Maybe it's seizures

The vet says that the episode Duchess had last night is also consistent with a seizure. She could be having little TIA-almost-strokes, and she could be having seizures (even if she's not rigid or falling down), and if she had a brain tumor growing this is how it would start too -- episodic weird stuff.

Kitty first aid is: if it's safe to attempt, get a blood glucose reading to show the vet later; if it's safe to attempt, get some Karo syrup into her mouth; above all, get her to a vet in the hopes that she can be evaluated while this is happening. There's not really anything palliative I can do.

She'll call back with specialist information. I may get her a little kitty MRI.

Other than that, I just get to log frequency and severity for a while. If things get worse she'll go on anti-seizure meds.

[edit: Forget that "other than that" phrasing. A kitty MRI is $1420. Yiiiiikes.]

Lyme treatment

We're going to hit me with Biaxin (clarithromycin) at first, and I'll need Diflucan (fluconazole) to keep yeast levels down as well as a massive probiotic (way beyond yogurt) to make my gut keep working. I will need to log pain levels, fatigue, sleep time, and anything I find unusual -- extra aches, flulike symptoms, anything. Unless a Herx reaction is too awful to bear, I'll see the doctor again in six weeks.

We discussed one antibiotic option known to cause bad sun sensitivity. My doctor said she was reluctant to use that one in summer. I said "Oh, I'm never outside. I can't walk far or bike, so I drive everywhere. I can't run or hike or go backpacking. I work in an office all day. Sun sensitivity really isn't a big problem here." And she said "But that might change," and put me on Biaxin. That was really weird. The thought that I might enjoy the outdoors again -- this summer, even -- is just alien. I'm having a hard time picturing it. I can only barely remember what that was like once upon a time. Maybe I am the zoo tiger who, when released in the wild, paces a space the size of his cage for a long time.

I fill my prescriptions this evening.

I'm trying so hard not to get my hopes up. The crashes are always so painful. It took me too long to reach any sort of mental and emotional equilibrium about this stuff in the first place; I don't want to have to go through that again.