Bleepin Lyme Disease

DuraSoft 3 Litetint

Ticks...aren't they gross? They remind me of cockroaches. I kill them too if I see them. Useless and nasty creatures and not sure why God made them. It's on my list of questions for him when I reach the pearly gates.....or firery gates of hell-which ever comes first.

We have an abundance of ticks in our yard should anyone be in short supply. I spent my summer fighting two tick borne illness, both lyme and erlichiosis. I also watched my liver rot with my weekly labwork. Each week it worsened instead of getting better. Many told me about Milk Thistle Tea ( I found mine at www.smallflower.com). Milk Thistle is a homeopathic liver detoxifier. But be forewarned....it gives you bloody diarhhea for two days. Just thought you'd like to know. It's also supposed to help after a hangover. I've yet to try that. Never mind the thiamine, folate and multivitamins for the alcoholics at work...give them milk thistle!

I don't recommend the Milk Thistle extract. Even mixed with juice it's downright nasty. Bitter and foul tasting. I'm adding my medical disclaimer here. I'm not a doctor but I play one at work but truly...consult a medical professional before trying any homeopathic remedy.

Where I'm left now is totally exhausted, muscle aches and really bad headaches and irritability. I don't know if it is post lyme syndrome of if the 2 icky tick diseases kicked off an autoimmune response like fibromyalgia. I'm leaning toward the second since my symptoms initially cleared up. Except the ability to type. That still is not good and it takes me forever to post. The past few weeks I've been in this fugue state and last night made a couple mistakes at work. Nothing serious but it might have been if I didn't catch them. I really feel like I'm in a brain body disconnect. I follow up with my Doctor on Thursday and hopefully we can find some answers. Lyme disease is the new Herpes.....it's the gift that keeps on giving. Lyme disease sucks. Ticks suck. Did I mention that ticks suck?

Just the Right Amount of OCD

Red Envelope

Larry came home on Friday with Stewie. Our Boxer Pete met Stewie first thru the fence and after a half hour of running and barking we finally let him into the fenced area. Pete plays and greets hard. There is a lot of growling, boxing and butt sniffing. All normal dog behavior but to someone on the outside, Pete looks ferocious.

Pete was a rescue and has had his issues. He's come so far. We are on day two of having Stewie home and a lot of Pete's behavior challenges are disappearing in just this short time. Stewie is trained to respond to door knocking. He runs between the sound and Larry to alert him to the sound. In the past, Pete would have been plastered against the door barking like a maniac at who ever was on the other side. Today we had a huge breakthru. Pete did what Stewie was doing and all we got was little yips out of him. No real barking.

For the next several weeks, Stewie gets treats when he responds to a sound. Our job right now is to teach him where the sounds are that he needs to respond to. It's a game to him and the treats will gradually be phased out. He does not get treats for basic obedience. Just the game of hearing the sound.

Both dogs today had a great time playing in the yard and Stewie is so attentive to Larry. It's amazing to watch and I'm sure the bond will get tighter as Stewie learns what Larry needs. Stewie is very much a puppy and has so much energy. He got a long walk today, lots of yard play and he and Pete have been chasing each other non-stop. If you have a ball, Stewie will not stop for hours. He also loves stuffed animals and has swiped a few of the kids toys that were left on the floor. Although he doesn't know the difference between his toys and the kids a simple, "leave it" is all that it takes for him to move on.

The gross thing is that despite the Frontline, the ticks here have been horrifying. We pulled at least 6 off the dogs and several off ourselves today. Cockroaches and Ticks really are my worst-they completely make me sick. Crawling nasty things.

That's all for tonight. We are wiped out after a long week, trick or treating and soccer finals today.