| About Me |
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Hi! I'm Victoria. I have been living with Chronic Lyme Disease for more than eight years, which has affected many aspects of my life and who I am as a person. It is a seriously complex infectious disease that is transmitted, primarily, through the bite of an infected tick. Most people who have Lyme don't look sick, so people (including doctors) often don't believe patients when they say that they are ill. I am a different person than I would have been because of this disease and maybe by sharing my story, it will help encourage people to never give up on themselves and to believe in themselves and others. It's pretty scary living in a world that is unaware of Lyme, but I would like to change it. I do my best to stay positive and I am determined to not let this disease ruin my life. I won't let it. Here is my story of what I have been going through. I want you to know that you are never alone and that there is always hope. It all started about eight years ago with pain in my back and neck. I was hurting, but I wasn't very limited as to the things that I could do yet. I don't even remember if I went to a doctor about it. I just lived like that. A few years later, I began getting Strep Throat once a month for 10 months in a row. That was unexplained, too, but this time I went to an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist and got put on an allergy medecine which cleared it up. That same year I was ice skating and I fell backward and hit my head on the ice and blacked out. I went to the E.R. and the doctor told me that I had a mild concussion. I believe that this could have been what triggered my illness to get worse. Over the past 3 years I have been gradually getting sicker and more debilitated. I went to many doctors and therapies before my diagnosis including an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist, orthopedic surgeon, physical therapy, cardiologist, neurologist, opthomolgist, vestibular rehab, urologist, an infectious disease specialist, and many pediatricians. None of my doctors were able to, or wanted to, find out what is wrong with me since all of my tests came back negative and because they thought I wasn't sick because I don't look like I am. Since they couldn't figure it out, they gave up on trying to help me. Most of the doctors told me that my illness was 'all in my head' or suggested that I was making up being sick for attention. A few doctors even told me to go to a psychologist. Since the doctors didn't believe me, my parents didn't, either. I watch a lot of medical shows and my parents thought that I was getting Hypochondria from them and that I was just trying to 'find a disease' for attention. I did a lot of research to try to figure this out myself since the doctors weren't helping me. I was reflecting back to some of the tests that I had gotten when I remembered that I had been tested for Lyme Disease a lot. Something inside of me made me pursue the Lyme diagnosis... like fate. I researched the disease so much and I read about it and even talked to people who have the disease and I was convinced that I have it. I absolutely, positively knew that this was what I had and nobody could talk me out of it. I was right. After two long years of begging my mom to take me to a Lyme-Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD), she took me. That alone made me feel so relieved. Before, my mom refused to take me to a LLMD, so I often feared that I was going to die before I got someone to believe me. The first time I went to the LLMD was in June 2007 and three weeks later, I found out that my blood test came back positive for active Lyme. The moment the doctor said that the test was positive, I felt so incredibly relieved to finally have an answer to this mystery. To have someone who finally wanted to help me. To be believed. I immediately looked at my mom to see her reaction. I don't think it really sunk in for her until a few minutes later when she was driving home. She looked like she was trying to not cry because there she was, telling me that I didn't have Lyme and making me feel like I was looking for attention when I did have it all along. She apologized. I think that if I had not been so determined to get diagnosed, then I would still be very sick and not know what is wrong. Hope is really what has been keeping me going. Now I am on a mission to spread hope and inspire other people to never take 'I don't know' for an answer. You have to keep searching for the answers that you need until you are satisfied. Thank you for reading this. I hope this has opened your eyes (even a little bit) about the confusion of Lyme Disease. |
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| Specifics |
| Gender: |
Female |
| Sexuality: |
Straight |
| Relationship: |
No Answer |
| Location: |
United States |
| Birthday: |
March 11, 1990 |
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| Interests |
| MysteryGirl44 has not entered any of their interests yet! |
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| Member Facts |
| Join Date: |
August 30, 2006 |
| Profile Views: |
5432 |
| Total Logins: |
27551 |
| Last Active: |
18 hours ago |
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