Today I am annoyed.  There are a number of things contributing to this overall level of annoyance but, if one specific thing weren’t annoying me, those other things probably would not be annoying to me at all.  I am annoyed because I just found out I have to take more medication and go to more doctors because, for some unknown reason, my ASO titer has begun to skyrocket.  With a titer of 873, I am almost back to where I was when I was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever back in 2011.  I have been following my treatment, watching my diet, exercising regularly and trying to keep my stress levels in check.  My back hasn’t been an issue in months and I am feeling less tired.  But…. I have been getting regular debilitating headaches and I’ve been mildly dizzy for months.  So, the frustrating part is, I am focusing on my health but it doesn’t seem to get any better. 

My health scare in April was a bit of an exception.  I contracted a tick-borne illness from a foreign country and it baffled doctors as to how to diagnose it.  Then there was the added issue of how they should deal with it and its friends (They knew for sure I got Rickettsia but ticks often pass along multiple diseases in transmission and they suspected I might have gotten Lyme disease with it.  Multiple doctors later, they determined it was just the Rickettsia).  I thought the headaches and the dizziness had something to do with this debacle.  But, maybe, it actually has something to do with my other debacle.  And who knows if any of this is even correlated.  But it would be a strange coincidence if all these things – foreign diseases, vertigo and a climbing ASO – just happened to show up all at the same time. 

So, did getting sick from a tick allow the strep to pep?  Or is it Rickettsia-aftermath that is causing me headaches and dizziness?  Or is it the Rheumatic Fever and the Rickettsia really was taken care of?  Or, the, in my opinion even scarier option, are these menacing bugs inside me building a tolerance to the bicillin rendering my treatment virtually useless?  Only time (and lots more doctors’ appointments) will tell!

Have you ever watched the show House, M.D.?  I could have been a patient on that show….