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Have you ever suspected the symptoms your doctors cannot diagnose might be Lyme Disease?
THE GREAT IMPOSTER: HAVE YOU BEEN SICK OR HAD AN UNDIAGNOISED ILLINESS?
CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS ARE NOT WORKING?
IF SO, YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:
Lyme disease can mimic or contribute to diseases such as undiagnosed chronic illness, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS-Lou Gehrig’s disease), Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and even Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome 1. Biology professor, Lida Mattman, author of Cell Wall Deficient Forms: Stealth Pathogens, obtained positive cultures for the Lyme spirochete from nearly all individuals tested which had many of the previously listed diseases. Additionally, Jo Anne Whitaker, M.D did a research review study of the published scientific literature and found that there were more than 320 medical conditions that may be related to or affected by Lyme disease.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LYME DISEASE
In reality Lyme disease has been around at least since the 1800's if not much longer. For example, scientists have found the Lyme bacteria in extremely old bacterial samples which were isolated from ticks in museums. In 1982 the causative agent was identified. It was subsequently named Borrelia burgdorferi, (Bd), in honor of Willy Burgdorfer, Ph.D., a pioneer Lyme researcher. Polly Murray, a housewife and artist, was responsible for bringing attention to Lyme disease in America. She noted that there was a flood of ill children in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975 that appeared to be incorrectly diagnosed as having Juvenile Arthritis. We now know that about 25% of acute Lyme infected people display arthritic symptoms.
The Lyme bacteria can infect any organ of the body producing hundreds of different symptoms. Additionally as previously stated, current research now shows that most Lyme patients have multiple infections besides Lyme. It is interesting to note that physicians in Europe and China identified Lyme disease more than a hundred years ago.
AM I INFECTED?
The following test is often given by doctors and health care professionals to determine if additional testing is warranted for Lyme disease.
^ I live or have vacationed in a tick infested area.
^ I participate in nature walking, biking, fishing, hiking, gardening, farming, hunting and camping.
^ I have noticed ticks on my pets and/or myself.
^ Do other household members or neighbors have Lyme disease? I have been bitten by a tick at one point in my life.
^ I remember seeing the typical "bull's eye rash".
^ I have experienced other skin rashes that no one can explain.
The rational of the testers giving the above listed test is that if you answer "NO" to all the questions it is very unlikely, if not impossible, for you to have Lyme disease. Often it is assumed by these testing individuals (and doctors) that you must be bitten by a tick in order to have Lyme disease. The reality is that many individuals, who answer "NO" to every question, can still have Lyme disease, even the chronic form of Lyme disease. The unfortunate second reality is that a large number of doctors will not even consider doing additional tests for Lyme disease if you do not have a number of positive answers to the above test.
THE PHASES OF LYME DISEASE
Lyme disease is a multi-system disease that occurs in North America, Europe, and Asia and is caused by a bacterial spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi. The truth is, 60 to 90 percent of the time, Lyme disease is often associated with various forms of autoimmune disease(s), or co-infections such as the parasites Ehrlichia found in white blood cells, Babesia and Bartonella found in red blood cells. It is extremely important to understand that Lyme disease has at least TWO DISEASE phaseS, the acute and CHRONIC and that each requires different forms of treatment.
Most doctors do a very poor job of diagnosing and treating Lyme disease because they only recognize the acute form and generally refuse to associate the disease with any autoimmune diseases or other infections. Patients seen by these doctors are often told that they have an untreatable condition when in reality they are treatable. Unfortunately, most medical doctors have no concept of the incredible problems and suffering the chronic form of this disease can cause.
Even though there are other proven methods of infecton, such as person to person contact through kissing or sex, conventional medicine still considers deer ticks to be the only vector of Lyme disease. A pregnant mother can give birth to a lyme infected baby. Deer ticks and other blood sucking insects do not have a sterile stomach; they often contain other pathogens besides the Lyme bacteria. When we are infected by a tick or other blood sucking insects we get a digestive soup containing many different bugs which can cause other serious infections. Some authorities now believe that gnats, mosquitoes, and other insects can transmit the disease to humans.
