Natural Recovery from Lyme

My Natural Recovery from Lyme & Vaccine Damage - NaturalNews.tv

Love this video! She seems so happy and hopeful!

Roll Call!

I got this idea from my friend Laurie. We were talking one day about the little "feedjit" sidebar icon that lets you see where your blog visitors come from. It's neat to see and wonder who is reading your blog!

So, if you read my blog, please leave a comment on this post. I know some of my readers have never left a comment and maybe don't know how, but it is very simple! Just look at the bottom of this message for the "comments" icon and push it. Leave a comment (first name, where you live, and maybe how you found my blog and/or if you are a facebook friend) and push enter. When it asks for an identity, just push anonymous.

This way, I can see who is reading me. So, leave a comment, and you can also become a follower by clicking on "FOLLOW" on the right hand side.

Thanks everyone!

Famous person with lyme

"*Debbie Morgan, who stars on the daytime soap opera “All My Children,” has been missing from the series lately. She recently announced why she’s been gone since December: lyme disease.

“It’s nothing fatal. Lyme disease is an infection caused by the borrelia bacteria from a tick,” she shared on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “It’s a chronic condition, and I’ve had it in my system for over 15 years.”

Lyme disease is a condition that may cause complications of the heart, nervous system, and joints, but it can be cured.

Morgan will be returning to the show in the coming months"

Although I would disagree with her 'opinion' about the seriousness of this disease, I'm glad that she has gone public, and brought some light to this disease. I hope that she visits a lyme literate doctor and is able to get better and return to work.

Found something interesting...

Disguised as The Devil: How Lyme Disease Created Witches and Changed History.

Before you roll your eyes, believe me, it's also a far reach for me to believe that Lyme disease could account for some of the accusations of witches back in the day. But, I also know that throughout history, many diseases and conditions were blamed by 'being cursed by the devil or a witch' when in fact, they were simply diseases and conditions that now have a medical explanation, and some can be easily treated with medication. So...it is always possible. If anything, it also points to the fact that today....our Lyme literate doctors are being 'witch hunted' and prosecuted for wrong doing when they are trying to save our lives. And us, the lyme patients, are being hung, left to suffer and die, or locked in a mental ward for alleging that something is killing us from the inside.

The medical community has turned it's back on us, saying it's "all in our heads". Well, then I guess I'm possessed, cause something almost killed me and continues to make me suffer. If only they had a reliable lyme test that proved the organism was still in our body? If only we had the research money to make such a test? But how will we get research money if the IDSA says there is no such thing as chronic lyme. Hmmmm.....what a vicious cycle.

Here is the book review....worth reading!

Review

"every now and then a literary work comes along that really grabs my attention and gets me fired up enough to write about it. "Disguised As The Devil: How Lyme Disease Created Witches And Changed History" by M.M. Drymon is one of those books.

When I first heard about this paperback, which was released in early 2008, I admit to being skeptical. Oh brother, I thought, not another crazy thing that Lyme is going to blamed for! Being a voracious reader of anything concerning tick-borne illnesses, however, I picked up a copy and plunged in.

I was not far into the introduction before the intrigue set in. Hmmm, maybe the author has something here after all, I had to admit begrudgingly. And before I reached the end of the book, I found myself nodding in agreement with many of the passages, caught up in the author's hypothesis and meticulous research.

Most modern academics believe that there was no biological factor behind the "witches" of the colonial time period. They ascribe to the notion that these people were motivated to such behavior by social factors such as spite, a need for attention, hysteria, or a psychosomatic disorder. In other words, even to this very day, people are still accusing these "witches" of "faking it." That is an accusation that almost every Lyme sufferer has heard at least once! Indeed, many have made the comparison that the persecution against present-day Lyme patients and their doctors is akin to a modern-day "witch hunt"....

Drymon found that "most of these afflicted people [in Salem] also developed neurological symptoms, like seizures, hallucinations, brain fog, and lethargy, as well as joint swellings." As Drymon states on page 10, "Using the tools available to them within their own particular culture or social paradigm, they labeled and understood the disease as a variety of named afflictions."

