Saturday, July 7, 2018

What it’s like to be sick with late-stage Lyme when no one believes you - Slate

On this week's episode of my podcast, I Have to Ask, I spoke to Porochista Khakpour, a novelist and writer whose new book is Sick: A Memoir. Khakpour, a 40-year-old Iranian-American writer, has struggled with health issues for much of her life. She begins the book by saying she has "never felt comfortable" in her own body, often feeling that something was wrong it; she had more serious symptoms—lethargy and dizziness, joint and muscle pain, as well as serious psychological symptoms, including insomnia—as she got older. Khakpour was eventually diagnosed as having late-stage Lyme disease. Below is an edited excerpt from the show. In it, we discuss why it took her so long to get diagnosed, why people with Lyme disease—especially women—are often doubted when they report their symptoms, and why people have so much trouble talking to, and understanding, their friends or relatives who are living with illness.

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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/what-its-like-to-be-sick-with-late-stage-lyme-when-no-one-believes-you.html