Dear fellow Lyme Warrior,
First of all let me just say, you are already stronger than you know & don’t ever forget the incredible fighter that you are. I would love to be able to give you all the answers & tell you what exactly to do to get better, but as I’m sure you already know, it’s just not that simple when it comes to Lyme. So, since I can’t give you the magic cure, instead I thought I’d share some things to help you through. The Lyme journey is a roller coaster of ups & downs, & most days will feel like a mental, physical, & emotional battle so it’s very important to find things to help you through the hard times.
For me, it’s my micro pig Bubbles!
He can make me smile, laugh & feel comforted even when I’m at a 10 pain level. Just the companionship of having a little buddy with me through it all has helped me tremendously to keep a good attitude. The other thing that’s really helped me throughout my journey are my horses & managing my dad’s horse ranch. Horses are so therapeutic for me & working with them has been the best distraction. The only time I feel zero pain & feel normal, is on the back of a horse. I often get asked how I keep such a good attitude with all that I’m dealing with & I always say that my dog, my pig & my horses have saved my life. Now I’m not suggesting you go buy a pig or a horse!
You have to find YOUR thing… the thing that can lift you up during the challenging times. For you, it might be animals, like me, or maybe it’s music, writing, art.. whatever it may be, find it, & hang onto it.
Now that I’ve given you advice on handling the mental & emotional battle, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite things to help cope with some of the physical aspects of the Lyme battle. Firstly, leg compressors! If you get a lot of nerve pains in your legs or circulation issues, trust me, these will become your best friend. Secondly, if you experience migraines or pain due to nerve damage in your brain, you NEED an Icekap & Polar Roller in your life! Trust me, you’ll thank me later! My other must haves include: ice socks, CBD lotion, heating pad, my Saje Essential Oils Pocket Pharmacy, a back scratcher (my MCAS makes me SO itchy sometimes!), heated blanket to soothe my aching body, & of course some good anti nausea meds so I can handle all my meds, supplements, & treatments.
You can find all of these online, except of course the nausea meds, those you need from your doctor obviously! I truly hope some of these things help make you a bit more comfortable on your journey to healing. I will be honest with you, those things don’t always fully take away the pain or whatever symptom im dealing with but they do take the edge off & provide some comfort & I always say every little bit helps!
I think another thing that’s important is to have some future goals & dreams that help give you that motivation to do whatever it takes to get better & to never give up! What you don’t want to do though, is put a timeline with these goals & dreams, because the truth of the matter is, with Lyme, we just don’t know how long it will take to get better & you don’t want to get disappointed if it takes longer than you had planned. So instead of setting a timeline for pursuing your dreams, just think of it like “when I get healthy I’m going to do this “fill in the blank”. For example, for me, my main goals driving me forward & keeping me motivated is to be back in the arena competing in Barrel Racing & Cutting.
Every time I have to do a rough treatment or take meds that make me sick, I tell myself that it’s getting me one step closer to getting back in that arena! It can be hard sometimes when you feel like your in a constant cycle of taking one step forward & five steps back, but in those moments it’s important to always remember brighter days will come & this is merely a chapter of your story, not the whole book. The strength you will gain from this journey will empower you & change your life. Embrace the journey. To help embrace the journey, I constantly remind myself that “the comeback is stronger than the setback” & that “the best view comes after the hardest climb.” I may not be better yet, but I know I will be, & you will too.
It’s so important that while on this Lyme journey you never lose hope. The tricky thing with Lyme is that it affects everyone differently & there is not one treatment that works for everyone. It can be frustrating to say the least, when you do a treatment & don’t get the results you hoped for. That’s when you have to keep pushing on to the next & never lose hope. When a treatment doesn’t work for you, do not get discouraged, simply change course & try again; because you are a WARRIOR, you are a FIGHTER, you are STRONG, you are BRAVE, & there is no quit in you.
You got this! I can’t tell you how long it will take, but you will win this battle & you will rise up & take back your life! Until then.. Always remember you have a fire burning within you & if you think for one second you can’t withstand the storm, remember, YOU ARE THE STORM! And, most importantly, I leave you with this.. You are not alone, you may not know it yet, but you’ve got an army of fellow warriors behind you❤️
Sincerely,
Taylor deRegt
During Lyme Awareness Month, we’re publishing #LymeLetters written by those affected by Lyme Disease. Be sure to check out the rest of the letters here and to follow us @LymeNow on Facebook and Instagram.