Ms. Drymon spent over five years researching and writing this controversial book, a fascinating "medical mystery" of sorts that is certain to provoke debates and heated arguments. Aware of the controversy, she hopes that readers will be open-minded enough to think outside the current medical box that so many are trapped in.

"I do think it's a disease with a history. We're in lockstep with a lot of people who have really suffered in the past, and we need to remember that," Drymon explained, "I wrote this book to provoke discussion .."

Drymon does not jump to conclusions but uses every possible historical record available, including some rather unconventional ones, to ferret out the facts. "Disguised As The Devil" is not a conspiracy-theory laden book, nor filled with the histrionics of the angry and desperately ill. Quite the opposite, in fact, the author lays out the hypothesis and evidence in a very rational and analytical manner. I was extremely impressed by the exhaustive research and copious citations and references from a huge variety of sources, some of which were first-hand witness accounts. Yet even with this vast amount of information, in no way does any of it seem excessive or unnecessary.

When presented with the daunting task of relating so much information, many authors tend to throw it at their readers all at once, leaving the reader gasping for breath and feeling as if they have just been plunged into a deep pool of icy water without a lifejacket. Fortunately, Drymon does not resort to this tactic. Rather, she takes the reader by the hand and gently leads along, step by step, while being careful to keep the history concise enough for even the most historically-challenged individual (such as myself) to understand.

Drymon discusses the cultural habits and beliefs of the time, the geography, climate, politics, and other influential factors in their social context. She seems to anticipate every question that readers might come up with (Why were so many more women affected than men? Why were they often depicted as old hags?) and uses the same calm logic to answer those questions.

More than once during my course of reading, I experienced an "A-ha!" moment in which the information made so much sense and seemed so obvious that I could not believe it had never occurred to me before. For example, witches have historically been associated with "familiars", that is, supposed demons in the form of various animals (usually dogs, cats, birds and the like). When one realizes that family pets such as dogs and cats can bring ticks into our homes and thus into closer proximity to us, this "superstitious" association suddenly takes on new meaning. There are many other fascinating comparisons to be found in this book, but I will allow the reader to discover them on his or her own.

Additionally, all Lyme disease aspects aside, I learned more about the witch trials from this single book than I ever did in all my school classes. While we may never know for certain what afflictions or behaviors led to the witch trials, it certainly seems that Ms. Drymon has uncovered a very striking possibility.

As Drymon concludes with a discussion of present-day Lyme politics and the battle that many Lyme sufferers undergo in order to obtain proper diagnosis and treatment, it occurred to me that not much has really changed in the last 350 years or so. Sure, we no longer burn so-called "witches" at the stake... instead, we throw them to the wolves known as IDSA and Big Pharma or tell them that "it's all in their heads".

Perhaps the colonists were not so primitive in their beliefs as we would like to think. Perhaps they were really not all that different from us. And perhaps the old adage that "Those who do not learn from history will be doomed to repeat it" has never been truer. --Susan T. Williams, Public Health Alert, December 2008

The definitive prequel to "Cure Unknown" meticulous research showing that Lyme disease has been around for a long time and its victims have been badly treated over the centuries! --The Sentry, December 2008

Success Story

This is a Success Story written on some of the lyme forums:

My success can be attributed to:

1 yr of doxycycline / Flagyl

3 months of IV rocephin

3 years of Bicillin shots

99% of all of my symptoms cleared up, except numbness in the face and insomnia, but I now lead a normal life and have had no relapses [Smile] .

A little background:

I was sick for six months and had many hospital visits before I was diagnosed, so I had serious neurological problems including insomnia, memory loss, facial numbness, vertigo, etc. including an inflamed heart and many other issues.

was 22 years old when I was bitten and their was no rash. My roommate did get bitten as well and he did have a rash, that is the ONLY reason I new to ask for a lyme test. I was lucky, because there was no rash or visible tick.

I first went to a general practitioner that put me on low dose doxycycline after I tested positive for lyme two times. He stopped treating me and said he didn't know why the doxy wasn't working.

I then took it upon myself to find a lyme specialist who put me on high dose doxy, penecillin, and flagyl. That helped a little bit, but wasn't a cure.

