Lyme’s disease

Hey guys, come take a look at t his! Ewww! That's disgusting!

Wait, you drew a Jabba the Hutt picture for a hair story? Not a fat joke?

Sadly those real gobs of hair keep falling out, and I’ve already lost about half of what I started with. I asked the doctor if Lyme’s were responsible for the hair loss since it caused so much pain to my head, but she said it was just the trauma of being sick.

Last night I was glancing over my hospital discharge papers. On them was a note about my blood pressure being HIGH at 144/77. (Normally mine is so low that it is too low.) I Googled whether Lyme’s can cause high blood pressure, and – no surprise- it can. The disease infects every organ and can affect the heart. The article I read said that the tiredness and fatigue that comes with Lyme’s is due largely to how it affects the heart.

Hmm, so if Lyme’s can alter the way the heart works, can it influence the appetite as well? I was curious because I find myself only wanting bland, unseasoned food lately. Off I scurried to Google that as well. While Lyme’s doesn’t cause an aversion to spiced or seasoned food, it can and does upset the GI tract. It can cause this lovely condition called “The Bell’s Palsy of the Bowel” where it can create some wicked bad constipation by weakening the muscles that move food through the intestines. Some people self-medicate for months before realizing that this is the result of Lyme’s and not something else. By the way, there is no reason that I bring this up. No reason at all. However, you may want to buy stock in coconut water and laxatives.

So, there is more than one reason I drew our dear friend Jabba today. I feel as disgusting as he looks.

Don’t look at me. I’m good at pooping.

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Come see what my boys have been up to by picking up a copy of Dream Our World. Inside, they visit the museum of their dreams and enjoy a day of unsupervised fun.

Dream Our World is available from my shop at L Bowman Studios as well as Amazon and your local library!

Do I really have to wear this? Well, you wouln't eat the peanut butter.

After two long and painful months, I might finally have an answer to what happened to me. Northerners will be nodding their heads in “Wasn’t it so obvious?” gestures while southerners will shrug their shoulders at what we’re talking about. Evidently I am a textbook case of Lyme’s disease.

Lyme’s disease is a stupid disease carried by stupid ticks that travel on stupid deer that for some reason we are not allowed to slaughter when they come waltzing into our yards. I haven’t been to any exotic locations or hiked in the deep woods. I am mainly in the yard and walking along the road in this neighborhood. Somehow while pulling weeds or playing ball with my puppy, a stupid tick bit me and gave me this stinking disease.

These blasted things can be pretty small when they climb up on you.

I was completely unaware of the bite, and I never had the tell-tale bull’s eye rash we are warned about. It turns out that the Luchadora red rash with purple splotches I had is actually more typical of the disease than the bull’s eye.

I wasn’t the only one to get a tick borne disease in the yard. When Toby had his physical in April, we found out he has anaplasmosis. Toby got lucky. Although he has antibodies, he didn’t show symptoms. Mommy on the other paw…all the symptoms.

I told you I was special.

While northern dogs are now routinely vaccinated for Lyme’s disease, there is no vaccine for humans. When I asked the vet about this several years ago, she said that so far human vaccines just aren’t very effective. Treatment for Lyme’s is a course of antibiotics. I guess it is just easier to treat humans than to try to prevent them from getting sick in the first place.

Part of me is pissed at the way things went. If I had been able to see a doctor right away, I wouldn’t have had to go through months of misery (and exorbitant medical bills). I had a friend say something encouraging, though. She pointed out how much I learned from this experience that I wouldn’t otherwise know. That is true. I learned a lot of medical things, and I learned how to be annoying enough that people pay attention to you.

Nyah! Nyah! You can’t touch us!

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If you would like to help finance Toby’s and my campaign to rid our neighborhoods of Venison-on-the-Hoof, then pick up a copy of Dream Our World! At least part of the proceeds will go toward pressuring lawmakers into letting us sending these ~~game~~ vermin to deer-y Valhalla.

Come with Bitey and Toby to the Museum of the Imagination in Dream Our World where they view the world of art from a canine perspective and enjoy a day of unsupervised fun! Dream Our World (and other fine gifts) are available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

The Adventures of Bitey Dog

Gross Jabba & Doggy Mama

A No Bull(‘s Eye) Answer