Are you suffering from headaches, fatigue, night sweats, sore throat, swollen glands, back pain, blurred vision, vertigo or depression?
And do you often frolic in nature, especially hiking or camping in wooded areas?
If so, you may be suffering from Lyme disease, which is spread by infected ticks to some 300,000 people each year.
Lyme disease, which I urged you to learn about recently, presents a variety of ailments, which often baffle physicians.
That’s, in fact, why Lyme disease is called “The Great Pretender.”
“Unfortunately, ill-informed doctors are often flummoxed when patients complain of
fatigue, headaches, fever or chills, muscle or joint pain, mental confusion, swollen lymph nodes and neurological symptoms. It’s an appalling display of indifference,” I wrote once in op ed piece for AOL News.
[shareable cite=”Connie Bennett, Author & Former Lyme Disease Sufferer”]Is your doctor baffled by your headaches, fatigue and cognitive confusion?[/shareable]
Now, to help out those of you with befuddling ailments, here are some common Lyme disease symptoms:
- Fatigue
- Low grade fevers, “hot flashes” or chills
- Night sweats
- Sore throat
- Swollen glands
- Stiff neck
- Migrating arthralgias, stiffness and frank arthritis
- Myalgia
- Chest pain and palpitations
- Abdominal pain, nausea
- Diarrhea
- Sleep disturbance
Other ailments of Lyme disease can include:
- Poor concentration and memory loss
- Irritability and mood swings
- Depression
- Back pain
- Blurred vision and eye pain
- Jaw pain
- Testicular/pelvic pain
- Tinnitus
- Vertigo
- Cranial nerve disturbance ( facial numbness, pain, tingling, palsy or optic neuritis)
- Headaches
- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
Unfortunately, in summer 2008, I suffered from many of the symptoms above. But I was lucky to be diagnosed very quickly, thanks to the astute health and nutrition expert JJ Virgin, who, after suspecting Lyme, immediately referred me to her colleague, who ordered blood tests and then immediately recommended a doctor.
These days, I can laugh about the wild things I did during my cognitive confusion, but for weeks during my dazed state, I often forgot what I was doing. Once, I even threw a bag of healthy groceries I’d just purchased from Whole Foods down the incinerator in my apartment building. Later, I couldn’t remember where I’d put all my wonderful food! (Those were symptoms of encephalopathy).
That’s why I now feel compelled to help you avoid getting Lyme disease in the first place.
To get more information about Lyme disease, I invite you to read this recent post, which gives you lots more information about the subject.
And stay tuned for another post about the Lyme disease-sugar connection.
Please share this post with your nature-loving friends and family members.