In April of 2009 - My normally smiley doctor wasn't smiley the day he got back my Lyme test. I didn't know Lyme from a chicken egg so I didn't understand the serious face bit. He held the test result in his hand and spoke to me in his normal warm tone. He said he was writing me a prescription for 21 days of Doxycycline. I had walked in a week before with a foggy head and tremors. He been treating me for a long string of illness for about 5 years. I didn't know this string of illness followed the path of Lyme. But he figured it out. He had his head down looking at his prescription pad glancing up and the computer with all the protocol listed and he "asked, did you ever get bitten by a tick. Sure I said plenty of times. He respond did it ever leave a rash? Something round like a ring around the bite?" At first I just sat and thought and then it came back to me. Yes I did have something like that. I began to explain the bulls-eye rash perfectly without even knowing what it meant. My doctor brightened up a little smilling as he started writing my prescription. He said, "When was that?" Well, humm....I thought - that would be 1994 when I was in New York applying for graduate school". He stopped writing. His face was like ash he just stared at me for a moment. He made a long deep sigh and then turned back to writing the prescription. I took it from his hand and said happily, "you mean I just take this and then I am well? Great! He didn't even look me in the eye he just walked out of the room. He seemed sad and I wasnt sure what had just happened. The attending nurse who I must say is wonderful looked me in the eyes and said grimly "girl you need to do your research".
Same funny thing happened when I explained the situation to the LLMD. Didnt put it all together until I saw the IDSA hearings yesterday.
So I read about people who have treatment right when they get the tick bite. I read about people who get treatment and then relapse. But what about 16 years after the bite? After it has cause all sorts of neurological and physical damage. I am not in that % of treatment failures they kept talking about in the IDSA hearing. - I am in the NO treatment category. I am getting treatment now. I am sorry if this seem dramatic but from what I am reading it looks like all I am doing is treating end of life symptoms? I am doing my follow up reading from the IDSA hearing and the best I can glean from all the studies is that people who go untreated for 16 years are as good as - dead. And from what I've read it is an ugly death.
I am sorry if this sounds trite. But I WILL NOT BACK DOWN AND I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY.
I WILL FIGHT THIS EVER MINUTE OF EVERY DAY UNTIL I BREATH MY LAST BREATH.
Showing newest 34 of 73 posts from July 2009. Show older posts
Showing newest 34 of 73 posts from July 2009. Show older posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
Update on my Lyme treatment and Babesia
Update on my Lyme Treatment and Babesia
Questions to Lyme Doc:
1. May I please switch from Doxycycline to Ceftriaxone. I went to the outpatient emergency room with what seemed to be a kidney infection. They gave me a shot of Rocephin. It cleared up the UTI kidney issues in days but also had a lasting impact – about 14 days on my Lyme symptoms. It was like magic – I felt pretty good. Now if this request is not wise in the long run I will happily stick to the Doxycycline. You’re the doctor and I trust you.
2. May I please use Cholestyrmine to remove toxicity from my body and lessen the impact of the Herx. Unless you feel this is unwise. My Herx seem to be more intense than other people in my support groups. They have even comment that they are unusually intense. So I am trying to lessen them with out the use of pain medication.
3. May I please replace Mepron with Alinia . Mepron is well … gross. Compliance is not an issue. I take just as I am told but if there was a pill that worked just as well that would be nice. I am seeing a lot of improvement with my Babesia treatment – huge improvements actually so I am reluctant to change anything. I would like to continue it for 6 month as was recommended during the IDSA hearings. Let me know if this is beneficial
Requests:
I have already signed the release forms at the Neurologist Office. But their policy is that you have to make the request. Please ask for the test films and the results for:
1. MRI
2. Clongen Tests (All information provided for this specifically)
3. Other Spinal tap results
4. Nerve Conduction Study Test
Please review these studies. The neurologist was rather secretive with me and I don’t feel I got a full discussion of the studies.
Additional Studies:
Neuropsychological Testing will be done Late October 2009. This should also help us.
I would like to have a SPECT Scan done but I would like to hear if you think it is warranted or just and extra test.
General condition:
Fatigue is improving. Not back to my old self yet but I am better than I was. Muscle weakness increasing. Cognitive and memory is still really bad but there are incremental improvements. ‘Let down Response’ is lessening. Tremors are lessening. Urethral spasms are lessening. Left side of my face is still droopy but not palsy. Still have left foot drag but less often. Developed sever insomnia. Each time I would fall a sleep and small shot of adrenaline would wake me up every 2 or 3 minutes. It was very annoying. I was getting about 3 hours of sleep a night. Sleep aids where prescribed by GP and are helping. Weight is dropping I am now 116 pounds. I am going to back on the Mirtazapine to increase my weight
Presecribed by GP for Insomnia
Klonopin – daily at night – small dose
Ambien – only as needed
Prescribe by Rheumatologist
Flexrile – small dose at night - for fibromyalgia symptoms
Doing PM Qi Gong (like Tai Chi) for Seniors for daily exercise.Yes I am under 40 but its what I can do right now
AM/PM Tai Chi Relaxation Exercises
Supplements:
Nano LifePak by Pharmanex
Vitamin C – 3 grams (this seems to have a signigigant effect in my recovery)
Vitamin B – 3 tablets (this seems to help with nausea)
Magox
Fiber supplement
Acidophilus (non milk)
What antibiotic is effective for treating Chronic Lyme?
A new drug I had never heard of Tigecycline. It is an IV only drug. Next in line was Ceftriaxone that can be delivered as a shot or through an IV.
Oddly enough Amoxicillin and Doxycycline are not as helpful as we had been lead to believe. But their advantage is they can be taken orally. Make them available for the poor and under insured.
An oral Tigecycline would be a good wish
Those drugs that treat Lyme again are as follows in order of effectiveness.
Tigecycline
Ceftriaxone
Docycycline
Amoxicillin
This is editorial not medical advice the information here was gleaned from the IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings on July 30, 2009
Oddly enough Amoxicillin and Doxycycline are not as helpful as we had been lead to believe. But their advantage is they can be taken orally. Make them available for the poor and under insured.
An oral Tigecycline would be a good wish
Those drugs that treat Lyme again are as follows in order of effectiveness.
Tigecycline
Ceftriaxone
Docycycline
Amoxicillin
This is editorial not medical advice the information here was gleaned from the IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings on July 30, 2009
Odd twist of Events for treatment of Babesia - More on Chronic Lyme and other Tick Borne Disease
In and odd twist of event Gary P. Wormser, MD had some thing to offer other then "let them all suffer". He recommended a change to the guidelines for Babesia from 3 month to 6 months.
That treatment is Azithromycin and Mepron. Some people are using Alinia in place of Mepron but that is still experimental. Mepron is a thick yellow suspension - not a pill. It is not water soluble and compliance is its biggest enemy.
Yes Wormser actually recommended a longer course of antibiotics. He actually recommended changing the IDSA Guidelines on Lyme. To date he has treat the document as if it contained an ultimate wisdom as if it where etched in stone like the 10 commandments.
He also restate a positions for the 2006 Guidelines that you may need to carry around in your back pocket until they get these guidelines fixed.
"Regardless of the clinical manifestations of Lyme Disease, complete response to may be delayed beyond the treatment duration. Relapse may occur with any of these regimens; patients with objective signs of relapse may need a second course of treatment. IDSA 2006 Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme page 1106 table 3."
He did quote his own research again without comparing it to anyone else or acknowledging other research or even the people who helped him with his own research. Some people really think they are the smartest, funniest people that they know. Wormser is certainly one of them but funny enough - one of the panelist called him on his arrogance.
That treatment is Azithromycin and Mepron. Some people are using Alinia in place of Mepron but that is still experimental. Mepron is a thick yellow suspension - not a pill. It is not water soluble and compliance is its biggest enemy.
Yes Wormser actually recommended a longer course of antibiotics. He actually recommended changing the IDSA Guidelines on Lyme. To date he has treat the document as if it contained an ultimate wisdom as if it where etched in stone like the 10 commandments.
He also restate a positions for the 2006 Guidelines that you may need to carry around in your back pocket until they get these guidelines fixed.
"Regardless of the clinical manifestations of Lyme Disease, complete response to may be delayed beyond the treatment duration. Relapse may occur with any of these regimens; patients with objective signs of relapse may need a second course of treatment. IDSA 2006 Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme page 1106 table 3."
He did quote his own research again without comparing it to anyone else or acknowledging other research or even the people who helped him with his own research. Some people really think they are the smartest, funniest people that they know. Wormser is certainly one of them but funny enough - one of the panelist called him on his arrogance.
The suffering of small children: Hidden Epidemic? Lawmakers enter debate over chronic Lyme disease
By Barbara Morse Silva
Health Check 10 Reporter
Published: July 29, 2009
Health officials will tell you that Rhode Island has the second highest incidence of Lyme disease in the country, second only to Connecticut.
As a result, Rhode Island lawmakers have taken a particular interest in addressing the Lyme disease problem. A few years ago, they passed legislation that protects doctors who choose to treat patients with long-term antibiotics.
Yet, in Rhode Island, you’re hard pressed to find a doctor willing to treat long term because of medical guidelines that call in to question the existence of chronic Lyme disease.
Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Stabile has been on antibiotics for about two years now.
“I don’t like taking the antibiotics, and I don’t like the treatment. But in the long run, it’s going to get better,“ Stabile said.
Stephanie’s mother, Loren, said her daughter is getting better, especially when you consider where she was three years ago—suffering from pain and memory lapses.
“And then she started with neurological symptoms. She would get the tremors and she would go from hot to cold, hot to cold and she’d fall out of her bed,“ Loren Stabile said.
It wasn’t until she took her daughter to Dr. Charles Ray Jones, a pediatric Lyme specialist in New Haven, Conn., that she got an answer.
“He said Stephanie tested positive for Lyme, and it was a relief at that time not knowing what kind of road we had in front of us. It was still a relief to find out why she was so sick,“ Loren Stabile said.
Stephanie was diagnosed with Lyme disease and two other tick-borne infections. While her daily regimen of pills and regular infusion treatments are tough, she can spend a half-day at school now.
Julie Merolla said she fully believes her son, Matt, now 20, has been suffering from chronic Lyme disease since he was 11. She credits long-term antibiotics prescribed by Jones for his long and continuing journey back to normalcy.
“There’s so much of it everywhere, and people aren’t getting treated. They’re getting told it’s other things,“ Merolla said.
According to Lyme disease guidelines developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, there is no such thing as chronic Lyme disease and there is no scientific evidence backing the use of long-term antibiotics.
“In fact, there are three studies out in the past few years that have shown that long-term antibiotics have no value and, in fact, are associated with significant side effects,“ said Dr. Nitin Damle, who practices in Lyme-endemic South County.
Damle pointed to a review article that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine a couple of years ago.
Not only does it debunk the notion of chronic Lyme disease, it accuses physicians and laypeople who believe in the existence of chronic Lyme disease of forming societies and developing their own management guidelines.
“The media frequently disregard complex scientific data in favor of testimonials about patients suffering from purported chronic Lyme disease and may even question the competence of clinicians who are reluctant to diagnose chronic Lyme,“ the authors said.
“The use of prolonged, dangerous and expensive antibiotic treatments for it is not warranted,“ the article said.
So, which side to believe?
“I believe that there is a growing body of evidence, ample evidence, that suggests chronic Lyme is a problem,“ U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin said.
The Rhode Island Democrat is co sponsoring legislation—House Resolution No. 1179—that would, among other things, establish epidemiological research objectives to determine the long-term course of illness for Lyme disease and determine the effectiveness of different treatment modalities.
The legislation comes on the heels of an antitrust suit by the Connecticut attorney general against the IDSA board that came up with the Lyme guidelines.
“Those members and the decision made was a flawed process and there were conflicts of interest,“ Langevin said.
A representative for the IDSA disputes there were conflicts of interest on the original board.
The IDSA board has agreed to revisit the guidelines with a new panel. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
Jones is being charged by the Connecticut Medical Board with unprofessional conduct. He said the charges were initiated by an estranged spouse in a custody suit.
Health Check 10 Reporter
Published: July 29, 2009
Health officials will tell you that Rhode Island has the second highest incidence of Lyme disease in the country, second only to Connecticut.
As a result, Rhode Island lawmakers have taken a particular interest in addressing the Lyme disease problem. A few years ago, they passed legislation that protects doctors who choose to treat patients with long-term antibiotics.
Yet, in Rhode Island, you’re hard pressed to find a doctor willing to treat long term because of medical guidelines that call in to question the existence of chronic Lyme disease.
Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Stabile has been on antibiotics for about two years now.
“I don’t like taking the antibiotics, and I don’t like the treatment. But in the long run, it’s going to get better,“ Stabile said.
Stephanie’s mother, Loren, said her daughter is getting better, especially when you consider where she was three years ago—suffering from pain and memory lapses.
“And then she started with neurological symptoms. She would get the tremors and she would go from hot to cold, hot to cold and she’d fall out of her bed,“ Loren Stabile said.
