THE STINGING TAKE-AWAYS

so this is me after i got stung by a wasp yesterday...

i know. clearly a bit dramatic.
but, in my defense, it was no regular, run-of-the-mill sting nor standard reaction.
Oh NO, of course it was NOT NORMAL AT ALL because I am Queen Bee of peculiar and bizarre things happening to me.

(and just so you know, as it turns out, taking selfies is a pretty effective distraction for pain.)

i was out for a walk in our neighbourhood park and a wasp plowed into my face...actually, to be exact, it flew with pin point precision right up under my glasses and got stuck between the arm of my glasses and my temple. No lie. 

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?

clearly, it did not appreciate the shaded UV protection offered by my specs, as it immediately backed its butt into my temple and stung me.

i reacted by screeching loudly, whipping off my glasses & frantically slapping myself upside the head. despite my ninja like moves, the stinging continued & this odd electric shock-like burning pain began rapidly spreading across my face. i had no idea if this was normal or the start of an anaphylactic reaction so i panicked. then i did the next logical thing - i made a bee-line for home...and i did not retreat quietly nor gracefully.

nope. not at all. shrieking trilly, with my arms flailing and karate-chopping the air, i half-walked/half-jogged through the park as fast as my on rubbery, shaky legs could carry me. i left stunned, mouth-gaping park goers in my wake.

i made a spectacular sight. in fact, i'm almost certain i darn near nailed the running style of Phoebe Buffay from Friends




by the time, i haphazardly stumbled into my house, my face was ON FIRE. the pain was radiating into my jaw and the entire left side of my face had this odd numb, swollen, burning sensation. i was sure my face & head must be astronomically puffing up.

i texted the Hubster to come immediately;

'SOS - I got stung by a wasp. in bad pain. come quick. FYI - don't be alarmed but pretty sure my head is swollen the size of a watermelon.'

then i took a deep breath and bravely checked my face in the mirror hanging in our entrance.

there was one, teeny tiny, very minuscule red dot at the sight of the sting.
NOTHING ELSE.
no swelling. no angry redness. no splotchiness. no hives.
not even one itty bitty bit of puffiness.

i looked nothing like how i felt.
ironic how bug bites have a way of doing that to me.

despite my normal appearance, my face was burning something fierce, so i made a bee-line for an ice pack.

the hubster appeared then. and i told him how that wasp so precisely flew directly into that spot between my head and glasses. and how it stung me and how bad my head was burning and how choked i was that i had NOTHING to show for my pain.

"Like, what are the chances?!" I exclaimed.

to which he dismissively replied, "Actually, that probably happens more often then you'd think."

and i indignantly huffed, "NO WAY! This is NOT normal. This is rare - my experience is UNIQUE. Flukey things ONLY happen to ME. Do NOT take THAT away from me."

and my girl, overhearing our conversation, gasps "AWH poor thing!"

and right as i'm ready to bask in the light of her sympathy she continued,  "She must have been so scared when she got stuck in your glasses.  No wonder she stung you."

The Stinging Take-aways;

1. my girl values the emotional distress of a wasp more than my physical pain
2. i have a propensity for acquiring bug bites that give me pain that is invisible to the naked eye
3. taking selfies is an effective pain management technique
4. i could be a stunt-double for Lisa Kudrow
5. i have had very intense noise sensitivity and brain fog for the past week and a bit. interestingly, 6 hours post-sting, those symptoms suddenly lifted. i am now 24 hours post-sting and am still brain fog and noise sensitivity free. coincidence? maybe or maybe not.

i am currently researching bee venom therapy for lyme disease. i'll keep you posted.

THE PRETTY PILL PROTOCOL (& mini-update on LDI IMMUNOTHERAPY)

parker started a new protocol this week. we're calling it the pretty pill protocol because, well, the pills are pretty. it is called Sporanox. There is always anxiety about starting or adding any new med into treatment because often symptoms get a lot worse before they get better. as purdy as these pills look, they look extra scary for a few reasons.

first, because he's never been on them before so we have no idea how his body will react. second, his doctor is using these pills as part of a protocol to target mycotoxin issues in his brain, sinuses and lungs. treating these can be tricky and we know the die-off (herxing) could be intense.

i'm posting about this because i would love to get feedback from any other lyme or mold or biotoxin illness warriors out there that have 'been there, done that'.

speaking of been there, done that - 

i am working on a post to update you all on Parker's LDI Immunotherapy . he began this treatment therapy about 11 weeks ago now. i posted about it here. i have had a few emails and inquiries from folks asking how things are progressing on this treatment. i am so sorry that i have been slow to respond to inquiries and in posting an update! i know there are many people in the Lyme community researching this treatment and anxiously waiting to hear if it is working for those that are undergoing it.


here's the reason for the delay - parker had a very severe flare and got very ill within 24 hours of receiving his first dose of LDI. he was essentially bed ridden for the six weeks following his first dose. his medical team was baffled by his intense response as he was given the minutest dose. the tricky thing has been trying to figure out if the LDI Immunotherapy was just a contributing factor or the cause of his flare. i haven't wanted to post an update until i felt like we had a clearer understanding of where things sat with this therapy or even if his medical team would continue to utilize this treatment for him. 

at this point, his medical team believes the LDI contributed to the downward turn in his condition but (as per usual with lyme), there are about a million and one variables that may or may not have made things worse for him! we are still sifting thru all the 'rubble' but DR H did feel it was important and vital for him to continue with LDI Immunotherapy. so he received his second dose about 3 weeks ago. he did have a flare of symptoms again - but it was less intense and only lasted about a week. the past two weeks have been a bit better for him. we are hopeful this is a good sign that his body is having a favorable response to the LDI. albeit, now that he's feeling a bit better it makes starting the pretty pill protocol a whole lot less appealing - especially considering dem purdy pills could make him feel less than stellar.

 i promise i will be posting a more detailed and specific post of his journey with LDI in the coming weeks and months - just waiting til he's had a few weeks under his belt with this second dose in his system to render any judgements or opinions on this treatment protocol!