There is a serious split in the medical community over who has Lyme disease, largely fostered by unreliable testing which, according to a 2005 Johns Hopkins study, picks up only 25% of actual infected cases 2. To compound this problem the Center for Disease Control (CDC) case definition for Lyme disease is being used inappropriately by doctors as diagnostic criteria, and by insurance companies who are using the criteria to deny reimbursement.
IS LYME REALLY A MAJOR PROBLEM?
The CDC affirms that "there is considerable under-reporting" of Lyme disease and admits that the actual infection rate may be 1.8 million, 10 times higher than the 180,000 cases currently reported. However, when compared to other diseases, Lyme disease has a massive range of symptoms and can masquerade as many different diseases. This causes many cases of Lyme to be misdiagnosed and not counted in the total of those affected. According to recent CDC statistics, Lyme infection is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the US. Lyme cases constitute 95% of all reports for such diseases. The remaining 5% includes the mosquito-transmitted West Nile Virus, which has been sensationally publicized but by no measure affects as many Americans as Lyme disease. The number of reported cases of Lyme disease more than doubled from 1992 to 2006 3
Lyme disease is one of the seven major human spirochetal diseases. The ongoing clinical research picture of Lyme disease indicates it shares many of its features with the other spirochete diseases 4. Spirochetes are a nasty group of bugs and are known to cause many serious diseases in humans and animals, including syphilis, relapsing fever, leptospirosis and Lyme disease to name a few 5.
One of the more unique features of the Lyme bacteria is its ability to change form. The most common form is the SPIROCHETE (CORKSCREW OR SPIRAL FORM). However, the spiral form can reduce itself to a series of dashes and dots or a balloon-like “CYST” (or “SPORE”) form and within each form there is viable Lyme DNA necessary for reproduction.
When under significant stress, the change from spiral form to cyst form can begin to occur in less than two minutes. The cyst form is also capable of quick reversibility back to the motile corkscrew shape. Additionally, there are a variety of very easily distorted forms called L-FORMS (CELL WALL DEFICIENT) which are similar to a soap bubble that can be contained within various shaped boundaries or spaces and are not as easy to identify as the spirochete form. Most important is the fact that our immune system cannot find these more sophisticated forms of the bacteria because they often hide inside the very cells that are supposed to kill them. In addition to the forms listed, there are other special types of spirochetal morphology which do not demonstrate the normal profile 6,7 . Additionally, Lyme bacteria can hide as a colony of bugs in a gelatinous like material called a biofilm. Most medicines cannot penetrate the biofilm to kill the Lyme. All these different forms make these bacteria the Houdini of all bacteria.
Lyme bacteria are very similar to the Syphilis bacteria by having a spiral shape and genetic likeness. The Lyme bacterium has many more genes and is much more sophisticated at avoiding the immune system. However, these two bacteria do have a similar latency period in that many months or even years may pass before the symptoms of the infection appear or reappear. Clinically, the Lyme bacteria have been cultured from skin lesions of patients 10 years after the initial infection.
Multiple researchers have documented the Lyme bacteria’s ability to penetrate human cells. By demonstrating the presence of the organism inside neurons and glial cells in the brain, research has shown they can exist in an intracellular state (inside a cell), a protected site away from the immune system and many treatments 8.
It has been shown that the spirochete can actually burrow into lymphocyte cells and exit the cell with the lymphocyte cellular membrane surrounding the spirochete9. Lyme can also stimulate an autoimmune disease in susceptible people who are prone to develop rheumatoid arthritis
Most published information will tell you that a rash will occur if you have been bitten by a tick with Lyme. A critical point to be made here is the rash occurs in fewer than 20% of patients with Lyme disease 11,12.
