M.S., Parkinson's, or Simply Lyme Disease?

Have you been experiencing symptoms of illness, knowing that something is wrong but the doctors cannot seem to find the answer and have begun looking at you as a psycho case?

The symptoms constantly change and migrate. They may begin as nagging nausea or swollen lymph nodes for long periods of time, but then you find that you're used to the doctors saying they can't find anything wrong and you get settled into your life again.

Of course, once your able to get along with the nausea and swollen lymph nodes (or whatever symptoms you begin with), along come migraines, unbelievable fatigue, stiff joints, loss of memory, speech impairment, tremor, and seizures. This becomes the process of your life...if you can call it living.

This is exactly what I've experienced over the past (at least) 8 years, although they say I most likely have had Lyme for up to 20 years. During my series of ill years I experienced five bouts of mono, was misdiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, told I had Lymphoma, misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, experienced depression, anxiety, misdiagnosed with plausible Multiple Sclerosis, and more.

I wouldn't take PLAUSIBLE as the diagnosis.

What was the final diagnosis?

Through a string of events, including physical, mental and spiritual, I was able to visit a doctor who ran some tests (ELISA and the Western Blot) that showed positive for Lyme Disease.

Why didn't I get tested for Lyme Disease earlier in this series of illnesses? Well, on a follow-up with one of my other physicians, I found that he actually tested me with the ELISA test and it came back negative, which is very common as testing for Lyme is not completely accurate.

Click Here For Statistics By The CDC
note:  The CDC acknowledges that their statistics are not necessarily accurate.  In fact, the numbers from independent sources tell us that Lyme disease numbers are higher than AIDS.

Based on where I live, the doctors were not likely to test me. However, when I look at those statistics and look at my resulting diagnosis, I take other statistics into perspective, which make me exclaim about why there is not an alert for doctors to perform the simple blood test for Lyme Disease.



Take, for example, the fact that Lyme Disease mimics symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.

MS World Map Link

"Multiple sclerosis (ms) is the most common, disabling, neurological condition, to affect young adults in the world today."

If you have a patient who you suspect has MS and have prescribed a lumbar puncture that does not come back as positive for anything abnormal, even with brain lesions (which can occur with Lyme Disease), wouldn't you test the patient for Lyme Disease before stating that they must have PLAUSIBLE MS and prescribing injections that may cost them thousands of dollars per month (not to mention lasting side-effects)?

What about Alzheimer's? Tremor and memory problems along with similar symptoms that may cause a doctor to diagnose someone with Alzheimer's can occur with Chronic Lyme Disease (being infected with Lyme Disease for a length of time).

Alzheimer's Site Link

"Every 72 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s"

Parkinson's Disease is the same as the above diseases. This is a disease that is very hard to diagnose and there is actually not a very firm procedure of diagnoses. Wouldn't doctors be wise to perform a simple blood test to verify that the symptoms are not Lyme Disease?

Parkinson's Disease Link

"How is Parkinson disease diagnosed?
The process of making a Parkinson disease diagnosis can be difficult. There is no X-ray or blood test that can confirm Parkinson disease. A physician arrives at the diagnosis only after a thorough examination. Blood tests and brain scans known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be performed to rule out other conditions that have similar symptoms. People suspected of having Parkinson disease should consider seeking the care of a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson disease."

Fibromyalgia is another mysterious diagnosis, and a growing number of people are being diagnosed and treated with medication on a daily basis.

Fibromylagia Statistics Link

"Prevalence Rate (Fibromyalgia): approx 1 in 73 or 1.36% or 3.7 million people in USA"

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is another mysterious illness, yet I found a quote regarding Lyme Disease under "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" on the following link.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Link

"Lyme disease and related tick-borne infections. Lyme disease does not always present acutely with a rash, and less than half of sufferers recall a tick bite (the nymphal deer tick is the size of a poppy seed, and secretes an anesthetic to prevent the host from feeling its bite). Furthermore, the characteristic joint pain is not always present. For these reasons Lyme can be difficult to diagnose, particularly in its later stages, at which point symptoms are virtually identical to those of CFS.[118] The accuracy of blood tests for Lyme remains highly controversial, especially since they depend on an effective immune system response, which many researchers believe is compromised by the disease. As a result, some clinicians believe Lyme is under-diagnosed."

