Sunday 22 December 2013

Lyme disease: A multi-systemic disease

There are many more symptoms for Lyme disease than the ones listed in this link. This is because Lyme is a multi-systemic disease. Aches and pains come and go and move about the body with consistent inconsistency...!!

This information is only meant to help you decide if you need to seek medical treatment to increase the quality of your life.
Just remember tho, a bit bite is not something to be ignored. The sooner you can get treatment, the less chance you have of developing Neuroborreliosis.

http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/1Lyme-Symptoms.html


Lyme is often Misdiagnosed as other Diseases and Disorders.
This is because it tends to mimic about 300 different illnesses which makes it very important to rule them out.
If you have ever experienced bites from ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, lice, biting flys, do not discount them.
You will do so at your peril !

http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/LymeMimics.html


Comparison of Lyme disease and co-infection symptoms.

http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/LymeCoinfectionChart.html

Tick-borne encephalitis or meningoencephalitis: is a bacterial infection of the brain, such as Lyme disease. The symptoms of encephalitis range from mild to severe and can be life threatening. Possible symptoms: Fever, headache, nausea, decreased alertness, malaise, visual disturbances, stiff neck and back decreased consciousness, tremor, seizures. Encephalitis can last from a few days to several months. Permanent neurological consequences may follow recovery in some cases. Consequences may include personality changes, memory loss, language difficulties, seizures, and partial paralysis. Tick-borne meningoencephalitis is caused by a virus and may be a coinfection of lyme.

Lyme Meningitis inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord called the meninges. It often occurs when an infection elsewhere in the body spreads through the blood and into the cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that circulates in the spaces in and around the brain and spinal cord). One form of bacterial meningitis is related to Lyme disease. Lyme meningitis is generally less severe than other forms of bacterial meningitis and is not fatal. Lyme meningitis may be the first evidence of Lyme disease, occurring without a history of erythema chronicum migrans or flu-like illness. Symptoms in milder cases of encephalitis usually include: headache, fever, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, nausea, sleepiness, confusion.

Chronic meningitis is a slowly developing inflammation of the subarachnoid space (located within the layers of tissues covering the brain and spinal cord) associated neurological involvement affecting the lower extremities. The infection and inflammation develop more slowly, over weeks and months that lasts a month or longer. If symptoms have been present for a month or more, meningitis is described as chronic. People may have a fever, a stiff neck, a headache, double vision, or difficulty walking, or they may become confused. Headache lasting weeks to months persistent/severe/ head pressure /congestion /burning. Burning in the brain and sometimes the neck and spinal cord or parts of the head, forehead or most of the head.

Aseptic meningitis(The space between middle and inner layers of tissues covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges) is inflamed.) Sometimes aseptic meningitis is diagnosed when meningitis is caused by bacteria that are hard to identify, such as the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, syphilis, or tuberculosis. Symptoms Headache, stiff neck, malaise, nausea and muscle aches may develop over days. Usually, aseptic meningitis causes symptoms that are similar to those of bacterial meningitis (fever, headache, vomiting, sluggishness, and a stiff neck). However, people do not become as ill. People may not have a fever, particularly when the cause is not an infection.

http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/2Lyme-Symptoms.html#meningoencephalitis


Wednesday 21 August 2013

The Official ILADS Guideline for treating Lyme disease and other tick borne infections.

These Guidelines should be a Bible for any doctor who cares enough to treat his or her patients for any tick borne infections.

One week of antibiotics is NOT enough to kill off the soup of bacteria which can eventually lead to the patient developing severe illnesses from tick bites. Sadly, many people have suffered permanent disability through this oversight and many lives have been ruined both physically and financially. Not to mention the mental anguish caused to the patients by this shortsightedness.

http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf

DIAGNOSTIC HINTS AND TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME AND OTHER TICK BORNE ILLNESSES
by JOSEPH J. BURRASCANO JR, MD
SEPTEMBER, 2008

In general, you can think of Lyme Borreliosis as having three categories:
acute, early disseminated, and chronic.

The sooner treatment is begun after the start of the infection, the higher the success rate.

However, since it is easiest to cure early disease, this category of Lyme Borreliosis must be taken VERY seriously.

Under-treated infections will inevitably resurface, usually as chronic Lyme, with its tremendous problems of morbidity and difficulty with diagnosis and treatment and high cost in every sense of the word.

So, while the bulk of this document focuses of the more problematic chronic patient, strong emphasis is also placed on earlier stages of this illness where closest attention and care must be made.



If you suspect that you may be affected by a tick borne infection like Rickettsia, Lyme disease and it's many co-infections, please take a look at this link which has invaluable information.

http://chronicfatiguesyndrome.co.za

Friday 31 May 2013

Forgive them All, for they know not what they should now... !!

