Bite Back at Lyme

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 not seen in print, but 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

Drowning In Sleepiness

I feel like I'm drowning in the sleepiness of having to stay awake all day.

My body wants to go to a quiet place where I can be a superhero and save the world without moving a muscle except my brain.

Dreams are a relief from the reality of days when I go from 6am to 10pm without rest and without relief...pushing myself like the little train that could.

Pretending not to have Lyme Disease, to be a supermom, to be everything to everyone.

Laundry is done, the walk and driveway is shoveled, the floors are mopped and vacuumed, the dishes are clean, my kids are well, my family is happy, now I'm going to collapse!



Something I read today that I'd like to share...

Become a Better You, by Joel Olsteen
"You may not feel well today, but don't go around saying, "I don't think I'm ever going to get over this sickness." Instead, start boldly declaring, "God is restoring health unto me. I am getting better every day in every way."

No matter how I feel during the day, my push is to beat this illness and I know that I can do it!

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