Chronic Pain, Lyme Disease, and Learning To Heal Myself

The first time I remember having pain was in high school. I started having severe pain in my upper back and shoulder which I attributed to dance class, and it lasted for weeks. I would find myself crying on the floor. Eventually it went away and my doctor was not concerned, but the pain would return periodically for a week or two and then disappear. At the same time I started having shortness of breath, brain fog, and I would often feel like my body could not hold me up. I just thought I was lazy and nonathletic, but what I did not consider at this time was the multiple tick bites I had gotten one summer.

I spent most of my twenties dealing with the above symptoms coming and going and gradually developed more and more annoying but non specific health issues, from allergies to gut problems. Doctors told me it was stress. I woke up one morning when I was 27 and could not move my neck, which started a cascade of back issues, and x-rays showed I had scoliosis. At the time I was working with horses and had to quit my job. The only thing that was helping me was chiropractic and massage therapy, so I found myself enrolling in massage therapy school because I needed a job and I needed to understand what was going on in my body.

Things improved a lot during school and by the time I graduated, my pain was manageable and I was doing great. A couple months later, I was t-boned by a distracted driver and my car was totaled. I developed whiplash, sciatic pain, and later several MRIs showed I had a total of 9 bulging discs throughout my spine. I tried everything to get better but I was really struggling.

Desperate, I researched as much as I could to try to figure out what I could do and I found functional neurology and muscle testing, which started to put me back together again. I took as many classes as I could, learning everything available to me. Eventually I got very sick though, and I was finally diagnosed with Lyme and other tick borne illnesses in 2021. That felt like rock bottom in some ways, but knowing what the problem was finally gave me the tools to solve it and I began treatment under Lyme literate medical practitioners.

I am happy to report I am largely pain free today and have learned to manage the havoc that undiagnosed tick borne illnesses wreaked on my body for over a decade before there was an intervention.

I use everything I have learned along the way to help my clients. Chronic pain is complicated and there is no one size fits all approach. I have tried so many things over the years, which has given me a unique skill set and a multitude of ways to treat complicated problems. Trying everything out on myself first taught me what really works. Dealing with chronic illness has also made me a resource for anyone dealing with more than just a musculoskeletal issue.

Its been a difficult journey, but I look back and I am grateful that my struggles have led me to a career where I can meaningfully help other people who struggle with complicated problems that do not respond to conventional treatment. I am really happy that this is where my journey led me. Its not what I thought I would do when I grew up, but I can’t think of anything more meaningful to do with my life. Hopefully you will be the next person I can help, and I am looking forward to seeing you in my office!