It wasn’t until she took her daughter to Dr. Charles Ray Jones, a pediatric Lyme specialist in New Haven, Conn., that she got an answer.
“He said Stephanie tested positive for Lyme, and it was a relief at that time not knowing what kind of road we had in front of us. It was still a relief to find out why she was so sick,“ Loren Stabile said.
Stephanie was diagnosed with Lyme disease and two other tick-borne infections. While her daily regimen of pills and regular infusion treatments are tough, she can spend a half-day at school now.
Julie Merolla said she fully believes her son, Matt, now 20, has been suffering from chronic Lyme disease since he was 11. She credits long-term antibiotics prescribed by Jones for his long and continuing journey back to normalcy.
“There’s so much of it everywhere, and people aren’t getting treated. They’re getting told it’s other things,“ Merolla said.
According to Lyme disease guidelines developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, there is no such thing as chronic Lyme disease and there is no scientific evidence backing the use of long-term antibiotics.
“In fact, there are three studies out in the past few years that have shown that long-term antibiotics have no value and, in fact, are associated with significant side effects,“ said Dr. Nitin Damle, who practices in Lyme-endemic South County.
Damle pointed to a review article that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine a couple of years ago.
Not only does it debunk the notion of chronic Lyme disease, it accuses physicians and laypeople who believe in the existence of chronic Lyme disease of forming societies and developing their own management guidelines.
“The media frequently disregard complex scientific data in favor of testimonials about patients suffering from purported chronic Lyme disease and may even question the competence of clinicians who are reluctant to diagnose chronic Lyme,“ the authors said.
“The use of prolonged, dangerous and expensive antibiotic treatments for it is not warranted,“ the article said.
So, which side to believe?
“I believe that there is a growing body of evidence, ample evidence, that suggests chronic Lyme is a problem,“ U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin said.
The Rhode Island Democrat is co sponsoring legislation—House Resolution No. 1179—that would, among other things, establish epidemiological research objectives to determine the long-term course of illness for Lyme disease and determine the effectiveness of different treatment modalities.
The legislation comes on the heels of an antitrust suit by the Connecticut attorney general against the IDSA board that came up with the Lyme guidelines.
“Those members and the decision made was a flawed process and there were conflicts of interest,“ Langevin said.
A representative for the IDSA disputes there were conflicts of interest on the original board.
The IDSA board has agreed to revisit the guidelines with a new panel. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
Jones is being charged by the Connecticut Medical Board with unprofessional conduct. He said the charges were initiated by an estranged spouse in a custody suit.
Obituary of a small child: Minnesota has recorded its first death from Rocky Mountain spotted
By CHRIS WILLIAMS Associated Press Writer
MINNEAPOLIS—Minnesota has recorded its first death from Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a rare disease in the state that can be spread by a common wood tick, the state Health Department said Wednesday.
The department reported that a young child with no underlying health problems from Dakota County died of the disease earlier this month, but provided no other details. The child was probably bitten by an infected tick within the county, the department said.
While about 2,000 Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases are recorded throughout the U.S. each year, they tend to be in southern, eastern and western states. The disease is very rare in Minnesota, but the American dog tick—also called the wood tick—that can spread it is fairly common here.
"It's another reason people should take very good precautions against tick bites," said Melissa Kemperman, a Health Department expert in tick-transmitted diseases.
Spotted fever symptoms include high fever, headache and a rash that usually appears two to five days after the fever starts.
MINNEAPOLIS—Minnesota has recorded its first death from Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a rare disease in the state that can be spread by a common wood tick, the state Health Department said Wednesday.
The department reported that a young child with no underlying health problems from Dakota County died of the disease earlier this month, but provided no other details. The child was probably bitten by an infected tick within the county, the department said.
While about 2,000 Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases are recorded throughout the U.S. each year, they tend to be in southern, eastern and western states. The disease is very rare in Minnesota, but the American dog tick—also called the wood tick—that can spread it is fairly common here.
"It's another reason people should take very good precautions against tick bites," said Melissa Kemperman, a Health Department expert in tick-transmitted diseases.
Spotted fever symptoms include high fever, headache and a rash that usually appears two to five days after the fever starts.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thank you Lord
Thank you Lord for being with us today as we prayed and as we watched the IDSA Lyme hearings. You empowered me. Carol Baker said it best that she also hates being told by insurance companies what she can and can't do to treat a patient. In your grace I see that the IDSA is a small medical society and we are bigger than they are. With your guidance we will change Lyme for our children and by doing so we will show them that you are God.
Amen
Amen
Chronic Lyme gets a voice
The IDSA hearings are going so well. Everyone is being honest and forthright and arrogance is revealing itself with out a fight.
Thank you Lord as we continue to pray through out the hearings.
Thank you Lord as we continue to pray through out the hearings.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Injustice: Chronic Lyme: IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings Thursday July 30 - 7:40 est
The Jews waited for the savior promised by Isaiah. The were imprisoned, tortured and penniless. The wanted a savior that would crush their enemies, free them from slavery and give them all their land and stuff back and make them rulers over their oppressors as the exalted chosen people of God.
Instead Jesus showed up and offered to save them from their sin. And they where all like... What?
As tempting as it is to wish that God would crush those IDSA rats with a fits of thunder that can be heard around the world. It is their sin and our sin and my sin that we need to be saved from.
It is in the place of repentance and humility and that we can receive the type of healing that will change Lyme Disease for generations.
At 7:30am - Pray tomorrow that God would bring you that humility. At some point each of us has resented God because we have Lyme Disease. We have each failed at some point to reach our hand out and help someone else with Lyme Disease. Because we where too sick, too depressed and too busy choosing ourselves over God and our community. It's ok. God never held it against you or me. But as we repent Jesus will knit our community closer to each other and to him. Tightly knitted we will no longer be loose string blown in the wind but more like chain maille.
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Don't bother filling out the forms just click the next buttons.
Instead Jesus showed up and offered to save them from their sin. And they where all like... What?
As tempting as it is to wish that God would crush those IDSA rats with a fits of thunder that can be heard around the world. It is their sin and our sin and my sin that we need to be saved from.
It is in the place of repentance and humility and that we can receive the type of healing that will change Lyme Disease for generations.
At 7:30am - Pray tomorrow that God would bring you that humility. At some point each of us has resented God because we have Lyme Disease. We have each failed at some point to reach our hand out and help someone else with Lyme Disease. Because we where too sick, too depressed and too busy choosing ourselves over God and our community. It's ok. God never held it against you or me. But as we repent Jesus will knit our community closer to each other and to him. Tightly knitted we will no longer be loose string blown in the wind but more like chain maille.
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Don't bother filling out the forms just click the next buttons.
The Peace that Surpasses Understanding: IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings July 30
Did you know the world is not a scary place full of tortuous anxiety. That I don't have to fear the future. That I don't have to obsess about money. That the worst possible thing that I can dream up is not going to happen. That I don't have to spend my days dreaming up these horrors. Always vigilant with paranoia?
Well I didn't know that until I had 120 days of antibiotics in my system. Then it was if the curtains opened, the sunshine came in and I was free.
Join Us in prayer for the IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early for the IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
So as many Lyme suffers are still in that dark dark trench of hopelessness I pray for the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. That God himself will stand next to you and guard your hearts and your minds. I would pray that he would extend and open hand to you and that the paranoia of Lyme would fade and that we grab his had and trust God fully for all of our needs both physical and spiritual. Even though Lyme has brought us low it has also seeded our minds with self-righteousness, dogma and arrogance. I pray that as we become humble before God he will raise us up and as we present ourselves before Christ we will express our thankfulness for His provision, His peace. That it will literally flood our souls. His peace will create an impenetrable barrier around our hearts and minds where the evil men do can never enter.
Finally - if it is true, honorable, right, or pure. If it is pleasing to God and of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Bring them to God in prayer.
Well I didn't know that until I had 120 days of antibiotics in my system. Then it was if the curtains opened, the sunshine came in and I was free.
Join Us in prayer for the IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early for the IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
So as many Lyme suffers are still in that dark dark trench of hopelessness I pray for the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. That God himself will stand next to you and guard your hearts and your minds. I would pray that he would extend and open hand to you and that the paranoia of Lyme would fade and that we grab his had and trust God fully for all of our needs both physical and spiritual. Even though Lyme has brought us low it has also seeded our minds with self-righteousness, dogma and arrogance. I pray that as we become humble before God he will raise us up and as we present ourselves before Christ we will express our thankfulness for His provision, His peace. That it will literally flood our souls. His peace will create an impenetrable barrier around our hearts and minds where the evil men do can never enter.
Finally - if it is true, honorable, right, or pure. If it is pleasing to God and of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Bring them to God in prayer.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Lyme disease is growing at four times the rate of AIDS
Join fight against Lyme disease
by Julie Donohue, Berkeley Heights
Tuesday July 28, 2009, 10:17 AM
"...Lyme disease is growing at four times the rate of AIDS and is now believed to be our nation's fastest-growing infectious disease. It is misdiagnosed more than 50% of the time since it is often mistaken for other illnesses with similar symptoms..."
To the editor:
We are constantly reminded how the energy of one group of people can make a positive difference in their community and the world at large.
On June 1, the Woodruff Elementary School in Berkeley Heights dedicated the afternoon to raising money for Lyme disease research by participating in a well-organized event that raised over $1,400 for the Turn the Corner Foundation. This foundation promotes research, education, awareness and innovative treatments for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
Inspired by the growing awareness that Lyme disease gravely affects many in our area, including at least three Woodruff graduates, the school principal, Patricia Gasparini, enlisted her staff, students and parents in an all out education war against Lyme disease. Each class learned age-appropriate information regarding Lyme disease and took educational materials and tick removal kits home to share with their families.
Lyme disease is growing at four times the rate of AIDS and is now believed to be our nation's fastest-growing infectious disease. It is misdiagnosed more than 50% of the time since it is often mistaken for other illnesses with similar symptoms.
Contributing to the confusion are the inadequacies of current blood tests and physicians' lack of experience with the disease. Educating the public and the health community regarding Lyme disease is the first step in combating it. Raising funds for better detection and treatment of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases is the second crucial step. The fundraising success of the Woodruff community has clearly shown that one group can make a difference for the betterment of many others.
On September 26, at the New Providence High School track, local residents can join in the fight against Lyme disease by participating in the first ever area walk to raise funds for the Turn the Corner Foundation. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the walk and family fun day will take place from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and will include live entertainment, face painting, sweepstakes, and free food. Please visit www.firstgiving.com/createfootprintsttc to register online, join a walk team, create your own fundraising page or make a donation. For more information please contact Laura at lauradghrs@hotmail.com.
by Julie Donohue, Berkeley Heights
Tuesday July 28, 2009, 10:17 AM
"...Lyme disease is growing at four times the rate of AIDS and is now believed to be our nation's fastest-growing infectious disease. It is misdiagnosed more than 50% of the time since it is often mistaken for other illnesses with similar symptoms..."
To the editor:
We are constantly reminded how the energy of one group of people can make a positive difference in their community and the world at large.
On June 1, the Woodruff Elementary School in Berkeley Heights dedicated the afternoon to raising money for Lyme disease research by participating in a well-organized event that raised over $1,400 for the Turn the Corner Foundation. This foundation promotes research, education, awareness and innovative treatments for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
Inspired by the growing awareness that Lyme disease gravely affects many in our area, including at least three Woodruff graduates, the school principal, Patricia Gasparini, enlisted her staff, students and parents in an all out education war against Lyme disease. Each class learned age-appropriate information regarding Lyme disease and took educational materials and tick removal kits home to share with their families.
Lyme disease is growing at four times the rate of AIDS and is now believed to be our nation's fastest-growing infectious disease. It is misdiagnosed more than 50% of the time since it is often mistaken for other illnesses with similar symptoms.
Contributing to the confusion are the inadequacies of current blood tests and physicians' lack of experience with the disease. Educating the public and the health community regarding Lyme disease is the first step in combating it. Raising funds for better detection and treatment of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases is the second crucial step. The fundraising success of the Woodruff community has clearly shown that one group can make a difference for the betterment of many others.
On September 26, at the New Providence High School track, local residents can join in the fight against Lyme disease by participating in the first ever area walk to raise funds for the Turn the Corner Foundation. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the walk and family fun day will take place from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and will include live entertainment, face painting, sweepstakes, and free food. Please visit www.firstgiving.com/createfootprintsttc to register online, join a walk team, create your own fundraising page or make a donation. For more information please contact Laura at lauradghrs@hotmail.com.
IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings July 30: Pray for Joy
continued post from 6 days of prayer....
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
href="http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=149
74">http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Let me know if this link doesnt work - please, please, please
We are a sick and oppressed people. Nothing pisses off our prison guards like seeing us joyful. Not happiness - not positive thinking - not laughter - but joy. It is just an entirely different beast and it is unstoppable. It isn't pretending that you are not being hurt or that you are not sick. It is the joy that the Israelites knew when they where enslaved by the Egyptians. Christian knew it when they where persecuted by the Romans - and we can know it too.
So this prayer is just all the biblical prays for Joy strung together: Do them all it is wonderful!
