Lyme is incredibly challenging to diagnose, leaving patients without care for long periods of time. The test is about 50% accurate, so even if a doctor suspects Lyme, they have a 50/50 chance of giving a proper diagnosis. However, even if you get a positive result, you have now been diagnosed with a disease so controversial, that many compare it to the fight for proper care of those with AIDS in the 1980s.
Some doctors believe patients will recover with 21 days of an antibiotic (a number that has no researched-based significance), some say the ~20% of people who don’t get better are making it up in their heads, that their symptoms are psychosomatic. The government has only recently admitted that this 20% of people may have a legitimate illness, but refuse to allocate sufficient funding to research that could illuminate the mechanisms behind it. Then there are the doctors who believe you, and wow is that just a breath of fresh air after being belittled and dismissed while you were writhing in pain on the exam table.
Unfortunately, this is not the end. Due to the lack of research, you are now faced with doctors who have a myriad of opinions on what is causing your pain. Some believe your pain is an the result of an active Lyme infection in your body, some believe it’s due to significant and irreversible damage, others doctors believe it has something to do with the malfunctioning of your immune system.
Therefore, in the end, after finally arriving at a diagnosis, you are left sitting, sifting through information, reading medical literature you have no training to comprehend, making the most important decisions for your health. Are you going to chose path A, B, C, D…? The choice, research, and interpretation falls squarely on your already disease-ridden body. And let me tell you, that’s not a place you want to be. This situation illustrates a complete lack of respect for those suffering, and it is outrageous. Spread awareness, educate, and fight like hell.
Maddy Meets Lyme 