If you know anyone with symptoms as I have listed above, please have them tested for Lyme Disease. Finding you have Lyme disease can relieve a lot of stress from yourself (a loved one) and your family. The treatments may take time to work, however, just think of the consequences of continuing down the road of a diagnoses of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's instead of a simple diagnoses with an actual treatment and hope for the future.

Please feel free to view my Lyme video diary and please subscribe... located here



Sources:
www.cdc.gov
www.themcfox.com
www.alz.org
www.parkinson.org
www.wrongdiagnosis.com
en.wikipedia.org
www.hopkins-arthritis.org

Lyme Disease IS A U.S. Government-Created Bioweapon. Now Governments Deny The Existence Of The Epidemic.

Is Lyme Disease A Bioweapon Created By The United States?

Biochemistry of Lyme Disease: Borrelia burgdorferi Spirochete/Cyst 
by Prof. Robert W. Bradford and Henry W. Allen

Listing 2: History of Lyme Disease

1900
Effective antisyphilitic, Salvarsan, (syphilis, a spirochete disease) discovered by Paul Ehrlich, MD.

1908
Ehrlich awarded Nobel Prize for the arsenic-containing compound to treat syphilis.

1952/2004
Highly classified US Government animal disease research laboratory, Plum Island, in close proximity to Lyme, CT.
1974
First Lyme symptoms, 14-year old boy, Lyme, CT.

1975
Lyme disease first recognized by Allen Steere, MD, in Lyme, CT.

1982
The causative Lyme spirochete was discovered by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer.

1983
Borrelia burgdorferi was named after Dr. Willy Burgdorfer.

2003
American Biologics' Bradford Variable Projection Microscope (BVPM) images of Lyme spirochete and cyst forms.

2004
Dr. Robert Bradford, through the Bradford Research Institute (BRI), an independent research entity, funded by American Biologics, is the developer of Bismacine,TM a chemical compound of bismuth. This formulation has shown to be effective at the Ingles Hospital against the spirochete and cyst forms of the Lyme organism.
© 2004 BRI

http://www.townsendletter.com/FebMar2006/lyme0206.htm

more...

Biochemistry of Lyme Disease: Borrelia burgdorferi Spirochete/Cyst 
by Prof. Robert W. Bradford and Henry W. Allen

Once the cause of Lyme disease was known, it seemed that a treatment modality would soon follow and the problem would be solved. Unfortunately, as history has shown, this was not to be the case...

...Spirochetes in general are difficult to treat for several reasons: They have the ability to burrow into or between cells and hide, gaining protection from the immune system. Both Bb and Treponema pallidum, the causative agent for syphilis, have highly unusual outer membranes, and the molecular architecture of these membranes is responsible for their ability to cause persistent infection. 

...also has a three-layer cell wall, helping to determine the spiral shape of the spirochete. This distinctive cell wall resembles those of Gram-negative bacteria, although Bb does not stain Gram-negative but is stained by silver stains (containing silver nitrate). This characteristic may be related to the purported treatment of Lyme disease by colloidal silver.

...a single flagella, attached to each end of the spirochete, running the length of the organism and surrounded by it. This feature is significant in relation to immune protection, since most bacterial flagella are highly antigenic. Still another difference in Bb structural architecture is a clear gel-like coating surrounding the bacteria, giving it protection from the immune system.

....is one of the most immuno-suppressive infectious agent, affecting cellular immunity, humoral immunity, and natural killer (NK) cell population...

...A typical cell wall reproduction time for Streptococcus or Staphylococcus is less than 20 minutes, while the total reproduction time of Bb is from 12-24 hours. Most antibiotics inhibit the formation of cell walls and are effective only when the bacteria are dividing with the formation of new cell wall. With the slow replication time of Bb, an antibiotic would have to be present 24 hours a day for one year and six months to be present during the cell wall reproduction period....

There are basically two mechanisms by which Bb can survive within the host and remain for long periods of time, unknown by the victim. Because of these processes, a person infected by Bb can remain unsymptomatic for long periods of time and then suddenly, without warning, begin to experience symptoms once again. One of these mechanisms involves the invasion of tissues by the spirochete. The tip of the organism has the ability to bind to cells, spin and twirl until it stimulates the cells own enzymes to digest a part of the membrane, finally allowing entry. Once inside, the spirochete results in either the death of the cell or takes up residency within. It may lie dormant for years, protected from both the immune system and the action of antibiotics. 

