• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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Search results

  1. OhShoot

    In the end it was Lyme

    Gosh, yes, the testing. I had a positive ELISA but only one band positive on the Western Blot (is it two or three they want?) so the GP went "nope, not Lyme, you're depressed, next." Of course, antibiotics then worked, and a few months into treatment, I tested positive for a more specific band...
  2. OhShoot

    In the end it was Lyme

    It really is. :( I never used to worry about it, and now I don't even want to cut through a thin patch of brush in the backyard! Doxycycline is the main one I've been on and it has been super helpful, and Azithromycin has been useful, too. I was also on Sulfamethoxazole last month and my...
  3. OhShoot

    In the end it was Lyme

    It's been all oral. I'm still on them, and on the times I have to stop or lessen the dose I do plateau or get worse.
  4. OhShoot

    In the end it was Lyme

    It was the same with me. I went on a hike years ago and looked down partway through to find a ton of ticks crawling all over my socks. I thought I got them all off, and thought nothing of it, but...several months later I got something like a bad cold, and it all went downhill from there. But I...
  5. OhShoot

    Looking for doctor in DC/Baltimore area

    Sure thing! :)
  6. OhShoot

    The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands

    People need to be a lot better educated about their own bodies. Physicians shouldn't be the only ones who know this stuff.
  7. OhShoot

    Feeling upset at my local ME/CFS society

    My ex-GP once said to me in this coaxing tone, "It's not normal for a healthy, active young person to be laying in bed all day, wouldn't you agree?" You'd think she would think for a minute and realize that wait, no, it's *not* normal--she's sick! :eek: It continues to astound me that this...
  8. OhShoot

    Did anything stress you out before you got me/Cfs?

    I had an enormously stressful period AFTER the onset of my ME/Lyme, from trying to deal with the effects of the illness while still pulling good grades in a rigorous high school program. But even then, a lot of the severity of my mental issues was directly from the Lyme going neurological...
  9. OhShoot

    Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (I wish I was a horse)

    My vet tech friend and I had a conversation like this the other day. Vets don't get to wiggle out of these things like human doctors do! Then again, horses may have the short end of the stick in the animal world, because even though it doesn't get labeled as psychosomatic per se, many owners do...
  10. OhShoot

    Looking for doctor in DC/Baltimore area

    Okay! :p
  11. OhShoot

    Looking for doctor in DC/Baltimore area

    PM'ed you!
  12. OhShoot

    Anyone aware of bradypnea (slow breathing rate) or CO2 issue?

    I know I tend to sigh a lot because I need more air. People around me tend to think I'm frustrated (especially when it happens during a conversation).
  13. OhShoot

    Religious OCD

    I've definitely dealt with that. I would apologize repetitively to God in my head, never feeling forgiven. It was not fun at all. But know that this isn't the real you. Your OCD and your true spirituality/relationship with God are separate things. OCD is an illness and God does not condemn...
  14. OhShoot

    What do you call your illness?

    I usually use ME, I don't use CFS unless it's in conjunction with ME and at least a short explanation of why it's called that but isn't that. I do have to use ME/CFS when talking to people on Lord of the Rings forums, because to them ME is short for Middle Earth. :rofl: On forums in general I...
  15. OhShoot

    Poll: In What Month Did You First Become Ill?

    October, Northern Hemisphere.
  16. OhShoot

    Conversation about Walitt (Split Thread).

    I loved the part in the first video that was posted where he defined disease as sickness and illness as something atypical but normal after he called diabetes an illness and said that fibro hasn't found its insulin yet. Yes, their lack of ability to produce sufficient insulin could be...
  17. OhShoot

    Severe ME/CFS - Media coverage in The Sun (UK)

    :rofl:
  18. OhShoot

    Talking wipes me out.

    @minkeygirl You did read it in my post, I've been ill for 6 years but started off mildly, and then didn't read about CFS much less ME until a few months ago. :) Oops, yeah I have the same problem, I just forget when I'm the one writing! :rolleyes: I'll add some.
  19. OhShoot

    Talking wipes me out.

    @minkeygirl I know it's not good, and I really am serious about stopping. :) My stubbornness (the 'I don't care, I'll do what I want' kind) isn't always good; it just grabs the bit and bolts sometimes. I've only known about my ME for a few months, so parts of me still can't believe that doing X...
  20. OhShoot

    Talking wipes me out.

    @minkeygirl I've just been talking a lot and now my head feels funny. :confused: I know, it's ridiculous. I'm beyond stubborn. Maybe it's better known as PSC--Pure Southern Cussedness. :whistle: Hey, it's served me well in other areas of life! I'll learn, eventually. I am starting to catch...
  21. OhShoot

    Talking wipes me out.

    @minkeygirl Talking uses a lot of spoons for me, too, and it doesn't even have to be associated with a social situation. I spend most of the day alone in my room, and for some reason I feel the need to talk aloud when I'm thinking about something. I learn by hearing so maybe that's part of it...
  22. OhShoot

    What Are Your Most Amusing (Or Disconcerting) Brain Fog Experiences?

    ...A few minutes ago I tried to check the time by looking in the mirror. There is no clock in the room. I thought the mirror WAS the clock. :rofl:
  23. OhShoot

    UK Research Collaborative Conference in Newcastle: 13th - 14th October

    If it's supposed to be caused by repressed emotions, shouldn't it be MEN who get it more often?! :meh:
  24. OhShoot

    What Are Your Most Amusing (Or Disconcerting) Brain Fog Experiences?

    Well, the other day I put my hair up, and was playing on my tablet, when suddenly I realized my hair was not up anymore. My ponytail holder was on my wrist, so apparently it had been quite deliberately done! I put it up again...and...you guessed it. Eventually I realized that MY HAIR WAS DOWN...
  25. OhShoot

    New and need help

    Unfortunately I have no insight on the medical side of your problems, but speaking as one who spent far too much time afraid of God, I can tell you that it has been a slow road of learning that God loves me more than I could imagine EVEN if I do NOTHING that I am supposed to. :) I spent many...