Lord Jesus, keep me abiding in you so that your joy may be in me and that my joy may be full. (John 15:11)
Lord, turn my sorrow into joy. (John 16:20)
Lord, cause my heart to rejoice, and my joy let no one take from me. (John 16:22)
Lord, teach me to ask and receive, that my joy may be full. (John 16:24)
LORD, you are my strength and my song; you also have become my salvation. Therefore with joy let me draw water from the wells of salvation. Your joy is my strength. You are my joy and my strength. Let me know you in this way. (Is. 12:2,3; Neh. 8:10)
God, you are my exceeding joy! (Ps. 43:4)
Lord, make me to rejoice in you always! (Php. 4:4)
Father God, show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures for evermore. Let me experience everything in your presence and what is found at your right hand. (Ps. 16:11)
Father God, give me the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness! This is your gift and your will! (Is. 61:3)
LORD, your Word is to me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart! (Jer. 15:16)
Lord Jesus, you want your joy to be fulfilled in me! Show me how you can make it happen! Lead me into it. (John 17:3)
LORD, I ask you to fill me with all joy and peace in believing, that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Holy Spirit, produce your fruit of love and joy in me. (Gal. 5:22)
Lord, help me to count it all joy when I fall into various trials. (James 1:2)
Lord, when people revile and persecute me and say all kinds of evil against me falsely for Christ's sake, let me rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is my reward in heaven, for so they treated the prophets who were before me. (Matt. 5:12)
Lord, give me the joy to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 4)
Lord, I seek you, so let my heart rejoice! (1 Chr. 16:10)
Lord, make me love righteousness and hate wickedness; and anoint me with the oil of gladness more than my companions. (Ps. 45:7)
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
href="http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=149
74">http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Let me know if this link doesnt work - please, please, please
We are a sick and oppressed people. Nothing pisses off our prison guards like seeing us joyful. Not happiness - not positive thinking - not laughter - but joy. It is just an entirely different beast and it is unstoppable. It isn't pretending that you are not being hurt or that you are not sick. It is the joy that the Israelites knew when they where enslaved by the Egyptians. Christian knew it when they where persecuted by the Romans - and we can know it too.
So this prayer is just all the biblical prays for Joy strung together: Do them all it is wonderful!
Lord Jesus, keep me abiding in you so that your joy may be in me and that my joy may be full. (John 15:11)
Lord, turn my sorrow into joy. (John 16:20)
Lord, cause my heart to rejoice, and my joy let no one take from me. (John 16:22)
Lord, teach me to ask and receive, that my joy may be full. (John 16:24)
LORD, you are my strength and my song; you also have become my salvation. Therefore with joy let me draw water from the wells of salvation. Your joy is my strength. You are my joy and my strength. Let me know you in this way. (Is. 12:2,3; Neh. 8:10)
God, you are my exceeding joy! (Ps. 43:4)
Lord, make me to rejoice in you always! (Php. 4:4)
Father God, show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures for evermore. Let me experience everything in your presence and what is found at your right hand. (Ps. 16:11)
Father God, give me the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness! This is your gift and your will! (Is. 61:3)
LORD, your Word is to me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart! (Jer. 15:16)
Lord Jesus, you want your joy to be fulfilled in me! Show me how you can make it happen! Lead me into it. (John 17:3)
LORD, I ask you to fill me with all joy and peace in believing, that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Holy Spirit, produce your fruit of love and joy in me. (Gal. 5:22)
Lord, help me to count it all joy when I fall into various trials. (James 1:2)
Lord, when people revile and persecute me and say all kinds of evil against me falsely for Christ's sake, let me rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is my reward in heaven, for so they treated the prophets who were before me. (Matt. 5:12)
Lord, give me the joy to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 4)
Lord, I seek you, so let my heart rejoice! (1 Chr. 16:10)
Lord, make me love righteousness and hate wickedness; and anoint me with the oil of gladness more than my companions. (Ps. 45:7)
URI awarded $13 million grant to develop vaccines for emerging infectious diseases such as Lyme
URI awarded $13 million grant to develop vaccines for emerging infectious diseases such as Lyme. I am not sure I would call Lyme an "Emerging Infectious Disease". I has been in full swing since the 1970's and the CDC labels it a pandemic. But I will let them slide this time.
Annie De Groot, a Brown University professor and the CEO of molecular bio company EpiVax got the money.
She is an HIV virus researcher and I can't find any trail of research the she has done on Lyme Disease. It is a mystery to me why she would receive a grant to study Lyme. All the other diseases on the list are viruses and Lyme sticks out as the only bacteria. Unless the reason why antibiotics only help a subset of Lyme patients is the that viral Lyme is some sort of well kept secret. That would be weird. Biologist have been finding a version of Lyme in mosquito's that is viral in nature. Humm - maybe they know something we don't know. No public panic here.
The NIH funds will enable De Groot and URI colleagues Thomas Mather and Lenny Moise to collaborate with Steve Moss and Steve Gregory of Lifespan and Bill Martin of EpiVax to develop vaccines that will address emerging infectious diseases such as Heptatitis C, Helicobacter pylori and engineered biowarfare/bioterror agents. Mather will direct a project on the development of a vaccine against a range of tick borne diseases such as Lyme. What was that about biowarefare agents? Humm didn't know we had those roaming around. Well is the Lyme Clone that the CDC talks about or Viral Lyme is some crap some idiot cooked up in a military lab after 911 - I really don't care. Just tell us and lets get on with eradicating it.
De Groot will hire eight new staff members for the Institute for Immunology and Informatics. Hope to God its not any of these fools
1. David Volkman, MD, Nissequogue, NY
2. Eugene Shapiro, MD, IDSA & Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
3. Allen Steere, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
4. Arthur Weinstein, MD, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC
5. Gary Wormser, MD, IDSA & New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
She works with her dad which is kind of cool.
Leslie J. De Groot: De Groot, 80, served for three decades on the faculty of the University of Chicago. Move to Massachusetts to be with daughter. Nice dad. He is very loosely tied to "Novel Diagnosis of Lyme Disease: Potential for CAM Intervention". Very loosely tied.
Annie De Groot, a Brown University professor and the CEO of molecular bio company EpiVax got the money.
She is an HIV virus researcher and I can't find any trail of research the she has done on Lyme Disease. It is a mystery to me why she would receive a grant to study Lyme. All the other diseases on the list are viruses and Lyme sticks out as the only bacteria. Unless the reason why antibiotics only help a subset of Lyme patients is the that viral Lyme is some sort of well kept secret. That would be weird. Biologist have been finding a version of Lyme in mosquito's that is viral in nature. Humm - maybe they know something we don't know. No public panic here.
The NIH funds will enable De Groot and URI colleagues Thomas Mather and Lenny Moise to collaborate with Steve Moss and Steve Gregory of Lifespan and Bill Martin of EpiVax to develop vaccines that will address emerging infectious diseases such as Heptatitis C, Helicobacter pylori and engineered biowarfare/bioterror agents. Mather will direct a project on the development of a vaccine against a range of tick borne diseases such as Lyme. What was that about biowarefare agents? Humm didn't know we had those roaming around. Well is the Lyme Clone that the CDC talks about or Viral Lyme is some crap some idiot cooked up in a military lab after 911 - I really don't care. Just tell us and lets get on with eradicating it.
De Groot will hire eight new staff members for the Institute for Immunology and Informatics. Hope to God its not any of these fools
1. David Volkman, MD, Nissequogue, NY
2. Eugene Shapiro, MD, IDSA & Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
3. Allen Steere, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
4. Arthur Weinstein, MD, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC
5. Gary Wormser, MD, IDSA & New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
She works with her dad which is kind of cool.
Leslie J. De Groot: De Groot, 80, served for three decades on the faculty of the University of Chicago. Move to Massachusetts to be with daughter. Nice dad. He is very loosely tied to "Novel Diagnosis of Lyme Disease: Potential for CAM Intervention". Very loosely tied.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Update -Tick Borne Disease: Dutchess County Health Department New York
The Dutchess County Health Department will conduct a randomized community phone survey in the next few weeks to find out how much residents know about tick-borne diseases.
Advertisement
Lyme disease was listed as one of residents’ top health concerns, according to a recent county assessment survey. But many residents are not aware that ticks can carry more than just Lyme disease, a county press release said.
The Powassan virus, a rare tick-borne disease, has been confirmed in the county this year for the first time since 1978, a county press release said.
oops not quite right....There have been 5
Case 1. In June 2001, a 70-year-old man from Kennebec County, Maine, was taken to a local hospital with generalized muscle weakness, somnolence, diarrhea, and anorexia. On clinical examination, he had a fever of 104.7 F (40.4 C), leukocytosis of 11,500/mm3 (normal: 4,300--10,800/mm3), decreased renal function, and anemia. He subsequently developed left-sided hemiplegia and marked confusion. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contained 40 white blood cells (WBCs)/mm3 (normal: <4/mm3) (87% lymphocytes) with elevated protein (96 mg/dL; normal: 20--50 mg/dL). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed parietal changes consistent with microvascular ischemia or demyelinating disease. No causes for his apparent stroke were found. After 22 days of hospitalization, he was discharged to a rehabilitation facility. Nearly 3 months after symptom onset, he remains in the facility and is unable to move his left arm or leg. Serum specimens and CSF collected 3 days after hospitalization revealed POW virus-specific IgM; neutralizing antibody (1:640 titer) also was found in serum specimens. Although some cross-reaction with WNV and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus occurred in the IgM assay, no neutralizing antibody was found.
The patient had not left Maine for 25 years. On ecologic investigation, overgrown bushes, leaf piles, and stacks of old lumber and scrap metal covered his property. Family members reported seeing woodchucks, skunks, and squirrels on the property. During the 2 weeks before illness, the patient's main activities were lying on the ground repairing a boat hull and yard work. Approximately 6 weeks after illness onset, nine medium-sized mammals were trapped on or near the patient's property. Collections from these mammals and the grassy and brushy areas of the property yielded 31 ticks (Ixodes cookei). Tests for POW virus infection were conducted at CDC. Of the nine mammal serum samples, four (two woodchucks and two skunks) contained neutralizing antibody to POW virus, but no virus was isolated from the ticks.
Case 2. In September 2000, a 53-year-old woman from York County, Maine, sought medical care at a local hospital for loss of balance, visual disturbance, and fever of 103 F (39.4 C). Her clinical examination showed agitation without confusion, ataxia, bilateral lateral gaze palsy, and dysarthria. CSF contained 148 WBCs/mm3 (46% neutrophils, 40% lymphocytes). During hospitalization, she developed altered mental status, generalized muscle weakness, and complete ophthalmoplegia. An electroencephalogram (EEG) indicated diffuse encephalitis, and a MRI showed bilateral temporal lobe abnormalities consistent with microvascular ischemia or demyelinating disease. After 13 days, she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility where she remained for 2 months. Nine months after onset of symptoms, she was walking and had regained her strength, but the ophthalmoplegia continued. A serum specimen collected 19 days after illness onset was positive for POW virus-specific IgM and neutralizing antibody (1:640 titer) and negative for WNV and SLE virus antibodies.
The patient had not left Maine in several months before illness onset. During two visits to a rural vacation home in the month before illness onset, the patient removed several squirrel nests but reported no contact with ticks or rodents. One month after illness onset, an ecologic evaluation of her primary home noted a well-manicured suburban property near brush and woodlands. No evidence of medium-sized mammals was found, and only three Ix. scapularis were collected; no POW virus was isolated. Nine months after illness onset, an ecologic evaluation of the patient's vacation home found several mammals, but none had ticks, and no serology samples were collected.
Case 3. In July 2000, a 25-year-old man from Waldo County, Maine, sought medical care at a local hospital for fever of 101.3 F (38.5 C), headache, vomiting, somnolence, and confusion. On clinical examination, the patient had difficulty answering simple questions and was intermittently uncooperative. He had bilateral hand twitching, muscle weakness, and pronounced lip smacking. CSF contained 920 WBCs/mm3 (74% lymphocytes) with elevated protein (77 mg/dL). EEG showed diffuse background slowing consistent with encephalitis. After 11 days of hospitalization, he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. When discharged home 44 days later, the patient required assistance to stand and perform daily activities. Serum specimens and CSF collected 3 days after illness onset were negative for antibody to WNV and SLE virus but positive for POW virus-specific IgM antibody. The serum sample also had neutralizing antibody (1:80 titer) to POW virus. At the time of illness onset, the patient worked as a logger and lived in rural Maine where he raised livestock.
Case 4. In September 1999, a 66-year-old man from Washington County, Vermont, sought medical care at a hospital for somnolence, severe headache, increasing confusion, and bilateral leg weakness that developed over 6 days. On clinical examination, he was afebrile but had slow speech, memory loss, a wide-based gait, and bilateral weakness in proximal lower extremities. CSF contained 54 WBCs/mm3 (95% lymphocytes) and elevated protein (67 mg/dL). An EEG showed diffuse background slowing consistent with encephalitis. When discharged home 11 days later, he could walk but had cognitive difficulties, including severe memory lapses. Serum specimens collected 19 days after illness onset contained POW virus-specific IgM and neutralizing antibody (1:640 titer) but no antibody to WNV and SLE virus. During the month before illness onset, the patient traveled frequently to a vacation home where he saw numerous squirrels and skunks.
