I’ve been hearing about Lyme Disease for the last several years, and how it can be a root cause for a range of disease…. such as arthritis, hypo-thyroidism, fibromyalgia, and a host of other health problems.
My friend Brenda has spent hundreds of hours researching Lymes and helping her family member fight this difficult battle. So, she wrote a guest post about her experience and provides very brief description of what it is, how you get it, and what to do if you think you  might have it…. Just in case you or someone you love ever needs to know this information!

When I married my man, I thought his mother and siblings sure did a lot of complaining about aches and pains and went to a doctor or chiropractor more than was necessary. But since finding out in the last couple years that their mother had Lyme for over 35 years and had passed it to 4 of her 6 children, I now understand why they seemed so unhealthy to me. One brother got especially bad after going through some real stressful situations and became bed ridden. After years of doctors, tests, surgeries, and traveling to clinics, he was diagnosed with chronic Lyme. The info was overwhelming to him, esp. with brain fog, so he came to our house for a couple weeks while I researched, cooked his special diet and just tried to help him understand the protocol and diet his Lyme Dr. put him on. His was a long hard road, but in about 18 months he was near 100%. This experience really sparked my interest and when I realized how huge and complicated the Lyme world is, I couldn’t resist the challenge of learning more.

Now that I understand a lot about Lyme, I’ve been able to help quite a few friends consider the fact that they may have Lyme and helped them find a diagnosis, hope, and healing. One friend, after moving to our community, was flat on her back with pain, fatigue, racing heart, and air hunger. She had some health issues previously, but the stress of the move really brought out the worse. After many tests she was diagnosed with several conditions and at the time I met her it was Epstein Barr Virus. After 10 minutes of hearing her story I encouraged her to get a Western Blot done at IGeneX Labs. She did indeed have Lyme and is now following a Lyme protocol under a Dr’s. care.

Here is some basic information about the disease:

First off, Lyme Disease is the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed disease in America. Caught in its early stages, following a known tick bite, it is easy to treat. But when a person has no idea that they’ve contracted it and the bacteria is left to thrive in the body for years, it becomes a chronic condition that is VERY difficult to treat.

When one contracts Lyme (via ticks, mosquitos, mother to baby inutero or breastfeeding, sexually transmitted, and through many bodily fluids) the Lyme bacteria, a spirochete named Borrelia Burgdorferi, enters the bloodstream and, because of its spiral shape, can drill its way into tissue, muscle, and every organ including the brain. Thus it effects every and any area of the body and can manifest itself as a rheumatoid, musculoskeletal, or neurological disease. Because of this, a person infected with Lyme can and will experience a variety of health problems and after consulting Dr. after Dr. and test after test will only have their symptoms addressed while the spirochete is growing and multiplying inside them. And along with Bb (Borrelia Burgdorferi) come many vector-borne co-infections, Babesia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia. They each carry their own set of pathogens which add to the complexity of the disease and treatment needed.The symptoms of Lyme disease are too many for me to type out, so here is a link to a fairly exhaustive list: Symptoms of Lyme

If you or someone you know has nagging health issues and have been through a myriad of tests and Dr. visits, have unexplainable pain, fatigue, or have a nagging feeling that something isn’t right in spite of the many positive health changes you’ve made, I think its time to consider the possibility of Lyme. It is truly the fastest growing epidemic in the nation. For every three people who have Lyme, there is an expected one more with a maximum possibility of two more and and expected increase of at least 80,000 Lyme disease cases per year and up to a maximum increase of 160,00 per year by the year 2012.

Getting accurate test results is also very difficult because the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has established such rigid criteria for standard testing. So, if you’ve been tested for Lyme through your Doctor’s office using an ELISA screening test and it was negative, that doesn’t mean you don’t have Lyme disease. Only a few medical professionals understand the complex pathogenesis of Lyme disease because this information is not taught in medical schools, conferences or seminars. This makes it difficult to recognize, diagnose, and treat. The best way to be properly diagnosed is clinically, by a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Dr.) or a holistic/natural Dr. who is familiar with Lyme. There are a couple labs that specialize in Lyme testing that have a good percentage of accurate results: Igenex and Central Florida Research.

If you discover that you have Lyme you’ll want to begin treatment as soon as possible. There are many different opinions and protocols out there for curing Lyme and the best place to start is with education. Read, read, and read some more. Here are some good books to start with:
The Top Ten Lyme Disease Treatments
Cure Unknown
The Lyme Diet

And you can also find Lyme forums or contact someone you may know of who has suffered from Lyme and find out what works for others.

Because of the spirochete’s ability to morph into 3 different and hard-to-treat forms, due to the complexity of co-infections, and because everyone is different depending on their health and lifestyle before and since contracting the disease, you will need to experiment and find the best treatment plan for you. A Doctor who is experienced in this is the best route to go, IMO. You can search for Dr. referrals in your area here at the Lyme Disease Association: In left side bar under “Resources” click on “Doctor Referral”.

Many of us don’t want to hear the idea that we may have a DISEASE. We, or our Doctor, want to address our health issues for what they are- inflammation, leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, thyroid problems, depression, pain- and treat them through meds, diet, detox, and/or supplements. And we will experience some relief and healing so we think we’ve found the answers. What we don’t realize, until we really understand Lyme disease, is that all these conditions have been brought on BY Lyme. And if we don’t KILL the Lyme bacteria, Borelliosis, we will fight those maladies forever and never really attain healing.

- Brenda

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