Track and Field Athlete Warns Of Certain Lyme Disease Symptoms On TV Show, The Doctors

May 20, 2009 (PRLEAP.COM) Health News
Track and Field athlete and Lyme Disease victim, Perry Fields, goes on the NBC show, The Doctors to discuss the importance of awareness when it comes to tick born diseases.

Perry Fields, an 800m and 1500m runner knows a lot about Lyme Disease symptoms. She fell ill in the middle of her race in 2005 with numerous neurological problems related to Lyme Disease.

Four years later she has finally fully recovered and continues with her athletic career, but she can't warn people enough about the Lyme Disease symptoms everyone should know about.

"It robbed me of four years of my life, but I see it now as an opportunity because I finally paid attention to my body. I had Lyme Disease symptoms for a long time well before I actually did something about it. I was not educated about Lyme Disease at that time, so I just continued to push forward like all good athletes do," Fields says.

The dangers of ticks carrying different forms of dangerous bacteria are on the rise and it's estimated that 300,000 people get Lyme Disease every year. It's become so prevalent that the NBC TV Show, "The Doctors," is doing a show about Summer Illness and asked Fields to talk about another tick born illness, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

"It's quite common to get bitten by a tick that is carrying numerous pathogens and I just recently heard a tick specialist mention that if you have been bitten once, you've been bitten at least 10 other times! So the public has to know what the Lyme Disease Symptoms are and which other symptoms of tick born illnesses to look for.
Empowerment is the greatest weapon against Lyme Disease," Fields concludes.

Some Lyme Disease," symptoms from a recent bite could include flu like symptoms, nausea, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headaches, depression and chills.

These types of Lyme Disease symptoms could last from a few days to a few weeks. If months go by without treatment or a diagnosis, more symptoms will appear.

Long term Lyme Disease symptoms (in addition to the short term Lyme Disease symptoms) are: arthritic pain in joints, neurological problems, sleep disturbances, severe fatigue, cognitive difficulties, dizziness, and heart palpitations.
Another problem is that most Lyme Disease symptoms can also mimic other diseases.

People who may have been diagnosed with Lupus, Chronic Fatigue, ALS, Dementia, MS, or Fibromyalgia, may have a tick born illness like Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

It's now thought by many leading tick researchers that an upwards of 50% of people diagnosed with these types of illness actually have a type of tick born illness.

The TV Show "The Doctors" is on NBC, check your local listings for the Summer Illness show.

To see get more information on Lyme Disease Symptoms and Lyme Disease Treatments go to http://www.BeatLymeDisease.com/lyme-symptoms.htm

Perry Fields writes a free newsletter for Lyme patients, family and friends, available at http://www.BeatLyme.com

-Her highly anticipated book about Lyme Disease is due out this summer, details her experience from track star to Lyme patient and back.