Hi, Kiraii:
You're in Belgium...how nice. I've never been lucky enough to visit, but have seen many beautiful photos of the country. One day, maybe I can visit.
As for my questions, thanks for the feedback and sharing more information. I'm sorry you're going through all of this and suffering so much. While this is a complicated illness, I absolutely believe you can get better.
When I mentioned I'd had some similar experiences, I was thinking less about
specific symptoms and more about
my larger habits.
* Not getting regular, adequate, or refreshing sleep
* Reading too much about
too many health-related topics
* Experiencing many of the symptoms I read about
(i.e.
Medical Students' Disease)* Creating anxiety in myself, due to all the above
Now, maybe some of these are relevant for you...maybe not. But, it's worth giving them an honest examination. For me -- again, speaking about
my own personal experience -- one of the things that helped me the most was going on a fast for several weeks.
However, rather than abstaining from food or water, I stopped consuming health information.
I quit reading this forum, stopped reading blogs, stopped watching YouTube videos, stopped listening to podcasts, etc. Not only about
Lyme and co-infections, but also diets, exercise, supplements, lab tests, etc. I would have also stopped watching the news on TV and listening to it on the radio, but I've been doing that since around 2003. (Quitting the TV and radio news was one of the best things I ever did for my mental health.)
Certainly, I absolutely believe you're experiencing the issues you noted. None of us would choose to live such lives where we spend all our money, lose our jobs, lose our friends, have doctors ridicule us, etc. So, I trust you 100% in what you say. I also understand that we can (and, I have) cause symptoms in our bodies.
If you were to have advanced atherosclerosis, you would likely have pain/pressure in your chest. If you do, then you should see a doctor right away. Otherwise, absent of symptoms of angina, shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness, etc., that's likely a low probability for you.
Consider this quote from Dharam Kumbhani, MD -- Section Chief/Director of Interventional Cardiology:
"In cardiology, [this] is called a Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO). It means the artery is completely blocked. This occurs in 15% to 20% of patients who have heart disease. Sometimes there has been a complete blockage for many months or even years."The point is that even with a 100% blockage in an artery, some people never know it. And, unless you're eating a terrible diet, smoking, and otherwise living a terribly unhealthy lifestyle on multiple levels, this is likely not an issue for you.
Again, if you're having objective symptoms, definitely see a doctor right away. Otherwise, mention your concerns to your doctor, at your first opportunity.
Many of our symptoms, however, are subjective. We're feeling and experiencing something, but we can't really measure or quantify it. This is where things get tricky, because we sometimes make leaps of faith on what our issues might be.
This is understandable, because most of us have been to many doctors and not made sufficient progress. So, we go to the Internet and try to help ourselves. However, due to so many overlapping symptoms, conflicting opinions on treatments, and well-meaning-but-wrong information, we go down various rabbit holes and start looking at very complex biological systems and looking for a simple answer. Instead, we end up with a long list of concerns...which may or may not be valid.
So, rather than trying to add more and more layers to your treatment plan, I'd suggest considering if there are things you can subtract.
If you're taking a bunch of supplements, for example, work with your doctor(s) to see if reducing or titrating off one or more of them might make sense. Supplements can have effects on the body as much as some pharmaceuticals do, depending on the dose. And, supplements can interact with each other, as well as interfering with medications.
Again, I strongly suggest you try giving yourself a break from the excessive intake of health-related information, if at all possible. I think you may be pleasantly surprised to see what a profound effect it can have on your mental and physical health. Give yourself at least two weeks to focus your mind on something relaxing and enjoyable.
Do you have any hobbies or interests that you previously enjoyed but maybe haven't pursued in a while? Or, is there anything else you've wanted to try? A few things that come to mind: Drawing, painting, writing, board games (chess, checkers, etc.), building models (cars, airplanes, ships, etc.), yoga, meditation, and playing a musical instrument. There are lots of possibilities -- many of which require little/no money and minimal physical exertion. I'd love to be able to go on a hike or exercise with kettlebells again, but I don't have the ability.
Finally, just so I'm clear, I don't think our issues are all in our head. Not at all. But, I have absolutely exacerbated my own physical issues by focusing so much of my mental energy on symptoms and disease. Long ago, I heard Wayne Dyer say: "You'll never find light by analyzing the darkness." I regularly take breaks from this forum, blogs, YouTube, podcasts, etc. and always benefit from doing so. They can all be stressors.
What do you think?