Karen Fralin, a South Roanoke homemaker and wife of former Del. William Fralin, believes she has chronic Lyme disease.
Salvos launched in Lyme debate » KG_Lyme_Disease_015
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Karen Fralin, a South Roanoke homemaker and wife of former Del. William Fralin, believes she has chronic Lyme disease.
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In response to the article “Salvos launched in Lyme Disease”. It baffles me to think who is behind all this logic in the Lyme dispute. Health insurance companies, politicians, lawyers, the CDC? Have any of those people or their loved ones ever suffered from day after day of being ill, running from doctor to doctor trying to get an answer?
I can’t believe we are wasting billions of dollars allowing people to go from doctor to doctor, have test after test, surgeries, and be put on an enormous amount of medication that is not needed when the solution is so simple. Educate these professionals on Lyme’s Disease. We are willing to spend all these dollars searching, when if they were educated and were treating the correct diagnoses from the start we would save an enormous amount of money. Plus the dignity of a person trying to lead a normal life without feeling sick day after day.
In reality how much can long-term antibiotics cost compared to ignoring Lymes and having ill patients on a wild goose chase for years. Or, is this a political scam for extra income for doctors, the CDC, etc.? Antibiotics are relatively cheap compared to the cost of searching and searching for an answer. If the CDC and others don’t like long-term antibiotic use as a treatment than find something that works. But, don’t just ignore and downplay Lymes as a disease.
I myself have been sick for at least 8 years. I’ve been to 15 to 20 different doctors. I’ve had numerous procedures, test and surgeries. Which have all given me no answers and I continue to feel ill every single day of my life for years. And, NO it is NOT in my head, I am NOT crazy. I am sick and I want a normal life. I want to raise my kids and enjoy life. I force myself to do the best I can. I’m on disability as I just couldn’t work and carry on the load of raising a family with all of my health issues. In short, I urinate 25 to 45 times a day, catheterize myself daily to control pain, suffer severe IBS and constipation with abdominal pain. Have TMJ, eye twitching, headaches, fatigue, sinus problems with a severe sensitivity to smells and light. My neck creeks, cracks and is so stiff. My shoulder kills with pain. I have fevers often, swollen glands, chills, rashes and repeatedly am being treated for one thing or another. And, my heart has acted up and deteriorated.
Now, I am an RN and if I heard a patient tell me those symptoms and looked at the full picture. And, assuming I were educated about Lymes Disease. A light would have went on instantly, “she has Lyme’s”. In stead we are willing to pay the cost of a urologist, gastroenterologist, ENT, allergist, orthodontist, neurologist, orthopod, immunologist, cardiologist and on and on. Each of which did a full work-up and can’t explain why these symptoms are occurring. So they try drugs, procedures, surgeries, test after test and on and on. Senseless, totally senseless. And, I still feel miserable every single day of my life. Talk about a missed diagnoses, a total waste of a good person’s life and an enormous amount of money in the good doctor’s pocket. That in short is the full picture.
I would trade anyone a week in my life. I’m sure they would be at the ER door several times during that week. Let’s wake-up and recognize Lymes Disease. EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE the medical field so they can recognize and treat patients suffering with Lymes in it’s early stages. So people don’t have to suffer needlessly with Chronic Lymes. And, those that have Chronic Lymes can be treated properly so they can have a full-filling life. I desperately want to get back to work.
I might also add. That regardless of my positive test results from IGENEX labs with 6 bands in Igm being positve I have still not been seen by a doctor. I have called and faxed my test results numerous times to my Immunologist in Iowa City and still have not received a call from her. And, this positive result does meet CDC criteria as being positive for Lymes. So, I guess I will have to wait until the end of January to see a ILADS doctor who hopefully is willing to attempt to give me some answers and treat me as a person and a patient in this battle. It is so hard to believe we allow this type of practice to go on in the medical field. But, won’t allow patients to be treated by ILADS doctors who truly want to help their patients.
Comment by Deb — December 21, 2010 @ 4:51 pm