If you have seen 15+ Specialists and you still have no idea what is wrong with you.... Then it IS Lyme... !!

Friday 5 April 2013

A Daughter’s Experience of her Mom’s Lyme Disease


Read this poignant story of a teenager whose Mother was diagnosed with Lyme disease and how she overcame the difficulties of not understanding what was happening to her Mother. It is very heart warming.

"The whole experience was one of the hardest times of my life. However, my relationship with my mom is stronger than ever. She is my mother and my best friend. I go to her with everything I need to and she does the same with me. Our relationship is now a two-way street, which is more fulfilling than the more childish one I had as a teenager. I love being my mom’s friend and I love when she comes to me with happiness, sadness, confusion, and enlightenment. I will always take care of my mom and she will always take care of me. It’s an absolutely perfect way to be and the experience was hard, but nonetheless perfect."


http://www.lymethriving.com/a-daughters-experience-of-her-moms-lyme-disease/

Thursday 14 March 2013

Do you believe you could have Lyme Disease (Lyme Borreliosis) ?

Do you think your symptoms seem very Lyme like...? Have you had a Lyme test and your doctor has told you the test was Negative? Not all tests that come up with a negative result are in fact 'Negative'. There are several reasons why you may well have Lyme disease but tests show up as negative. This is my favourite link which explains so well how this can happen.

http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/lymeseroneg.html


Still wondering what the heck to do... ??

Follow your gut. Be informed, learn as much as you can about this horrible illness that South African doctors in general don't believe in, and DEMAND proper testing and treatment !!

My GP basically laughed at me when I told him in 1996 that I was 100% sure I had Lyme disease. He told me we don't get Lyme in South Africa...!! I suggested it had another name... he told me I was way off line... It was either, MS, Guillain-Barr, Sjogren's, Lupus, etc., etc... For 16 years I had no treatment from him despite feeling so ill all the time. I had the odd dose of antibiotics but only for about 3 or 5 days and never tetracycline.

You can imagine how angry I was in Feb 2010, when at my absolute lowest I was diagnosed clinically with Lyme disease and the blood test confirmed this with several co-infections. Medical people tell you, you cannot get the strain of Lyme bacteria here in SA (Borrelia burgdorferi)... well, despite never having set foot in either Europe or the USA, I have the Borrelia burgdorferi strain from the USA and Borrelia garanii strain from Europe. Imagine That !!

In the meantime, I have lost the ability to work because I did not receive proper treatment all those years back. I suffer awful neurological problems - I've gone from being 'a pretty sharp knife in the draw... to a pretty blunt one' !!

No one understands what it is like to feel your life force draining from you and there is nothing you can do. People berate you, they speak behind your back about how useless you are... You will even find that if you try to claim a disability grant or policy, they will tell you, you will be well in 3 months and they don't pay disability in cases of 3 months or less. You look fine on the outside so WHY can you no longer do what you were pretty darn good at before...

During the last 6 months of my employment (December 2009 to May 2010) I was unable to function as a School Administrator at a local SA University. I got ZERO support from the University and financially I am now in the DWANG with only enough money to live for another year... I have been following various forms of treatment now for 3 years. What happens if I do get better now... I won't have enough money to live on...

LYME STEALS YOUR LIFE IN EVERY WHICH WAY !!

PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU. I KNEW NO BETTER.


I know it is not easy to fight back when you are not well. I believe I would have had a strong case had I taken matters further either via CCMA or legally, but I did not have the fight or financial means to do so. But FIGHT as much as you can to get back your health from this Lyme!!

There is nothing worse than being stripped of your mental capabilities - you become a 'Mere Shell' of the person you were before.
People like to talk you in circles, or make out you are an idiot, unable to reason. They say your illness is 'in your head'... Yes, that is so! The Lyme bacteria can cause Brain disease.

My story is about what the Lyme bacteria can do to you, if left to take over your body unchecked for all those years!!


This link has some very useful information as well.

http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/



Saturday 9 March 2013

Borrelia (Lyme) Neurotoxin

Research has shown that Borrelia (Lyme bacteria) produce neurotoxins in the body and can cause symptoms which are similar to encephalopathy as well as on-going inflammation within the body. They are also know to interfere with hormonal activity by blocking the hormone receptors.

The longer a person has been ill with Lyme disease, the more neurotoxins will be found in the body. The neurotoxins are thought to be stored in fatty tissues of the body and once they get there, they persist for a long time.

http://www.healthcentersofamerica.com/information.cfm?id=146

Comparison Chart of Lyme Disease and Co-infections Symptoms

This is a link to a Comparison Chart of Lyme Disease and Co-infections Symptoms. It lists all the co-infections and provides back links to even more information.

http://www.lyme-symptoms.com/LymeCoinfectionChart.html