Lyme Disease Awareness Month

[shazdancer]

Hi, Greasespotters, this is my annual post to remind you all to BE CAREFUL out there hiking in the woods, tall grass, and seashore, as it is once again tick season, and ticks can spread Lyme disease.

This past year has brought several people into the spotlight who have joined the list of thousands severely affected by this disease:

• Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club and The Opposite of Fate
• Rebecca Wells, author of the Ya-ya Sisterhood books
• Brooke Landau, who works for ESPN and appeared on the Today show to talk about her treatment

There are two very different standards of care out there. Both protocols have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and are the subject of much controversy. One states that late-stage, disseminated Lyme is easy to test for and treat with a short course of antibiotics. If your symptoms return after treatment, too bad, you have an autoimmune disorder, learn to live with it.

The other protocol says that severe cases of Lyme disease should be treated based on symptoms, and that antibody tests for Lyme are not always accurate. A longer course of antibiotics in different combinations may be needed, as well as treatment for other co-infections carried by the tick. The Lyme bacterium hides out in cells and can be difficult to eradicate entirely, but it is realistic to work toward reducing the bacterial load so that the patient can get back to a fairly normal life.

You may never see the tick that infects you. It can be as small as a period on the end of this sentence. It may be in your hair, or behind a knee. You may not get a bull's eye rash. (But if you do, take a picture of it in outdoors lighting -- it is definitive for Lyme.)

Please suspect Lyme, and find a Lyme specialist, if you have any of the following:

1.) Flu symptoms at this time of year -- it is not flu season!

2.) Sudden onset of swelling or pain in the joints for no reason

3.) Overwhelming fatigue

4.) Numbness, tingling, or paralysis, including half of the face (called Bell's palsy)

5.) Trouble concentrating, recalling words, depression

6.) The feeling like you were healthy before, but now you're falling apart with weird symptoms

This is only a partial list.

Please take it seriously.

Regards,

Shaz

[coolchef1248 @adelphia.net]

thanks for the info it is most informative.

[herbiejuan]

Thanks Shaz A friend of mine got Lyme from a vacation in Michigan, it took him several rounds of antibiotics and a year for him to recuperate.

[shazdancer]

Yeah, herbie, I think that as more and more people go through this experience, it will be harder and harder to deny that longer courses of antibiotics can improve tough cases.

A lot of good studies are coming out of Columbia Presbyterian these days, including one that recently proved that a second course of IV antibiotics could help patients who had relapsed after a first course.

Favorite Lyme links:

Lymenet

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society

Columbia Lyme Research

Cheryl's Lyme Info page

Regards,

Shaz