Conventional medicine can kill off the initial infection with antibiotic cocktails and keep the spirochetes at bay for several months and even years. If the patient is treated within the first 24 to 48 hours, the disease is often cured 13. However, many individuals do not realize that they have been exposed to infection and therefore, timely treatment often does not happen. If the disease becomes “chronic” in spite of antibiotic treatment or worse yet because of inappropriate antibiotic treatment, the bacteria usually changes form14. Once in the chronic form the disease becomes extremely difficult to eradicate. In this situation both husband and wife must be treated together to have the best chance of a successful treatment.
Standard treatment is antibiotics and more antibiotics but as most chronic Lyme patients know antibiotics do not work. In fact there are many studies showing that they seldom work for chronic Lyme. At the following web site http://www.lymeinfo.net/lymefiles.html you will find a list of seventy studies that show antibiotic treatments do not work and supports the case for other forms of treatment. These studies also show that Lyme is not always cured even when the blood shows negative antibody readings. There are no magic bullets for Lyme disease and related co-infections. It is an extremely difficult condition to get rid of and unfortunately many individuals who have been declared “CURED” will live to see the day when the disease will return with a vengeance.
While there are a number of clinics around the country that offer more than standard treatment, one that stands out is a special integrative medical clinic in Nevada. They seem to have one of the more aggressive alternative approaches to treating Lyme disease. Their treatment centers around the following: an oxidation catalyst and a mitochondrial genetic extract from chlorella which acts like our own innate immune system which has a direct affect against all pathogenic organisms; This unique combination of medicines tends to treat autoimmune, bacterial, virus and fungus all at the same time. This comprehensive approach helps the Lyme patient to recover faster from Lyme and the other illnesses they may have.
Lyme disease is very difficult to treat but take hope in the words of a patient who was treated by this clinic. The following story is an example of how these medicines can work and how a patient with terrible pain responded to treatment.
In January of 1995, I had surgery on the nerve in my left foot. Five days after surgery I started experiencing pain in my right big toe radiating up to my legs. I was diagnosed with gout. Not satisfied with that diagnosis I went for a second opinion. The physician, after examining me, immediately contacted my surgeon and said, “… this girl has REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DISTROPHY SYSNDROME (RSD).” RSD is a disease of the sympathetic nervous system where you have a false message sent to the brain that you are in horrific pain. It feels as though your flesh is being torn away from your body by animals. I went from being an aerobics instructor to being bedridden and on a bedpan. From January 1995 to January 1997, I received nineteen nerve blocks and countless drugs to try to control the pain. I could no longer wear shoes or socks and couldn’t bear to even touch my foot. My life was over. I became suicidal but couldn’t bear the thought of leaving my family. My doctors just kept increasing my medication and I was told there was no cure. I knew the trip to a special clinic in Nevada was my last chance.
After a thorough examination and laboratory testing, my test results showed that I had Chronic Viral Infections, Lyme Disease, Chemical Toxicity and Multiple Allergies. I only had 25 percent blood flow to the left side of my head and body. One of the physicians at the Clinic, after spending an entire afternoon with me said, “I haven’t given up on anyone and I’m not going to give up on you.” I was placed on a five week, custom-made treatment program. During the fourth week, I could walk without a wheelchair. When I returned home I continued to improve. Not only could I put on shoes but at Christmas time that year I wore heels! It was nothing short of a miracle. I also achieved my personal goal of walking on the beach with my daughter, holding her hand. That thought still brings me to tears. I wake up each morning and wonder if my recovery will hold-and it has. Today I clean and cook and run a daycare. I bicycle eight to twelve miles. I went from being a walking zombie to being pain free and enjoying life. I believe in the Clinic. I have my life back, thanks to this special clinic.
