Episode 304: Numb - an interview with Grace Anderson

Grace Anderson is a 21-year-old Lyme disease advocate from the coast of Maine. She's currently studying mental health and human services. Ms. Anderson first became sick with symptoms of Lyme when she was 12 at a Taylor Swift concert with the following symptoms: dizziness, nausea, swollen feet, excessive sweating, and vomiting. These symptoms quickly subsided, but they came back a month later and never went away with the addition of migraines, fatigue, difficulty walking, full body pain, and body weakness. Ms. Anderson tested positive for Hashimoto's disease and the rest of her symptoms were dismissed as "just anxiety". Her health continued to decline, and she saw many doctors and specialists, including those at Boston Children's Hospital. Finally, Ms. Anderson's mother brought her to a naturopath when she was 16 where she was tested for Lyme, and it came back positive. She was also diagnosed with POTS and through trial and errors found a treatment that was very effective at controlling her symptoms. After making progress with her treatment, Ms. Anderson became very sick again a few years later and was diagnosed with Bartonella and active Lyme disease which likely was from a new tick bite. She used a wide variety of treatments including antibiotics like Doxycycline and Rifampin. If you'd like to learn more about a young woman who fought back against childhood Lyme disease and is now helping others in their healing journeys, then tune in now! PS Carly Taylor special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!