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

Lyme insights... by Brian Rosner

Did you know there are about 300 conditions which mimic Lyme disease? 

If you know anyone who is suffering with any of these conditions in this link, they really should be encouraged to get tested for Lyme disease by a Lyme Literate medical Doctor as any of these conditions could be related to Lyme Borreliosis:

Some of the more commonly known conditions are:

Alzheimer's disease
ALS
Arthritis
Autism
Parkinson's disease
Motor Neuron disease
ADD
ADHD
Carpel Tunnel syndrome
Dementia
Depression
Epilepsy
Epstein Barr virus
Fetal death
Fibromyalgia
Guillain-Barré Syndrome
ME / Yuppie flu
Schizophrenia
Stevens-Johnson syndrome
Vasculitis



http://lymebook.com/blog/testing-diagnosis/misdiagnosed-diagnosis-mimics-great-imitator/

Autism : FACTS you need to know...

Do Tick-Borne Infections Like Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Babesia and Lyme Contribute to Autism, Aspergers and Pervasive Developemental Disorders?

CLICK ABOVE TITLE FOR LINK:

The Lyme-Autism Connection :  by Tami Duncan and Bryan Rosner

Please don't ignore it...  It your child is diagnosed as autistic, if not for yourself, then for your child's sake and future, please get your child tested for Lyme disease by a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD).  This part is very important as any doctor not familiar with Lyme disease can give you a 'false negative'.

"To many parents, the discussion about whether Lyme disease and autism are connected is a moot point. It is really just semantics. The fact is that many children with autism have an active Lyme infection. Debate about whether Lyme causes autism, Lyme contributes to autism, or Lyme comes about after autism does nothing to help the many autistic kids who are testing positive for Lyme disease daily. If kids are infected, then they need to be treated. It is that simple."

"Unfortunately, the Lyme disease diagnosis is often missed in autistic children. Many of these children are diagnosed only after the mother is first diagnosed. The message, then, is clear: if you are the mother of an autistic child, get yourself tested for Lyme disease, and if you have it, the probability that your child also has it is much higher. My story, excerpted below from The Lyme-Autism Connection, co-authored with Bryan Rosner, will help drive this point home."


CLICK THE LINK ABOVE FOR THE FULL STORY:


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LIA STANDS FOR  -  LYME INDUCED AUTISM:

"This organization was started because parents with Lyme disease were finding that their children with autism were also testing positive for Lyme disease and experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease and associated co-infections.

The LIA Foundation has become much more than another "autism" organization or another "Lyme disease" organization.  In fact, we fit in neither of these categories very well.  We believe that good basic information is available from other organizations, but we try to take it to the next level, opening our minds to all potential healing methods.  We refer to this as an "Eclectic Healing Approach".  

http://www.lymeinducedautism.com/whatislia.html

Chronic Mycoplasmal Infections

Click this link for more on Chronic Mycoplasmal Infections in Gulf War Veterans' Children and Autism Patients.

The cause of Autism has not been fully established, however many young children with Autism have tested positive with the Lyme bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.  Some researchers report as many as 7 out of 10 children tested.  That is quite a significant number in my humble opinion.

New Ideas about the Cause, Spread and Therapy of Lyme Disease

The transmission of Lyme disease was thought to be solely by the bite from a tick infected with the Borrelia spirochete.  However, this is not the sole source of infection.  It can be transmitted between sexual partners or by a pregnant woman to her fetus. It can also be transmitted by a mother who unknowingly, has the infection and who is breastfeeding.  Recent research is also linking autism in young children with Lyme infection.


The Bb spirochete is able to burrow into tendons, muscle cells, ligaments, and directly into organs.  A classic bulls-eye rash is often visible in the early stage of the illness. But this is not always the case.  


Later in the chronic illness stage of the disease, it can afflict the heart, the nervous system, all joints and other vital organs of the body.  


It is now realized that the disease can mimic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Bell’s Palsy, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, neuritis, psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, heart failure, angina, irregular heart rhythms, fibromyalgia, dermatitis, autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma and lupus, eye inflammatory reactions, sudden deafness, SIDS, ADD and hyperactivity, chronic pain and many, many other conditions.

Iodine and Lyme Disease...... Beyond anti-biotics

An interesting article on the possible benefits of Iodine on Lyme Disease.
Building the body's mineral reserves has been an essential part of some heavy metal detox programmes.

Lyme disease: A Look Beyond Antibiotics
Dietrich K.Klinghardt, MD, PhD
Bellevue WA aant@neuraltherapy.com 1/7/05 and 1/7/06
425-637-9339

"In the last decade the majority of outcome-oriented physicians observed a
major shift: we realized that it was neither the lack of vitamins or growth
hormone that made our patients ill. We discovered that toxicity and chronic
infections were most often at the core of the client’s suffering. We watched
the discussion, which infection may be the primary one: mycoplasma, stealth
viruses, HHV-6, trichomonas, Chlamydia pneumoniae, leptospirosis,
mutated strep, or what else?

The new kid on the block is Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) and some of us have
looked at it for a long time as possibly being the bug that opens the door for
all the other infections to enter the system. Lyme disease has become a
buzzword in the alternative medical field. Since none of the recommended
treatments are specific to either one of the microbes, we can never assume
that we really know what we treated once a patient has recovered."


It appears that many patients with MS, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, autism,
joint arthritis, chronic fatigue, sarcoidosis and even cancer are infected with
Borrelia burgdorferi. But is the infection causing the illness or is it an
opportunistic infection simply occurring in people weakened by other
illnesses.

http://www.klinghardtacademy.com/images/stories/Lyme_Disease/Lyme_protocol_Jan06.pdf