Do you think your symptoms seem very Lyme like...? Have you had a Lyme test and your doctor has told you the test was Negative? Not all tests that come up with a negative result are in fact 'Negative'. There are several reasons why you may well have Lyme disease but tests show up as negative. This is my favourite link which explains so well how this can happen.
http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/lymeseroneg.html
Still wondering what the heck to do... ??
Follow your gut. Be informed, learn as much as you can about this horrible illness that South African doctors in general don't believe in, and DEMAND proper testing and treatment !!
My GP basically laughed at me when I told him in 1996 that I was 100% sure I had Lyme disease. He told me we don't get Lyme in South Africa...!! I suggested it had another name... he told me I was way off line... It was either, MS, Guillain-Barr, Sjogren's, Lupus, etc., etc... For 16 years I had no treatment from him despite feeling so ill all the time. I had the odd dose of antibiotics but only for about 3 or 5 days and never tetracycline.
You can imagine how angry I was in Feb 2010, when at my absolute lowest I was diagnosed clinically with Lyme disease and the blood test confirmed this with several co-infections. Medical people tell you, you cannot get the strain of Lyme bacteria here in SA (Borrelia burgdorferi)... well, despite never having set foot in either Europe or the USA, I have the Borrelia burgdorferi strain from the USA and Borrelia garanii strain from Europe. Imagine That !!
In the meantime, I have lost the ability to work because I did not receive proper treatment all those years back. I suffer awful neurological problems - I've gone from being 'a pretty sharp knife in the draw... to a pretty blunt one' !!
No one understands what it is like to feel your life force draining from you and there is nothing you can do. People berate you, they speak behind your back about how useless you are... You will even find that if you try to claim a disability grant or policy, they will tell you, you will be well in 3 months and they don't pay disability in cases of 3 months or less. You look fine on the outside so WHY can you no longer do what you were pretty darn good at before...
During the last 6 months of my employment (December 2009 to May 2010) I was unable to function as a School Administrator at a local SA University. I got ZERO support from the University and financially I am now in the DWANG with only enough money to live for another year... I have been following various forms of treatment now for 3 years. What happens if I do get better now... I won't have enough money to live on...
LYME STEALS YOUR LIFE IN EVERY WHICH WAY !!
PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU. I KNEW NO BETTER.
I know it is not easy to fight back when you are not well. I believe I would have had a strong case had I taken matters further either via CCMA or legally, but I did not have the fight or financial means to do so. But FIGHT as much as you can to get back your health from this Lyme!!
There is nothing worse than being stripped of your mental capabilities - you become a 'Mere Shell' of the person you were before.
People like to talk you in circles, or make out you are an idiot, unable to reason. They say your illness is 'in your head'... Yes, that is so! The Lyme bacteria can cause Brain disease.
My story is about what the Lyme bacteria can do to you, if left to take over your body unchecked for all those years!!
This link has some very useful information as well.
http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/
