The Advantages of Short Term Memory Loss

There are none. 

Why did I lead you to believe that I was going to discuss the advantages of short term memory loss? 

I can’t remember.

It was mid-September when I was dismissed by the primary care physician and mid-November by the time I was able to schedule an available appointment with a tick-borne disease specialist who was recommended by a friend of mine. Prior to my appointment I was asked to fill out information about my medical history and collect the lab results from the doctor I had seen in September along with any other medical records from the past five years so it could all be reviewed and discussed internally before my appointment. 

I continued to go to work as I experienced day-to-day fluctuations of my symptoms. On some days I felt "okay". My definition of okay at this point in time meant I was used to not having feeling in my hands and feet, my legs hurt but not to the point where it was affecting my ability to walk, my joints were stiff but not too achy, my vision was blurry but I could still read my computer screen without getting a headache and I was still smiling and nodding my head even though I wasn't exactly sure what was going on all the time when people were talking to me. On the flip side some days I was having trouble walking and sitting down/standing up, I would get really bad headaches while looking at my computer screen because my vision would get worse as the day wore on, and sometimes I would get really irritable and angry (which is very out of character for me) and is known as "Lyme Rage". Either way you look at it, it was pretty miserable and exhausting. 

The day finally arrived for my appointment and I was there for 3.5 hours. We had a lot to discuss. I spoke with two attentive physicians who listened to every word I said and sympathized with my frustration. I asked them as many questions as they asked me. The most memorable part of our discussion came at the end of my appointment just before I was sent me to the lab to get blood work done. As one of the physicians held up a page from my file that I had sent prior to my appointment he said, "We're not going to wait for the results of this blood work we are about to do before we start treating you since you tested positive for Lyme disease in November of 2009".