Last Updated on January 28, 2023 by Lori Geurin
Chronic Lyme disease is a hot topic in the news lately. Several celebrities, including Avril Lavigne, Ashley Olsen, Justin Bieber, and Yolanda Foster, recently announced they have Lyme. According to the CDC, over 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme yearly. And countless others have it but haven’t been diagnosed yet.
Just The (Lyme) Facts
If you get Lyme and are treated promptly with an appropriate dosage of doxycycline, your odds of making a recovery may be good.
But, we’re talking about people, including myself, who are not treated promptly and suffer debilitating, long-term effects of the disease.
It took almost 2 years for multiple doctors and specialists to figure out what was wrong with me.
This was despite my insistence that I wanted to be tested for Lyme because I had become severely ill after being bitten by 2 tiny ticks one spring. I eventually tested positive for Lyme, tularemia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever on different tests, including antibodies and the Western Blot. I was “CDC positive.”
The Hippocratic Oath
Before my ordeal, I didn’t realize things like this happened to patients. Isn’t part of the oath physicians take, the Hippocratic Oath, to “first do no harm”? So how could so many people suffer from ongoing Lyme symptoms despite visiting numerous doctors?
According to eyeonannapolis.net:
In 2014, there were 26,000 confirmed cases of Lyme Disease in the US, with an additional 6,000 cases that are probable but unconfirmed. The CDC estimates that over 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme Disease in the US every year. That’s 1.5 times the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer, six times that number of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and more than nine times the number of people facing Zika virus.
Lyme Lessons
I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I’m learning much through this journey. I believe God brings good out of bad situations because I’ve seen it.
One of the most helpful things I’ve learned is how to advocate for my health and the health of others.
People who are suffering from a debilitating illness need kindness and compassion. If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about.
However, hundreds of thousands of Americans are diagnosed with Lyme each year. The painful truth is that way too many of these people are diagnosed months or years later, giving the Lyme bacteria, borreliosis burgdorferi, time to wreak havoc on a body.
This is called “chronic Lyme.”
The CDC refers to lingering Lyme symptoms as “post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome,” or PTLDS.
But, it doesn’t matter what you call it. I’m not saying it’s not important, but just that we need to focus more on the people who are suffering.
The fact is that debilitating pain and the myriad of other Lyme symptoms are all too real. If a patient is suffering physically, they deserve proper medical care covered by insurance.
“Is Chronic Lyme Disease Real Or Not?”
That is the million-dollar question here. And the answer is a resounding yes.
Yes, chronic Lyme is, unfortunately, very real.
And while the debate rages on about what to call it, I want to encourage us to keep our focus on the hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering. Because at the end of the day, what or who matters more than people?
Additional Info About Lyme
I created a Lyme resource to help answer your questions. The guide provides you with:
- more details about Lyme and other tick-borne diseases
- valuable information on diagnosis and testing
- where to find financial help for Lyme patients
- prevention tips
- instructions for how to properly remove a tick
- and more…
all based on research. Simply click below to check it out.
Feel free to read more about my experience with Lyme:
If you didn’t read part 1 in this series, you may read it here:
Is Chronic Lyme Disease Real? Part 1
And if you’d like to learn more about Lyme, be sure to check out:
- Lyme Disease Awareness
- Warning: Lyme Disease Is Spreading Faster Than AIDS
- The Signs And Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
Do you or someone you love have Lyme disease?
Please share your comments and questions below. I love hearing from you!
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