Reported by: T Courtney, MD, Southern Maine Medical Center, Biddeford; S Sears, MD, J Woytowicz, MD, MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta; D Preston, MD, MaineGeneral Medical Center, Waterville; R Smith, MD, P Rand, MD, E Lacombe, M Holman, C Lubelczyk, Lyme Disease Research Laboratory, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland; G Beckett, MPH, E Pritchard, MS, K Gensheimer, MD, State Epidemiologist, Maine Dept of Human Svcs. A Beelen, MD, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction; P Tassler, PhD, Vermont Dept of Health. Arbovirus Diseases Br and Bacterial Zoonoses Br, Div of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases; and an EIS Officer, CDC.
WEDNESDAY, May 13 2009 New York -- A report of a fatal case of encephalitis related to deer tick virus illustrates that the incidence of infection in humans may be underappreciated, according to research published in the May 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Norma P. Tavakoli, Ph.D., of the New York State Department of Health in Albany, and colleagues write that the patient -- a 62-year-old man who spent time in the woods -- presented with a four-day history of fatigue, fever, palmar rash, and right-sided weakness. He had a history of leukemia and chronic sinusitis.
The patient died 17 days after symptom onset. A tissue sample taken during a suboccipital craniotomy performed on hospital day five revealed severe meningoencephalitis, and autopsy examination revealed meningopolioencephalitis and meningopoliomyelitis, with areas of necrosis found throughout the brain. Polymerase-chain-reaction assay revealed the presence of deer tick virus, which is closely related to Powassan virus.
"This report of deer tick virus resulting in a fatal case of encephalitis emphasizes the significance of deer ticks in transmitting a variety of infections. Because no specific antiviral therapy is available for Powassan infection, the best strategy remains prevention (i.e., avoidance of contact with the arthropod vector). Studies to elucidate the prevalence and relative pathogenic features of Powassan lineages I and II are warranted," the authors conclude.
Advertisement
Lyme disease was listed as one of residents’ top health concerns, according to a recent county assessment survey. But many residents are not aware that ticks can carry more than just Lyme disease, a county press release said.
The Powassan virus, a rare tick-borne disease, has been confirmed in the county this year for the first time since 1978, a county press release said.
oops not quite right....There have been 5
Case 1. In June 2001, a 70-year-old man from Kennebec County, Maine, was taken to a local hospital with generalized muscle weakness, somnolence, diarrhea, and anorexia. On clinical examination, he had a fever of 104.7 F (40.4 C), leukocytosis of 11,500/mm3 (normal: 4,300--10,800/mm3), decreased renal function, and anemia. He subsequently developed left-sided hemiplegia and marked confusion. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contained 40 white blood cells (WBCs)/mm3 (normal: <4/mm3) (87% lymphocytes) with elevated protein (96 mg/dL; normal: 20--50 mg/dL). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed parietal changes consistent with microvascular ischemia or demyelinating disease. No causes for his apparent stroke were found. After 22 days of hospitalization, he was discharged to a rehabilitation facility. Nearly 3 months after symptom onset, he remains in the facility and is unable to move his left arm or leg. Serum specimens and CSF collected 3 days after hospitalization revealed POW virus-specific IgM; neutralizing antibody (1:640 titer) also was found in serum specimens. Although some cross-reaction with WNV and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus occurred in the IgM assay, no neutralizing antibody was found.
The patient had not left Maine for 25 years. On ecologic investigation, overgrown bushes, leaf piles, and stacks of old lumber and scrap metal covered his property. Family members reported seeing woodchucks, skunks, and squirrels on the property. During the 2 weeks before illness, the patient's main activities were lying on the ground repairing a boat hull and yard work. Approximately 6 weeks after illness onset, nine medium-sized mammals were trapped on or near the patient's property. Collections from these mammals and the grassy and brushy areas of the property yielded 31 ticks (Ixodes cookei). Tests for POW virus infection were conducted at CDC. Of the nine mammal serum samples, four (two woodchucks and two skunks) contained neutralizing antibody to POW virus, but no virus was isolated from the ticks.
Case 2. In September 2000, a 53-year-old woman from York County, Maine, sought medical care at a local hospital for loss of balance, visual disturbance, and fever of 103 F (39.4 C). Her clinical examination showed agitation without confusion, ataxia, bilateral lateral gaze palsy, and dysarthria. CSF contained 148 WBCs/mm3 (46% neutrophils, 40% lymphocytes). During hospitalization, she developed altered mental status, generalized muscle weakness, and complete ophthalmoplegia. An electroencephalogram (EEG) indicated diffuse encephalitis, and a MRI showed bilateral temporal lobe abnormalities consistent with microvascular ischemia or demyelinating disease. After 13 days, she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility where she remained for 2 months. Nine months after onset of symptoms, she was walking and had regained her strength, but the ophthalmoplegia continued. A serum specimen collected 19 days after illness onset was positive for POW virus-specific IgM and neutralizing antibody (1:640 titer) and negative for WNV and SLE virus antibodies.
The patient had not left Maine in several months before illness onset. During two visits to a rural vacation home in the month before illness onset, the patient removed several squirrel nests but reported no contact with ticks or rodents. One month after illness onset, an ecologic evaluation of her primary home noted a well-manicured suburban property near brush and woodlands. No evidence of medium-sized mammals was found, and only three Ix. scapularis were collected; no POW virus was isolated. Nine months after illness onset, an ecologic evaluation of the patient's vacation home found several mammals, but none had ticks, and no serology samples were collected.
Case 3. In July 2000, a 25-year-old man from Waldo County, Maine, sought medical care at a local hospital for fever of 101.3 F (38.5 C), headache, vomiting, somnolence, and confusion. On clinical examination, the patient had difficulty answering simple questions and was intermittently uncooperative. He had bilateral hand twitching, muscle weakness, and pronounced lip smacking. CSF contained 920 WBCs/mm3 (74% lymphocytes) with elevated protein (77 mg/dL). EEG showed diffuse background slowing consistent with encephalitis. After 11 days of hospitalization, he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. When discharged home 44 days later, the patient required assistance to stand and perform daily activities. Serum specimens and CSF collected 3 days after illness onset were negative for antibody to WNV and SLE virus but positive for POW virus-specific IgM antibody. The serum sample also had neutralizing antibody (1:80 titer) to POW virus. At the time of illness onset, the patient worked as a logger and lived in rural Maine where he raised livestock.
Case 4. In September 1999, a 66-year-old man from Washington County, Vermont, sought medical care at a hospital for somnolence, severe headache, increasing confusion, and bilateral leg weakness that developed over 6 days. On clinical examination, he was afebrile but had slow speech, memory loss, a wide-based gait, and bilateral weakness in proximal lower extremities. CSF contained 54 WBCs/mm3 (95% lymphocytes) and elevated protein (67 mg/dL). An EEG showed diffuse background slowing consistent with encephalitis. When discharged home 11 days later, he could walk but had cognitive difficulties, including severe memory lapses. Serum specimens collected 19 days after illness onset contained POW virus-specific IgM and neutralizing antibody (1:640 titer) but no antibody to WNV and SLE virus. During the month before illness onset, the patient traveled frequently to a vacation home where he saw numerous squirrels and skunks.
Reported by: T Courtney, MD, Southern Maine Medical Center, Biddeford; S Sears, MD, J Woytowicz, MD, MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta; D Preston, MD, MaineGeneral Medical Center, Waterville; R Smith, MD, P Rand, MD, E Lacombe, M Holman, C Lubelczyk, Lyme Disease Research Laboratory, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland; G Beckett, MPH, E Pritchard, MS, K Gensheimer, MD, State Epidemiologist, Maine Dept of Human Svcs. A Beelen, MD, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction; P Tassler, PhD, Vermont Dept of Health. Arbovirus Diseases Br and Bacterial Zoonoses Br, Div of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases; and an EIS Officer, CDC.
WEDNESDAY, May 13 2009 New York -- A report of a fatal case of encephalitis related to deer tick virus illustrates that the incidence of infection in humans may be underappreciated, according to research published in the May 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Norma P. Tavakoli, Ph.D., of the New York State Department of Health in Albany, and colleagues write that the patient -- a 62-year-old man who spent time in the woods -- presented with a four-day history of fatigue, fever, palmar rash, and right-sided weakness. He had a history of leukemia and chronic sinusitis.
The patient died 17 days after symptom onset. A tissue sample taken during a suboccipital craniotomy performed on hospital day five revealed severe meningoencephalitis, and autopsy examination revealed meningopolioencephalitis and meningopoliomyelitis, with areas of necrosis found throughout the brain. Polymerase-chain-reaction assay revealed the presence of deer tick virus, which is closely related to Powassan virus.
"This report of deer tick virus resulting in a fatal case of encephalitis emphasizes the significance of deer ticks in transmitting a variety of infections. Because no specific antiviral therapy is available for Powassan infection, the best strategy remains prevention (i.e., avoidance of contact with the arthropod vector). Studies to elucidate the prevalence and relative pathogenic features of Powassan lineages I and II are warranted," the authors conclude.
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30: Persecution
Posts continued from 6 days of prayer
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
When I am in group of other Lyme patients and we start talking. A sentiment bubbles up. We all feel experimented on. We try not to just out and out say it because it sounds crazy and not a one of us is really into conspiracy theories. But across the country I hear this same quite idea percolating just under the surface. I admit it – call me nuts - I do feel like I am in the placebo group of the Tuskegee Experiment. I’ve spoken at great length to people who have loved ones who have died of AIDS. In the mid 80s when the disease was just getting rolling, they also felt experimented on. It is universal in the early days of a disease when doctors don’t know what to do. In truth we are lab rats. One group wants to see what toll the disease takes when it goes untreated. Other groups are wrestling with administering known treatments for other similar diseases hoping to God it works.
The Tuskegee Experiment was a 40-year government funded study that was horribly unethical, where researchers failed to treat patients appropriately for Syphilis after the 1940s validation of penicillin as an effective cure for the syphilis. They also failed to tell people that they where participating in the study. Ooops. They gave people with Syphilis a placebo drug as “treatment”. It was really baby aspirin. The goal of the study was to study to the effects of untreated syphilis on people. They document the horrible decline of people who where left untreated. Each month unwitting victims of the study showed up at the doctor for “treatment” and got a baby Aspirin instead. This failure of ethics led to major changes in U.S. law and regulation on the protection of participants in clinical studies, including the necessity for informed consent, communication of diagnosis, and accurate reporting of test results.
It was defended by the studies creator this way: "The men's (unknowing study participants) status did not warrant ethical debate. They were subjects, not patients; clinical material, not sick people."
This is what happens when doctors mistake themselves for researchers. While the medical community’s choice not to help people with Lyme disease is horrible - it is still not a “clinical study”. But I say it is if the NIH and CDC are involved by funding corrupted studies that push for denial of treatment and knowingly endorsing these studies. It then becomes a large and informal clinical trial on you and me.
Intersecting this phenomenon is something I keep running into when speaking to doctors through my work. The weird mental math works out like this.
I matter more than you + Overpopulation + Eugenics = Bad Doctor
When you are in appointment with a doctor it feels like their words have a double meaning and what they are really saying is; “you insignificant, dirty, sick people are defective. You have an inferior compromised immune system and therefore just take up space in the world. Where as educated right minded healthy people such as my self and my family are the only real people who deserve to live.”
92% of Americans will experience disability in their lives. This includes those “better than everybody else” doctors. I work with hospice so I help to scrape them up off the floor when the inevitable strikes. We give them a clean bed and decency as they go through one of the most trans formative phases of life. This is where the persecutor has a Road to Damascus experience.
In all honesty the Lyme community feels persecuted. We are. So we pray that God will deal with our persecutors and show them justice. We ask that he would harden the hearts of our persecutors as he did the Pharaohs of Egypt. Harden their heart until they are so ridged that they are brittle like a stone and shatter at the first strike. We ask that God would do this so that God can transform these people.
We ask that God reminds us that we all took the oath to ‘first do no harm” when we started to follow him. That we are called into the service of the poor, imprisoned and sick. Healthy or Not. Remind us that we are no better than anyone else. Reinforce the fact that we have the opportunity to serve others now is direct evidence that one day we will need to be served.
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
When I am in group of other Lyme patients and we start talking. A sentiment bubbles up. We all feel experimented on. We try not to just out and out say it because it sounds crazy and not a one of us is really into conspiracy theories. But across the country I hear this same quite idea percolating just under the surface. I admit it – call me nuts - I do feel like I am in the placebo group of the Tuskegee Experiment. I’ve spoken at great length to people who have loved ones who have died of AIDS. In the mid 80s when the disease was just getting rolling, they also felt experimented on. It is universal in the early days of a disease when doctors don’t know what to do. In truth we are lab rats. One group wants to see what toll the disease takes when it goes untreated. Other groups are wrestling with administering known treatments for other similar diseases hoping to God it works.
