If you or someone you know has issues or seasonal symptoms that are out of the ordinary and you live in New England, take a look at Lyme disease. Gather some info on symptoms, put together a health record and find a Lyme literate doctor. An ongoing health history can help you and your healthcare team connect the dots and identify what is going on.
It is not that you want anyone to have a tick borne illness, but with Lyme disease information is power. A good health history and proper diagnosis will help you get treatment, build wellness and get on a path to reclaim your health and your life.
I never found a tick attached on my skin. My doctors missed my bullseye. They diagnosed it as cellulitis in my arm. Weird things that I didn’t understand and had no obvious cause were derailing my health and wellness. I kept having pains or injuries that seemed to come out of nowhere. So I would go to the doctors they would come up with a name and treat my symptoms. Then I would go home, some time would go by and it would happen again.
For instance, I went to the doctors because I thought I got foot fungus at the gym. My toes really hurt and were discolored. My GP said no and sent me to a specialist who diagnosed chilblains.
No one saw the pattern or ferreted out the underlying problem It continued, I started to hear things like, this is really unusual in the United States, or you are really young for this kind of problem. I wasn’t tracking things in a concrete way. Neither the doctors or I saw that inflammation caused by Lyme Disease and co-infections were at the root of my health issues.
So when I would say things like I think something more is going on, I didn’t have the facts to back it up. Lack of information delayed my diagnosis and treatment until the infection was entrenched in my joints,brain and nervous system. Most medical systems recognize a solid health history as information critical to identify problems and craft the best solutions.
Check this site for help getting started on your health history.
Track your Health History
- Talk to your parents and brothers and sisters about their health. Listen and record stories about your grandparents.
- Track your health issues and symptoms over time to get a birds eye view of your health and wellness. Make the connections that health care practioners may not from visit to visit.
- Share this information with updates on symptoms to current and new health care teammates.
- Take your health history to the doctors for reference.
- Evaluate if the symptoms are escalating over the short and long term.
Is your health and wellness eroding or building over time? Tracking your symptoms can help figure that out. If you see a pattern in your health history you can seek help to change things for the better. You are the owner of your body and it is in your best interest to help your health care team with accurate information.
The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.