Please accept my sincerest apologies for posting this here. I'm urging everyone to read this, and share it with whoever you know that may be affected by it (or, even if they're not, these words need to be heard and understood). So please, read on:
I won't go into much detail about my own past, as this affects everybody. However, to cut a long story short my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis might actually be Lyme Disease. I've made a lot of excellent friends in MS groups and have spoken to a lot of good people. The idea of having Multiple Sclerosis is a scary concept, but there are people all over the world who offer support and advice.
Lyme Disease, as you may or may not know, is a tick-bourne infection that is present in a lot of countries including the UK, USA and others. Awareness of it is still quite limited but it's affecting a lot of people everywhere. I guess the biggest point I'm trying to make here is just exactly what Lyme disease can mimic. The problem that is going on a lot right now is properly diagnosing Lyme Disease (also known as the Great Imitator) is difficult as the tests in place are not 100% successful and can result in false positives and negatives. This can, in turn, result in a diagnosis of a mimic such as Lupus, MS, ALS, RA, and others and possibly incorrect treatment. I've seen a LOT of stories where the original diagnosis of Lupus, after further testing, was actually Lyme which is a perfectly curable disease if caught early. I know the US has a higher success rate of diagnosing Lyme, but there is still a lot of improvement to be made, and governments are still in a lot of disagreement about the right course of treatment for this.
To those who are affected by Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Guillian-Barré syndrome, Ménière’s syndrome, , Arthritis (rheumatoid, reactive, infectious, juvenile, or osteoarthritis), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrigs Disease) - I'm begging you to look this up and investigate. A full list of symptoms and more information can be found by visiting [Edited by Admin] [Link removed as per guidelines] For more information on Lyme Disease please visit lymediseaseaction.org.uk/.
The typical bull's eye rash is only seen in 50% of people affected by Lymes - and may not show immediately after the bite (it can take 3-30 days for the rash to show after the bite, and averages around 7 days). You may not even notice a tick biting you due to the chemicals released at the time of biting. Awareness needs to be raised all over the world so that the true number of Lyme cases can be seen, heard and understood. Lyme is curable, but people are still suffering and dying because of poor diagnosis and delayed treatment all over the world. Children are being born with it and lives are being ruined unnecessarily - it breaks my heart when I see a young face that is living with a life of Lyme Disease that the mother or father didn't even know they could possibly pass on. Please do a good thing today - read and share this status. There is so much information available on the internet about this including the main Lyme Disease Wikipedia article. Thank you for reading one desperate person's attempt to improve things for the future xx
P.S I am not in any way taking away the importance of MS and curing MS - I am merely one person trying to make a difference . Steroids and DmDs can also do a lot of damage if there is Lyme present - another reason I'm posting this. If anyone is part of a group belonging to the above-mentioned disorders and illnesses, please share this status there too. This disease isn't getting enough action taken here - children are being born with it. it's tearing families apart and people are dying unnecessarily. I'm only one person, but there are so many that are living and dying with this. I am also NOT affiliated in any way with Envita, and is merely just chose their website as it summarises the crossover between the conditions well.
#fibroawarenessday - If FIBRO is Invisible - What does that make me?
