I stumbled upon my diagnosis of Lyme Disease in 2013 after my Neurologist spent a year giving me every test she could to find the answer to my symptoms. When I say stumbled upon, I mean it. When she shook her head and referred me to a Rheumatologist, I decided to take to the Internet. I had all the test results, and every test was abnormal so I started searching for different combinations of my abnormal results. After a few attempts, I landed on the list of autoimmune illnesses that included Lyme.
I made the deduction of other illnesses based on the previous testing and the symptoms didn’t fit. After landing on Lyme, my research began. It took no time to figure out what was wrong.
This is the easiest part of having Lyme disease, from here it’s a nightmare to get treatment. First and foremost insurance companies don’t cover the cost of IV Antibody Therapy. The only cost covered by insurance was prescriptions. Thank goodness because the total cost would really blow your mind.
For 18 months we flew to Washington, DC every month to start a new protocol. Every appointment with my Lyme doctor cost 6K plus. Add that number up and you see how devastating the cost is.
We took out a home loan for the cost but not everyone is able to do that. None of the cost for my doctor visits or the treatments was covered by insurance.
My treatment ended in 2017, unfortunately, many new conditions were caused by Lyme that plague me today.
Today I thought about how long ago we took out the loan and what we still owe. We paid our house off over the weekend but it’s not paid for until this loan is paid. It’s not the same type of paid-off when you have a home loan.
It still chaps me that the CDC and insurance companies are turning their back on Lyme patients, even today!
Melinda
lookingforthelight.blog 
you are such an inspiration for me.
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Thanks but I alwasy remember we are the lucky onoes.
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Thank you for this post. I used to work for someone with Lyme’s Disease; it wasn’t considered to exist in Australia then! CRAZY!!!
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The perfect hot bed for ticks!
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It’s such a shame that insurance companies prioritize making money over patient care. I’m glad you were able to get the care you needed, but it’s heartbreaking to think how many people don’t because they simply can’t afford the outrageous price tag.
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I’ve seen videos of stories where people lost their houses, went bankrupt, and divorced. It’s crazy!
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It’s terrible when people have to deal with those types of things in addition to illness. The illness itself is more than enough to have to deal with….
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One of those political issues is insurance driven. The CDC has a small group of doctors who advises them on treatments. All of them don’t believe in Chronic Lyme so that is the recommendation the CDC goes with. These doctors take all types of kickbacks and have a conflict of interest. It’s really messed up. My doctor was one of the doctors who discovered Aids and is a highly respected Infectious Disease doctor. When he started treating Lyme, he was hunted down and his medical disease was taken away for a year. Many doctors are treating Lyme in hiding so that don’t get bared themselves. It’s nuts!
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