The Tuskegee Experiment was a 40-year government funded study that was horribly unethical, where researchers failed to treat patients appropriately for Syphilis after the 1940s validation of penicillin as an effective cure for the syphilis. They also failed to tell people that they where participating in the study. Ooops. They gave people with Syphilis a placebo drug as “treatment”. It was really baby aspirin. The goal of the study was to study to the effects of untreated syphilis on people. They document the horrible decline of people who where left untreated. Each month unwitting victims of the study showed up at the doctor for “treatment” and got a baby Aspirin instead. This failure of ethics led to major changes in U.S. law and regulation on the protection of participants in clinical studies, including the necessity for informed consent, communication of diagnosis, and accurate reporting of test results.
It was defended by the studies creator this way: "The men's (unknowing study participants) status did not warrant ethical debate. They were subjects, not patients; clinical material, not sick people."
This is what happens when doctors mistake themselves for researchers. While the medical community’s choice not to help people with Lyme disease is horrible - it is still not a “clinical study”. But I say it is if the NIH and CDC are involved by funding corrupted studies that push for denial of treatment and knowingly endorsing these studies. It then becomes a large and informal clinical trial on you and me.
Intersecting this phenomenon is something I keep running into when speaking to doctors through my work. The weird mental math works out like this.
I matter more than you + Overpopulation + Eugenics = Bad Doctor
When you are in appointment with a doctor it feels like their words have a double meaning and what they are really saying is; “you insignificant, dirty, sick people are defective. You have an inferior compromised immune system and therefore just take up space in the world. Where as educated right minded healthy people such as my self and my family are the only real people who deserve to live.”
92% of Americans will experience disability in their lives. This includes those “better than everybody else” doctors. I work with hospice so I help to scrape them up off the floor when the inevitable strikes. We give them a clean bed and decency as they go through one of the most trans formative phases of life. This is where the persecutor has a Road to Damascus experience.
In all honesty the Lyme community feels persecuted. We are. So we pray that God will deal with our persecutors and show them justice. We ask that he would harden the hearts of our persecutors as he did the Pharaohs of Egypt. Harden their heart until they are so ridged that they are brittle like a stone and shatter at the first strike. We ask that God would do this so that God can transform these people.
We ask that God reminds us that we all took the oath to ‘first do no harm” when we started to follow him. That we are called into the service of the poor, imprisoned and sick. Healthy or Not. Remind us that we are no better than anyone else. Reinforce the fact that we have the opportunity to serve others now is direct evidence that one day we will need to be served.
IDSA Lyme Disease Guideline Hearings July 30: Odd Group Conscious
Posts continued from 6 days of prayer
At first I was angry that I couldn’t get my health insurance to pay for Lyme Disease treatment and I couldn’t get any doctors in NC to pay attention to my Lyme Disease. In a burst of frustration I had a realization that set me free. The insurance company was in this to make money. I was in this to get well. Our goals where different and they would never be the same. So we parted ways and I stopped seeing their doctors and started paying for my Lyme treatment out of pocket. This has become and odd group conscious.
I realized my insurance premium was just a strange sort of imperial tax. It is a fee I pay to be “covered” by the Crown of BCBS. The way the colonist paid the Royal Crown of England for the privilege of being an English Colony. England was never going to provide any services in exchange for the tax money. No the relationship was quite the reverse. In fact the colonies where expected to make the Crown wealthy while they struggled in poverty. Just as we are expect to make insurance companies rich in return for nothing. If I refused to pay the invisible health care tax they threatened me with “pre-existing conditions” and disqualifying me from ever getting health insurance again. They drove up the cost of out of pocket health care just to make sure I would feel the sting of my disobedience each time I pulled out my wallet to pay out of pocket.
We hate they way they choke the life out of our doctors. But doctors are a highly respected and influential group in the US and they don’t seem to be able to organize themselves to put a stop to their own torture. But we the patients are a larger group and much more influential. Even doctors hate the authority that oppresses them they still cash the checks the insurance companies write.
Mathew - the guy who wrote the first book of the gospel was a despised man. He was a traitor of his own people. At the time the Romans where taxing Jew so heavily that they where reduced to poverty. The Jews where selling land that had been in there family for 30 generations. They where selling one child in order to take care of their other children. If they didn’t pay the tax the Roman soldiers would come and take everything and imprison the Jews. Mathew was a Jew turned tax collector. He was persecuting his own people. Tax collectors where know to take even more than the Roman Empire required just to enrich themselves. God broke his heart and turned him into a devoted follower.
God alone can bring the IDSA Profiteers to their knees and call them to him. He can turn them into disciples who hearts are broken for the sick, poor and imprisoned.
Join me in praying today that God would use the IDSA hearing to transform the entire IDSA an instrument of healing.
Here is what some the 2006 IDSA panelist had to say before their hearts where corrupted by the money and power that insurance and pharmaceutical companies offered.
IDSA author Dr. Mark Klempner
"spirochetes can survive antibiotic treatment through intracellular sequestion within fibroblasts" making them "among the small number of bacteria that can cause chronic infection by localizing within host cells where they remain sequestered from some antimicrobial agents"
***Journal of Infectious Diseases(1993; 167:1074-1081).
"The Lyme disease spirochete . . . can be recovered long after initial infection, even from antibiotic-treated patients, indicating that it resists eradication by host defense mechanisms and antibiotics . . . several eukaryotic cell types provide the Lyme disease spirochete with a protective environment contributing to its long-term survival".
(1992; 166(2):440-4).
Likewise, Dr. Raymond Dattwyler proclaimed in Reviews of Infectious Diseases 1989, 11(6)S6; S1494-8, "Lyme borreliosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi . . . They [Lyme spirochetes] have been demonstrated in tissues obtained from individuals with high levels of antiborrelial antibodies, a finding that indicates the presence of immunity alone does not guarantee eradication of this organism."
***In a New England Journal of Medicine study, Drs. Dattwyler and John Halperin (also of the IDSA) "studied 17 patients who had presented with acute Lyme disease and received prompt treatment with oral antibiotics, but in whom chronic Lyme disease subsequently developed." These "chronic Lyme" patients tested negative on currently-available blood tests: "Although these patients had clinically active disease, none had diagnostic levels of antibodies to B. burgdorferi on either a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or immunoflourescence assay . . . We conclude that the presence of chronic Lyme disease cannot be excluded by the absence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi and that a specific T-cell blastogenic response to B. burgdorferi is evidence of infection in seronegative patients with clinical indications of chronic Lyme disease."
Dattwyler RJ; Volkman DJ; Luft BJ; Halperin JJ; Thomas J; Golightly MG. Seronegative Lyme disease. Dissociation of specific T- and B-lymphocyte responses to Borrelia burgdorferi. New England Journal of Medicine 1988, 319(22):1441-6
A year earlier these same two researchers reported on "the clinical courses of 5 patients with Lyme disease who developed significant late complications, despite receiving tetracycline early in the course of their illness. All 5 patients had been treated for erythema chronicum migrans with a course of tetracycline that met or exceeded current recommendations" (Failure of tetracycline therapy in early Lyme disease. Arthritis & Rheumatism 1987, 30:448-450.) In 1993, Dr. Halperin co-authored an article entitled �Recurrent erythema migrans despite extended antibiotic treatment with minocycline in a patient with persisting Borrelia burgdorferi infection� in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 28(2 Pt 2):312-4.
The title says it all: Even �persisting Borrelia burgdorferi infections� can occur, with manifestations as odd as a recurrent bull�s-eye rash (erythema migrans).
Or as Dr. Halperin wrote in Neurology in 1992 ((42):43-50), "In many instances continued infection appears to be essential for symptoms to persist, no matter how small the number of organisms, as antimicrobial therapy is generally followed by clinical improvement." Or as Gerold Stanek (also of IDSA) put it in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2001, "The relapses she repeatedly suffered despite initially successful antibiotic treatment could be related to the observation that Borrelia [the Lyme disease bacteria] may possibly be able to remain dormant in certain tissue compartments, thus escaping bactericidal antibiotic activity" (144(2):387-392).
Or as Allan Steere, guru of IDSA on Lyme, told the American Journal of Medicine in 1995 (88:4A-44S-51S), "Similarly [as in tertiary syphilis or tuberculoid leprosy], the antigenic stimulus in Lyme arthritis would appear to be a small number of live spirochetes, demonstrated here by monoclonal antibodies, which may persist in the synovial lesion for years (p.494)".
Or as Dr. Steere, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990 Nov 22; 323(21):1438-44), "The likely reason for relapse is failure to eradicate the spirochete . . . This last article is one of many studies that show continuing symptoms are most likely due to persistence of the spirochete [type of Lyme bacteria]."
Indeed, many articles have been published before AND since 1990 demonstrating the possible persistence of Lyme infection in antibiotic-treated patients. These studies have been written by members of the IDSA Lyme "team" and many other reputable scientists. And they are among the 98% of available literature on Lyme not cited in the IDSA�s newest treatment guidelines! Who will hold them responsible?
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
At first I was angry that I couldn’t get my health insurance to pay for Lyme Disease treatment and I couldn’t get any doctors in NC to pay attention to my Lyme Disease. In a burst of frustration I had a realization that set me free. The insurance company was in this to make money. I was in this to get well. Our goals where different and they would never be the same. So we parted ways and I stopped seeing their doctors and started paying for my Lyme treatment out of pocket. This has become and odd group conscious.
I realized my insurance premium was just a strange sort of imperial tax. It is a fee I pay to be “covered” by the Crown of BCBS. The way the colonist paid the Royal Crown of England for the privilege of being an English Colony. England was never going to provide any services in exchange for the tax money. No the relationship was quite the reverse. In fact the colonies where expected to make the Crown wealthy while they struggled in poverty. Just as we are expect to make insurance companies rich in return for nothing. If I refused to pay the invisible health care tax they threatened me with “pre-existing conditions” and disqualifying me from ever getting health insurance again. They drove up the cost of out of pocket health care just to make sure I would feel the sting of my disobedience each time I pulled out my wallet to pay out of pocket.
We hate they way they choke the life out of our doctors. But doctors are a highly respected and influential group in the US and they don’t seem to be able to organize themselves to put a stop to their own torture. But we the patients are a larger group and much more influential. Even doctors hate the authority that oppresses them they still cash the checks the insurance companies write.
Mathew - the guy who wrote the first book of the gospel was a despised man. He was a traitor of his own people. At the time the Romans where taxing Jew so heavily that they where reduced to poverty. The Jews where selling land that had been in there family for 30 generations. They where selling one child in order to take care of their other children. If they didn’t pay the tax the Roman soldiers would come and take everything and imprison the Jews. Mathew was a Jew turned tax collector. He was persecuting his own people. Tax collectors where know to take even more than the Roman Empire required just to enrich themselves. God broke his heart and turned him into a devoted follower.
God alone can bring the IDSA Profiteers to their knees and call them to him. He can turn them into disciples who hearts are broken for the sick, poor and imprisoned.
Join me in praying today that God would use the IDSA hearing to transform the entire IDSA an instrument of healing.
Here is what some the 2006 IDSA panelist had to say before their hearts where corrupted by the money and power that insurance and pharmaceutical companies offered.
IDSA author Dr. Mark Klempner
"spirochetes can survive antibiotic treatment through intracellular sequestion within fibroblasts" making them "among the small number of bacteria that can cause chronic infection by localizing within host cells where they remain sequestered from some antimicrobial agents"
***Journal of Infectious Diseases(1993; 167:1074-1081).
"The Lyme disease spirochete . . . can be recovered long after initial infection, even from antibiotic-treated patients, indicating that it resists eradication by host defense mechanisms and antibiotics . . . several eukaryotic cell types provide the Lyme disease spirochete with a protective environment contributing to its long-term survival".
(1992; 166(2):440-4).
Likewise, Dr. Raymond Dattwyler proclaimed in Reviews of Infectious Diseases 1989, 11(6)S6; S1494-8, "Lyme borreliosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi . . . They [Lyme spirochetes] have been demonstrated in tissues obtained from individuals with high levels of antiborrelial antibodies, a finding that indicates the presence of immunity alone does not guarantee eradication of this organism."
***In a New England Journal of Medicine study, Drs. Dattwyler and John Halperin (also of the IDSA) "studied 17 patients who had presented with acute Lyme disease and received prompt treatment with oral antibiotics, but in whom chronic Lyme disease subsequently developed." These "chronic Lyme" patients tested negative on currently-available blood tests: "Although these patients had clinically active disease, none had diagnostic levels of antibodies to B. burgdorferi on either a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or immunoflourescence assay . . . We conclude that the presence of chronic Lyme disease cannot be excluded by the absence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi and that a specific T-cell blastogenic response to B. burgdorferi is evidence of infection in seronegative patients with clinical indications of chronic Lyme disease."