I then looked for a doctor that would prescribe IV antibiotics and thankfully found an infectious disease specialist that did prescribe them for me.

Because I tested positive so many times I had no problem getting the IV antibiotics. That helped a little bit as well, and finally I went to a lyme specialist who is a neurologist and they put me on bicillin shots twice a week.

Over a 3 year period this helped the most, but it was a very long road. My suggestion: excercise when you can and stay positive even though it is hard.

Post edited by: Rianna, at: 11/30/2008 03:58

Lyme Angel

Ronald Goeringer was a member of the Lyme Disease United Coalition.

He passed away this week. Please feel free to send your condolences and sign the guest book.

The two video's below share the lyme journey of a girl that goes by "Wild Condor". She is an inspiration to me, as her story is one of tragedy, loss, determination, and victory! Although this documentary only shows a small glimpse of what she went through (and gets some minor facts wrong), it still does a great job at showing her story and educating the public.

You can read her entire story by clicking on here. If you have 5 minutes, I encourage all of you to read her story and look throughout her website. It is loaded with helpful information!

I've talked to her several times in the last 2 1/2 years, and she is one of my Lyme Hero's!

Mystery ER part1

Mystery ER Part 2

Trip to DC

I'm sorry I haven't blogged lately. Currently, I have a house full of sick kiddos, and I'm not feeling too well. It's been a hard year so far.

My trip went well. As well as you can expect. I absolutely hate flying. hate it. So, to have to travel across the country to see my doctor is very taxing on me. Not only physically, but also mentally. I usually cry the whole time, and listen to Chris Tomlin on the IPOD. I also freak out at every bump or noise that the plane makes while clutching the arm rest tightly. It's not a pretty picture people. (One funny thing that happened, is I was listening to Tomlin, singing praise worship songs, I was crying and getting all into it, and suddenly Snoop Dog came on my IPOD. I was like, "What the heck?" Apparently Jeremy had downloaded some songs from his early 90's era. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard)

So, with the help of Snoop Dog, I made it. My friend picked me up with her husband. She is 8 months pregnant and is so so so cute pregnant. She was my best friend in junior high and part of high school. She moved and we have kept in touch over the years. Luckily, she lives in the same city as my doctor and has been so kind to let me stay with her.

As I went to the appt., I saw a girl that looked very sick walking towards the building. I knew as soon as I saw her that she had lyme. She was young, about 25 or so, and her mom was helping guide her towards the door. She had 'that' look, that "I'm in pain, I can't think straight, and I'm so tired" look. She was shaking, and looked very glossy eyed.

When I looked at her, it was like I was looking in the mirror when I got so sick in '09. I remember that feeling, the pain, the brain fog, the shakes, all of it. I followed her up to the waiting room where I saw other patients. It was a cruel slap of reality.

I suddenly felt very sad. Kind of like walking in a cancer waiting room, seeing everyone sick and knowing you have the same thing. Some were very sick, some slightly sick. But never knowing how 'TRULY" sick they were on the inside. My nightmare of a lyme world... was being shown to me again. Up close and personal.

I could hear the conversations around me. "How long have you been sick?" "How long have you been in treatment?" "Have you done IV's?" I could see the hopeful faces of those just starting out, and the extreme frustrating faces of those who have been coming here for years. And again, I was struck with the thought, "How did this become my life?"

They called me back and the nurse was very impressed with me being pain free. She said that is really rare, and most patients are on pain meds. I told her 'part' of my past and how far I've come (in relation to pain). Then I saw Dr. J's nurse practitioner. She did her regular exam on me and asked me a few things. I also asked her a few things.

I asked her about being cured. She said they talk about 'remission' not being cured. She said they try to get the infection down to a manageable level, where the patient only takes antibiotics one week out of the month. She said it's impossible to kill every last spirochete in my body.

And even though I know this in my head, even though I've studied it, I've read the research, I've talked to hundreds who have struggled for years and even lost their lives....it still was very hard to hear.

no cure.

But wait.

what about those few....very few....people that DID get cured? They did not give up. They kept going, full force, for many years until they were cured.

