How much is in our head?

Well - I google something AFTER I have the symptom...so the symptom isn't because I've read about it.


I don't get what you mean by the "We will likely die stories" - I've not gotten that impression on this forum...or googling, reading blogs...etc.

Sometimes I get a feeling of 'overload' - with all the different issues we could have - mold, metals, all the co's (bacterial and viral), etc.

sara2017 said...
Please don't be annoyed at me for posting this.
I got diagnosed about two weeks ago moved two countries since then off back to my new home in Spain next week.

My question is how many of you read online over and over about symptoms and start to then have them? xx

Hi sara2017, to answer your question, I was already experiencing horrific, undiagnosed, neurological symptoms, my whole body ended up having heavy numbness, my head felt like a roller coaster of intense waves of numbness with the added thumping and vibrations in my brain I really didn't have much time to read about any symptoms, what I searched for and so desperately needed was answers to what the heck was wrong with me.

I found that here from the kind hearted ,knowledgeable and experienced members on this great forum.

Lyme and the many co infections are very complex...if you have a chance in our "New to Lyme" start here thread at the top of the page, there is a list of the many symptoms that we can present with.

I would also encourage you to keep a journal of your daily symptoms as it can be very helpful as you continue your treatment to see if your progressing or if any other co infections show up.

I wish you the best of healing and take care, Jo

I

I wish this was in my head, feeling so bad right now it's not even right.

sara2017,

I have a friend who is a surgeon, and, around 15 years ago, he told me that many medical students will sometimes manifest symptoms of medical conditions about which they are studying. He said it's common knowledge in medical schools.

A quick Google search revealed several articles on the matter. Here are a few:

/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/when-med-students-get-medical-students-disease
/www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-excess/201609/brief-look-medical-student-syndrome
/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2267854

As for your original comments, I believe I understand your intent.

There have been times when I've been home, felt like crap, and didn't want to go anywhere. But, for various reasons, I've had to get out to get some things done. It might be to go to the grocery store for food, to Target for household items, or to the auto dealer to get the oil changed in my car.

In some of those cases, while I didn't want to leave home, once I did leave and was running those errands, I didn't feel as bad. Again, that's certainly not all cases - probably not even 50%. But, I wonder if that is what you were experiencing, too.

Personally, I spend waaaay too much time online reading about health issues. Not only about Lyme Disease, but other things, too -- especially diet. So, for me, in those situations where I felt better leaving home, it was probably due to disengaging my mind from the stress of all the research.

But, there have been other times where I feel terrible, have to leave the house, and feel even worse - dizziness, nausea, light/sound hypersensitivity, migraines, weakness, lightheadedness, fast/slow heart rate, GI upset, and on and on. So, I don't think it's all in our heads.

As for the comment about all the "...we will likely die..." stories, you may be referring to some of the threads where people post rather dire news stories.

One example that sticks-out in my mind was about a person got infected with Lyme from an animal (a cat?) and the person died. I purposely skipped that story. Is that what you're meaning?

Otherwise, I don't recall any forum members making any fatalistic forecasts. In fact, despite them being very ill themselves, most forum members are very supportive and give hope and empathy to others.

The Dude

Post Edited (The Dude Abides) : 8/4/2017 10:18:04 PM (GMT-6)

Well put, dacarte3. You did a better job than me of conveying the point.

It's not all in your head. This may seem to people who are getting used to listening to their body for first time for any major health reason. A good way to get tuned with your body is to keep a journal. I have been writing down my symptoms, nutritional, supplemental experiences for two years because those were real and significant; long before I discovered that I have Lyme, before I read anything about Lyme. My Lyme is identified couple of months back, and All my notes and symptoms match. The necessary item for journaling is to note the entire fact, the food, diet, supplement, activity and symptoms; cause and effect, that way you can keep it realistic.

sara2017 said...
Sorry guys please don't take me wrong at all. I 100% don't think Lyme is all in the head I fully understand and appreciate the horrendous symptoms you all face.

I just wanted to give my side on how I was starting to make myself go crazy googling symptoms and trying to find things i was almost willing them to be there xx

It's ok and we understand. But please note that many people here have been told for years they were crazy and all was in their head. Until they got to the correct diagnosis. 'It's all in your head' is almost a litany in lyme disease, that's how many of us were perceived by the medical community. So u can figure starting a thread about how 'it's all in your head' here may touch a nerve ;)

There is a point when you have to believe you can recover, and your attitude does help you get over the hurdle.

But in the midst of it, you cannot control your thoughts. Lyme comes with paranoia and depression and hallucinations. Sometimes your head makes you think it's in your head. NEURO lyme IS all in your head. Literally but truly.

I agree some posts can freak you out- because all of us have weird symptoms we don't know what to do with, and we come here for support. So if you have a symptom and come here, you get comfort knowing it's not just you, and "normal" for Lyme.

But no, I wouldn't recommend coming here and reading every thread as if it's something you're going to experience, then freak out. We are all different. I ignore so many posts just because they don't pertain to my situation and I don't want to discourage myself. But for the people that ARE going through those terrible symptoms, it's a great comfort.

Like any resource, you have to know how to use it and be responsible.

I just added minocycline after being on Alinia and chinese herbs sinve April14th...the minocycline has CAUSED major head symptoms> fogginess, drowsiness, achy muscles in scalp and neck and sinus pain....

I discovered AFTER having the symptoms, that its due to the addition of minocycline. AFTER the symptoms appeared, I logged on to this forum; whereas I HAD NOT logged on for several weeks...

So, YEP its all in my head alright, but most certainly NOT because my brain somehow conjured up the symptoms by reading or dwelling on it...