Less insight; more of an update this time. I am a little more than moderately sedated right now, so we will see how this reads. (Or rather, you will-- I am going to bed as soon as this is done!)
Two weeks ago, when Matt and I were away at his cousins wedding, I was woken up in the night by convulsions that started in my sleep. In my dream (I will share this, because the subconscious can have quite a sense of humor), I was being electrocuted-- by Matt-- via the means of Holly's shock collar. I woke up, convulsing; unable to speak and struggling to move my arms which were magnetized to by body. Matt woke up once the episode subsided, and needless to say, I was quite shaken up (no pun intended!)
Later that week, it happened again; this time, four in a row, waking me from my sleep. Fully conscious, yet again unable to move or speak. I went into the hospital only to have the ER doctor tell me that all bloodwork/CT scan were clean, and he didn't know what was causing it, After a quick search informing him that seizures are, in fact, one of the many symptoms of Lyme disease, he came back to inform us that he (get this), "think[s] it almost certainly doesn't have anything to do with the Lyme disease." What does it have to do with, you ask? Well, that, he didn't know. I was sent home with an appointment for an EEG for the following week.
My GP later confirmed they were seizures, and after speaking with our wonderful advisor in Southern Alberta (the mother of a patient of our soon-to-be doctor in the States), I was told that this is typical of a neurotoxic overload. Essentially, the bacteria have been dying off so quickly for so long, releasing toxins the whole time. Without giving my body a break from the antibiotics to detoxify, the toxins have been recycling and building to the point of causing the worsening of symptoms, including seizures. Upon her recommendation, I went off of my antibiotics for 10 days to give my body a chance to detoxify. It worked! After ten days of not being allowed to drive, bathe, or be alone at night, my seizures gradually lessened and I was able to resume antibiotics (and daily living).
Yesterday brought on a whole new worry for us. After a verrrryyyy early morning with Jack, I was napping soon after the babysitter arrived. Upon waking up, I discovered I couldn't move. Waves went rushing through my body and I felt disoriented. I began to pray, but had difficulty concentrating. Then the tremors started. Different from the seizures, my stomach muscles heaved forwards, clenching up, causing my whole body to shake uncontrollably. After some time, I managed to prop myself up and phone Alberta Health Link. I explained the different types of medications I was on, including a new antidepressant prescribed to help manage chronic pain. As usual (please forgive my cynicism), they did not know what to do, and "strongly suggested" we go back to the Emerg.
So, away we went, me-- as white as a ghost, shaking and bobbing, exhausted from an ab workout I haven't gotten in years-- and my poor, paniking mother. We were admitted right away, an IV line threaded (with an unnecessary amount of blood loss as a result); saline and electrolytes pumped into me and blood drawn for tests. And last, but not least, they looked into drug interactions.
Voila! There it was: the serotonin levels in my blood were far too high. Between the amounts in my antibiotics and painkillers, and that in the new antidepressent (prescribed to rebuild the receptors in my brain to interpret pain at lower levels) I was so full of the stuff that it pushed my body over the edge. The treatment: go off of the antidepressants immediately, and start taking anti-seizure/tremor/anxiety meds that relax your muscles and make you super loopy for the next week (which is how long it will take for the old drugs to fully vacate my system.) I also plan to go off of all meds (necessary painkillers excluded) until our appointments down south so I can be as detoxified as possible, and capable of travel without the worry of seizure or tremor (or any other episode) one would hate to experience on an airplane.
So there it is! The latest (and scariest) symptoms yet. This doctors visit really can not come soon enough!!
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