Surprises!

Yesterday the Bengals (and the rain) CRUSHED the Patriots!  Who's defeated now?!  On top of that my mom bought me a pair of shoes!  My love and happiness is that simple.  So much so that I really don't even care that tomorrow I have to have 'surprise surgery.'  As in surgery that is earlier than expected to have this PICC line removed!

I love surprises.  Especially surprises that involve balloons. And since there are balloons specifically made for surgery I can't even be upset.  In 24 hours I will head to the hospital and have this eye sore of a line removed from my chest!  All of you judging me for the amount of ! can just settle down.  Listen, you go 2 months with out being able to take a proper shower then talk to me.  Better yet, be a life long Bengals fan.

This past week I had a 'phone visit' with my Lyme doctor.  I didn't write anything about the call mainly due to the fact that my mother is embarrassed that I talk and write like a sailor.  Suffice it to say that the call, which cost me $175 for 15 minutes, ended in the doctor telling me 'to trust my gut'.  (Insert sailor speak). You probably didn't go through all of the swear words I used yet.  Try harder.  Google if you have to.  You can do it.  There you go.

My doctor telling me to stay on IV antibiotics as long as I can afford it is not going to work for me.  I need reasons.  I need science.  If you have cancer you go in for a PET scan to determine if the chemo is working.  There is no such test for Lyme. Because of this many Lyme patients and doctors say stay on the IV antibiotics for a long time.  Deciding when to go off the IV is a guessing game.  There are no studies documenting efficacy past 28 days.  Not because it isn't effective, but rather because the studies haven't been funded.

I'm a gambler.  Some might say that some of the places I have traveled to, been evacuated from, live or worked in aren't the safest.  Some may say that.  But my gut and more importantly my brain say to pull the PICC line and transition to oral antibiotics.  Let me outline for you why:

1. I have gone from being 20% to 80% and have maintained that 80% for 6 weeks.  This is important because the Lyme life cycle is 4 weeks.  Meaning that if there was a significant amount of Lyme left over I would have had a 'crash' at some point on the IV.  But I didn't

2. The only way to know if I am better is to stop the IV.  If the Bengals beating the Patriots doesn't inspire you to throw a hail mary I don't know what will.

3. There is a possibility that I can crash after stopping.  PICC lines are a risk of infection, and judging by how many times I have had surgery and been in the ER the past 2 months I think I fall in that category.  A Port is a safer device to have inserted for long term treatment.

4. There are no documented ramifications from stopping IV antibiotics and going back on them.  If I crash on the oral antibiotics then I will have a Port inserted and go back on the IV antibiotics.

5. Sometimes the benefits out weigh the consequences, ie. the last 2 months.  Then sometimes the consequences out weigh the benefits, ie. starting tomorrow.

Alternatively, I could throw a bitch-fitch and complain that I didn't get my way and shutdown.  But personally I like to be an adult, put my big girl pants on, and get shit done.