Lyme Disease During COVID

When I think back on it I laugh a little bit at the irony of the situation. I settled into my COVID routine in March of 2020 that carried me through most of the summer and into the fall hikes, gardening, and spending time outside while avoiding large crowds. The ironic part? While avoiding COVID I got Lyme Disease and it was ten long months of doctor appointments, symptoms, and unanswered questions.

The Positives

Since most of the world was shut down for the majority of 2020 and a good part of 2021 it was a good excuse, not to do anything. My friends and family weren’t making plans and socializing and although I couldn’t work from home I had a little bit more flexibility in my work schedule.

Like many, my social life had slowed down and I assumed that was where a lot of the anxiety or fatigue was coming from, I later learned it was coming from Lyme. I wasn’t missing much from a social perspective and most of my friends didn’t even know I was sick. So when I spent an entire weekend on the couch or was just too tired to do anything else it wasn’t that big of a deal, and for the most part, I wasn’t canceling plans or had gone completely MIA in my relationships. COVID gave me something to hide behind, when asked why my social life was non-existence it was easy everyone is in lockdown, or with the pandemic, there isn’t much going on.

Thinking back on it I am grateful for this, given other circumstances I know that the Lyme could have caused a lot of damage to my relationships.

The Negatives

The negatives came in the form of my journey in the medical world. I know that front-line workers have had it worst with the pandemic than the rest of us, but it de made it more complicated to get a proper diagnosis.

It was like most of the doctors I saw had pandemic blinders on. Each time I went to the doctor they would bring up anxiety and depression related to the pandemic and that must be what was going on. I would explain to them that I do have anxiety but this is different. I would say that the pandemic has brought a lot of positives and I was lucky I still had a job that I went to every day, I had a good pandemic routine at home, and pretty much nothing had changed for me. Yes, I wasn’t seeing my family and friends as much but other than that all was good, this was beyond the pandemic. Yet, each time there was the mental health of the pandemic talk and it could be nothing else.

I also went to the doctors and had more tests run from October 2020 through June 2021 than I had in my entire life. While others were staying clear of doctors' offices and medical facilities there I was going in and out of any I could find to get a diagnosis. I finally found doctors that would listen and stepped outside the COVID bubble to help find a diagnosis but it was not easy and was complicated by the pandemic that I was trying to avoid in the first place.

When the World Opened Up

I was fully vaccinated along with my friends and family by the end of spring 2021 and my social life was picking up again. Though my symptoms were still keeping me from normal life by the time the world was opening up again I was close to a diagnosis I was convinced it was Lyme Disease, I was meeting with a specialist, scheduling blood tests, and waiting for results.

When everyone was ready to go out and start living again I finally had a diagnosis and was able to start treatment. This was perfect timing for me that allowed me to start living a normal life again with those closest to me.