10 Things You Need To Know About Lyme Today
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Image courtesy of TheTrailtoHealth.com.
Reprinted from TheTrailtoHealth.com with the kind permission of Erika Schlick Sinclair. To read the original article, click here
1. Lyme is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the world.
To put it in perspective, there are more new Lyme cases each year than Breast Cancer and HIV/AIDS combined! The CDC estimates that there are 329,000 new cases of Lyme per year. Some Lyme doctors estimate that the numbers are closer to about 1 million new cases per year. The discrepancy is due to inadequate testing and misdiagnosis such as Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, Parkinson’s, ALS, Autism and even Alzheimer's. In comparison, there are 234,000 new cases of Breast Cancer and 50,000 new cases of HIV/AIDs per year.
2. When you get Lyme, you don’t just get Lyme, you get dozens of Co-Infections.
Lyme Disease is just an umbrella term for what is really dozens of infections. Ticks carry over 2 dozen pathogens that can be just as debilitating and deadly as Lyme Disease such as Babesia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma and more. When a tick bites you, you don’t only get Lyme Disease. You often get dozens of these other co-infections, some which have no treatment and can be deadly or cause a life long allergy to red meat.
In addition to the bacterial load from a tick bite, people with Lyme end up with a very compromised immune system. With “Lyme” you often have Chronic Fatigue Viruses, Candida, Toxic Mold, Parasites, Heavy Metals and infected cavitations. All of this has to be addressed in order to heal, as well as a major overhaul of your diet and lifestyle.
3. Lyme testing is useless.
Current testing for Lyme is very inaccurate. It relies on testing antibodies to see if you have Lyme. It takes your body about 30 days to start producing antibodies to Lyme so if you are testing after a tick bite you will have a false negative even though you may have Lyme. The Elisa test does not test for Co-Infections which you can get without Lyme as well. In addition, it picks up less than 50% of proven Lyme cases making it unacceptable as the first step of a screening protocol. The CDC has even admitted that testing is not accurate and says Lyme should be a clinical diagnosis. How do we not have proper testing for the fastest growing vector-borne disease? The best test available right now is through Igenex Labs but most mainstream doctors will not use this lab and rely only on the faulty Elisa. Furthermore, as you are treating Lyme there is no test you can do to know if you still have Lyme or not. Getting a positive Elisa is nearly impossible, even if you have Lyme.
4. Patients are often misdiagnosed and go to multiple doctors for years before getting a proper diagnosis.
The average time for someone to be properly diagnosed with Lyme is 2+ years. Some people go decades before being diagnosed due to misdiagnosis and doctors who are not trained to properly diagnose Lyme. Most doctors do not learn more than a paragraph in medical school about Lyme and do not know how to properly diagnose it and much less treat it.
Common misdiagnosis for Lyme are Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, Parkinson’s, ALS, Hashimotos, Lupus, Autism and even Alzheimer’s. Dr. Klinghardt, one of the top Lyme doctors said that he “has never had a single patient with Alzheimer’s, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease or Multiple Sclerosis who tested negative for Lyme." Many of these patients are given immunosuppressant drugs which can make the Lyme reproduce even faster. Patients that have been misdiagnosed are treating a disease they don't have and often end up sicker. Often people do not even have positive markers for these diseases, yet still get diagnosed with them because that is all the doctors know to diagnose them with.
Infectious Disease Doctors, Rheumatologist, Neurologist and Endocrinologist rarely test for Lyme and if they do they use the Elisa Testing leaving a huge portion of the population to be misdiagnosed with other diseases. Be your own health advocate and find a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) if you have been diagnosed with any of these diseases and get tested by Igenex and evaluated by an LLMD. Here is more info if you have been diagnosed with one of these diseases and what to do if you think you have Lyme.
5. You can get Lyme anywhere.
Lyme has been found in every continent except for Antartica. You do not have to be outdoorsy to get Lyme. You can get it in Central Park. You can get it in Golden Gate Park. You can get it in the Santa Monica Mountains. You can get it walking down the street on a sidewalk. You can get it inside your home. Ticks can jump on us or our pets and get brought right into your living room. It is important to always use preventative measures to stay safe from ticks. Your risk definitely goes up when you go hiking or do outdoorsy things so be extra mindful during those activities and always shower right away and do tick checks.
