My battle began in the fall of 2004, when I first got the tick bite. At first, a few symptoms appeared — things I chalked up to pushing myself too hard with school and activities. But over time, the symptoms became more varied and began blending together instead of showing up one at a time.

In the summer of 2007, while taking a physiology class, there was construction work being done on campus. After constantly breathing the fumes, my cycle changed for the worse, my skin reacted, and I began having random facial swelling. The odd part? I was the only student who reacted to the fumes. It got so bad that I had to take an exam late — which normally meant swapping a multiple-choice test for a short essay version of the same questions. Thankfully, I looked so awful the day of the exam that my professor gave me the multiple-choice version anyway. Woo hoo!

My first symptoms — before even knowing about Lyme — included abnormal migraines, IBS, menstrual issues, facial swelling, sciatic nerve problems, weight gain, low body temperature, and brain fog. But when the heart rate issues joined the party and refused to calm down, I knew something was seriously wrong.

One night in early 2010, while working on an assignment for my teaching credential program, I kept forgetting what I was trying to type. Then half my body went tingly. I rushed to the ER — thankfully, it wasn’t a stroke — but that was a huge red flag. The symptoms escalated quickly, forcing me to drop out of the credential program.

My general practitioner, who had been following my unexplained symptoms for years, knew something was definitely off. But without conclusive tests, there wasn’t much direction. Then she said three words most doctors are too arrogant or too afraid to admit: “I don’t know.”

Those three words told me more than any test result — they told me my doctor believed me and was willing to help figure this out. What a relief!