posted
I'd like to hear stories of people whose family members or friends you think have Lyme, but they deny the possibility and refuse to even get tested. I'd like some tips on dealing with the frustration and the fine line between informing and annoying the person.
Posts: 311 | From CA | Registered: Jul 2008
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
hi janice,
i refer you to my newbie package; look for my stories of support found in TABLE OF CONTENTS as they are powerful ones i didn't want folk to overlook.
i'd also buy a dvd of UNDER OUR SKIN lyme documentary, www.underourskin.com and have sent to you to show your friend! that will speak volumes.
otherwise, go to top of support and look over the LYME VIDEOS POST i started; watch any of them together with your friend. good luck.
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I have a SIL and her daughter both CDC positive with Igenex who are in denial about thier lyme disease. The daughter is now pregnant, so one more generation is sure to have it as well!!
The only treatment they are getting currently is pain pills.
My husband and I have tried everything to get them treatment included paying for it. My SIL was treated for about 4 months and gave up because she didn't like it. Her daughter was never in treatment. They have since been told by a IDSA dr that they don't have lyme and the Igenex tests are garbage.
So they continue to suffer and my husband and I are helpless to do anything. We did give hera copy of the Under our Skin DVD and Cure Unknown, but she is not interested in reading/watching them. Hubby had confronted them and they got angry. So to keep peace in the family, we don't go there anymore.
Needless to say it is extremly difficult for me to be around these people. I take it personally because they do not believe in the illness I am treating. It's so funny because I am so much better and they continue to suffer. I now have a policy of walking away when they complain to me about how sick they are. I will no longer listen to it.
So in my case, we have tried everything we can think of, and nothing worked. We are out a few thousand dollars that we gave to contribute to their treatment which is nothing compared to the broken relationship.
I hate this disease.
-------------------- dar Posts: 95 | From michigan | Registered: Sep 2007
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lymemomtooo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5396
posted
Oh this is difficult. If they do not want to listen you are wasting your time.
One friend called me hysterical when she found an imbedded tick. I told her what she needed to do as a minumum regarding how much doxy to start.
She and the duck decided she was better and never followed up with anyone.
Just a few months later, she starts with aches and pains. I tell her she did not treat the Lyme long enough. Her GP sent her to a rheumatologist who knows it all and says it isn't related to Lyme it is arthritis. So I am sure she is on steroids of some type and she doesn't want to hear anymore about Lyme.
Another friend got smart after getting Bells Palsey, some heart related issues and being unable to walk into the hospital. The hospital has since told the family they did not think she was going to survive.
She has now called me twice when she falls off the wagon with symptoms and I have so far been able to convince her that yes it is back and she needs to get her butt to the DR.
Sometimes you can get the horse to water but it won't drink and sometimes it won't go near the water. Good luck.
Posts: 2360 | From SE PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
Ignorance is bliss.
It's easier to end up with Parkinsons and Alzheimers, and simply to age like the rest of their contemporaries in an endemic area. It's more normal.
"When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive." But not one day before.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
I have a brother-n-law (avid deer hunter) diagnosed with Post Traumatic Parkinson's Disease.
He was 29 years old.
Sister is a RN.
They not only don't want to acknowledge that it may be Lyme,
They refuse to be tested past the Elisa.
I still gently remind now and then, but try to spend my energy on getting myself
And the rest of my family well.
After 17+ years of neurogenic disorders, I've never heard of Post Traumatic Parkinsons.
Why accept this? That is a million dollar question.
Good luck. Maybe send the person a Lyme disease symptom list.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I really think it is one of those things that the person must realize on their own. It reminds me of other loved ones who refuse to realize their own alcoholism. We're dealing with a very high level of denial.
My father, who is very dear to me, has had at least one bullseye, severeal tick bites, and lives in an endemic area.
The other day I witnessed him having trouble counting to 5. This is a man who runs his own business, mind you, so counting to 5 hasn't been much of a problem in the past.
He has seen under our skin, and is very supportive to my treatment. But himself? He won't even go to a doctor. Nope. And if he does, there is no knowing whether the doctor he chooses will help steer him towards LD treatment.
He's chalking it all up to being old.
I can't convince him to change, so I realize it is up to him. I can only pray for the best.
Posts: 636 | From Saratoga County, NY | Registered: Apr 2008
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bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
Twenty years ago, as I was laughing about having pulled several ticks off my body (the life altering ones), a guy told me how sick he had been from tick bites and lyme. I thought he was such a wierdo.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
If it's any consolation, think about a time when you rejected an idea and what it took to turn you around on it.
Sometimes people may need to hear the info several times. Sometimes they need to hear the info from someone they trust. Sometimes they need people to go slowly with them. It's a harsh realization, this health problem.
Posts: 13117 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
MAZOU,
i give your dad credit for viewing UNDER OUR SKIN! he could have walked away, but viewed it in its entirety!
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