Dattwyler RJ; Volkman DJ; Luft BJ; Halperin JJ; Thomas J; Golightly MG. Seronegative Lyme disease. Dissociation of specific T- and B-lymphocyte responses to Borrelia burgdorferi. New England Journal of Medicine 1988, 319(22):1441-6
A year earlier these same two researchers reported on "the clinical courses of 5 patients with Lyme disease who developed significant late complications, despite receiving tetracycline early in the course of their illness. All 5 patients had been treated for erythema chronicum migrans with a course of tetracycline that met or exceeded current recommendations" (Failure of tetracycline therapy in early Lyme disease. Arthritis & Rheumatism 1987, 30:448-450.) In 1993, Dr. Halperin co-authored an article entitled �Recurrent erythema migrans despite extended antibiotic treatment with minocycline in a patient with persisting Borrelia burgdorferi infection� in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 28(2 Pt 2):312-4.
The title says it all: Even �persisting Borrelia burgdorferi infections� can occur, with manifestations as odd as a recurrent bull�s-eye rash (erythema migrans).
Or as Dr. Halperin wrote in Neurology in 1992 ((42):43-50), "In many instances continued infection appears to be essential for symptoms to persist, no matter how small the number of organisms, as antimicrobial therapy is generally followed by clinical improvement." Or as Gerold Stanek (also of IDSA) put it in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2001, "The relapses she repeatedly suffered despite initially successful antibiotic treatment could be related to the observation that Borrelia [the Lyme disease bacteria] may possibly be able to remain dormant in certain tissue compartments, thus escaping bactericidal antibiotic activity" (144(2):387-392).
Or as Allan Steere, guru of IDSA on Lyme, told the American Journal of Medicine in 1995 (88:4A-44S-51S), "Similarly [as in tertiary syphilis or tuberculoid leprosy], the antigenic stimulus in Lyme arthritis would appear to be a small number of live spirochetes, demonstrated here by monoclonal antibodies, which may persist in the synovial lesion for years (p.494)".
Or as Dr. Steere, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990 Nov 22; 323(21):1438-44), "The likely reason for relapse is failure to eradicate the spirochete . . . This last article is one of many studies that show continuing symptoms are most likely due to persistence of the spirochete [type of Lyme bacteria]."
Indeed, many articles have been published before AND since 1990 demonstrating the possible persistence of Lyme infection in antibiotic-treated patients. These studies have been written by members of the IDSA Lyme "team" and many other reputable scientists. And they are among the 98% of available literature on Lyme not cited in the IDSA�s newest treatment guidelines! Who will hold them responsible?
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Sunday, July 26, 2009
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30: Stand Up and Be Counted
Lyme Disease: continued post from 6 days of prayer..
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Edmund Burke who said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
So there is "fear" racing around the Lyme Disease community that goes like this...
"If I fill out the registration form on the IDSA website "______" will happen.
What goes in the blank? They will track me down and do what? Show up at my house with MIB. I don't think so. Report that I listened to a hearing on Lyme Disease to the public health department - to my insurance company. That is just not reality based thinking. For a moment just stop and fill in the blank for yourself. Ask yourself - how realistic is my fear. Bounce your fears off a friend.
The IDSA will be counting us for sure. At worst they will be calculating how much money to spend on a marketing campaign/research paper to humiliate us more than they already have. But isn't it time that we stood up to be counted. Lyme Disease community - Stop running away. It's not just the IDSA that is looking at the quantity of log ins. It is the AT of Connecticut and politicians in DC who want to HELP the Lyme Disease community. They want to pass legislation to ensure you get access to treatment. Help them - help you. Be counted. Show them that it is worth their time.
Galatians 2:11 (New International Version)
Paul Opposes Peter
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong."
Peter was a killer and torture of Christians. But Paul stood up to him in face of certain death.
I was a witness to a sex crime as a girl. I testified in court about what I saw. My parents were terrified to let me do this because the perpetrator was threatening everyone involved in the prosecution with death. He was certainly a loose screw and capable of doing anything he threatened. I was young and courageous and on the side of right.
Fast forward to 2007 and the Patriot Act. The sex offender in question was out on parole. Turns out this sex offender was not an American. The department of Homeland Security called me to testify again so they could deport him back to Iraq under the Patriot Act. Turns out the crime I witnessed was not his first and he had arrest records from all over the US. His youngest victim was 9.
But now I am a grown woman. I am not so young and idealistic. I have small children and husband. I worry that this fool might try to hurt them. Might try to burn down my house or stalk me. Before my age protected my real name in court. But now I was grown and my identity would be a part of public record forever. I had everything to loose. The department of Homeland Security said he was still threatening to kill everyone who testified against him.
I testified. Was I scared as hell - you bet. But I didn't want this man to live next door to you and your kids. I wanted to make sure a detailed arrest record followed him to Iraq instead of him just disappearing anonymously to relocate in another country. I put everything at risk that I love to make sure he didn't get the chance to create another victim.
It is important to stand up and be counted.
God grant me the courage to stand up against injustice. Grant me the discernment to know the safest way to do that. Amen
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Edmund Burke who said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
So there is "fear" racing around the Lyme Disease community that goes like this...
"If I fill out the registration form on the IDSA website "______" will happen.
What goes in the blank? They will track me down and do what? Show up at my house with MIB. I don't think so. Report that I listened to a hearing on Lyme Disease to the public health department - to my insurance company. That is just not reality based thinking. For a moment just stop and fill in the blank for yourself. Ask yourself - how realistic is my fear. Bounce your fears off a friend.
The IDSA will be counting us for sure. At worst they will be calculating how much money to spend on a marketing campaign/research paper to humiliate us more than they already have. But isn't it time that we stood up to be counted. Lyme Disease community - Stop running away. It's not just the IDSA that is looking at the quantity of log ins. It is the AT of Connecticut and politicians in DC who want to HELP the Lyme Disease community. They want to pass legislation to ensure you get access to treatment. Help them - help you. Be counted. Show them that it is worth their time.
Galatians 2:11 (New International Version)
Paul Opposes Peter
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong."
Peter was a killer and torture of Christians. But Paul stood up to him in face of certain death.
I was a witness to a sex crime as a girl. I testified in court about what I saw. My parents were terrified to let me do this because the perpetrator was threatening everyone involved in the prosecution with death. He was certainly a loose screw and capable of doing anything he threatened. I was young and courageous and on the side of right.
Fast forward to 2007 and the Patriot Act. The sex offender in question was out on parole. Turns out this sex offender was not an American. The department of Homeland Security called me to testify again so they could deport him back to Iraq under the Patriot Act. Turns out the crime I witnessed was not his first and he had arrest records from all over the US. His youngest victim was 9.
But now I am a grown woman. I am not so young and idealistic. I have small children and husband. I worry that this fool might try to hurt them. Might try to burn down my house or stalk me. Before my age protected my real name in court. But now I was grown and my identity would be a part of public record forever. I had everything to loose. The department of Homeland Security said he was still threatening to kill everyone who testified against him.
I testified. Was I scared as hell - you bet. But I didn't want this man to live next door to you and your kids. I wanted to make sure a detailed arrest record followed him to Iraq instead of him just disappearing anonymously to relocate in another country. I put everything at risk that I love to make sure he didn't get the chance to create another victim.
It is important to stand up and be counted.
God grant me the courage to stand up against injustice. Grant me the discernment to know the safest way to do that. Amen
Saturday, July 25, 2009
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30: Prayer of Healing
continued post from 6 days of prayer..
Not only do we; the sick need healing but so do our families. So do our physicians. Even the IDSA needs only the kind of healing that only God can offer. Remember it isn't "us against them" or "you're either with us or against us". The bickering and breaking into factions isn't making us well. We need to be brought together and healed. Our families need to be sewn back together and bodies restored to wholeness. Are you sick in bed? Do you sometimes wonder what you can do to make a difference. You can pray. The IDSA can't write a guideline for prayer and your insurance company can't cover it.
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Isaiah 58:8-12 (New International Version)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Not only do we; the sick need healing but so do our families. So do our physicians. Even the IDSA needs only the kind of healing that only God can offer. Remember it isn't "us against them" or "you're either with us or against us". The bickering and breaking into factions isn't making us well. We need to be brought together and healed. Our families need to be sewn back together and bodies restored to wholeness. Are you sick in bed? Do you sometimes wonder what you can do to make a difference. You can pray. The IDSA can't write a guideline for prayer and your insurance company can't cover it.
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
Isaiah 58:8-12 (New International Version)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Friday, July 24, 2009
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30: Praying for Resolution
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
continued post from 6 days of prayer..
I deal with conflict resolution all day. All day. It usually involves some really self important researcher who "wrote" or "publish ... I don't know - you name it. The idea being that they make a rule and they are going to use the legal structure of the company to force their research on people. Force them to comply. It never works.
First thing I do is turn their "research" into a "discussion recommendation" and put it on our shared drive as a "living document" for "peer review" and "progressive elaboration". It doesn't make their motive smell less bad. But it does take the air out of the balloon. Eventually it will bring about resolution.
I am praying that God will bring about some resolution with the IDSA Lyme hearings. That all the hot air and posturing would be taken out of the Lyme controversy and that patients and doctors could go forward in good will. And that this hearing would be turned into an opportunity for God to show himself to his people.
Personally I think that if the IDSA just "suspended the guidelines" dissuading the use of the guidelines until further review. - neither changing them or insisting on them it would be a simple resolution.
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
continued post from 6 days of prayer..
I deal with conflict resolution all day. All day. It usually involves some really self important researcher who "wrote" or "publish ... I don't know - you name it. The idea being that they make a rule and they are going to use the legal structure of the company to force their research on people. Force them to comply. It never works.
First thing I do is turn their "research" into a "discussion recommendation" and put it on our shared drive as a "living document" for "peer review" and "progressive elaboration". It doesn't make their motive smell less bad. But it does take the air out of the balloon. Eventually it will bring about resolution.
I am praying that God will bring about some resolution with the IDSA Lyme hearings. That all the hot air and posturing would be taken out of the Lyme controversy and that patients and doctors could go forward in good will. And that this hearing would be turned into an opportunity for God to show himself to his people.
Personally I think that if the IDSA just "suspended the guidelines" dissuading the use of the guidelines until further review. - neither changing them or insisting on them it would be a simple resolution.
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30: Who should be on your prayer list
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open.
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
continued post from 6 days of prayer
The review panel members to pray for: (ask for wisdom and humility)
1. Carol J. Baker, MD, Chair Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
2. William A. Charini, MD, Peabody, MA
3. Paul H. Duray, MD (retired), Westwood, MA
4. Paul M. Lantos, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
5. Gerald Medoff, MD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
6. Manuel H. Moro, DVM, MPH, PhD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
7. David M. Mushatt, MD, MPH & TM, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA
8. Jeffrey Parsonnet, MD, Dartmouth‐Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
9. Cmdr. John W. Sanders, MD, U.S. Naval Medical Research Center, Detachment, Peru
The order of presentation on Thursday, 7/30/09 will be as follows pray that God will arm them with truth.
1. Tina Garcia, Lyme Education Awareness Program Arizona (L.E.A.P. Arizona, Inc.), Mesa, AZ
2. Lorraine Johnson, JD, MBA, California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA), Ukiah, CA
3. Daniel Cameron, MD, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), California
4. Phillip Baker, PhD, American Lyme Disease Foundation (ALDF), Bethesda, MD
5. Ben Luft, MD, The State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY
6. Allison Delong, ILADS, Providence, RI
7. Barbara Johnson, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO
8. David Volkman, MD, Nissequogue, NY
9. Sam Donta, MD, Falmouth, MA
10. Eugene Shapiro, MD, IDSA & Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
11. Brian Fallon, MD, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY
12. Sunil Sood, MD, Schneider Children's Hospital at North Shore, Manhasset, NY
13. Ken Liegner, MD, ILADS, Armonk, NY
14. Allen Steere, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
15. Steven Phillips, MD, ILADS, Wilton, CT
16. Arthur Weinstein, MD, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC
17. Raphael Stricker, MD, ILADS, San Francisco, CA
18. Gary Wormser, MD, IDSA & New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
continued post from 6 days of prayer
The review panel members to pray for: (ask for wisdom and humility)
1. Carol J. Baker, MD, Chair Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
2. William A. Charini, MD, Peabody, MA
3. Paul H. Duray, MD (retired), Westwood, MA
4. Paul M. Lantos, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
5. Gerald Medoff, MD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
6. Manuel H. Moro, DVM, MPH, PhD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
7. David M. Mushatt, MD, MPH & TM, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA
8. Jeffrey Parsonnet, MD, Dartmouth‐Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
9. Cmdr. John W. Sanders, MD, U.S. Naval Medical Research Center, Detachment, Peru
The order of presentation on Thursday, 7/30/09 will be as follows pray that God will arm them with truth.