DM
The key to beating this disease is to understand the disease, associated treatments and finding a knowledgeable doctor that will offer something other than the standard treatment. If you would like more information about Lyme disease, please call the clinic and they will send you a 40 plus page booklet free that has more detail information concerning Lyme disease. Their web site at www.sierraintegrative.com also contains a lot of good information.
Call the toll free number: 1- (866) 391-7462
E-mail: info@sierraintegrative.com
CLINICAL SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH
Every month we bring you a remarkable recovery from an alternative, integrative medical clinic. While it is our policy not to name clinics we do give you the clinic’s phone number for those who want additional information. If you have had a remarkable recovery using alternative or natural therapies, send it to us and we will share it with our readers.
THE AMAZING RECOVERY OF THE LITTLE GIRL, JP
I am 13 years of age and when I was age 9, I was really short for my age because the doctors said my bones were two years younger than my age. That kept getting worse so the doctors eventually wanted to make me get growth hormone.
Then I developed chronic kidney infections because of a kidney reflux problem so I needed antibiotics every day. I was really sick from October 2001 to February 2004.
It all started when I was eleven years old and I started to get loss of vision in the corners of my eyes all the time. The doctors just said it was migraines. So every once and a while, I would just take some Tylenol and it was as easy as that. But soon I started to lose my vision and with that, the headaches became screaming ones. And I also became very photophobic (which means that you can't go into the light). So I went to a neurologist, and they said I could have papilladema (which is an eye condition that could be caused by a brain tumor or something called pseudotumor cerrebri). So I went for an MRI right away and they said I did not have a tumor, thank God. So then I had to go and get a spinal tap to make sure I didn't have pseudotumor cerrebri. And after three spinal taps they decided that I did not have it. I went through lots of different tests and they just couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Although they did find that I have something called accommodation paralysis which means my eyes just don't focus. And it made the doctors very confused because both of my sisters have auto-immune diseases.
So finally I went to the pain clinic at a children's hospital, and they did nerve blocks on me for about three months and that is where they give me a shot in the eye brows to numb the nerves. They would do this about once or twice a week in both eye brows hoping to try and tell my brain to forget about the pain. Of course it did not work. After a while all of the strongest pain killers stopped working, my mom, my dad, and I decided that if the headaches were going to come anyways then let's get off the pain killers so I did. Then I just started getting home tutored and they had to read to me because my vision went away completely in reading. And I learned to just cry in front of my tutor instead of running out of the room every 15 minutes. And after doctors think they have tried everything, it feels like they just decided that it is all in your head and you are making it up. Then we found it.
One day when my uncle Bobby was flying in one of the Southwest airplanes he read an article in one of their magazines about a special clinic in Nevada. So then my mom and I went to Nevada to get tested. First, you just get a lot of blood taken, and you see a doctor. She was nice and right away I liked her and felt safe. Then you wait a couple of weeks until your blood tests come back.
When I came back, I found out I have Lyme disease, and lots of allergies. So what you do then is go and get I V’'s and medicines that give you lots of energy and get rid of lots of infections. We were really scared at first because it is so different than anything we have ever seen, but the staff was so nice and by the end I was sad to leave them because they had become like family. Plus, my headaches started to get further and further apart.
After about three weeks of treatment, I had no more headaches, and I was able to read again. So after five weeks of treatment, I felt better than I ever have before and I grew one and a half inches. I am back in school full time and I am able to concentrate on my school work better than ever. It has been about two weeks since I have been home and I am doing all of my home care medicines, and feeling great doing it. I am even off all my prescription medicines and I am still ok. It worked so well for me that my mom brought in my older sister with a rare auto-immune disease and she is almost as healthy as I am now.
Sometimes, it was really hard to understand what they are doing at the clinic and it just doesn't make sense because we just aren't accustomed to it. But once you have been through enough, you are willing to try anything and I am glad that I tried this because they were the ones that helped me. Thank you; I don't know where I would be without you.
JP
For more information about the clinic and the treatment JP received: Call: 1-(866) 391-7462
EXERCISE CAN MAKE YOU SMARTER?
