Amy Tan: Sleeping 10 to 12 hours a day
WPVI—ABC
Philadelphia, PA
by Dawn Heefner
21 Apr 2004Warmer weather has brought Delaware Valley residents outside for work, sports, and gardening. But as we become more active, so do the ticks that cause Lyme Disease. One high-profile sufferer wants everyone to be aware of the risk. Amy Tan is best known for her novels. But these days Tan is telling a second story—about her long struggle with Lyme Disease.
Amy Tan: “Sleeping 10 to 12 hours a day.”
More than 4 years ago, Tan developed tingling and numbness in her feet, then insomnia, then headaches, then fatigue.
A host of doctors offered a variety of diagnoses, one even thought it was post-traumatic stress, and prescribed Prozac. She’d asked about the blotchy rash that developed on her leg early on, but was told it wasn’t related. And the doctor didn’t think she was a likely candidate for Lyme Disease.
“I looked up Lyme Disease on the internet, and saw a website with photos of rashes, and was shocked to see my rash there.”
Lyme Disease is spread by the bite of infected deer ticks, which are smaller than the familiar dog ticks. Tan split her time between California and here on the east coast, where Lyme Disease is highest.
By the time she was diagnosed, Tan was having memory problems, nightmare, and hallucinations. The spiral bacteria had gone into her nervous system. She was put on antibiotics: not the short course normally recommended, but a longer term one.
“Only after 6 weeks did I start feeling that I was getting some of my energy back.”
But the recovery has been slow. Pain in her hands and feet make getting around harder. And her memory and thinking slip when she’s tired.
“I still can’t drive. I stop inappropriately at green lights, and run red lights, and make very bad decisions.”