Watched the documentary movie "Under Our Skin" [http://www.underourskin.com/] with Lyle tonight. I thought it was well made, and since I could relate personally to some of the things being shown, it was moving and at times hard to watch. I really hope the reality of Chronic Lyme Disease and the necessary treatments will win out over all the nasty politics and coverup in the very near future. It's plain wrong to perpetuate the lie that Chronic Lyme doesn't exist and Lyme Disease is easily cured.

Lyle and I have already dealt for 10 years (plus a few years on my own prior) with health insurance companies that won't cover doctor's visits and/or treatments because they deem them "unnecessary." Of course, even worse is that all but my current 2 doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me these 20+ years (making me doubt my sanity many times). Most are taught that Lyme Disease is very rare when in fact it is not, or that C hronic Lyme doesn't exist.

Like many with Chronic Lyme Disease (and co-infections), I was diagnosed with many things over the years. First, that my problems stemmed from chronic depression and tension headaches, then later recurring Strep Throat and inner ear infection were added, insomnia, and finally, Fibromyalgia because they couldn't figure out what was going on and FMS covered all the symptoms in a bucket list. Oh, and by the way, "Fibromyalgia has no cure so learn to manage your life as best as you can to minimize the pain and fatigue."

Dr. L is hopeful that my 45 minute interview ("don't worry, this is just a routine call") with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) will add to the number of documented cases of Chronic Lyme the CDC and IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America) cannot deny, especially since I met their own extra stringent criteria in addition to the ILADS' (Internationa Lyme and Associated Disease Society). The nurse asking me the questions thought I might get a follow-up call from the CDC to confirm that she recorded my answers accurately because the length of time I've had symptoms and my symptoms don't match the CDC's definition of what Lyme Disease should be.

I am grateful California (at least around where I live) has LLDs (Lyme literate doctors) who aren't being harassed or getting their licenses taken away for treating people like me with non-IDSA approved treatment plans. My heart goes out to those who live in areas where doctors are afraid to treat people with Lyme for fear of losing their practices. Those people (who are already very sick) have to travel long distances for help or end up getting no help at all. How are people supposed to be able to do this financially (since insurance won't cover much, it's typical to spend 100K-250K to get diagnosed correctly and get better), physically (you're already so dead exhausted), or emotionally (doctors telling you nothing's wrong, people wondering if you're faking or mentally ill, generally being confused and feeling hopeless about the whole situation)? My heart also goes out to all the doctors who care for people while risking everything they have. That's very honorable and courageous in the current messed up political climate. Some have indeed lost everything when insurance companies complained to the Medical Board that the doctors were malpracticing.

THANK YOU to all my family and friends who have given me support all these years and not told me my symptoms are all in my head. Believe me, I wondered countless times. It means more than you know to be believed. Even though there is no known cure yet, now that I have an idea of what I'm up against and there are things I can do to improve my symptoms, I can dare to hope.