Janet's Story
It all started with a bad flu. At least I thought that's what it was. After at least 6 weeks of flu symptoms, I started getting strep throats and sinus infections. This was in 1990. I was 26 years old. This was the first time I had ever had a strep throat or sinus infection. I finally started to feel somewhat better, but then I started getting neck pain that I blamed on sleeping positions, or the type of job I had. The neck pain became severe for months. I had bad headaches that I blamed on stress, and muscle pain I blamed on being out of shape.
I saw a chiropractor who said it was due to both my job and bad posture. Years went by and I continued to get frequent sinus and strep infections. I was always tired, but I blamed that on a hectic schedule and being a single parent. In 1994, I kept asking the doctor why I still felt sore throats after the strep infections were gone. I was given no answers. I became pregnant. During the pregnancy I had frequent colds nad pain that were different than usual, but I was assured that all pregnancies were different. This one was just causing more problems. I began to lose my temper a lot; something that never happened before.
The baby was born in 1995. Quickly after the baby was born, I became very forgetful. I thought that was due to the baby. The baby was quickly into her routine and slept through the night by the time she was 10 weeks old. I was still having problems with my neck, and although I was not working outside the home, I blamed in on stress, etc. Then I started getting saturating night sweats. They became so severe that they soaked through my clothes, the blankets, and the matress cover - even the matress was damp. I would wake up to change my clothes 3 times each night and sleep on top of towels so I would not wake my husband, to change the sheets.
I went for a physcial and was tested for thyroid problems. I was told that my thyroid was ok and that the sweats were nothing to worry about. The headaches were due to stress, and the muscle aches were normal. The doctor blamed it on the new baby, new house, etc. I began to to get heart palp's about 1 year later; I still had all the same symptoms. I was again tested for thyroid and it was negative. One year later I still felt like hell. I would fall asleep while the 18 month old was up and running around. I once gave her the wrong medicine.
I couldn't remember if my daughter's birthday was the 23rd or the 25th. I couldn't remember if my wedding anniversary was the 12th, 13th, or 14th. I was writing a letter and could not remember the year. I sat there for about ten minutes trying to remember what year it was. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone about this. Now it's the summer of 1997. The palp's were getting worse. I went to another doctor. I was having heart palp's, night sweats, headaches, neck pain, muscle aches, and fatigue, so he tested me again for thyroid; again it came back negative. I didn't think to tell him that I was getting motion sick while driving a car or pushing my kids on a swing.
I didn't tell him that while I was in the sun, that my eyes became so sensitive that they watered and closed as if I just got soap in my eyes. I went back to him again. This time I was tested for EARLY MENOPAUSE!!!!!!!!!! I was 32 years old!!!! Well, the tests came back negative. By this time a friend of a friend had Lyme disease, and I started to become more informed about the disease. So I asked him if this could be Lyme. He told me ... NO. "If this was Lyme your headaches would not go away after taking advil." I knew this was crazy.
Now my friend who had the friend with Lyme, was also diagnosed. She was pushing me to push for a diagnosis. She reminded me of the 4 stomach flus I had within a 9 month period. I had not had a stomach flu since high school. In July of that year, I again became pregnant with my 3rd child. In my first tri-mester I became ill with a kidney infection. I was put on antibiotics and felt very tired after that. They kept me on antibiotics every night after the initial treatment, to insure that I would not get another kidney infection.
I asked the ob/gyn if there was a possibility of Lyme. He didn't think so but casually said, if I wanted a test, they could run it at anytime. I went home and a few weeks later I felt so sick. I called the ob/gyn and demanded that the test include a Western Blot. A week later the results were in .....Lyme disease!!!!!
Janet
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