And that's when I decided, I'm not giving up. I want my body back. I want to try for a cure, even if it's almost 99 percent impossible. I'm not going to give up the little hope that I have. I'm keeping this hope, safe, way down deep in my heart. It's mine to keep.

So, do I stay with a doctor that only believes in remission, (which is not bad when you are almost symptom free) or do I change to a more aggressive doctor?

I think I'll pray about it.

In the meantime, I hold on to a conversation I had with a lyme patient on LymeNet. She was cured in one year. (I know, amazing, right?) She was sick for ten. She told me to keep fighting, and to find a doctor that goes by Dr. Burrascano's treatment guidelines.

She said, "It is possible, just BELIEVE and keep fighting!"

That is my encouragement to you all....keep fighting the fight!!!

I also want to clarify, that every person is different. Every treatment is different. No two people have the same infections, co-infections, or bodies. So, there is ALWAYS hope. Always.

Going to DC

Well, I've been in bed mostly for the past 3 - 4 days. I pulled my back, and it hurts!!!!! I told Jeremy, all my back issues started the year after being bit by that stupid tick. But I know most people would roll their eyes if I tried to blame everything on lyme. I'm just saying, most 26 year olds don't suddenly have back problems out of nowhere.

I know lots of lymies who have had surgeries from what lyme has done to their tissues and cartilage. I've heard of a lot of knee, back and elbow surgeries. I'm just hoping it never comes to that.

Anyway, I'm leaving to go to DC tomorrow to see my lyme doc. (Actually the nurse practitioner). I'm afraid I might be 'in trouble' cause I'm supposed to be getting my blood drawn every two weeks, and I haven't done it once in 6 months. yikes. They will not be happy.

Wish me safe travels. Flying is the thing I am MOST afraid of....besides lyme disease. ;)....so I'm hoping I make it ok with my bad back.

I hope you all are doing well!

A Success Story!

http://thetickslayer.com/

Here is another success story! She got well with herbs and alternative methods.

I'm hoping to get her book as soon as it comes out.

fatigue

This was a response to someone on LymeNet asking how others responded to family members that don't believe and minimize Lyme fatigue. I thought I would share this response:

"Tired is not a correct term for the kind of fatigue that comes with lyme. It's a bone crushing fatigue that is sheer pain, actually. Elevated cytokines, demyelination of nerves, mitochodria damage and the adrenal dysfunction also magnify that near paralytic fatigue by what seems like millions.

Add to that dealing with frequent inner ear/balance dysfunction that often goes along with lyme - and there is just no correct word for that kind of exhaustion. Nutritional deficiencies caused by lyme also complicate matters. And the list of fatigue causes goes on and on. But we need not figure out why every minute.

When you have the flu, do you say you are "tired" or "sick"? Usually, "sick" - so, with lyme, I suggest dropping the tired when we have to explain. "Simply unable to do that right now" covers a lot of territory.

I do recall when I first experienced failure of my legs - I was with my (then) husband in a mall and I started to cry because of the sudden crash and loss of neuro function. I had said "I'm just so tired" and couldn't help but cry. He dismissed it, saying, "well, being tired is no reason to cry."

I never again told him just how sick I was. I didn't have the words. He didn't have the ability to comprehend and I had no doctor who could do so either. It would be nearly twenty more years before lyme and other TBD came to light.

"Tired" and "Fatigue" just are not at all adequate terms to describe it. I stopped telling people I was too tired but just too sick, to be more accurate but also hoping they'd better understand. And that's when they really dropped like flies.

Lyme not only separates the "men from the boys" so to speak, it will show you just who are true and good friends. Friends, loved ones, want to learn more. "

- Keebler

Another Lyme Angel

Just wanted to pay respects to this family and to pray for them. I know some of you get discouraged reading these kind of stories, so I promise that I will post a success story behind each Lyme Angel post that I do. But I won't apologize for posting these, I think these victims need to be remembered and it's the least I can do for them... is to pray and repost.