Now we can add brain benefits to the long list of health perks obtainable from exercise. Neurologist Scott Small from the Columbia Medical Center and Fred Cage of the Salk Institute discovered exercise releases chemicals including IGF-1 which along with Neurotropic Factors help form new brain cell connections which increase the brain’s capacity for knowledge. Recently, LGHN interviewed Alex Duarte, O.D., Ph.D. about exercise and here is what he said: “Studies are fairly consistent in showing that regular exercise can help prevent heart disease, obesity, and even some forms of cancer. It is not only smart to exercise but we now have evidence that it can actually help you become smarter. I tour the country every summer in my 40’RV and carry the Total Gym in one of my carriage bays. When I stop driving I get out my gym and start working out. Many times the people I park next to come over and ask if they can try it out and occasionally they do a full workout with me. I can get an incredible workout with this machine. However, even if you don’t have a Total Gym or gym membership, just walk, jog, swim, do something. Be smart and get smarter – “Exercise”
Thanks for reading the “The Latest and Greatest Health News” newsletter and our staff would like to wish you and yours all the best and a healthy 211.
THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IN THE LATEST AND GREATEST HEALTH NEWS IS PRESENTED AS AN OPINION AND IS FOR INFORMING OUR READERSHIP ONLY. LGHN DOES NOT ENDORSE, SUBSTANTIATE OR ENDORSE THE COMPANIES, CLINICS OR PRODUCTS PRESENTED HEREIN. IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION WE RECOMMEND YOU CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE ENGAGING IN ANYTHING PRESENTED IN THIS PUBLICATION.
References:
1. Grier, Thomas M, “The Complexities of Lyme Disease, a Microbiology Tutorial: Part 2, The Lyme Alliance, Inc., P.O. Box 454, Concord, Mi. 49237.
2. P. Coulter et al, J. Clin Microbiol.. 2005Oct.; 43(10): 5080-4 Two Year Evaluation of Borrelia burgdorferi Culture and Supplemental Tests for Definitive Diagnosis of Lyme Disease.
3. Center for Disease Control, Recommendations for the use of Lyme disease vaccine, MMWR, 6/4/99; Vol 48 (Issue RR-7).
4. 1989 Sep-Oct;11 Suppl 6:S1460-9.Epidemiology and clinical similarities of human spirochetal diseases. Schmid GP.
5. Genetic manipulation of spirochetes – light at the end of the tunnel Felipe C Cabello 
, Marina L Sartakova and Elena Yu Dobrikova Dept of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA.
6. Fletcher D.J., and Klaber, Tom. “Lyme Disease, The Unknown Epidemic”. Alternative Medicine no. 41 (May, 2001): pp. 78-94.
7. A Life Cycle for Borrelia spirochetes? Alan B. MacDonald, MD, St Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Department of Pathology.
8. Livengood JA, Gilmore RD Jr. Invasion of human neuronal and glial cells by an infectious strain of Borrelia burgdorferi. Microbes Infect 2006;8:2832-2840. [CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
9. Dorwood D, Fischer: In vitro evidence for lymphocytic membrane cloaking by Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme Disease Foundation, Scientific Conference, April, 1998.
10. Steere AC, Dwyer E, Winchester R: Arthritis with HLA-DR4 and HLA-DR2 alleses. New England Journal of Medicine 323:219-223, 1990.
11. Donta ST. Tetracycline therapy of chronic Lyme Disease. Clin Infect Dis 25: S52-56, 1997.
12. Donta ST. Treatment of chronic Lyme disease with macrolide antibiotics. In: Program and abstracts of the VIIIth International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis; June 20-24, 1999; Munich, Germany. Abstract P193.
13. Rosner, Bryan, “The Top Ten Lyme Disease Treatments”, first edition, p.32, BM Publishing Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-09763797-1-3.
14. Rosner, Bryan, pp. 99-101.
