You are not alone.
There is hope.
Since 2013, I have written a weekly column for Global Lyme Alliance, the leading non-profit dedicated to conquering Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Ten percent of the proceeds of my memoir One Tick Stopped the Clock will be donated to Global Lyme Alliance.
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My blogs covering nearly every aspect of living with tick-borne disease and other long-haul illness are all backlogged below, organized by topic. Scroll right through the topic bar to pick a category, and all of the related blog posts will appear.
If you have a question that you don’t see answered in one of the blog posts or “Dear Lyme Warrior…Help!” FAQ columns, please email me at lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com.
Lyme 101
Ten Symptoms of Lyme Disease You Should Not Ignore
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Things I Didn't Know About Lyme Disease Until I Got It
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Five Reasons Why You Should Care About Lyme Disease
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Top Ten Myths About Lyme Disease
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I Just Got Diagnosed With Lyme Disease: What Should I Do?
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The Importance of Digging Deep
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Books and Resources That Have Helped Me On My Journey
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What's In a Name? When Talking About Lyme Disease, It Matters
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We Are the World: What I Learned About the Global Health Threat of Lyme Disease
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Bursting the "Woods of New England" Bubble
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Partisan Politics in Lyme Disease
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Lyme Disease
Diagnosis and Testing
I Just Got Diagnosed With Lyme Disease: What Should I Do?
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Not All Lyme Rashes Are Created Equal
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The Danger of "Waiting and Seeing" with Lyme Disease
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Did You Pull a Tick Off of You?
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Lyme: The Differential Diagnosis
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When You Suspect You Have Lyme,
But Your Test Comes Back Negative
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RSV, COVID, or the flu? As a Lyme Patient,
This Isn't My First Time With a Misdiagnosis
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The Importance of Digging Deep
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What's Luck Got To Do With Lyme Disease?
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Lyme Disease Treatment
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Treating Lyme Disease: A Patient Reflects
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I Just Got Diagnosed With Lyme Disease:
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Risk-Benefit Analysis of Tick-Borne Disease Treatment
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Intravenous Antibiotics for Lyme:
Pros, Cons, and the Lived Experience
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My Lyme Disease is in Remission. How Do I Keep it That Way?
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The Importance of Being Vigilant
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Getting Real About Pharmaceutical Medication
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Physical Symptoms
of Lyme Disease
Not All Lyme Rashes Are Created Equal
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The Aches and Pains of Tick-Borne Illness
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When Lyme Disease Takes Away Your Energy
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Crashing After Activity with Lyme Disease
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Gastrointestinal Issues with Lyme Disease
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Excessive Thirst and Lyme Disease
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Stop the Itching! Lyme and Hives
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Not All Headaches Are Alike: What's Causing Yours?
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Keep It Simple: You're Just Tired
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Hot, Hot, Hot: What a Heat Wave Means for Lyme Patients
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Tips to Improve Energy Levels with Lyme Disease
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Neurological Symptoms
of Lyme Disease
Lyme Brain: The Science and the Experience
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Breaking Down Lyme Disease and the Blood-Brain Barrier
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What Helps Improve Cognitive Function for Lyme Patients?
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Lyme Symptom: Nervous System Inflammation
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Lyme Disease and Sensory Overload
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Where Am I? Disorientation and Lyme Disease
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Rest: The Most Important Message of My Dreams
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Not All Headaches Are Alike: What's Causing Yours?
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You're Not Crazy--You Have Lyme
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Short-Circuited By Lyme Disease
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Lyme Disease and Sleep Disturbances
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Other Tick-Borne Diseases
Emotional Impact of Lyme and Long-Haul Illness
How Does Having Lyme Disease Affect Your Relationships?
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Lyme and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Lack of Respect for Those With Lyme Disease
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Victim Blaming and Lyme Disease
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What it Means for a Patient to be Heard
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Mixed Messages: Finding Your Truth
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Hugging It Out: How Physical Connection Helps Us Heal
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When Nothing's Funny, Even Simulated
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Dealing With Lyme-Related Fear
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The Quiet Desperation of Chronic and Mental Illness
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Laughter Really Can Be the Best Medicine
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Living Well with Lyme and Other Long-Haul Illness
Coping with Lyme Disease Flares: Tips for Managing Symptom Exacerbation
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When Lyme Interrupts Your Life Path
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The Most Helpful Thing in My Lyme Journey
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How to Promote Healing from Lyme Disease
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My Lyme Disease is in Remission. How Do I Keep it That Way?
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The Value of Independence for the Chronically Ill
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Tips for Time Management When Living with Chronic Illness
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Saving Spoons: Not Just of Energy, But of Time
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Sometimes the Memory is Better Than the Real Thing
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Dreaming of the Past--and the Future
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Staying the Course When the End is in Sight
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Ways to Participate When You Can't Be There in Person
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Lessons From Lyme: Lockdown Isn't Forever
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Living With Lyme Disease: The Beauty of Adaptation
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Living in the Present While Worrying About the Future
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What Lyme Patients Can Teach Us About the New Normal
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Cooling Off When Swimming Isn't an Option
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The Role of Technology for Lyme Disease Patients
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Keeping the Big Picture in Mind:
Don't Overlook Your Other Health Issues
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The Difficulty--and Importance--of Asking For Help
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Rest: The Most Important Message of My Dreams
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Traveling with Tick-Borne Illness
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The Time Warp of Tick-Borne Illness
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Treating Instead of Denying Yourself
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Starting Small in the New Year
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Avoiding Reminders Until You're Ready
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Holidays: Relishing the In-Between Times
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What Can the Red Sox Teach Us About
Surviving Tick-Borne Illnesses?