6. Lyme can be treated if caught early with 6-8 weeks antibiotics.
If caught early, Lyme can be treated with 6-8 weeks of antibiotics. The problem is, that it is rarely caught early. Less than 50% of patients get a Bulls Eye Rash which means you have definitely been infected with Lyme. Between the unreliable testing and the variability of the rash, catching Lyme early becomes very tricky. If you are “lucky” to get the rash, a lot of doctors will only want to give you a few days of antibiotics. This is not going to prevent Lyme from becoming chronic. You must insist on 6-8 weeks of antibiotics and make an appointment to see an LLMD right away to get proper treatment. Do not risk Lyme becoming chronic.
ILADS recommends a minimum of 6-8 weeks of antibiotics if you were bitten by a tick and have a rash. If you are bitten by a tick and do not have a rash you should still take 28 days of prophylactic antibiotics to prevent Chronic Lyme. You should also test for co-infections and see if you need to be treated for any of them.
If you do not treat Lyme right away, it will become chronic and there no cure. Once Lyme is chronic there is no one treatment that works for everyone. Many people travel all over the world to get alternative treatments in hopes of finding something that will help them recover their life. Getting antibiotics right away is the best way to prevent a life time of disease.
7. Lyme is a controversial disease and the CDC will not admit Chronic Lyme exists.
The CDC uses outdated IDSA guidelines for their recommendation on the treatment of Lyme. Over half of the members of the IDSA have conflicts of interest with insurance companies, diagnostic testing, pharmaceutical companies and patents preventing patients from getting the care they need. "Of the 14 panel authors of the first edition IDSA guidelines: 6 of them or their universities held patents on Lyme or its co-infections, 4 received funding from Lyme or co-infection test kit manufacturers, 4 were paid by insurance companies to write Lyme policy guidelines or consult in Lyme legal cases, and 9 received money from Lyme disease vaccine manufacturers." (source Under Our Skin) Many doctors risk losing their medical license to treat Lyme patients. How are people supposed to heal from this epidemic? Want more info on the CDC Coverup?
8. Insurance does not cover any Chronic Lyme Disease treatment.
Since the CDC will not acknowledge Chronic Lyme, insurance companies will not pay more than a few weeks of initial antibiotics. Most Lyme patients spend an average of $53,000 or more per year on treatments. In addition to high out of pocket costs, most Lyme patients are unable to work making it very difficult to afford treatment.
9. Chronic Lyme is similar to having AIDS or Cancer.
Chronic Lyme has been likened to AIDS in the 80’s and can be even more difficult to treat than Cancer. Lyme has extremely debilitating symptoms on top of all the political, diagnosis and treatment issues. Lyme is also an invisible illness meaning you look fine on the outside, but the inside of your body is a mess. Often doctors do not believe patients that they are so sick and think they are making it up or that its in their head. Patients have to become their own health advocates and research their disease and treatments themselves to get better. Think Dallas Players Club. That's what patients have to go through to get proper treatment.
Phil Spector, a Duke Oncologist wrote a great piece about Lyme compared to Cancer. He actually had Lyme himself. There is also a great 3 part series which compares Lyme to AIDS. Part 1 Part 2 and Part 3
10. Some studies suggest Lyme is an STD and can be passed from mother to child congenitally and through breast milk.
There are studies that show that Lyme has the potential to be an STD. Borrelia Burgdorferi is the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease. It is a spiral-shaped bacteria called a Spirochete and is the cousin of Syphilis. Other studies have shown that mothers can pass Lyme to their fetus. Lyme has been found in the placenta, umbilical cords and breast milk of infected mothers. Congenital Lyme is a common cause of Autism and Seizures in children. Lyme is very common in children and if your child is having any health issues they should definitely be tested with Igenix Labs.
These are the realities that Lyme Patients deal with every day.
For more information check out ILADS and watch the documentary Under Our Skin.
Do you think you might have Lyme? If so learn what you can do...
Erika
SchlickSinclair became a IIN Certified Health Coach after a personal
struggle with Lyme Disease, Mold Illness and Multiple Autoimmune
Diseases. Her journey to health is covered in her blog the The Trail To Health,
which also serves as a guide and resource for other people dealing with
chronic conditions. In addition to pursuing knowledge about ways for
people to heal, she enjoys going to the beach, snuggling with her
adorable French Bulldogs and spending time with her friends and family.
