Hi,  all,

Just back from doctor.  He just reported my daughter to the CDC as an
official number in their small, but growing  reportable cases of Lyme.
To us that is a victory.  After 6 years, we have official proof that
she is physically sick.  I am sending out this official announcement
today to all her previous doctors.  At least that will give me some
satisfaction, if not some degree of glee.  My daughter wanted to tell
them in person, but I don't trust neither of us to be polite.  At
least, I can edit a letter.  Not so with my daughter!!

Her doctor noticed sutble changes in her coloring and animation since
starting her treatment 2 months ago which is very encouraging. I've
noticed the energy level has increased and  her memory seems to be
improving.

Now comes the hard-to-explain part.  Just bear with me while I try to
explain his next move.  He is now going to try to re-adjust  her brain
chemistry by  prescribing Paxil for her 'depression'.  The word
'depression' was used, but as he explained it, it has little to do
with  the STATE OF MIND  we usually associate with the word, but as a
STATE OF THE BRAIN which has to do with the altered brain chemistry
caused by the Bb.

 Am I explaining this clearly?  Anyway, by relieving the anxiety
and/or depression, we can hope her herxes are lessened and her
symptoms will not appear to her brain to be as bad as IT thinks they
are now.  With the altered brain chemistry, her brain now preceives
her symptoms as worse than they are, and, to protect her, tells her to
anticipate the worse, which the body does in response to the brain's
panic, therefore, making the symptoms worse than they really are..
Sounds like a lot of mumbo-jumbo, but as a nurse, and having observed
the progression of the illness from day one, I think he is right, at
least as far as my daughter is concerned.  We know it is a physical
problem, rather than a psychological one as so many other doctors told
her in the past.

WOW!  I got through that part without getting woozy. (Just a little
seasick from all those explaination circles I went around in.)

Take care,

AnnM

AnnM:

Your post was very clear and readable.  Thank you very much!
I am so glad your daughter has finally been properly diagnosed
and is recovering with proper treatment for lyme disease.
The hateful part, that of presumptious attribution of her
physical illnesses to "psychological" problems is one
of my pet peeves also.  I guess that's why we keep seeing
postings on the "HOLE" vote to fill in all the appropriate
meanings of that acronym.

I can understand that the depression as a dysfunction of
the brain specifically caused by Lyme, as opposed to
depression of an emotional or psychiatric problem without
infectious etiology, is still lingering.  I have no problem
understanding that at all<GGG>.  But I need to warn you
that I had a couple bad experiences with both NSAID's
and Tyrcyclic medications.  Yes:  you get the balance in
the brain back into a realm where it gains confidence
that the body is well.  But with me, the perception ended
up causing me, two times, to injure myself by over-doing
it.  To prevent the probability of injury associated with
"overconfidence" that comes with diminished perception
of pain, I stongly recommend routine physical activities
be an adjunct to your daughter's recovery.  I feel that
activities that increase her awareness of her true bodily
capacities will prevent the potential "overconfidence"
injuries I experienced.

Just a thought offered to you and all who are trying to
recover from Lyme.  Think about it.  Maybe you would
like to discuss it with your doctor.

Dave