...Some spirochets become coated with fragments of B-cell membrane and escape detection by the immune system by masquerading as a B-cell. Most of the antigenic proteins in Bb (those in other bacteria mark the microorganism for destruction by the immune system) are found on the inside of the inner membrane where they cannot contact those WBC that detect invaders...

...a second strain having different surface antigens will take up residence in a different tissue where it escapes detection and survives. For these reasons and others, it becomes apparent that this particular spirochete has evolved disguises and biological techniques to guarantee its survival and thwart any attempts to circumvent it...

...It has been demonstrated that Nitrous Oxide (NO) is toxic to Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative organism of Lyme disease. Therefore, any inhibitor of PDE-5 is a potential therapeutic agent for Lyme disease. Inhibitors of PDE-5 in common use today are the drugs sildenafil (more commonly known as Viagra), Levitra, and Cialis. Whether these drugs act therapeutically against the Lyme spirochete has not been demonstrated clinically and remains unknown...

...is one of the most immunosuppressive infectious agents known and, as a result, many secondary infectious agents are found...

Listing 4: Inhibitors of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) and its Toxin

Inhibitor Glycyrrhizic Acid (Licorice Root) Biorizin™ Glutamylglutamate (Glu-Glu Dipeptide) Nitrous Oxide (NO) (Arginine Stimulates Production) Bismacine™ Chromocine™ Silver Ion

Inhibits Toxin Toxin Bb Bb Bb Bb

© 2005 BRI 

Major Diseases Linked to Lyme Spirochete (Lyme Disease)

Lyme Spirochete Found in the Brain of MS Patients

The causative organism of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, has been found in the brains of many victims of multiple sclerosis (MS). The antibiotics minocycline, tinidazole, and hydroxychloroquine are reportedly capable of destroying both the spirochetal and cyst form of Bb. Because of this apparent correlation, it is proposed that double-blind clinical trials be performed to confirm this finding.¹⁷ (See Listing 5.)

Listing 5: Lyme Disease Linked to Four Major Diseases
Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Systemic Scleroderma and Arthritis

ALZHEIMER'S 
The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi has been found in the brain of many Alzheimer patients. Also in the brain, antigens and genes of Bb have been co-localized with beta-amyloid deposits.


MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS 
The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) has been found in the brain of many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients along with amyloid deposits. MS has been linked to Lyme disease both seasonally and by location.


SYSTEMIC SCLERODERMA 
The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi has been found in the blood in systemic scleroderma. Treatment with antibiotics effective against Bb returned the skin to normal.


LYME-INDUCED ARTHRITIS 
Only certain strains of Bb are capable of causing the symptoms of arthritis.
http://www.townsendletter.com/FebMar2006/lyme0206.htm
© 2005 BRI

US Government Admits Lyme Disease Is A Bioweapon

author: Lymerayja

The existence of the Lyme disease epidemic is officially covered up in the UK, its myriad presentations  routinely misdiagnosed as everything from "M.E." to MS to hypochondria. This is the first admission by a  US government body that the cause is an incapacitating biowar agent

