A matter of opinion

Hello everyone,

So it's May, Lyme disease awareness month... and I'm starting to wonder if I am overdoing it.

I have been starting my treatment of being completely herbal, more as a blanket approach and attempting to stay on track. I've had some issues I may share in a different post about the issues I've been having during this treatment as I have been missing a lot more work than I had expected to over the last few months or so.

But onto my point, during my treatment and research that I have been doing (I understand I'm really new and still very ignorant, when compared to the rest of you all) I have taken the time to listen to peoples ailments and be less judgemental and quick to dismiss them, giving me the feeling that EVERYONE HAS LYME!

This is obviously not true. But I do hear stories and I find myself telling friends that have relatives with very serious health issues to maybe look at lyme and consider it as an option. For me is was a lack of knowledge that led me to where I am, if I can help others stop the road of degeneration and move onto the regeneration road, I would be extremely happy.

The only problem is I wonder if I am sending people down a wild goose chase because of my personal experiences. Here are the 2 cases in which I told people that Lyme may be a possibility, and I was hoping you guys could tell me (as experts!) whether I was right or wrong.

Case #1:

Sister in law of a very good friend. Been lethargic, constantly sick and consider a hypochondriac for years (always getting sick etc) Has been diagnosed with Fibro, has extreme anxiety issues and struggles with weight and depression along with other cognitive issues. She also suffers from joint issues. Her child has what is consider "high functioning autism" but has been progressing into OCD and not having "that voice that tells you not to do that". Her child is now 9 and has shown aggression that most children don't IE biting others etc. I told him to mention Lyme to her and the fact that she may have some sort of tick borne illness that has been undiagnosed, and has been passed to her child. Still wondering if i overstepped.

case #2

A friend at work has a child who was adopted. The child suffers from EXTREME rage and has been degerative since adoption. The medical system has found that it was caused by an umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck, and causing brain damage. However the child seems to become worse and worse, instead of maintaining his current damaged state. As his father described it when i coined it for him as "degenerative" more than damaged. Anyways it turns out the natural mother had 3 other children all with similar issues. I don't know enough about her so its not fair for me to judge, but I told him that she may have had a drug problem, or she may have had Lyme disease. I told him to do some research online and find his own answers if it was worth the tests or not, and also the fact that the answers are not so black and white. I hope I am not wasting his emotions, his time or his money on this path, but I personally think it may be viable....


So knowing what you all know as its far more than what I have even begun to learn, what are your opinions on how i dealt with these situations? I may have missed some details, but I wanted to keep this post to something reasonable in length, and get your opinion on how everyone else is overstepping their bounds during Lyme awareness month and trying to outshine the Zika virus.

Thanks for the tip Healing98!

I thought Lyme could cause hyperthyroidism? This is the issue I run into, I know more about Lyme than I do about many other conditions... I guess my real question is, "Am I overstepping my bounds due to ignorance?"

I'm glad to know I'm not alone and crazy in doing this :) The perspective changes on life over the last 4 months have really got me second guessing myself..

Yes Asmoline, hyperthyroidism can be caused by Lyme. However, Lyme is not the only cause of hyperthyroidism. If I gave a list of symptoms to a person who has hyperthyroidism, they could be positive for 15 or so Lyme symptoms. Why? because Lyme can cause hyperthyroidism and thus many of the Lyme symptoms will match those of hyperthyroidism.

Another example is Candida. Many of its symptoms match those of Lyme that it is sometimes difficult to know if the symptom is from Candida or from Lyme. This is why Lyme is called the "great imitator".

What I meant about my tip is to be cognizant of the fact that if only "some" of the symptoms match Lyme then it may be something else. That "something else" is the million dollar question, right?

I have a lot of people contacting me personally to ask if they have Lyme - some online and some in person. So I have the advantage of them already knowing about the possibility and asking.

I also overhear conversations in the Post Office, grocery stores and more - and if it's an overwhelming amount of Lyme symptoms, I encourage them to be sure to check into it, and explain the faulty testing, but I also suggest (let's pick on hypothyroid right now) things like hypothyroidism to check into as well.

I have a "Lyme green" ribbon tied to my purse that says "Ask me about Lyme disease" - and many do, or comment on someone they know, or even themselves, having Lyme and failed treatments or not being able to get a diagnosis.

Not everything looks like Lyme to me, but I understand that there are so very many undiagnosed cases out there, that not suggesting it to some will only make me as yet another person adding to the problem. I'd rather be a part of their possible solution. It's very rare for me to say that "I know" a person has Lyme or any of the other tick-borne diseases.

Thanks for the input Traveler! It sounds like I am taking a balanced approach when I compare myself to everyones response. I will never say that I know someone has Lyme either as sometimes I question it myself.

Needhelp4, I agree with you, and the concerns you have raised have been a major focus of my actions thus far... However I'm not getting much better I don't think, but that's not the topic! The more people I talk to with chronic problems as a whole, the more I find they have never learned basic nutrition, which I never had! Everyone knows "eat better" but I guess you never really think about it until you're ill.