February 2011
65 posts
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Florida doctors reluctant to diagnose Lyme Disease →
“doctors misdiagnosed her disease and mistreated it, stretching her sickness from days to months and eventually years.”
“They don’t know about it. They don’t know the signs and symptoms. In the Northeast, it’s different. But here in Florida, doctors don’t know about it and don’t know how to diagnose it. They don’t know how to treat ...
January 2011
82 posts
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I don’t quite know How to say How I feel
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“There is something beautiful about scar. A scar means the hurt is over, the...”
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“Impossible situations can become possible miracles.”
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“Defined by Disease”
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the herx is worse
in another week or so my herx should be ending, and when i finish mepron there should be some big hopefully good changes. in the meantime, i have new additions to the current herx. irritability, night sweats and crying. the behaviors seem normal, but not when the only reason why you’re crying is because a disease is in control of your emotions. when i get to this point in a herx i usually...
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“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow...”
– William E. Channing
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Herx
Usually when one starts a new protocol of treatment they go through a phase of intensified symptoms and generally feel weaker and sicker than they are. This is what we call herxing, and with Lyme Disease it happens all the time. Herx comes from the Herxheimer reaction. It occurs when large quantities of toxins are released into the body as bacteria, (typically spirochetes which is the shape of...
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“Don’t believe in miracles, depend on them.”
– Rev Run
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abnormal psychology
symptoms of abnormal behavior are distress, impairment, being a risk to self/others or acting socially/culturally unacceptable. causes can be biological, psychological or sociocultural. examples of biological causes and psychological causes are ones such as medical conditions and traumatic life experiences, which leads me to Lyme Disease. There are a multitude of mental disorders and abnormal...
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“I’m a strong person who keeps my stuff in line. Even if I have a pain,...”
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“The most beautiful people went through the toughest situations in life but still...”
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“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
– Hebrews 11:1
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scarred
there were some times during my experience with Lyme Disease where i would have tremors in my hands. it wasn’t permanent or too often, but now anything that reminds me of something i went through with Lyme i get really shaken up. my new professor has a tremor in his right hand. at the sight of it i get anxiety and feel extremely uncomfortable. i can’t handle seeing someone go through a...
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“Life was meant to be lived and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for...”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
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“This can all change, if you believe it’s possible.”
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just a thought.
You can always sit and wonder why something happened to you. Why it changed your life, made you suffer, turned you into someone you never were. You can contemplate on how life would be if it never happened, but nothing will take it away. When God throws a ball at you that you weren’t expecting, you just have to pick it up and run with it.
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“Sometimes the things you most want don’t happen, and sometimes the things...”
– Love and Other Drugs
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mr. lonely
over the summer i decided to keep a journal. i learned from a therapist that it’s the best way to express your feelings, and going through something as tough as Lyme Disease my feelings are definitely all over the place. here is an except i wrote back in november..
i like being around my roommates and all my friends. the company keeps me sane, literally. being alone brings upon this...
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“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change...”
– Victor E. Frankl
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Day 16 - 5 people in your life right now who mean...
at this point in my life, i can’t narrow down to 5 people who mean the most to me, so here’s 10 family members who have been the most helpful to me. my 3 parents, gabriella, vinnie, mike, domenico, michael, marino, john.
my parents: my mom has been the most supportive and understanding of my situation. i feel bad sometimes that she has to deal with two kids who aren’t...
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to all the non-believers
when battling any disease, what a person needs most is support. from friends, family, doctors, peers. with Chronic Lyme Disease finding support wherever you go isn’t an easy thing to do. i’ve had two personal experiences with doctors who don’t believe in Chronic Lyme Disease.
the first time was over the summer. i finally switched from a pediatrician to a general practitioner....
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“When something bad happens, you have three choices: either let it define you,...”
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“Sometimes the greatest enemy of our present happiness is the past happiness that...”
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happy birthday chris
a friend of mine who is also enduring the battle of Chronic Lyme is celebrating his birthday today. he has been very helpful to me along my journey. i wish him a year of better health and happiness. this is an excerpt from a note he wrote called “Mentality of a Lymie”
So it seems Lyme Disease is all very lucid to US. Nobody else! We speak but nobody listens, we hurt but nobody...
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karma (grey's anatomy)
George: It's just that, I believe in Karma. You know, good things happen to good people. At least, I thought that was the way the universe works.
Cristina: How can you think that and practice medicine?
George: Fine! I'm not saying that everybody who gets sick, or everybody that dies is bad, I think there is a balance. Or there should be a balance... There should be some sort of balance. That's all.
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what goes around, comes around
my whole life i always believed in the concept of karma. good things come to those who are good. bad things come to those who are bad. at this point in my life, karma is a pretty hard thing to believe in because i have to sit and wonder what i did that was so bad to deserve this disease? with that said, i don’t believe in karma. but who isn’t to say that years from now i won’t be...
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“Don’t cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won’t let you see...”
– V. Parra
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happy anniversary?
in November of 2009 during my semester at St. John’s i experienced two awful migraines and daily headaches that led me to a neurologist. each migraine consisted of light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, nausea, ear ringing, racing heart, dizziness, neck pain, blurred vision, shaking and tears. it was enough for many people to suggest that i visit the emergency room. i came home for winter...
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Diagnosis
Neurologist: I'm going to order you an MRI of the brain and test you for Lyme Disease.
Me: I've been tested for Lyme a few times, i don't have it.
... a phone call a few days later..
Neurologist: The MRI came back normal besides the inflammation you have in your brain. The swelling can be reduced with anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy.
Neurologist: I also got the results of your blood test. Carmela, you have Lyme Disease... very badly.
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