Read Between The Lyme
#LivingwithLyme
Dear Western Medicine: The Break-Up Letter
Dear Western Medicine,
While you and I have had a long, steady and committed relationship, it hasn’t always been a bed full of roses. However, I would like to begin by celebrating what has worked for us. First, thank you for delivering me into this world safe and sound, and making sure my mom had a speedy recovery. Also, thank you for doing this for my two younger brothers as well. You had a good heart at the beginning.
Your diligence and kindness did help me through my teenage years; I wasn’t sick very often so there wasn’t much of a strain on our relationship. Things were simple then, and we had a strong bond. I knew I could count on you if anything minor would happen like a broken arm or leg (don’t all kids long for a cast?) Check-ups went well with no major injuries or illnesses, well except for a severe case of mono and strep in my mid-20s.
We coasted along you and I, only periodically needing to reassess our relationship, always determining that we were continually committed to one another. But then things started to become tenuous. In 2009, I began suffering from fatigue and malaise. At first, you told me that I was having another episode of mono. I believed you. I rested, and I got better. Yet, this cyclical issue continued for 3 years. The answer for my sickness was always the same: mono – again. By 2011, you diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s. Ok, I thought. All relationships go through periods of growth and change. Compliantly, I added thyroid medication to my routine and assumed that I finally understood what was happening to me. But our relationship continued to be rocky.
Alas, Western Medicine, you deluded me. By the fall of 2012, I had already experienced 4 relapses of mono or Epstein Barr Virus and the fatigue was getting worse and lasting longer. I began having daily headaches and joint pain. The lower back pain and the neck pain were the worst. I began having trouble getting through a day at work. I saw 7-8 doctors of yours who all professed a specialty. I put my faith in these doctors. Batteries of tests were run. And yet, every result came back negative. How could you fail me this way?
You took away years of my life! If only I were diagnosed in 2009 with Lyme disease (which I tested 100% CDC positive for in March 2013), maybe, just maybe, I would not now have chronic Lyme, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and chronic EBV along with a few other choice conditions. If only you would have seen me as a person, as a person dealing with REAL symptoms, as a whole person rather than just parts, maybe we could have stayed together and worked things out.
But you pushed me aside for bigger and better things, for easier diagnoses and for illnesses detected and treated in the 8-10 minutes you are able to give each of your patients. You told me that my symptoms weren’t real, that my daily headaches were caused by dehydration, that my neck pain was from carrying my purse on the same side all of the time. You told me that chronic EBV doesn’t exist. You did MRIs and told me that there was no reason for the neuropathy in my feet. I was sent on my way at every turn without answers and most of all, without any support.
It was because of my own perseverance and my own belief that indeed there was something wrong I was able to get a correct diagnosis finally. That all of the symptoms I was experiencing were in fact REAL. And just because you couldn’t figure out what was going on didn’t mean it wasn’t happening to me. But even after my Lyme diagnosis, I stuck with you, scared to go on without you and your “modern ways.” I subjected myself to the self-doubt, to the scrutiny of a multitude of Western Medicine doctors, including my Endocrinologist who, when I told her about the Lyme, repeated my Lyme diagnosis in disbelief and disdain.
Even after all of this time, you are able to deny me the care of another. For more holistic and natural approaches, I can’t use my health insurance. You dictate that Lyme disease be treated with only 3-4 weeks of antibiotics and that is only if one of your doctors knows even a smidge about Lyme (and most know nothing).
It is time to let me go. I need to move on, and I need the opportunity and the freedom to explore other relationships. I deserve the best possible care for the chronic conditions I am experiencing right now. I need to be believed and not neglected because I don’t fit into the role of the good patient you want me to be. So, from here on out, we part ways.
While I wish you the best, my main hope is that you can someday soon expand your horizons and build better and more positive relationships in the future.
Sincerely,
Your Ex-Patient
Thanks for Spreading the LOVE!!!
29 Comments on “Dear Western Medicine: The Break-Up Letter”
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Reblogged this on Me, My Spoons & I and commented:
Reblogging because I was just diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease myself and I too was failed for over four years by the healthcare system. 💚
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Thank you! Ugh. I try to be hopeful but I just really am still so disappointed with the trials of getting properly diagnosed and now with trying to get proper treatment. It’s pretty insane. I hope you have a great doctor helping you navigate this crazy illness. I’m here for you any time!! 😘
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Thanks so much! I finally found a wonderful LLMD who is now treating me. It’s the hardest battle I’ve ever faced, sometimes I think harder than the 4 years I fought for a diagnosis, and it’s only been 10 days of treatment! But for the first time in over 4 years, I’m hopeful that there may be a light at the end of this unfathomable tunnel. Keep fighting and stay strong Warrior. I’m always here for you as well! #LymeTribe 😘💪🏼💚
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I’m glad you have an LLMD! Stay the course if possible. There is definite hope and you will get to that light. If I could change one thing about my early treatment days it would be that I should have detoxed more. You got this!!
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Excellent post! So true for all of us with chronic Lyme.
