I'm not computer literate, but if someone is...go to WHDH Boston Channel 7 and hit Healthcast.

The whole story is there.

If you've been feeling tired and achy, with pain in your joints, it may not be the flu, or arthritis. It may be Lyme disease. It turns out that hundreds of people may have contracted the disease without knowing it, and are now living with Lyme.

Sharon Mendes was in her twenties when she started to feel sick.

"I was coming down with a lot of sore throats, flu like symptoms, chronic fatigue," Lyme disease sufferer Mendes said.

She saw doctors, who had no answers

"Different doctors would come up with the same conclusion which was they could not find anything wrong," Mendes said.

So for years, Mendes just had to live with her pain.

"I have had, lets see, at the most, three months when I was completely bedridden, many, many times when my joints ached so badly, I could not put clothing on my body," Mendes said.

Then, in 2002, a doctor's assistant had an idea, she checked Mendes for Lyme disease, and bingo.

"I've been a Lyme disease patient, misdiagnosed for 25 years," Mendes said.

And Mendes is not alone. Many people in Massachusetts are living with Lyme disease and go years without knowing it.

A tiny tick that will attach to your body when you walk through the woods or the brush carries Lyme.

"It's very easy to get one of these tiny nymphs on you and you're not gonna feel these crawling on you unless they hit a hair or something," entomologist Dave Simser said.

And the tick problem is getting worse and worse. Ten years ago it was limited to Cape Cod and Cape Ann, but now it's everywhere.

"We're seeing burgeoning areas like the Metro West area, like the Connecticut Valley area, like the Berkshire County area that has more and more reports of tick borne diseases," Dr. Al Demaria of the Department of Public Health said.

But people aren't aware of ticks in their neighborhoods, so they don't check for them, and when they get sick they don't realize it could be Lyme.

"It's very hard to tell, and there are so many things that can look just like Lyme disease and that's part of the problem," Dr. Demaria said.

So their symptoms are confused with arthritis, the flu, or even just hypochondria.

"I'd say to myself after two weeks of being in and out of bed, sort of, I'd say why bother, why go to the doctors, they're just gonna think I'm crazy," Mendes said.

The problem is getting so bad that the state has begun holding public hearings. One by one people stepped to the microscope to tell their story, some still in pain from the disease.

"This is a significant problem, especially here in Massachusetts, we've got to get our hand around it before more of our people suffer," State Representative Peter Koutoujian (D - Waltham) said.

Could you be suffering from Lyme disease and not know it?

Here's what to look for:

If you were recently bitten, you may get a rash shaped like a target.

If your Lyme disease has gone undiagnosed for a long time, symptoms may include joint pain, chronic fatigue and neurological disorders.

If any of these symptoms describes you, get to your doctor and tell him you want a test for Lyme disease.

Lyme disease has afflicted some famous people recently. Rocker Darryl Hall and Florida State quarterback Wyatt Sexson have both been recently diagnosed with the disease and are getting treatment.

CDC Lyme Disease

Tickborne Disease Website

International Lyme And Associated Disease Society

quote:

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Originally posted by lou:
Here it is:

If you've been feeling tired and achy, with pain in your joints, it may not be the flu, or arthritis. It may be Lyme disease. It turns out that hundreds of people may have contracted the disease without knowing it, and are now living with Lyme.

Sharon Mendes was in her twenties when she started to feel sick.

"I was coming down with a lot of sore throats, flu like symptoms, chronic fatigue," Lyme disease sufferer Mendes said.

She saw doctors, who had no answers

"Different doctors would come up with the same conclusion which was they could not find anything wrong," Mendes said.

So for years, Mendes just had to live with her pain.

"I have had, lets see, at the most, three months when I was completely bedridden, many, many times when my joints ached so badly, I could not put clothing on my body," Mendes said.

Then, in 2002, a doctor's assistant had an idea, she checked Mendes for Lyme disease, and bingo.

"I've been a Lyme disease patient, misdiagnosed for 25 years," Mendes said.

And Mendes is not alone. Many people in Massachusetts are living with Lyme disease and go years without knowing it.

A tiny tick that will attach to your body when you walk through the woods or the brush carries Lyme.

"It's very easy to get one of these tiny nymphs on you and you're not gonna feel these crawling on you unless they hit a hair or something," entomologist Dave Simser said.

And the tick problem is getting worse and worse. Ten years ago it was limited to Cape Cod and Cape Ann, but now it's everywhere.

"We're seeing burgeoning areas like the Metro West area, like the Connecticut Valley area, like the Berkshire County area that has more and more reports of tick borne diseases," Dr. Al Demaria of the Department of Public Health said.

But people aren't aware of ticks in their neighborhoods, so they don't check for them, and when they get sick they don't realize it could be Lyme.

"It's very hard to tell, and there are so many things that can look just like Lyme disease and that's part of the problem," Dr. Demaria said.

So their symptoms are confused with arthritis, the flu, or even just hypochondria.

"I'd say to myself after two weeks of being in and out of bed, sort of, I'd say why bother, why go to the doctors, they're just gonna think I'm crazy," Mendes said.

The problem is getting so bad that the state has begun holding public hearings. One by one people stepped to the microscope to tell their story, some still in pain from the disease.

"This is a significant problem, especially here in Massachusetts, we've got to get our hand around it before more of our people suffer," State Representative Peter Koutoujian (D - Waltham) said.

Could you be suffering from Lyme disease and not know it?

Here's what to look for:

If you were recently bitten, you may get a rash shaped like a target.

If your Lyme disease has gone undiagnosed for a long time, symptoms may include joint pain, chronic fatigue and neurological disorders.

If any of these symptoms describes you, get to your doctor and tell him you want a test for Lyme disease.

Lyme disease has afflicted some famous people recently. Rocker Darryl Hall and Florida State quarterback Wyatt Sexson have both been recently diagnosed with the disease and are getting treatment.

CDC Lyme Disease

Tickborne Disease Website

International Lyme And Associated Disease Society

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Thanks lou!

quote:

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Originally posted by lou:
You are certainly welcome, and thanks for bringing this to our attention. I was impressed that they gave ILADS as a link.

BTW, I have noticed that you use quotes of previous posters a lot. Do you intend to do this, or maybe don't know how to post replies without them?

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No lou I don't know how to post replies without the quotes.

I think I read how, but have difficulty putting it together on how to do it!

Believe me...my mind has been so bad!
I will give it another shot though!
Thanks lou!

BTW- I'm not computer literate either. Can't figure out how to post url's or pictures

We need to see many more like these.

Thanks, lymeloco & lou

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Tabby