Lyme disease, transmitted by infected black-legged ticks, infects roughly 300,000 Americans each year.
Mononucleosis (EBV) and Lyme disease share similar characteristics, making an accurate diagnosis difficult. Each condition causes non-specific symptoms including fatigue, fever, myalgia, arthritis, headaches, neck soreness and swollen or enlarged lymph nodes. And each greatly impacts children. While mono is a common childhood illness, 25% of all Lyme disease cases in the US involve children.
There’s a lot being said about Lyme. There’s a lot that isn’t being said about Lyme. No matter how many people attempt to comment on Lyme disease, you just don’t get it until you get it. Here’s a list of things only Lymies would understand: 1. You can’t just push through it Assuming people have ...
Diet changes are said to help treat endometriosis, but is there evidence to support this? This article explores the role of diet in endometriosis treatment.
Love Your Work: a creative entrepreneur podcast. A solopreneur interviews David Allen, James Altucher, & Seth Godin about self publishing & productivity.
Winnipegger Jan Cmela competed in adventure racing and biking until she contracted Lyme disease two years ago, now she is advocating for better education of ...
Find out about the warning signs of intestinal parasites, such as digestive issues, weakness, anemia, appetite gain, and more.
Find everything you need to know about lyme disease, including the signs and symptoms of lyme disease at localized and disseminated stages.
Disclaimer: The information below is for educational purposes only and should not be substituted as medical instruction. Consult a medical professional or healthcare provider before taking this advice. If you have Lyme disease, then you may be wondering what diet you should follow in order to feel better. Maybe you tried grilled meat, vegetables, and bread for dinner, or chicken salads for lunch and realized that you're still feeling really bad after every meal you eat. With just about every dis
You can be allergic to so-called inactive ingredients in medicines—the fillers, binders, dyes, or preservatives known as "excipients."
People ofteen wonder if they have lyme disease or fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. After years of hearing stories of recovery, I decided to share my views.
“I wouldn’t worry, I think you’ll get better.” This is what the disability lawyer told me as I sat across from his desk, shuddering uncontrollably from the effort of sitting up for an hour. What I should have said was, “Oh really? What exactly makes you think that? Tell me why, after 15 years of being ill and no available treatment for my disease, you believe I will magically just get better. What exactly do you think will change?“ That is what I should have said. But I didn’t. I stayed quiet. I did look disapprovingly at him – but that is the best I could do. Honestly, I have just spent an hour outlining the crippling effects this illness has on me. I have told him how long I have had it. I have explained what my doctors say. I have shown him my personal activity log (though he did not look at it – in fact not one person in the medical or legal or disability field has looked at it). And now, after all of that, it becomes clear that he does not believe me. He didn’t believe me from the very beginning. He didn’t believe me because I am too articulate, too intelligent (his words not mine – though obviously he didn’t get a real handle on me in that hour), too respectable looking, and – here is the kicker – I am only 29 years old. I am too young, too smart, and too well dressed to be sick. So I will just get better. I should have dressed in pajamas and not washed my hair. It would have been much easier and, in the end, more effective. But then, there is nothing much I can do about my age. Funnily enough the doctor said the same thing as the lawyer. First he made it clear that he didn’t think my illness existed (whilst at the same time scaring the pants off me by telling me I would die if I didn’t get help for my heart problem immediately. I’m sorry, why do you think I am here? I am seeking help. I have been seeking help for a long time. ) Then he berated me, implying that my illness was my fault. Then he told me I had wasted my whole life malingering. Then he said, “I think you’ll get better.” He didn’t offer any suggestions on how to make this happen. As you can probably tell, these encounters made me angry. They also made me sad and humiliated and mortified and insecure for a while. But this is what I have learned from them: Create a team made up only of people who believe you Whether you are trying for disability and need an advocate or a lawyer, or you are seeking medical help and need doctors, natural practitioners, specialists – whatever you are seeking, the team you compile must believe you first. It is the first requirement. They must also be competent and educated and offer some kind of help. But first and foremost, before anything else, they must believe you. If they do not believe you they will not be able to help you. If they do not believe you they WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU. Rather, they will cause you physical and emotional harm. After many unhappy experiences like the above I finally did some online research to find doctors who deal specifically with my illness. My philosophy was that if they deal regularly with my illness, they must believe that it exists. So that is one hurdle over with. (You should be prepared to travel if you do not live in a big city.) From this research (and with some help from my family) I did find a medical doctor who not only believed me but listens and works hard for me. She is competent and equipped. Her whole office is set up to prove that she believes you – from the questions on the new patient forms to the length of the first interview. She deals primarily in autoimmune diseases. (I travel 2 hours one way to get to her office. It is worth it.) I also work with a natural practitioner and she is the one that helps me the most. She is also competent and educated and listens and works hard. And she believes me. If your Doctor does not believe you, get a new doctor. The same goes for your lawyer. How can they fight for you if they do not even believe you? That is what I have learned. I have read so many stories of people who go to doctors that constantly undermine and belittle them, that do not believe they are really sick. And these people receive no help from these doctors. Yet they keep going. Don’t do this to yourself. You are the first person on your team. You must be the first person who believes you, who works for you, who listens to you. Find others who can do the same. How to know whether they believe you Both men in my experiences above proved that they did not believe me. Neither of them were rude and neither were being intentionally unkind. In fact, I would go so far as to say that both of them liked me as a person. They both talked in a kindly manner. They both took a good amount of time with me. Despite all of this, their words and the meaning behind them were shattering. They both said they believed me at first. But that wasn't proved true by the rest of their words. Listen to what they are actually saying. All of it. Some will say it right out. Some are more subtle. But if you listen to what they are actually saying, you will know what they really think. Entering the medical or legal sphere is scary. Doctors can be scary. Nurses can be scary. Lawyers can be scary. But not all of them are the same. You will be able to find a team that believes in you. You will be able to find a team that has something to offer. And now it’s your turn. Have you found professionals who believe and help you? If so, how did you find them? photo credit: HikingArtist.com via photopin cc photo credit: michael.heiss via photopin cc photo credit: deadstar 2.1 via photopin cc
There's also another side of Lyme people don't often talk about -- the anxiety, fear and depression that hangs a dark cloud right over your head. This doesn't happen because you feel sorry for yourself -- it happens because the bacteria gets into your brain.