1. Lyme is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the world.
To put it in perspective, there are more new Lyme cases each year than Breast Cancer and HIV/AIDS combined! The CDC estimates that there are 329,000 new cases of Lyme per year. Some Lyme doctors estimate that the numbers are closer to about 1 million new cases per year. The discrepancy is due to inadequate testing and misdiagnosis such as Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, Parkinson’s, ALS, Autism and even Alzheimer's. In comparison, there are 234,000 new cases of Breast Cancer and 50,000 new cases of HIV/AIDs per year.
2. When you get Lyme, you don’t just get Lyme, you get dozens of Co-Infections.
Lyme Disease is just an umbrella term for what is really dozens of infections. Ticks carry over 2 dozen pathogens that can be just as debilitating and deadly as Lyme Disease such as Babesia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma and more. When a tick bites you, you don’t only get Lyme Disease. You often get dozens of these other co-infections, some which have no treatment and can be deadly or cause a life long allergy to red meat.
In addition to the bacterial load from a tick bite, people with Lyme end up with a very compromised immune system. With “Lyme” you often have Chronic Fatigue Viruses, Candida, Toxic Mold, Parasites, Heavy Metals and infected cavitations. All of this has to be addressed in order to heal, as well as a major overhaul of your diet and lifestyle.
3. Lyme testing is useless.
Current testing for Lyme is very inaccurate. It relies on testing antibodies to see if you have Lyme. It takes your body about 30 days to start producing antibodies to Lyme so if you are testing after a tick bite you will have a false negative even though you may have Lyme. The Elisa test does not test for Co-Infections which you can get without Lyme as well. In addition, it picks up less than 50% of proven Lyme cases making it unacceptable as the first step of a screening protocol. The CDC has even admitted that testing is not accurate and says Lyme should be a clinical diagnosis. How do we not have proper testing for the fastest growing vector-borne disease? The best test available right now is through Igenex Labs but most mainstream doctors will not use this lab and rely only on the faulty Elisa. Furthermore, as you are treating Lyme there is no test you can do to know if you still have Lyme or not. Getting a positive Elisa is nearly impossible, even if you have Lyme.
4. Patients are often misdiagnosed and go to multiple doctors for years before getting a proper diagnosis.
The average time for someone to be properly diagnosed with Lyme is 2+ years. Some people go decades before being diagnosed due to misdiagnosis and doctors who are not trained to properly diagnose Lyme. Most doctors do not learn more than a paragraph in medical school about Lyme and do not know how to properly diagnose it and much less treat it.
Common misdiagnosis for Lyme are Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, Parkinson’s, ALS, Hashimotos, Lupus, Autism and even Alzheimer’s. Dr. Klinghardt, one of the top Lyme doctors said that he “has never had a single patient with Alzheimer’s, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease or Multiple Sclerosis who tested negative for Lyme." Many of these patients are given immunosuppressant drugs which can make the Lyme reproduce even faster. Patients that have been misdiagnosed are treating a disease they don't have and often end up sicker. Often people do not even have positive markers for these diseases, yet still get diagnosed with them because that is all the doctors know to diagnose them with.
Infectious Disease Doctors, Rheumatologist, Neurologist and Endocrinologist rarely test for Lyme and if they do they use the Elisa Testing leaving a huge portion of the population to be misdiagnosed with other diseases. Be your own health advocate and find a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) if you have been diagnosed with any of these diseases and get tested by Igenex and evaluated by an LLMD. Here is more info if you have been diagnosed with one of these diseases and what to do if you think you have Lyme.
5. You can get Lyme anywhere.
Lyme has been found in every continent except for Antartica. You do not have to be outdoorsy to get Lyme. You can get it in Central Park. You can get it in Golden Gate Park. You can get it in the Santa Monica Mountains. You can get it walking down the street on a sidewalk. You can get it inside your home. Ticks can jump on us or our pets and get brought right into your living room. It is important to always use preventative measures to stay safe from ticks. Your risk definitely goes up when you go hiking or do outdoorsy things so be extra mindful during those activities and always shower right away and do tick checks.