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Thanks, Kim! I wish it wasn’t like this. We all deserve SO much better. Sending you best wishes xxoo
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And I’ll be sharing this too!!
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Oh great! Thanks so much! It’s been in my brain for a year now but I just couldn’t manage to get it down the way I wanted. Brain fog and word issues. I’m glad it came together finally LOL Thank you for sharing, friend! 😘
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Yes, we all do deserve SO much better. Best wishes to all of us just trying to feel better! 💚💚💚
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Western medicine is notorious for ignoring alternative, especially Eastern, treatments. It’s only recently that the Mayo Clinic is added an holistic medicine staff — and they are almost certainly regarded as second-class citizens. Good luck with your break and it is a sad story.
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Thanks for reading, Hugh! I just wish we all had more options. Holistic approaches are not the only way but wow, they do offer different, and in many cases, better outcomes. Happy April Fool’s day!
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Our new EBV protocol is monolaurin, olive leaf extract, spirullina, and gluten free/sugar free/dairy free/soy free AND we just realized heavy metals were high so we did a metal detox of cilantro and chlorella in hopes the the EBV protocol would work. Screw western meds. They just kept us sicker for longer. I stay only MILDLY better if I stay on the cowden protocol which I have been on for over 2 years now.
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I have the heavy metals kit I just need to get it done! I take monolaurin, selenium and Lyseine for EBV but I really need to get it knocked out. I’ve had so many recurrences it is chronic now. Agreed, screw western meds. The more I learn added to my experience with these chronic illnesses I’m like No More.
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Me too! The minute I get sick, boom, it is high positive again. I feel like it is the root cause of EVERYTHING.
I’m glad you have the heavy metal kit. Just make sure you don’t take any peptobismuth or seafood 4 days before you do it. I was SHOCKED at the results. I think those metals were keeping my body down and keeping the EBV up and the lyme just at bay. I am hoping that the lyme will now really get kicked back now that the heavy metals are gone. It sure is an ongoing thing right? But western med…..soooooo done with that and destroying my gut for NOTHING!
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Yes, same here! EBV has been an issue for about 8 years; it is actually why I began seeking a more thorough diagnosis. Of course that took 4+ years which is 4 years of possible Lyme treatment lost. *sigh* I know we all try not to be angry about how little our healthcare has served us but sometimes, I just get mad.. Wow. I really hope that addressing heavy metals is the thing that gets you over the hump to total recovery!! I’m going to do my test I the next few weeks for sure. Thanks for the information! 😘
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Thanks so much for sharing. May I ask how you finally received your diagnosis? I know the current routine testing has failed so many patients but not sure how to go about accessing deeper diagnostics.
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Hi there! I went to several doctors for different symptoms and received no diagnosis. After about 3-4 years of this my GP was starting to talk about possible Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I’m in Houston so I started researching CFS docs, made appointment with one, and on my first visit, my doctor decided tobtest for Lyme. Pretty much everything else had been ruled out. Thank God my doctor did this. I tested positive on the regular Western Blot but I know many who never tested positive results. Some use the Igenex labs out of California I think. Their testing is supposed to be excellent. Supposedly Lyme disease can be a clinical diagnosis WO a positive Lyme test as well. Do you have a doctor who suspects Lyme?
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Thanks for the info. No, I don’t have Lyme. They were able to rule that out pretty early on through both blood and csf testing. I know others with neuro symptoms though that question whether the Elisa and Western Blot testing is as foolproof as doctors tend to believe.
So glad you finally found an answer to what was causing your symptoms!! Not knowing is crazy-making. Hoping the treatment goes well for you!!
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Unless you saw a Lyme Literate MD for a clinical diagnosis they did not rule out Lyme and Co-Infections.
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Great post, and the beautiful thing is that once you’re done with Western medicine you can move onto the serious business of getting well. Good luck to you
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Very true, my friend! Thank you. Peace to you.
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This echoes my experience so much. One day the medical world will give lyme serious recognition., whether that is an update model or an entirely new one. I’m personally taking the holistic route.
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I hope recognition comes soon. I’m doing a cross between abx and holistic. Best to you!
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The problem with western allopathic medicine is it only treats the symptoms and hardly address the underlying cause. Worse yet, the medical establishment is about making money off the patient, first and foremost.
I’ve learned the politics of western medicine early on, main premise being what’s the point of true healing if the patient stays healthy and never returns… where’s the profit in that?
I haven’t been to the doctors office in over 20 yrs, and alternative medicine (if necessary), and healthy lifestyle is the best prevention of disease.
Oh, also for energy, Americans are notorious for having LOW magnesium levels b/c our food supply has been do denatured and refined.
YouTube has great videos on how to make high quality magnesium oil, here’s a good one:
Cheers!
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So true! I’m done with western medicine.
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I do hope you find something that works!
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Only fire ant spread and that’s only like 50% of the time. Oiy!
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Whoops. Mixed this up with our fire ant convo! Well I broke down and I’m back on antibiotics after a really bad March and a medical leave from work. So far, so good! Thanks! 🙌
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I’m glad to hear it!
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