Lyme Disease: A Hidden Epidemic
It causes multiple fluctuating problems, disables, and even kills…with even the young and vital at risk! Most physicians and providers do not even consider Lyme disease and its co-infections, are not aware of the danger, and do not know how to properly test or treat! I was one of those just one year ago, having never known a case of Lyme disease in my 26 years of practice. Now I have over 50 patients with Lyme disease and its co-infections and the number keeps growing weekly. I am finding it in my long time patients and new patients to Excell for Life to bring great healing. This is all due to God’s awesome Spirit teaching and pushing me, and very thankfully me working to follow Him.
While this can be a scary topic, it is important that we learn about how to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the debilitating effects of this disease. Spring and summer is an important time to get outside and enjoy God’s wonderful creations. Job 37:14 “Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.”
In these next four articles on Lyme disease find out:
The high risk of contracting Lyme disease here in Indianapolis and all the US…
Why most doctors and providers don’t ever know or think about Lyme disease…
How you and or someone you know could be suffering from increasing problems due to the Lyme disease acquired recently or years ago…
Why almost all traditional lab testing companies fail to detect Lyme disease (therefore you must get your testing from a Lyme testing lab)…
Why infectious disease doctors do not know how to accurately diagnose or treat Lyme disease and tick bites…
How you can protect yourself and your family…
What to do if you or anyone you know gets a take bite…
This is my story about how I began learning about Lyme disease. It all began in March 2014. I am writing to educate and find as many people as possible who need to experience healing, and to prevent even more from experiencing this severe illness. Psalm 43:4 “I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”
I will be teaching you effective protection against tick bites and how to treat tick bites as soon as you get one in every article in this series!
My Journal Entry March 2014:
I am 53 years old, and I have 26 years of Family Practice experience. I have a deep love & passion for God, my family, my profession, and lifelong learning. I strongly believe that God always has more for us to learn.
James 1:5 “If anyone (and this really includes everyone when you think about it) lacks wisdom he/she should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given. But when you ask you must believe and not doubt!”
At this time, I know very little about Lyme disease, and almost nothing about its multiple severe life-threatening manifestations. I think health care for Lyme disease is something that is pretty much isolated to the East coast of the US.
Hannah, age 12, came to see me as a new patient (along with her younger brother, younger sister, Mom, and Dad…who we will discover much later that they all suffer from chronic Lyme disease). I am honored and excited to care for such an intelligent, caring, and lovely family who already eat very healthy, gluten and dairy free, and mostly organic. Hannah has unusual symptoms of extreme fatigue 1 month ago along with some bilateral leg swelling (but no rash or redness or trauma or infection or stressor) and wonders about food sensitivity testing and lab testing. Her fatigue and swelling are now much better, and she rates her energy 8-10. I order Genova IgG food sensitivity panel and thyroid, vitamin, cortisol, metabolic, hormone, and inflammation labs.
Diagnosis – fatigue, leg swelling
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is an infection caused by different strains of the invasive spirochete bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi, Bb, named after a doctor who identified the bacteria in 1982. It is an acute or potentially chronic debilitating disorder which can manifest a very wide range of symptoms.
How Do People Get Lyme Disease?
It is transmitted most commonly via the bite of an infected tick (deer tick or lone star tick). It can also be transmitted during pregnancy, sexually, and occasionally from other insects.
Infected ticks often carry and transmit other bacteria and parasites (such as Babesia, Bartonella, Erhlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasma, and more). Tick bites are nature’s dirty needle.
Early symptoms may include fever, headache, fatigue, rash and more. If left untreated, later symptoms often fluctuate in intensity and may include all of the early symptoms and also joint pains, anxiety, tremors, seizures, dizziness, vision loss, shortness of breath, blood pressure variations, heart arrhythmia, abdominal pain, constipation, insomnia, extreme weakness, neuropathy, muscle cramps, psychosis, loss of periods, miscarriages, increasing food sensitivities and allergies, autoimmune diseases (like ulcerative colitis and Hashimotos thyroiditis), nausea and vomiting, and much more, which of course results in severe disability and possibly even death.
Syphilis is caused by a type of spirochete bacteria and is “Lyme’s dumb cousin” – Lyme is a much worse infectious disease than syphilis because it exists in 3 different virulent forms and will infect any cell in the body! The disease is named after the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme Connecticut, where a number of cases were identified in 1975.
My Journal Entry April 2014:
Hannah is back to see me with her parents for her lab review. The past couple days her fatigue has returned even worse, and reports that when she goes from sitting to standing she feels very faint. Her energy varies from 3 to 8, and she even wakes up very fatigued after 8-10 hours of sleep. She loves to do her chores and homework and riding bikes with her family, but cannot ride her bike and even just washing dishes totally wears her out. Last year she reports she had similar short weakness spells and 2 fainting episodes. She also had some bladder pain last week which was better with cranberry pills. Hannah continues her very good diet and water intake and has had no new exposures… Her labs show some food sensitivity (though she has been avoiding the major one for her – gluten and dairy), and vitamin deficiency (b12, vit D, iron, fish oil, and coQ10) and genetic ApoE3/4 gene (with this she has more problems getting toxins out, and has increased risk of Alzheimers and cardiovascular disease). I made appropriate recommendations and expect her to feel better!
Diagnosis – fluctuating fatigue, syncope, bladder pain, leg swelling, food sensitivity; vitamin deficiency & ApoE3/4
Lyme Tip – Spring and Summer are the major risk times for tick exposure and bites. However, a patient who lives in Zionsville saw a tick crawling on her laundry room floor this week, so you can get a bite nearly any time of year!
Action Step – Consider whether you or any family member has had a tick bite or significant tick exposure or Lyme disease symptoms. Make an appointment with an Excell for Life provider to discuss. Keep reading my articles over the next month for more tips and prevention, and share this article with your friends and family to bring great healing and prevention. Further information: www.ILADS.org, LymeDisease.org, IndianaLymeConnect.com, and very good books, “The Beginners Guide to Lyme Disease”, “Lyme Disease Solution”, “Why Can’t I Get Better?”
