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When I tell people I have been diagnosed with Lyme disease and am under treatment for it, I get basically one of two responses:
1) Oh my God. I'm so sorry. I hope they're wrong. Maybe they're wrong?
2) Oh.
It's pretty clear who does and doesn't know what this disease can do. (I stress again here that I am one of the VERY LUCKY ones.) People who have known someone with Lyme are in category 1. My immediate family and most of my coworkers fall into category 2. My teammate E went home and looked stuff up, and the next day she was in category 1, and she and her husband are now in major panic mode that they or their son might ever have had a tick bite. A few of my LJ friends are in category 1, along with a good cross section of square dance friends (especially those who know a mutual friend from NJ, because his case is quite a bit less lucky than my own, except for being diagnosed within the first 15 years).
There is also a very rare third category:
3) I had / I have Lyme! My symptoms were / are _______! Let me tell you how I treated it!
So far I have gotten response 3 from two doctors (one human doc, one veterinary doc). One LJ friend is also fighting this disease. But really, mostly I get category 2, and occasionally a 2 comes back and turns into a 1 after some web research or something.
Is it wrong of me to be just basically amused by all this? I guess it's better than being basically frustrated or annoyed by it. (I deliberately did NOT write "ticked off". No applause, just throw money.)
1) Oh my God. I'm so sorry. I hope they're wrong. Maybe they're wrong?
2) Oh.
It's pretty clear who does and doesn't know what this disease can do. (I stress again here that I am one of the VERY LUCKY ones.) People who have known someone with Lyme are in category 1. My immediate family and most of my coworkers fall into category 2. My teammate E went home and looked stuff up, and the next day she was in category 1, and she and her husband are now in major panic mode that they or their son might ever have had a tick bite. A few of my LJ friends are in category 1, along with a good cross section of square dance friends (especially those who know a mutual friend from NJ, because his case is quite a bit less lucky than my own, except for being diagnosed within the first 15 years).
There is also a very rare third category:
3) I had / I have Lyme! My symptoms were / are _______! Let me tell you how I treated it!
So far I have gotten response 3 from two doctors (one human doc, one veterinary doc). One LJ friend is also fighting this disease. But really, mostly I get category 2, and occasionally a 2 comes back and turns into a 1 after some web research or something.
Is it wrong of me to be just basically amused by all this? I guess it's better than being basically frustrated or annoyed by it. (I deliberately did NOT write "ticked off". No applause, just throw money.)
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