1. Tina Garcia, Lyme Education Awareness Program Arizona (L.E.A.P. Arizona, Inc.), Mesa, AZ
2. Lorraine Johnson, JD, MBA, California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA), Ukiah, CA
3. Daniel Cameron, MD, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), California
4. Phillip Baker, PhD, American Lyme Disease Foundation (ALDF), Bethesda, MD
5. Ben Luft, MD, The State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY
6. Allison Delong, ILADS, Providence, RI
7. Barbara Johnson, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO
8. David Volkman, MD, Nissequogue, NY
9. Sam Donta, MD, Falmouth, MA
10. Eugene Shapiro, MD, IDSA & Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
11. Brian Fallon, MD, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY
12. Sunil Sood, MD, Schneider Children's Hospital at North Shore, Manhasset, NY
13. Ken Liegner, MD, ILADS, Armonk, NY
14. Allen Steere, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
15. Steven Phillips, MD, ILADS, Wilton, CT
16. Arthur Weinstein, MD, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC
17. Raphael Stricker, MD, ILADS, San Francisco, CA
18. Gary Wormser, MD, IDSA & New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30: Lyme is worthy of your Anger
Continuation of 6 days of pray...
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
In a world where being "positive" is seen as a magic potion that cures everything we forget that "being positive" will only marginalize us in the end. In Psalm 109 King David really got on a roll praying to God with a very angry heart. Lyme is an adversary worthy of your anger, depression and protest. God gave you these feeling because he expects you to exercise them wisely. Not standing around smiling like Gomer Pyle being positive as we watch the sick be crushed by the medical community. You can see in Psalms 109 that David has some ideas that are down right hateful. He starts wishing death not just on the person who hurt him but everybody that the person knows pretty much. But he took his less than thoughtful wishes to God in prayer which is what I am asking you to do to.
Psalms 109
1 My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven [a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD;
may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
but hounded to death the poor
and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
may it come on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing—
may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,
into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the LORD's payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil of me.
21 But you, Sovereign LORD,
help me for your name's sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, LORD my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know that it is your hand,
that you, LORD, have done it.
28 While they curse, may you bless;
may those who attack me be put to shame,
but may your servant rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD;
in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open. Register early.
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
In a world where being "positive" is seen as a magic potion that cures everything we forget that "being positive" will only marginalize us in the end. In Psalm 109 King David really got on a roll praying to God with a very angry heart. Lyme is an adversary worthy of your anger, depression and protest. God gave you these feeling because he expects you to exercise them wisely. Not standing around smiling like Gomer Pyle being positive as we watch the sick be crushed by the medical community. You can see in Psalms 109 that David has some ideas that are down right hateful. He starts wishing death not just on the person who hurt him but everybody that the person knows pretty much. But he took his less than thoughtful wishes to God in prayer which is what I am asking you to do to.
Psalms 109
1 My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven [a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD;
may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
but hounded to death the poor
and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
may it come on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing—
may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,
into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the LORD's payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil of me.
21 But you, Sovereign LORD,
help me for your name's sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, LORD my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know that it is your hand,
that you, LORD, have done it.
28 While they curse, may you bless;
may those who attack me be put to shame,
but may your servant rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD;
in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
Pray for the IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings July 30, at 7:40: Pray for their Servers
http://www.idsociety.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=14974
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open for
registration. Following registration, you will be connected to the
webcast which will start at 8:00 AM EDT.
It's time for the praying to start! If you haven't started already. Web Servers at these online events are notorious for "going down". I can't image that the IDSA invested in more server space just for this hearing. So expect ye ole "access denied". However even if we can't be there or if we can't even watch. God will be there. Jesus said, "you have not because you ask not". So it is on us...soooo - get to praying. For the next six days this blog will be devoted to pray for the IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings.
Join in with your prayers.
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
On July 30, at 7:40 AM EDT, the virtual doors will open for
registration. Following registration, you will be connected to the
webcast which will start at 8:00 AM EDT.
It's time for the praying to start! If you haven't started already. Web Servers at these online events are notorious for "going down". I can't image that the IDSA invested in more server space just for this hearing. So expect ye ole "access denied". However even if we can't be there or if we can't even watch. God will be there. Jesus said, "you have not because you ask not". So it is on us...soooo - get to praying. For the next six days this blog will be devoted to pray for the IDSA Lyme Guideline Hearings.
Join in with your prayers.
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
44 days in: Chronic Lyme
I am only 44 days into this treatment for Lyme and Babesia. It has been a very long 44 days. But today the veil started to lift.
Next cold morning when ice covers your windshield and you are with out an ice scrapper. Sit in your car, turn on the defrost. Note the place where the defrost hits the windshield. It will clear first giving you a tiny portal to the outside world.
That is the way it is in my head. Now I am beginning to understand why doctor recoil from Lyme patients and call them crazy. It is far beyond "brain fog".
They really could show more compassion.
Next cold morning when ice covers your windshield and you are with out an ice scrapper. Sit in your car, turn on the defrost. Note the place where the defrost hits the windshield. It will clear first giving you a tiny portal to the outside world.
That is the way it is in my head. Now I am beginning to understand why doctor recoil from Lyme patients and call them crazy. It is far beyond "brain fog".
They really could show more compassion.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Bad Bugs, No Drugs Executive Summary: The IDSA on Antibiotic Resistance
Bad Bugs, No Drugs Executive Summary
Full Read Here http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=5558
and
http://www.idsociety.org/STAARAct.htm
The IDSA has a thing out called the STAAR Act. Urging congress to restrict the use of antibiotics in animals and humans. Then they give you several very tragic stories about MRSA deaths that will make you weep. These seem like similar issues but they are not.
I am all about discontinuing the use of antibiotics in live stock. Scientists have said repeatedly that is where 99% of the antibiotic resistant bugs come from farming anyway. I buy antibiotic free meat. I don't mind paying extra. I just eat more fruits and vegis to off set costs.
Then the thing about MRSA. Working for Hospice I can tell you MRSA is a terrible thing. If you are one of millions of HIV patients who expect at some point that they will go to hospital seriously ill then you see MRSA as "The Torturer" waiting to kill you at some future date. But let's be plain. I have not seen a MRSA case outside of a hospital. I only see it in Nursing Homes when patients come from the hospital already infected with MRSA. It's a "dirty hospital" problem. If you want to stop MRSA you have to run a tighter ship at the hospital.
Personal example: I sat in my mother in laws hospital room after her stroke. She had a tube poking out of her abdomen where they injected nutritional supplements. Every day they came and hooked syringe to the tube. Pulled out the stomach juices, measured them and then squirted the contents into a pink plastic tub beside the bed. The syringe and plastic tub where then rinsed out in the sink. Then placed on her bedside table for later use. That's right - no soap in the tub, syringe or sink. 30 minutes later a CNA comes in fills the pink plastic tub with soap and water and starts to bathe my mother in law. Nasty? Yes but common.
If you have weak stomach or a weak stomach for political activism don't read the rest of this.
I was raised on a farm. I will be for limiting the use of antibiotics in people when...I see that people are dosed with antibiotic each day so they won't get sick while they sit in a cage an peck at their own feeces like a chicken. If people tie feed bags to their faces an force feed themselves - where they in turn vomit back into the bag and eat their own vomit then I could see not giving those people antibiotics. If people against reason consume hormones to the point that they develop internal puss filled blisters in their bladders and urethra - then by all means these people are not candidates for antibiotics.
Yes, I know I have heard it "antibiotics in farming practices are necessary to maintaining our country's food supply". While I agree malnutrition is a problem in America - starvation isn't. From the looks of most Americans the food supply is more than adequate. It's the quality of the food that is the issue.
But the American Beef lobby crowd are not as well funded and powerful as they think and we can take them down. But lets not get sucked into this STAAR bill.
Full Read Here http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=5558
and
http://www.idsociety.org/STAARAct.htm
The IDSA has a thing out called the STAAR Act. Urging congress to restrict the use of antibiotics in animals and humans. Then they give you several very tragic stories about MRSA deaths that will make you weep. These seem like similar issues but they are not.
I am all about discontinuing the use of antibiotics in live stock. Scientists have said repeatedly that is where 99% of the antibiotic resistant bugs come from farming anyway. I buy antibiotic free meat. I don't mind paying extra. I just eat more fruits and vegis to off set costs.
Then the thing about MRSA. Working for Hospice I can tell you MRSA is a terrible thing. If you are one of millions of HIV patients who expect at some point that they will go to hospital seriously ill then you see MRSA as "The Torturer" waiting to kill you at some future date. But let's be plain. I have not seen a MRSA case outside of a hospital. I only see it in Nursing Homes when patients come from the hospital already infected with MRSA. It's a "dirty hospital" problem. If you want to stop MRSA you have to run a tighter ship at the hospital.
Personal example: I sat in my mother in laws hospital room after her stroke. She had a tube poking out of her abdomen where they injected nutritional supplements. Every day they came and hooked syringe to the tube. Pulled out the stomach juices, measured them and then squirted the contents into a pink plastic tub beside the bed. The syringe and plastic tub where then rinsed out in the sink. Then placed on her bedside table for later use. That's right - no soap in the tub, syringe or sink. 30 minutes later a CNA comes in fills the pink plastic tub with soap and water and starts to bathe my mother in law. Nasty? Yes but common.
If you have weak stomach or a weak stomach for political activism don't read the rest of this.
I was raised on a farm. I will be for limiting the use of antibiotics in people when...I see that people are dosed with antibiotic each day so they won't get sick while they sit in a cage an peck at their own feeces like a chicken. If people tie feed bags to their faces an force feed themselves - where they in turn vomit back into the bag and eat their own vomit then I could see not giving those people antibiotics. If people against reason consume hormones to the point that they develop internal puss filled blisters in their bladders and urethra - then by all means these people are not candidates for antibiotics.
Yes, I know I have heard it "antibiotics in farming practices are necessary to maintaining our country's food supply". While I agree malnutrition is a problem in America - starvation isn't. From the looks of most Americans the food supply is more than adequate. It's the quality of the food that is the issue.
But the American Beef lobby crowd are not as well funded and powerful as they think and we can take them down. But lets not get sucked into this STAAR bill.
Counting the cost of Lyme: The impact on others
So before I was diagnosed and treated. I was slowly surrendering to exhaustion earlier and earlier in the day. I was going home and napping during lunch to make it through the work day. But night time. It was just dinner and get the kids into baths. Before bed I would say brush your teeth.
Well follow up is important with teeth brushing. I was too tired to follow up...
My daughter has 8 cavities. Naturally we are getting all this fixed. It is 3 crowns and 5 fillings. I have always prided myself on being a great mom. I am totally embarrassed that I let this happen. Of course a 6 year old needs to have supervised brushing.
I was just too tired.
Well follow up is important with teeth brushing. I was too tired to follow up...
My daughter has 8 cavities. Naturally we are getting all this fixed. It is 3 crowns and 5 fillings. I have always prided myself on being a great mom. I am totally embarrassed that I let this happen. Of course a 6 year old needs to have supervised brushing.
I was just too tired.
Fade to Pain: Anitbiotic Therapy
Just after starting antibiotics for Lyme you will get a Herxheimer Reaction (Herx). It is usually less or more depending on how long you have had Lyme. You will probably experience it to a lesser degree every 28 days. After you are Herx free for 60 to 90 days you can stop antibiotics. The biggest failure of antibiotic therapy is under prescribing and patient compliance. Do not "back off treatment" on your own. Get your doctor to advise you.
Herx are not:
High fever
Vomiting
Diarrhea for more than 24 to 36 hours
I haven't met anyone yet who thinks it is tolerable. In fact I have heard many people question whether or not they even want to pursue treatment in the face of Herx. I encourage you to press on my friend! Doctors say to take Tylenol for Herx. Who ever came up with this should be flogged. The Herxheimer Reaction for me is pure misery. Think about the movie "Ray" where Ray Charles goes through heroine with drawl and curls up in a ball, aches and shakes all over. It is kind of like that and Tylenol isn't going to cut it.
The pain of Herxs or the pain of Lyme. Here are my suggestions as well as things to avoid.
SUGGESTIONS:
A TENS Unit - best bet. Your GP can prescribe it. You will rent it for 30 days.
Heating pad and frozen pea packs. Will help a small amount.
Tramadol - it is a much less addictive higher end pain reliever. No stomach upset. Can be mixed with Ambien. Talk to your doctor on this.
Neck Lumbar Pillow will help. Uninterupted sleep is your best buddy right now.
I am guessing you are in bed most of the day? If so. Switch positions every hour or two. When you lay flat on your back try to touch your chin to your chest. Pull your knees up to your chest too. This will not relieve pain it will just slow down pain associated with stiffness.
IFY:
The Rife Machines. While they claim to cure Lyme - they do not. But they are reported to help with the pain. But they are a bit pricey and you don't sound like you are in any condition to assemble one. I personally don't think it is ever a good idea to run 2000 Hz of electricity through the body. But some people swear by it.
AVOID:
Avoid Hydrocodone, Oxycontin if you can just because this stuff gets addictive and no one wants to recover from Lyme just to face a drug addiction.
Marijuana will just make you mellow and hungry but you will still hurt terribly. If you have rag weed allergies it will just cause more joint inflamation.
Alcohol won't help. If any thing it will aggitate the condition.
Avoid Steriods like prednisone. It has a terrible slingshot effect.
