It’s typical for Lyme patients to lose trust: in themselves, in their doctors, and ultimately, in the belief that there is anyone out there who actually knows how to cure Lyme Disease. Here’s a typical path to distrust we take:
One, In Ourselves
It’s not uncommon for diagnoses
of chronic illnesses to take months or even years. “What’s wrong with me?” is usually where the self-doubt begins. In that time, a lot of doctors try and succeed at convincing their patients that they are just depressed. If one doctor after another keep telling you “it’s all in your head,” you’re probably going to start wondering if you can trust your own ole’ self. Sadly, a lot of us are forced to ask ourselves, “Am I crazy?” before we finally get a diagnosis and sign of some sort that, no, we are not.
Two, In Our Doctors
Losing trust in the medical system tends to follow next. How can we trust the doctors that overlooked Lyme Disease as a possible reason for our years of suffering? Once we find doctors that are “Lyme literate,” some of us often feel like we’ve found a savior, later to realize their treatments cost of thousands without helping – and sometimes even harming us further. “Should I be herxing for this long?” is a question we might ask our doctors at this point, and if they say we should, then we might follow this question up with, “What if my doctor would rather me stay sick so that I keep buying antibiotics off of her/him?” Questioning doctors and medical institutions is basically a rite of passage in the Lyme community. Read more “Lyme: Not Knowing Who To Trust Part 1”