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The $10.6 million Margaret Batts Tobin Laboratory Building will provide a 22,000- square-foot facility to study such diseases as anthrax, tularemia, cholera, lyme disease, desert valley  fever and other parasitic and fungal diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified  these diseases as potential bioterrorism agents.".  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10039154/ So, for the first time, a US government body admits that Lyme disease is a biological warfare agent.  This is the reason that hundreds of thousands of men, women and children around the world have  been left to rot with wrong diagnoses, or have had their Lyme disease acknowledged but been told that it is an "easily-treated" disease, given 3 weeks' antibiotics, then told to shove off when their  symptoms carried on after that. In Britain the existence of the epidemic is denied completely, and virtually no effort made to warn or  educate the public about the dangers of ticks, which carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. The Borrelia genus has been a subject of biowar experimentation at least as far back as WW2,  when the infamous Japanese Unit 731, which tortured and experimented on live prisoners, studied it. The reality is, Lyme disease is for many a chronic, horrendous, incapacitating disease  producing crippling fatigue, constant pain, loss of memory, possible paralysis, psychosis,  blindness and even death. It was an ideal biowar agent because it evades detection on routine tests, has an enormous range of  different presentations, and can mimic everything from ADHD to multiple sclerosis to carpal tunnel  syndrome to rheumatoid arthritis to chronic fatigue syndrome (M.E.) to lupus to schizophrenia. Enemy  medical staff would never know what had hit them, nor even that ONE illness had hit their population, rather than an unexplained rise in dozens of known conditions. Honest doctors and scientists who tried to treat or research Lyme disease according to ethical principles  have been viciously persecuted by government-backed organisations in the US, Europe and elsewhere.  Many specialists in the US were threatened with loss of their license or had anonymous, false allegations  sent to the medical board, which tied them up in mountains of paperwork and legal fees...some were forced  out of medicine or even driven to suicide. Instead, medical disinfo agents, most of whom have a background in military/biowarfare units, such as  Dr Allen Steere, Mark Klempner, Philip Baker, Edward McSweegan, David Dennis, Alan Barbour etc were  enabled to assume top positions in Lyme research , CDC, NIH etc from where they issued false information ,  covering up the true seriousness and chronic nature of the disease, and comdemned untold numbers to a  living hell. http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/01/331695.shtml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have read the information above,  you may find it interesting, but chalk it up to conspiracy hype. However, as a person who is living with late-stage Lyme disease, I can tell you that it is not blown out of proportion and that it is not conspiracy hype.   I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, then chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, early Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis and many other illnesses before they diagnosed me correctly with Lyme.  Over those many long years, I was treated with very strong medications that will affect me for the rest of my life. Additionally, the damage done by the Lyme will also affect me for the rest of my life.  It affects the neurological system and migrates, creating symptoms that mimic many different diseases. Medical bills get out of control.  The government created it and so they should pay for the many, many treatments and the disability that comes with it. I am posting this information so that there is more that may understand the disease, its origins, and may find the treatments they need to have a life that is more fulfilling and less painful, along with peace-of-mind from knowing what you actually have.  Thanks for reading!

Chronic Fatigue and Lyme Disease

Interestingly, in my research regarding Lyme disease, I have made a discovery. This discovery may not be much to someone who is not fighting the battle of the disease. This discovery may not mean much to someone who is not fighting the battle to gain awareness for testing. However, with both of those battles in my lap, I feel the following linked article to be a great discovery.

www.chronicfatiguesupport.com

As you read the article, you begin to realize that someone is acknowledging factors that others are not willing to acknowledge.

First, this comes from Chronic Fatigue Support.com. They are acknowledging that Chronic Fatigue may actually be Lyme disease.

Second is a statement that I have gathered from many locations and sources into one and this link seems to sum it up rather profoundly.

"The incidence of asymptomatic infection has not been adequately delineated. There appear to be substantial numbers of patients who remain asymptomatic, but reactivate their disease a number of months or years later, following trauma, pregnancy, a medical illness for which an antibiotic is prescribed, or other stresses, including psychological stresses. The Lyme OspA vaccine has appeared to reactivate Lyme disease in a number of individuals who knew, but some who did not know, they had prior Lyme disease. The mechanisms responsible for the reactivation of the disease have not been defined, but may include both molecular mimicry and underlying infection."

Third, that many in the medical field don't recognize that there is Chronic Lyme disease or Late-Lyme disease. In this article, they are refuting those claims.

"That chronic Lyme Disease actually exists, and is likely the most common form of the disease, is supported by epidemiologic studies demonstrating that 30-50-% of treated and untreated patients go on to develop a multisymptom disorder typical of, and indistinguishable from, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (1, 28). As with other multisymptom disorders, chronic Lyme disease is a clinical syndrome consisting of fatigue, arthralgias and myalgias,and other nervous system dysfunction(7).

Furthermore, the results of treatment studies appear to support the hypothesis that persistent infection is responsible for the chronic symptoms. It is likely that Lyme disease will serve as a useful model for other chronic multisymptom disorders. Whether the pathogenesis of "late" Lyme Disease differs from that of the chronic form of the disease remains to be established."

This last point is one that arguably could save the U.S. economy millions of dollars in healthcare costs, as well as saving lives and relieving stress of the individuals and families involved.

Sources:
Chronic Fatigue Support.com

Plausible Multiple Sclerosis? No Way!

As I stated in the beginning to this series of articles on Lyme Disease, I experienced at least 8 years of being critically and chronically ill. Doctors could not figure out what was causing the symptoms.

Oh yes, they would guess that it maybe Arthritis, Lymphoma, Fibromyalgia, and the last diagnosis...PLAUSIBLE Multiple Sclerosis. However, I was not going to take PLAUSIBLE as the diagnosis.

