Encouraging encounter with mainstream medicine

On the theory that it's good to share good news...

I was out on the west coast visiting siblings and seeing Dr. R is Seattle (great appointment, I am so feeling so positive and optimistic now). Sat afternoon, did some very mild hiking in Cascades. Late afternoon, packing for my flight and think I must have hit my arm on something 'cause it hurts like hell. Look closer, see tiny little spot. Bug bite?

By the time I get home, whole lower arm is swollen and itching like mad. A little more swollen next morning so while getting new RX's filled, go to Minute Clinic in the drug store.

Based on accounts of others' experiences, I was not looking forward to telling MD about the Lyme, but I was hugely, pleasantly surprised. Relatively young doctor, maybe early thirties. Not fully Lyme literate but very aware that it is a big problem, especially here in Western Pa. Was astonished that anyone would/could deny existence of chronic Lyme.

She said chronic lyme was a topic in med school, as in, yes, a real disease. Also, minute clinic has monthly training/conference calls where a specialist will discuss a hot topic/current issue they need to be aware of. 2 months ago it was Lyme, with the speaker an LLMD who apparently scared the pants off them by describing what happens if Lyme is not caught and treated early i.e. chronic Lyme.

Minute Clinic is "the retail medical clinic division of CVS Health, is the leading retail medical clinic provider in the United States." So that's a lot of doctors, nurse practioners, etc. all being told Lyme is serious and chronic Lyme is real.

Bonus: this doctor also teaches a course on community medicine and was thinking about making Lyme her case study topic for next class. After our talk, she said she definitely would.

So, progress is being made.

Wow, that's good to know! I'll be more likely to use them in the future.

Thanks for the encouraging words! It helps so much, good things are happening :)

sebreg,
it made me pretty happy too! Honestly, as I was talking to this doctor, I kept doing these mental double takes--What? Did she really just say that? Wow!

And I share your optimism/cynicism feelings regarding the public and the medical establishment. I've often heard the current Lyme epidemic compared to the early stages of the AIDS crisis, but I think it's more like we fall between global warming and gay marriage.

Just as Big Oil and their bought and paid for apologists have been overwhelmed by mountains (or melted glaciers) of evidence regarding climate change, I hope the slew of recent studies and publications demonstrating that Lyme persisters (and therefore chronic Lyme) do exist will eventually overwhelm those morally bankrupt a-holes at the CDC and IDSA.

With gay marriage, which was pretty much unthinkable 15 years ago, as more and more LGBT folks came out and "mainstreamed", more and more people had a friend, a neighbor, a boss, a niece or an accountant, someone they knew well. So it became 'Why shouldn't Sarah/Jack/Pam/Lewis be able to get married if they want to?'

The upside of so many of us being sick is that now pretty much everyone knows someone who has it. Since they know first hand that this person isn't crazy or a hypochondriac or just looking to rip off disability, the disease becomes real and undeniable.

The question is when do we reach the tipping point? I was afraid we were going to have to wait for a whole generation of doctors and civil servants to "age out" but this CVS thing makes me think we may be getting close. Hopefully.

Great post, thinks siege!

-p