Chronic Lyme disease: it's not all in our heads. (Correspondence).Those of us with chronic Lyme disease chronic Lyme disease A predominantly neurologic condition ranging from mild–eg, fatigue, paresthesia, arthralgia, memory loss, mood swings, and dysomnia, to severe–eg, spastic paraparesis, tetraparesis, ataxia, chorea, cognitive impairment, bladder are not at all confused, as suggested by Sigal and Hassett (2002). We know from years of experience that we have real, specific symptoms that are usually painful and disabling dis·a·ble tr.v. dis·a·bled, dis·a·bling, dis·a·bles 1. To deprive of capability or effectiveness, especially to impair the physical abilities of. 2. Law To render legally disqualified. and include severe headaches, crippling arthritis, and heart palpitations, which lead to serious heart disease. Many of us know that our symptoms are kept in check while we are on antibiotics, but they painfully reappear when the antibiotics are withdrawn. Just because the medical community cannot detect a specific causative caus·a·tive adj. 1. Functioning as an agent or cause. 2. Expressing causation. Used of a verb or verbal affix. caus bacterium and managed health care companies want to maximize profits doesn't mean that those of us afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, with this terrible condition are delusional de·lu·sion n. 1. a. The act or process of deluding. b. The state of being deluded. 2. A false belief or opinion: labored under the delusion that success was at hand. and not truly benefiting from antibiotic treatment. We are not all crazy; we are sick and we should not be required to prove it to get medical care. Robert G. Morgenstern Brooklyn, New York E-mail: Bob2221M@aol.com REFERENCE Sigal LH, Hassett AL. 2002. Contributions of societal and geographical environments to "chronic Lyme disease": the psychopathogenesis and aporology of a new "medically unexplained symptoms" syndrome. Environ Health Perspect 110(suppl 4):607-611. |
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