There\’s a difference between quarantined and sequestered. Quarantined means YOU have the illness. Sequestered means I DON\’T WANT THE ILLNESS. I\’m back to where I was three years ago: stuck at home being sick. Bartonella, one of my co-infections, is the bane of my existence. Borrelia burdorferi and babesia have been contained (not eradicated, contained). Not Bartonella. It continues to rage inside of me, hiding and dodging despite our best efforts. So I\’ve started a new medication, Rifabutin, a powerful antibiotic used in AIDS patients as a prophylactic against mycobacterium avium complex (whatever that is, it\’s probably deadly if you have AIDS). In Lyme patients with Bartonella, Rifabutin has proven useful in recalcitrant patients like myself. The bacteria hides in white blood cells, where other medications can\’t reach. Rifampin kills the bacteria, and also the host white blood cells. This means that my WBC count is going to drop. A lot.
Because I\’ve taken quite a few drugs with nasty side effects (mainly related to the liver), I wasn\’t worried at first. I texted Katie and bitched about the cost ($484!). When I got home, Katie read the drug warnings on the package. She didn\’t like the sound of this one. If I get sick, I could get very, very sick, and if the illness is serious enough, possibly die. My doctor warned me of these things, but I glossed over the warnings, because what choice do I have, really? I can feel shitty most of the time or I can take another shot at feeling better most of the time.
In my last blog I wrote about Bartonella\’s nasty symptoms, and they have not improved. I feel disconnected from my own reality, as if I am watching myself exist. Panna Naturopatich describes chronic Bartonella very well (http://www.pannaturopathic.com/bartonella-treatment), along with treatment options. Feeling disconnected from one\’s own life is a strange, disturbing feeling, and I want it gone. That\’s why I\’m willing to take Rifabutin. That\’s why I\’m sequestering myself at home for the next 4-6 weeks. I cannot risk getting sick.
Katie strongly urged (okay, insisted) that I sequester myself at home until we know just how low my WBC will drop. She\’s right, as are the two medical professionals I know who also advised me to be very careful when I explained my situation. I\’ll get a blood test two weeks after starting Rifabutin. I\’m a little over one week in. Friday was my last day of work for a month, and I\’ve stocked up on groceries.
I like the word \’sequester\’ as opposed to cloister, cut off, insulate, withdraw, close off, or segregate. I don\’t really mind hide, or the more philosophical enisle, or island. Secrete just sounds wrong, and draw back is too close to the truth. I have drawn back, for both my mental and physical health. I\’m cocooning, without the promise of emerging better and more beautiful, or the coziness and growth cocooning implies.
What will I do with myself? I guess it depends on how bad I feel. The first week was rough, as it often is when I start a new medication. My body is worn out from fighting recurring flareups and die-offs. If earlier herxes are my guide, there will be many days where I won\’t feel like doing much more than playing games on my phone and lying in bed. When I feel okay, I\’ve got yard work, reading, writing, binge-watching TV, cooking, and cleaning. I can walk the dogs in the park if I stay away from people. I just can\’t go to public places where lots of people congregate. That means no Rec center, no movies, no going out to eat, no library, no grocery store, no writing classes, and no volunteering. I\’m sure some people would shudder at the thought of not being able to go out. I\’m not one of them. I\’ve long joked I would make a great astronaut, because I have no problem being confined to small spaces for a long time, as long as I have things to do.
This is one of those times where I have to view Lyme as a full time job. I am making the transition into accepting that Lyme is my full time job now, its shitty, erratic hours and insane demands on my life crowding out everything else. Once I look at my voluntary sequestration that way, things become much, much easier. This is not, once again, a \’poor me\’ post. This is a reckoning with a new drug and the possibility that Lyme might be with me forever. I am learning to deal with it, in much the same way I deal with any setback; imperfectly and less than enthusiastically, I will inch forward until it\’s over.
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