Bart Fenolio passed away right before Christmas. Here is an expert from his website:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bartfenolio

"About one year ago in 2008, Bart began to feel weak, noticing that he struggled to snorkel while in Hawaii, and he no longer wanted to take walks with his wife and friends. Bart and Heidi went to their primary care physician and described his symptoms but quickly were excused and given the explanation that "this is what happens when you get old". However, over the next few months, Bart began to get weaker and weaker. He again went to his doctor and described it as if he was losing muscle mass. He also felt a shortness of breath and Heidi noticed muscle twitching all over his body. Again, the doctor dismissed Bart and Heidi and said that he wasn't weak but he was just tired. Finally, after about eight months of pestering the doctor, Bart and Heidi saw Bart's cardiologist and she thought that he was losing muscle mass due to being on Lovistatin. However, one month after stopping the medicaiton, there was no improvement, but continued degeneration. So, Bart and Heidi got a new primary care physician who immediately referred Bart to a neurologist. In August of 2009, the neurologist diagnosed Bart with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease. Bart and Heidi and the family were devastated.

But, Bart's son, Dante was not convinced this was the real issue. When Bart and Heidi visited Dante and his family in Atlanta in July of 2009, Dante thought that Bart looked like he had Lyme Disease. Dante lost a very close friend and mentor to Lyme Disease when he was younger and he thought that Bart looked so similiar to his friend. He also thought he remembered that Bart was bit by a tick. Bart was bitten by a tick in the bay area approximately seven to eight years ago and did have a target rash around the tick bite. He was given the ELISA test by his HMO too soon (under two weeks) and it came back negative so Bart thought that he did not have Lyme Disease. After much urging from Dante, Bart paid out of pocket for the Western Blot Test (The HMO refused to pay for this test) and it came up positive for Lyme in the beginning of October of 2009. Advanced stages of Lyme Disease can mimick neuromuscular diseases because the bacteria infect all areas of the body. Many who have Lyme Disease don't know it and have been diagnosed with: ALS, MS, Alzheimers Disease, Parkinsons Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndome, Chrone's Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, etc.....

It seems like the disease had accelerated since we found out the true diagnosis and just in the third week of October alone, Bart went from using a cane to walk to being paralized in his legs, eyes, and throat: this progression was only in one week. On Monday, October 26th, Bart was to begin treatment for Lyme Disease but he woke up and could not speak, swallow, open his eyes, or move his legs. Heidi and his daughter, Joelle, and his sister, Brenda decided to take him to the Lyme doctor for the first treatment with plans of taking him directly to the hospital after that in order to address the clear health issues at hand. However, in the parking lot of the Lyme doctor's office, Bart stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. Joelle did CPR and Heidi called 911. He spent three days at El Camino Hospital and was transferred to the HMO hospital in San Jose where he stayed for 1.5 months. The HMO refused to treat Bart for Lyme disease and insisted that he had ALS and that he was going to die, even though we provided them with + Lyme tests. We decided to take Bart out of the HMO, transfer him to a skilled nursing care facility, and have him treated for Lyme disease. He got off the ventilator, started walking again, and made it home to San Diego; but took a turn for the worse and passed away on 12/16/10.

Lyme Disease is a very huge issue in the United States. Too many doctors do not know the statistics. In 2008, there were 35,000 new diagnosed cases in the US, according to the CDC. (HIV/AIDS new diagnosed cases in the US were 37,000). This is a huge health issue! Lyme was reported in EVERY state in the US in 2008. The farce that Lyme is "hard to get and easy to treat" is just plain wrong. We are hoping to share Bart's story, his struggle, and God's grace throughout all of this in order to get the word out and inform people and in order to give thanks to God. Thank you for sharing this journey with us."

Part Three of a 3 part series

The Doctor of Last Resort

Article Two of a 3 part series

In Search of Hope, Facts.

Article One of a 3 part series

Salvos launched in Lyme debate | Lost in the Woods

A very encouraging video...

Things that make you go hmmmm.....

I've been a part of an online support forum for over a year called Lymenet. I know I've talked about it before on my blog. It's a great resource for lyme patients who need to find a doctor, need support from other lyme sufferers, and want to get involved in activism.

Right before Christmas, I had posted part of my story on there, trying to give other's hope that it CAN get better. In my story, I talked about the natural clinic I went to, and how I was started off too heavily on herbals and herxed pretty severely.