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Enjoying the Summer While Living With Lyme
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Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future
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Adding Joy and Pleasure to Life, No Matter When
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Learning to Love Lyme: A Lesson in Self-Understanding
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Making the Holidays Work For You
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"And, Not But": Taking Power Back With One Simple Word
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Reframing the Trauma of Chronic Illness
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Taking Lyme One Day-Minute-Second At a Time
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Getting Involved: When Your Intention Says Yes,
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Keep It Simple: You're Just Tired
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Ground Hog Day: Casting a Shadow On Lyme Disease
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The Double-Edged Sword of Being Bored
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Looking Back, Looking Ahead, Giving Thanks
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Locking Up the Obstacle of Guilt
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Spreading the Light of Gratitude
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Halloween: No Costume Necessary
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Searching For Home When You're Stuck in Lyme Land
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Tick, Tick, Tick: The Race Against Time
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Has Lyme Sidelined Your Summer?
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Lyme and the Olympics Part Two: Of Dashed Dreams and New Lives
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Lyme and the Olympics Part One
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Valentine's Day: A Celebration of Self-Love
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Reclaiming My Identity: Part Two
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Reclaiming My Identity: Part One
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Self-Advocacy and Physician Communication
What it Means for a Patient to be Heard
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Medical Gaslighting and Lyme Disease
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How To Be An Advocate With Your Non-Lyme Doctor
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On Disclosure: When and How Much to Tell
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Why Agency is Important For Lyme Warriors
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To Be Blunt: How Chronic Illness Made Me More Direct
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COVID-19 and Other Co-Morbidities
Epstein-Barr Virus and Lyme Disease: A Patient's Perspective​
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​I Have Lyme Disease. Should I Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?​
Lyme and Covid-19 Panel: Follow up Q and A
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Corona With a Twist of Lyme: Part 4​
Corona With a Twist of Lyme: Part 3
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Corona With a Twist of Lyme Part 2
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Corona With a Twist of Lyme
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Long Haul COVID-19 Brings Attention to Persistent Lyme
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Reactivated Infections: A Possible Piece of the Chronic Illness Puzzle
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RSV, COVID, or the flu? As a Lyme Patient,
This Isn't My First Time With a Misdiagnosis
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Differentiating Between Babesia and COVID-19 Air Hunger
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Lessons From Lyme: Lockdown Isn't Forever
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What Lyme Patients Can Teach Us About the New Normal
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We're Not Out of the Woods Yet
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Speaking Up for the Immunocompromised
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What a Difference a Year Makes
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Are Mold and Mycotoxins Compromising Your Recovery?
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Vitamins and Diet
Costs and Insurance
Gender and Lyme
For Friends and Family
What I Wish I Could Give Every Lyme Patient
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Wondering What to Say to a Lyme Patient?
Try These Conversation Starters
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The Difficulty--and Importance--of Asking For Help
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Why Agency is Important For Lyme Warriors
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Books and Resources That Have Helped Me On My Journey
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Saluting the Caretakers of Lyme Patients
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The Pressure of Platitudes: Patients Are Only Human
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FAQs
(Treatment, Herxheimer reactions, alternate therapies)
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(Extreme thirst, aggression, cardiac issues)
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(Treatment, testing, forthcoming book)
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(Chronic symptoms, Herxing, LLMDs)
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(Physician communication, rest, testing)
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(Transmission time, babesiosis air hunger, book publication)
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Lyme Warrior Q and A --bonus--with video!
(Diagnosis, testing, and bloodwork)
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(Tick bites and co-infections)
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(Self-image, memory loss)
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(Lyme and mood swings, EBV, body aches)
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(Lyme treatment and dormant spirochetes)
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(Dental issues and Lyme, concussions and Lyme, pursuing dreams)
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(Pulsing antibiotics, rashes and hives, insomnia)
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(Anti-inflammatory diet, GLA's Peer Mentorship program)
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(Remission, Lyme and Alzheimer's)
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(Lyme and vaccines, remission, EBV)
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(Tick bites, being bedridden, migraine treatment)
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(Reframing future and finding work with chronic illness)
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(Antibiotics, memory loss, remission)
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(Herxheimer reactions, moving to tick-endemic areas)
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(Anxiety, chronic symptoms)
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(Migratory pain, chronic Lyme, treatment)
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(Mental health, antibiotics)
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(Memory loss, traveling with Lyme)
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(Herxheimer reactions, Lyme depression)
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(Lyme diet, working with Lyme)
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(Waxing and waning symptoms, Lyme neuropathy)
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(Finding balance, brain health, co-infections)
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(MRIs, SPECT scans, Herxheimer reactions)
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(Bullseye rashes, brain fog, IV antibiotics)
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(Diagnosis, blood tests, hypoglycemia)
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(Relapsing, testing, muscle and nerve damage)
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(Herxheimer reactions, fatigue, natural remedies)
GLA and Other Research and Advocacy Highlights
Meet the Hosts of the Lyme + Podcast
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From Bedridden to Red Carpet: A Lyme Warrior's Inspiring Journey at the GLA Gala
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Life After "I'm Not Crazy I'm Sick": The Mode Family's Ongoing Struggles
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​Ötzi the Ice Man: His Story and Significance
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What Does Lyme Disease Awareness Month Mean to Me?
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Review of "I'm Not Crazy, I'm Sick"
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2022: Another Milestone Year for GLA
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What Avril Lavigne's Virtual #FightLyme Concert Taught Me
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What I Learned About the Global Health Threat of Lyme Disease
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