Mono, or the "kissing disease," sticks around longer than you might think. Learn how to recover from mono and how to prevent sickness.
"If it feels like it was too much—it was."
In this article, you will learn what soy is and the difference between conventional and organic. Is soy healthy or is it bad for you?
Please preach and communicate as if one in three women listening in your audience are victims of domestic violence.
It was not the first time my wife had said she didn’t want to be touched because of the kids clawing at her all day. Honestly, I didn’t get it.
If you've ever had to explain your illness to the doctor, these memes are for you.
Let's face it. No one wants to consider the fact that they might have worms. It is not only repulsive, but we live in a society that tells us this cannot be a problem here in North America. With today's sanitation and standard of living, we are never taught about routine parasite cleansing.
Lyme disease might cause unusual symptoms in addition to the classic bull's-eye rash. Learn about four less common symptoms.
L-Methylfolate (5-MTHF) has emerged as a popular alternative to folic acid. This article covers what you need to know, but explained in human terms.
Most people suffer unknowingly from parasites. Here's the definitive checklist. Find out whether you have parasites or not.
When you are diagnosed with late-stage (chronic) Lyme disease there are many things you might be tempted to do but there are at least 5 things you ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT do. I clearly remember the day I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. It was in 2009 after a two-year-long journey of visiting doctor after doctor
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can affect people in many ways, well beyond the most obvious symptoms. Learn about signs of RA from our community.
#11 is too real.
How pain, sickness and Lyme led me to herbalism and Chinese medicine.
Bella Hadid is giving fans a vulnerable look into her ongoing health struggles. As you may know, the 26-year-old model has been battling Lyme disease ever sin
DO you need a CER activity for your biology or anatomy students? Do you need something that is more interesting to read and write about? Do you want to test their ability to organize information and problem solve? If so, then “You be the Doctor” might be just what you need! In this activity the students read about the description/cause, symptoms, and diagnostic tests for four diseases (Lupus, Lyme, Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia). The students organize this information into a medical chart. The students are then given the symptoms their patient is experiencing and their test results. They organize this information into a patient chart. Students can then compare the information in the medical chart to their patient chart and are asked to make a diagnosis. Which disease does their patient have? The medical case is not too complicated to solve. The real work comes when they write their CER. This part of the activity looks like this: After completing the reading and note-taking, you must determine which disease your patient has. You must write your answer and prove it using CER. C = your claim. What is your diagnosis? Which disease do you think your patient has? E = Evidence. You must discuss all the evidence that will back your claim and evidence explaining why it can’t be the other diseases R =Reasoning. This ties it all together. Make sure you clearly connect all your evidence to your claim. Grades: High school, Home school Subjects: Biology, Anatomy, Health Interested in more “You be the Doctor” CERs? I currently have 5 available: 1. You Be the Doctor - Cardiovascular Disease CER (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning) (teacherspayteachers.com) 2. You Be the Doctor - Respiratory Conditions CER (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning) (teacherspayteachers.com) 3. You Be the Doctor - Medical Conditions CER (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning) (teacherspayteachers.com) 4. You Be the Doctor - Neuromuscular Issues CER (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning) (teacherspayteachers.com) 5. You Be the Doctor - Digestive Diseases CER (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning) (teacherspayteachers.com)
I found the most impressive blood test in my entire career! The results show where your antibodies (immune cells) go, and what organs they attack, almost as if
What do you see as you look at this image? A healthy, vibrant man peering out from friendly blue eyes? Too many times we rely solely upon our perceptions to inform us about reality. An amalgamation…
