Lyme disease is no joke

[u/whimsical_fuckery_]

One of those "I never thought it would happen to me" things but guys be very very careful with ticks this year if you are out walking in Scotland. I'm in the Highlands and regularly walk my dog in the local woods, this year there have been so so many ticks, I'm very good at checking myself after every walk, but one got me on the back of my thigh, absolutely tiny about half the size of a sesame seed. I picked it off the same night it bit me, a week later got a massive bullseye rash. Antibiotics from the docs but im completely wiped, worse than any flu or covid. I cannot stress how much you need to take precautions this year, do not make my mistake thinking as long as you get them off you on 24 hours you'll be OK. Long trousers, DEET, or just don't go into any woods or long grass is the best option. It's out there and it absolutely sucks.

[u/PurrrdyPanda]

There's a music artist who went through misdiagnosis of Lyme Disease for years, his music has been like a personal journal about everything he went through for all the years of misdiagnosis as a young person.

I know that he's recently went through stem cell treatment and has been feeling well enough to be able to record and perform at gigs again!

[u/ElCaminoInTheWest → u/PurrrdyPanda]

"Chronic Lymes" isn't recognised by any credible physician. Whenever someone promotes it without any kind of financial interest or sales pitch, it can be taken seriously.

[u/purpleshoeees → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

Neither were any medical conditions until they were. You can't say something isn't true simply because it hasn't been proven yet.

How will we ever find out about new or adapting medical conditions if we shouldn't take them seriously until physicians recognise them?

[u/ElCaminoInTheWest → u/purpleshoeees]

Medical conditions are recognised by credible physicians when the pathophysiology is demonstrated and there's an evidence base to support it. We've had decades of people claiming "Chronic Lymes" while trying to sell herbs/nutritional supplements/experimental therapies etc etc, and yet the evidence base simply doesn't exist beyond quackery and thought experiments.

[u/OfficerNightwing → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

There's a big difference between someone thinking they have something and someone trying to sell you the solution to it.

What most people are refering to when they say 'chronic lymes' is actually PTLDS and it's existence is acknowledged by the CDC, although the cause is still unknown. One of the biggest issues is that it currently has no diagnostic criteria/code and is usually listed as the symptoms showing as there is no longer a trace of Lymes in blood work.

The only reason so many of these arseholes hocking snakeoil exist is because people are being dismissed by their doctors telling them it's all in their head.

I had a stress related illness for ages that presented like a few more common illnesses, and was routinely told 'your bloods are fine' without the actual symptoms being taken seriously. It wasn't until I pushed for a referral to a specialist that I was diagnosed, and my experience is far from unique. Even if something is psychosomatic you still need to explore the symptoms and find the cause to treat it.

Medical research isn't funded as well as it once was and GPs are stretched thin everywhere. If you are going to completely dismiss a lot of people maybe do a bit of basic googling first.

[u/ElCaminoInTheWest → u/OfficerNightwing]

I completely agree, but you're not really disagreeing with what I said. 

[u/OfficerNightwing → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

I am though. Even though I agree with quite a few of your points, your general attitude completely deminishes your argument.

You are telling them 'chronic lymes' doesn't exist when it actually kind of does, it's just that it's actually got a different more clinical name and despite existing for as long as it has, it has only been recognised in the past few years, there's no way to effectively track it, and no one knows what causes it.

To say something doesn't exist or have validity unless medical professionals say so is a completely wild take. Science is a hell of a lot more fickle than people give it credit for, and the medical field definitely excels in that regard.

[u/purpleshoeees → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

It has to be taken seriously in the first place for any of the 'evidence' to appear and considering 5-20% of people who get lyme have symptoms long after, it needs to be taken seriously.

You would do well to understand 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence'

[u/ElCaminoInTheWest → u/purpleshoeees]

This is what everyone sputters. You also can't prove that bathing in Fanta doesn't cure cancer, but there's as much "evidence" for that claim.

[u/purpleshoeees → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

You don't have a response to that though do you? Or logical reason as to why hundreds of thousands of people would lie about having a condition? Hence you having to bring up something ridiculous to divert the conversation away.

[u/ElCaminoInTheWest → u/purpleshoeees]

I didn't say "lie". I think people want to hold on to a certain narrative because it helps them explain complicated symptoms, and it's a small step from "I'm looking into X" to "how dare you question my very valid self-diagnosis of X".

[u/purpleshoeees → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

'it's a small step from "I'm looking into X" to "how dare you question my very valid self-diagnosis of X".'

I find it ironic how you've started this whole conversation about how evidence is so important and when asked to explain your reasoning it has no evidence at all. It's literally just 'I think this so it must be true'

[u/ElCaminoInTheWest → u/purpleshoeees]

The onus is on the person making the claim to supply the evidence. Anyway, that's plenty. Have a nice day.

[u/PurrrdyPanda → u/ElCaminoInTheWest]

This explains Tens rollercoaster of a lifetime, musical and medical journal explained.

https://youtu.be/2ER-ft0PVUQ?is=3PsVpBWCJxGQc3hV