A woman commented to me that her husband went to the same clinic (through the same 2 week protocol), and also had a horrible experience from it. She explained that as soon as he started taking the herbal's, he started herxing severely, tried to commit suicide and ended up in a mental hospital. (sound familiar???)

She asked me to write a letter to this doctor and natural clinic warning them about the doses they were prescribing. To tell them about my experience so that maybe it could save someone else from going through that experience also.

I plan to do so, not in a mean way, but just to warn the doctor about what happened to me. I truly believe he meant no harm, but he should know that some people herx very hard on the herbal's he is prescribing.

Lyme disease has the same cork-screw bacteria that syphilis has, and both diseases cause a herx reaction when starting treatment. Depending on the bacteria load, is how you respond to the herx's. High bacteria load equals more severe herx.

I guess since I had it ten years, and I was so severe once I walked in his office AND I hadn't done antibiotics to treat it yet, my bacterial load was high. Hence, why I had such a bad reaction to treatment. I hope I can save others from such a horrible experience.

A Success Story!

Jordan Fisher is well known in the Lyme Community because of his role in the documentary "Under Our Skin". I wanted to share his letter to the IDSA, because he talks about his struggle, but also his recovery! He has been off antibiotics for some time and is completely cured. It wasn't an easy road, and he talks about in the film how he wanted to give up, but luckily he is here now and able to help others.

You can visit his website at: http://www.jordanfishersmith.com/

To the Infectious Diseases Society of America:

Almost twelve years ago, I was bitten by a tick at work, and contracted Lyme Disease and Babesiosis. Because of the job you’ve done at diminishing the perception of danger about tick-borne disease and pressuring doctors who treat it aggressively out of business, it took a year and a half and a nationwide search to find a doctor who would treat me.

By then I was dreadfully ill, and as a result I lost my job and my 21-year career. In my first year of antibiotic treatment I got worse. I pursued aggressive treatment for another six years, during which time I got steadily, if slowly better. During this time one of my two doctors was forced out of practice as a result of your work. Thanks to my heroic physicians, I am recovered after a nine-year battle with tick-borne disease. And I am now contributing to society, working, and raising my kids.

Your ineffectiveness and the extent of your compromise with the insurance and HMO businesses are noted. You and your work will be forgotten eventually, as we have forgotten the names of the opponents of Copernicus. Shame on you for the suffering you are causing on the way to your eventual obscurity as prideful scientists who called it tragically wrong. The monument to your life’s work is an unchecked epidemic.

—Jordan Fisher Smith, recovered victim of tick-borne disease

Lyme Angels

I hate to be a Debby Downer starting the new year off, but I wanted to take a moment to recognize two people that lost their life to Lyme Disease recently.

When you have a disease that is so isolating (in sooo many ways), you feel like family to others that share your disease. So, even though I haven't met these two people, I want to recognize them and pray for their families that they leave behind.

Jason, who leaves behind two small children and his wife of 4 years, was part of my friend Lisa's support group.

Jason Lee

Lee, Jason a 35-year-old Ingleside resident, passed away peacefully at home Thursday afternoon, December 30, 2010, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Libertyville on November 15, 1975, the pride and joy of Tom and Annette {nee Bohannon} Lee; beloved husband of 3 1/2 years to Brooke {nee Hansen} Lee, whom he wed on June 2, 2007 at the Lehman Mansion; loving father of his daughter Jadyn and his son Trae; cherished brother of Jamie (Richard) LaPorta of Chicago and Shawn (Mark) Raasch of Mundelein; dear son-in-law of Perry & Joy Hansen. Friends of the family may visit at STRANG FUNERAL CHAPEL & CREMATORIOUM, 410 E. BELVIDERE ROAD, GRAYSLAKE, IL 60030 on Sunday, January 2, 2011 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. The funeral service will commence at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 3, 2011, also at Strang Funeral Chapel. Interment will follow at Avon Centre Cemetery in Grayslake. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the family for placement into a trust fund for Jason's children.

Johnette B. Sowder - Read the article her husband wrote about her here. "A love lost to Lyme Disease"

My prayers go to these two families and hope that one day the CDC and IDSA will pay attention to how serious this disease is and how many people are dying and becoming Lyme Angels.