Alcohol Abuse Advice

Could It Be Lyme Disease?

A dismayed grandmother said her precious grandson was diagnosed and treated as autistic–when, in fact, he has lyme disease. She reports that a recent study said 90% of California kids diagnosed with autism actually had lyme.

Then she asked the jackpot question: How come doctors don’t know better?

The sorry answer? Because people who should know better–and certainly care better–made this dreadful disease a political football, not a diagnosis.

Even worse, they’ve kept it quiet. You’ve probably never heard of lyme disease. So, let’s talk.

With a mountain of symptoms, some of which can be vague, Lyme doesn’t fit the delicatessen-counter, take-a-number approach now used in medicine.

And medical education comes up way short. What little doctors are taught includes the “fact” that there’s always a rash. No, there isn’t.

The fact is, you need to educate yourself to protect yourself.

Lyme is carried by deer ticks, which can appear to be no more than an easily-overlooked, small, black dot. You might spot a full-grown tick, but a baby tick–called a nymph–is all but invisible. Besides, who checks every inch of their body upon coming indoors? Or does a self strip search after playing with the dog?

It’s a growing problem–soon to be a plague if it continues to be politicized. It’s in every state in the United States. Whether or not you know about lyme disease, it’s almost surely in your neighborhood. Even in the concrete canyons of Manhattan.

Lyme disease isn’t some quick, little, stay in bed for a couple of days deal. You know something’s seriously wrong. You just don’t know what.

Besides such symptoms as swollen glands, fevers, sore throat, joint swelling,, and on, and on, lyme disease mimics a lot of the symptoms of endocrine problems–extreme fatigue, foggy thinking, mood swings, unexplained weight gain or loss, muscle pain, loss of libido, etc.

And in fact, the two can become one. Lyme disease can damage the pituitary gland, which controls the entire endocrine system. Then you have another significant problem. And while the lyme may or may not become a chronic condition, pituitary damage usually does.

Lyme sufferers need prompt, effective treatment, but this is problematic. First, you have to suspect that’s your problem. Then, convince your doctor to test. Then, if your doctor lacks experience with  lyme, find a doctor who knows the deal. Don’t be any doctor’s first lyme patient; by-the-book treatments don’t work.

Well, now that I’ve scared your socks off, let me offer a little help. You can get good information about lyme disease–symptoms, tests, treatments, etc.–at http://PublicHealthAlert.org They also cover other perplexing chronic illnesses.

I have no connection with Public Health Alert. My good friend, Suzanne Brand, a long-time lyme-disease sufferer, recommended them to me. Suzanne’s a smart, tenacious and honest RN; I trust what she says, and Suzanne says these people offer good information –and no politics.

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