6. Lyme can be treated if caught early with 6-8 weeks antibiotics.
If caught early, Lyme can be treated with 6-8 weeks of antibiotics. The problem is, that it is rarely caught early. Less than 50% of patients get a Bulls Eye Rash which means you have definitely been infected with Lyme. Between the unreliable testing and the variability of the rash, catching Lyme early becomes very tricky. If you are “lucky” to get the rash, a lot of doctors will only want to give you a few days of antibiotics. This is not going to prevent Lyme from becoming chronic. You must insist on 6-8 weeks of antibiotics and make an appointment to see an LLMD right away to get proper treatment. Do not risk Lyme becoming chronic.
ILADS recommends a minimum of 6-8 weeks of antibiotics if you were bitten by a tick and have a rash. If you are bitten by a tick and do not have a rash you should still take 28 days of prophylactic antibiotics to prevent Chronic Lyme. You should also test for co-infections and see if you need to be treated for any of them.
If you do not treat Lyme right away, it will become chronic and there no cure. Once Lyme is chronic there is no one treatment that works for everyone. Many people travel all over the world to get alternative treatments in hopes of finding something that will help them recover their life. Getting antibiotics right away is the best way to prevent a life time of disease.
7. Lyme is a controversial disease and the CDC will not admit Chronic Lyme exists.
The CDC uses outdated IDSA guidelines for their recommendation on the treatment of Lyme. Over half of the members of the IDSA have conflicts of interest with insurance companies, diagnostic testing, pharmaceutical companies and patents preventing patients from getting the care they need. "Of the 14 panel authors of the first edition IDSA guidelines: 6 of them or their universities held patents on Lyme or its co-infections, 4 received funding from Lyme or co-infection test kit manufacturers, 4 were paid by insurance companies to write Lyme policy guidelines or consult in Lyme legal cases, and 9 received money from Lyme disease vaccine manufacturers." (source Under Our Skin) Many doctors risk losing their medical license to treat Lyme patients. How are people supposed to heal from this epidemic? Want more info on the CDC Coverup?
8. Insurance does not cover any Chronic Lyme Disease treatment.
Since the CDC will not acknowledge Chronic Lyme, insurance companies will not pay more than a few weeks of initial antibiotics. Most Lyme patients spend an average of $53,000 or more per year on treatments. In addition to high out of pocket costs, most Lyme patients are unable to work making it very difficult to afford treatment.
9. Chronic Lyme is similar to having AIDS or Cancer.
Chronic Lyme has been likened to AIDS in the 80’s and can be even more difficult to treat than Cancer. Lyme has extremely debilitating symptoms on top of all the political, diagnosis and treatment issues. Lyme is also an invisible illness meaning you look fine on the outside, but the inside of your body is a mess. Often doctors do not believe patients that they are so sick and think they are making it up or that its in their head. Patients have to become their own health advocates and research their disease and treatments themselves to get better. Think Dallas Players Club. That's what patients have to go through to get proper treatment.
Phil Spector, a Duke Oncologist wrote a great piece about Lyme compared to Cancer. He actually had Lyme himself. There is also a great 3 part series which compares Lyme to AIDS. Part 1 Part 2 and Part 3
10. Some studies suggest Lyme is an STD and can be passed from mother to child congenitally and through breast milk.
There are studies that show that Lyme has the potential to be an STD. Borrelia Burgdorferi is the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease. It is a spiral-shaped bacteria called a Spirochete and is the cousin of Syphilis. Other studies have shown that mothers can pass Lyme to their fetus. Lyme has been found in the placenta, umbilical cords and breast milk of infected mothers. Congenital Lyme is a common cause of Autism and Seizures in children. Lyme is very common in children and if your child is having any health issues they should definitely be tested with Igenix Labs.
These are the realities that Lyme Patients deal with every day.
For more information check out ILADS and watch the documentary Under Our Skin.
Do you think you might have Lyme? If so learn what you can do...
Erika
SchlickSinclair became a IIN Certified Health Coach after a personal
struggle with Lyme Disease, Mold Illness and Multiple Autoimmune
Diseases. Her journey to health is covered in her blog the The Trail To Health,
which also serves as a guide and resource for other people dealing with
chronic conditions. In addition to pursuing knowledge about ways for
people to heal, she enjoys going to the beach, snuggling with her
adorable French Bulldogs and spending time with her friends and family.
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