a regular cherry coke.  Basically, I ate terribly today, because baby, this is my Fat Tuesday, and my Lent's going to last a long frikkin' time.

I'm still so grateful for my diagnosis.  I'm 100% willing and ready to go every mile I can.  Nothing is equal in worth to gaining back my life and my freedom.

But...

Gah, this wine is GOOD.

Lots of drunk-punch-love to you all,
Robyn

**What about your illness grosses you out the most?  Feel free to share... we know how it is. :-/