Once I went through the process as stated in my December 30, 2007 post, I finally received the real diagnosis...Lyme Disease. That was after spending family vacation at Disneyland, this past October, in a wheelchair. I am never going to spend vacation at Disneyland in a wheelchair again!

Lyme Disease creates many symptoms.

Here is one site that gives some of those symptoms.
www.anapsid.org link
Abnormal sensitivity to hot or cold
Allergies (nasal, other; new, increased or worsening)
Canker sores (frequent)
Chills and/or shakes when hungry (may occur instead of feeling hungry)
Cold hands and feet
Extreme fatigue after minimal exertion
Feeling hot or cold often
Flu-like symptoms, on-going or recurrent after initial gradual or acute onset; includes mild fever (99.5-101.5 F / 37.5-38.6 C), chills
Hair loss (alopecia)
Herpes simplex or shingles rash
Increased susceptibility to infections
Low-grade fevers
Low blood pressure (below 110/70)
Low body temperature (below 97.5)
Lymph nodes painful, swollen (in neck; under arms)
Night sweats (not related to menopause or fever)
Orthostatic Intolerance (neurally mediated hypotension)
Reactive hypoglycemia and insulin resistance
Thirst, increased
Temperature irregularities; often feeling hot or cold irrespective of actual ambient temperature and body temperature; low body temperature (below 97.6 F / 36.4 C)
Thyroid inflammation (acute thyroiditis; hypothyroidism; Hashimoto's thyroiditis)



An even more impressive and comprehensive list of symptoms comes from the following site.
Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation Click Here For Link

"Many Lyme patients were firstly diagnosed with other illnesses such as Juvenile Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Reactive Arthritis, Infectious Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Fibromyalgia, Raynaud's Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Interstitial Cystis, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Fifth Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, scleroderma, lupus, early ALS, early Alzheimers Disease, crohn's disease, ménières syndrome, reynaud's syndrome, sjogren's syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, prostatitis, psychiatric disorders (bipolar, depression, etc.), encephalitis, sleep disorders, thyroid disease and various other illnesses."

"If you are a doctor please re-examine these diagnoses, incorporating Lyme in the differential diagnoses.

"The one common thread with Lyme Disease is the number of systems affected (brain, central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, musco-skeletal, etc.) and sometimes the hourly/daily/weekly/monthly changing of symptoms."

"No one will have all symptoms but if many are present serious consideration must be given by any physician to Lyme as the possible culprit. Lyme is endemic in Canada period. The infection rate with Lyme in the tick population is exploding in North America and as the earth's temperature warms this trend is expected to continue."

Check this page link for a list of 75 symptoms that will help you to know if you should be tested for Lyme Disease.
Click Here For Page Link

I was asked about tests for Lyme Disease. The following relates the basics on the testing.

www.acponline.org link
"Blood Tests
Blood tests, also known as Lyme titers, cannot diagnose Lyme disease alone, but they are used to confirm a diagnosis. The most common blood test ordered for Lyme disease is the ELISA, with the western blot used as a follow-up test. The ELISA tests for antibodies, the body's defense system against infections; it does not test for the bacteria itself. These anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies may take up to 2 to 6 weeks after infection to appear in the blood. Therefore, a blood test immediately following a tick bite will not be able to determine whether or not a person has been infected since not enough time has passed for antibodies to develop."

"Other bacterial infections and diseases may cause an ELISA to be positive when, in fact, the patient does not have Lyme disease. Therefore, the Western Blot, a more accurate test that can be used 6 to 12 weeks after infection, is recommended to confirm all positive or equivocal ELISA results. However, if symptoms and history strongly suggest Lyme disease, a doctor may begin treatment without blood test confirmation. Note that frequent testing without symptoms that suggest infection, even in endemic areas, increases the chance of a test result being positive when a person is not actually infected with Lyme disease."

I hope that this part in the series is helpful. I will continue to give further information in this series with blogs that include treatment options, statistics, links, etc.

If you suspect you may have Lyme Disease, don't wait for a doctor to offer to test you. Take it upon yourself to ask the doctor to order the tests. There is nothing wrong with taking control of your health care. It is your life. Choose to live it fully!

Sources:

www.anapsid.org - Melissa Kaplan's Chronic Neuroimmune Diseases
Information on CFS, FM, MCS, Lyme Disease, Thyroid, and more...
Melissa Kaplan, The Carousel Network, May/June 2003

www.canlyme.com - Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation

www.acponline.org - American College of Physicians