I'm so very sorry, Sweetpea. I know how hard this is. But honestly, if someone had come to me and told me all the things I would deal with once I had Lyme and company, I surely wouldn't understand it either. I mean how can someone understand it if they didn't have to live it?

Those that are closest to us seem to hurt us the most, but I suspect it's because we expect so much more from them - at least this was the case in my own relationships. I did have some that were just cold to my issues (My Mom when I was young), but mostly those around me just couldn't comprehend that I was still so sick - constantly - whether I looked like it or not.

They get the impression that we are doing okay when we force ourselves to do things that we do - like taking care of a garden, or a child - without realizing how much we pay for it. It took my best friend and husband years to understand how much I pay for things, and yet he still was absolutely amazed at how horrible he felt in the first week of a Lyme infection and realized that I had lived that way all my life. The look of shock actually made me feel kind of bad - LOL!

The best thing you can do is to get them educated. I know how hard that can be for some, but keep trying. Here are a few things that may help:

So you know someone with Chronic Lyme disease: www.tiredoflyme.com/so-you-have-a-friend-or-family-member-with-chronic-lyme-disease.html#.U3dTc3bbS1t​


​" ​Dear Family of a Lyme Disease patient"
goo.gl/vujRB6

And of course, the movie: Under Our Skin can be seen for free on Hulu.com and Netflix.

Hang in there and come here to vent instead of taking it out on your family. They simply can't understand what you are dealing with or how you get through your days.

Yes, my pharmacist is reading, "Healing Lyme," and she likes it! She has Lyme though, which is why I loaned it to her (actually, it's the associate pharmacist). The actual pharmacist herself understood the whole thing about the bacteria hiding in cysts. She understood way more than any of my non LL doctors ever did.

My family though . . . that's an entirely different matter.

You are in close quarters with your family, so you may need to communicate very clearly.

I completely gave up on my family; don't see any of them. They really have no clue; haven't even tried to understand. It has been very traumatic for me, so I'm sort of casually looking for a therapist.

SMLM, can you explain the whole thing about ATP and mitochondria?

Last night, a friend, who is sort of a part time herbalist, told me that Lyme destroys your genes or genetic material? I had no clue what he meant.

Margaret

Lovely life story silly...

It is a good example of "Walk a mile in my shoes buddy"
I think i would ask those in close proximity to me...
"Tell me about the most exhausting time in your life" And encourage them to share all related details.

Some may think they are sharing how they can relate. BUT... then i would say "That is how i feel on a good day when my pain level is low".... "But yeah... uh... that's does sound like a rough time for you" (To much sarcasm ?)

And then i would lock myself in the bedrm for an hour... i think we all need a "Do not disturb sign" And we need to use it for an hour each day. To shut off the world and go within... the place where are most valuable resource lies.

To get in touch with that Strength and to Use It To Set The Boundaries That We Need To HEAL.
Otherwise... the more you do...the more folks think you are better than you are. The less you do... you teach others where your limits are.

This is coming from a recovering "git er done girl".
Its a whole new way of being that is necessary for our healing.
No one else can set those boundaries for us... No One Else Will PAY The Price More Than Us...if we don't.

I hear ya... gotta get a call out to the manufacturer on that one!

Thank you everyone for your replies-I appreciate the sarcasm as well as the serious compassionate advice-a little humor goes a long way!