And of course - don't - mix pain relievers and sleep aids. No street drugs.
SIDE NOTE: Sometimes the pain is more about an untreated coinfection such as Babesia or Bartonella. Ticks never carry just on disease. Get tested.
Herx are not:
High fever
Vomiting
Diarrhea for more than 24 to 36 hours
I haven't met anyone yet who thinks it is tolerable. In fact I have heard many people question whether or not they even want to pursue treatment in the face of Herx. I encourage you to press on my friend! Doctors say to take Tylenol for Herx. Who ever came up with this should be flogged. The Herxheimer Reaction for me is pure misery. Think about the movie "Ray" where Ray Charles goes through heroine with drawl and curls up in a ball, aches and shakes all over. It is kind of like that and Tylenol isn't going to cut it.
The pain of Herxs or the pain of Lyme. Here are my suggestions as well as things to avoid.
SUGGESTIONS:
A TENS Unit - best bet. Your GP can prescribe it. You will rent it for 30 days.
Heating pad and frozen pea packs. Will help a small amount.
Tramadol - it is a much less addictive higher end pain reliever. No stomach upset. Can be mixed with Ambien. Talk to your doctor on this.
Neck Lumbar Pillow will help. Uninterupted sleep is your best buddy right now.
I am guessing you are in bed most of the day? If so. Switch positions every hour or two. When you lay flat on your back try to touch your chin to your chest. Pull your knees up to your chest too. This will not relieve pain it will just slow down pain associated with stiffness.
IFY:
The Rife Machines. While they claim to cure Lyme - they do not. But they are reported to help with the pain. But they are a bit pricey and you don't sound like you are in any condition to assemble one. I personally don't think it is ever a good idea to run 2000 Hz of electricity through the body. But some people swear by it.
AVOID:
Avoid Hydrocodone, Oxycontin if you can just because this stuff gets addictive and no one wants to recover from Lyme just to face a drug addiction.
Marijuana will just make you mellow and hungry but you will still hurt terribly. If you have rag weed allergies it will just cause more joint inflamation.
Alcohol won't help. If any thing it will aggitate the condition.
Avoid Steriods like prednisone. It has a terrible slingshot effect.
And of course - don't - mix pain relievers and sleep aids. No street drugs.
SIDE NOTE: Sometimes the pain is more about an untreated coinfection such as Babesia or Bartonella. Ticks never carry just on disease. Get tested.
US and UK Lyme
The neurologist I saw could not understand why he would treat Lyme. He said you would need to go to a rheumatologist or infectious disease. At infectious disease all they could talk about was swollen joints. I am sitting in these appointments wondering if these doctors live on the same planet as the rest of us. Then I read a UK newspaper headline. "Britain warned over French chipmunks carrying Lyme disease". The paper goes on to say..."Wildlife experts in France have warned British tourists not to take home chipmunks to keep as pets as thousands are carrying the potentially deadly Lyme disease." Later in the same article Lyme Disease is characterized as "The disease targets the nervous system and can ultimately prove deadly."
Why don't US doctors get it?
I investigated the claim that US Lyme and UK Lyme are different. But it turns out that is information that is about 30 years old. The CDC says the the "Lyme Clone" is actually the cause of most Lyme cases in the US and UK. Yes it is a neurological disease and yes it is potentially deadly.
Why don't US doctors get it?
I investigated the claim that US Lyme and UK Lyme are different. But it turns out that is information that is about 30 years old. The CDC says the the "Lyme Clone" is actually the cause of most Lyme cases in the US and UK. Yes it is a neurological disease and yes it is potentially deadly.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
In NC BCBS owns 78% of the medically insured: Chronic Lyme
"rationing health care" or "government health care is an experiment". I lived and experienced health care in many other states but in NC we have a health care system that is something far worse it is called a "perceived benefit". What is a perceived benefit. This is a benefit that people "perceive" is real but is worthless. Like when you buy a camera and the sales person says, "everyone who buys a camera from us gets 2 free professional photography classes". You think, "I would love to have professional photography class". But the sales person knows that only 10% of the people who buy the camera ever show up to the classes. It is just something they can say to sell a camera.
In NC when you walk into the doctor's office you can't just list your symptoms and let the doctor diagnose you. If you do they will send home with a useless prescription for one of 5 things. 1. a Z-Pack, 2. ibuprofen, 3. Prozac, 4. antacid and 5. Viagra. They will never try and explore the problem and find a solution. You will never go back to the doctor because it is pointless.
In NC you have to walk into the doctors office with a suggested diagnosis. Which the doctor will adopt without hesitation like a mindless drone. You could say, I have "Pink Elephant Disease" and I need "Chloroquine". As long as they can find a box to check on the office visit form - they will pull out their prescription pads and start writing an Rx for Chloroquine for 10 days. You only get 10 days worth of anything in NC.
This is why I never went to the doctor when I started getting sick from Lyme. This is why I waited years for treatment. Because the doctors here are just asleep at the wheel and it scares me. I am won't take pills just for the sake of taking something.
Our doctors here are well trained but they never get to use any of their training. The stuff in between their ears is so much smarter than any diagnostic test. But in NC if a person has symptom X they must run test Y. If the test does not show an extraordinary presentation then the patients symptoms aren't real. It leads to unnecessary testing and misdiagnosis. If a person shows up with a crushing pain in their chest, a radiating pain down the left arm but their EKG looks fine. They will be sent right home. More than just a few deaths have occurred. We have some of the shortest hospitals stays in the nation and that is not because people get well here faster than in other states.
Although we have health care in NC - we don't really, we just think we do.
In NC when you walk into the doctor's office you can't just list your symptoms and let the doctor diagnose you. If you do they will send home with a useless prescription for one of 5 things. 1. a Z-Pack, 2. ibuprofen, 3. Prozac, 4. antacid and 5. Viagra. They will never try and explore the problem and find a solution. You will never go back to the doctor because it is pointless.
In NC you have to walk into the doctors office with a suggested diagnosis. Which the doctor will adopt without hesitation like a mindless drone. You could say, I have "Pink Elephant Disease" and I need "Chloroquine". As long as they can find a box to check on the office visit form - they will pull out their prescription pads and start writing an Rx for Chloroquine for 10 days. You only get 10 days worth of anything in NC.
This is why I never went to the doctor when I started getting sick from Lyme. This is why I waited years for treatment. Because the doctors here are just asleep at the wheel and it scares me. I am won't take pills just for the sake of taking something.
Our doctors here are well trained but they never get to use any of their training. The stuff in between their ears is so much smarter than any diagnostic test. But in NC if a person has symptom X they must run test Y. If the test does not show an extraordinary presentation then the patients symptoms aren't real. It leads to unnecessary testing and misdiagnosis. If a person shows up with a crushing pain in their chest, a radiating pain down the left arm but their EKG looks fine. They will be sent right home. More than just a few deaths have occurred. We have some of the shortest hospitals stays in the nation and that is not because people get well here faster than in other states.
Although we have health care in NC - we don't really, we just think we do.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
IDSA Lyme Guidelines reviewed by and "impartial" panel.
As part of legal antitrust investigation - yes as in "criminal": the IDSA must review it's 2006 Lyme Guidelines using and impartial panel. The "impartial" panel consists of many of the 2008 IDSA's award winners and personal favorites. It is hardly impartial. So the judicial body asking the questions and reviewing the IDSA guidelines will be - the IDSA.
If I am ever hauled off to court for I crime - I hope they will let me cross examine myself and be my own judge and jury too. I would be sure to walk then.
If I am ever hauled off to court for I crime - I hope they will let me cross examine myself and be my own judge and jury too. I would be sure to walk then.
Chronic Lyme: Congressman Wolf for President!
I know between Dodd, Rell, Wolf and Blumenthal we have tight race but if they run - they have my vote.
Monday July 20, 2009
KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR LYME DISEASE RESEARCH
Annual Spending Measure Urges CDC and NIH to Expand Study of Tick-Borne Diseases; Bill Also Calls for National Conference
Washington, D.C. -- A key House committee has approved a significant increase in research funding for the treatment of Lyme disease and calls on both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to step up their research, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) announced today.
Wolf, who as chairman of the bipartisan House Lyme Disease Caucus has worked tirelessly to increase awareness of Lyme over the last year, said the full House Appropriations Committee increased the CDC’s budget for Lyme disease by more than $3.6 million to $8,938,000 as part of the fiscal year 2010 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education spending bill approved last week.
"The cases of Lyme disease in our region are soaring," said Wolf, who last August held a town hall meeting in Loudoun that more than 300 people attended. Similar informational meetings are being held in Fairfax and Loudoun this week. The Fairfax meeting, sponsored by Supervisors Pat Herrity and Mike Frey, is at 7 p.m. on July 22 at Centreville High School. The Loudoun meeting, sponsored by Loudoun County Public Library, will be at 9 a.m. on July 25 at the Rust Library in Leesburg.
Wolf said the FY 2010 Labor-HHS bill encourages the CDC to:
* Expand its activities related to developing sensitive and more accurate diagnostic tools and tests for Lyme disease, including the evaluation of emerging diagnostic methods and improving utilization of diagnostic testing to account for the multiple clinical manifestations of acute and chronic Lyme disease.
* Expand its epidemiological research activities on tick-borne diseases to include an objective to determine the long-term course of illness for Lyme disease.
* Improve surveillance and reporting of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in order to produce more accurate data on their prevalence.
* Evaluate the feasibility of developing a national reporting system on Lyme disease, including laboratory reporting.
* Expand prevention of Lyme and tick-borne diseases through increased community-based public education and creating a physician education program that includes the full spectrum of scientific research on the diseases.
The bill also urges the NIH to intensify its research on tick-borne diseases and encourages the agency to "support research that may lead to the development or more sensitive and accurate diagnostic tests for Lyme disease."
In addition, the bill calls for the NIH and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to sponsor a scientific conference on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The report language accompanying the bill said "the committee believes that the conference should represent the broad spectrum of scientific views on Lyme disease and should provide a forum for public participation and input for public participation and input from individuals with Lyme disease."
"I am hopeful that giving CDC and NIH the tools to work on more accurate diagnostic testing, directing both agencies to take all scientific viewpoints into account when evaluating Lyme, and ensuring that Lyme patients are part of the discussion, will go a long way toward raising awareness in our region," Wolf said. "I am committed to making a difference on this issue and encourage parents, especially during the summer months, to check their children for ticks when they come indoors."
"Lyme is a serious and devastating disease," Wolf continued. "I am hopeful that through increased education and awareness efforts about the threat of Lyme disease, we can help to ensure people living in high risk areas know how to protect themselves and their children from ticks."
The full House is expected to take up the bill next week; the Senate has yet to act on its version of the spending plan.
In the 110th Congress Wolf cosponsored the Lyme and Tick Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), which would have authorized $100 million over five years to expand Lyme Disease research and education. Regrettably, this legislation was not considered by the House.
Wolf also wrote the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services asking that the department review its continued link to Lyme treatment guidelines published by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) in light of a finding by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal that several IDSA panel members may hold conflicts of interest.
Congressman Wolf's official website can be found here.
Monday July 20, 2009
KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR LYME DISEASE RESEARCH
Annual Spending Measure Urges CDC and NIH to Expand Study of Tick-Borne Diseases; Bill Also Calls for National Conference
Washington, D.C. -- A key House committee has approved a significant increase in research funding for the treatment of Lyme disease and calls on both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to step up their research, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) announced today.
Wolf, who as chairman of the bipartisan House Lyme Disease Caucus has worked tirelessly to increase awareness of Lyme over the last year, said the full House Appropriations Committee increased the CDC’s budget for Lyme disease by more than $3.6 million to $8,938,000 as part of the fiscal year 2010 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education spending bill approved last week.
"The cases of Lyme disease in our region are soaring," said Wolf, who last August held a town hall meeting in Loudoun that more than 300 people attended. Similar informational meetings are being held in Fairfax and Loudoun this week. The Fairfax meeting, sponsored by Supervisors Pat Herrity and Mike Frey, is at 7 p.m. on July 22 at Centreville High School. The Loudoun meeting, sponsored by Loudoun County Public Library, will be at 9 a.m. on July 25 at the Rust Library in Leesburg.
Wolf said the FY 2010 Labor-HHS bill encourages the CDC to:
* Expand its activities related to developing sensitive and more accurate diagnostic tools and tests for Lyme disease, including the evaluation of emerging diagnostic methods and improving utilization of diagnostic testing to account for the multiple clinical manifestations of acute and chronic Lyme disease.
* Expand its epidemiological research activities on tick-borne diseases to include an objective to determine the long-term course of illness for Lyme disease.
* Improve surveillance and reporting of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in order to produce more accurate data on their prevalence.
* Evaluate the feasibility of developing a national reporting system on Lyme disease, including laboratory reporting.
* Expand prevention of Lyme and tick-borne diseases through increased community-based public education and creating a physician education program that includes the full spectrum of scientific research on the diseases.
The bill also urges the NIH to intensify its research on tick-borne diseases and encourages the agency to "support research that may lead to the development or more sensitive and accurate diagnostic tests for Lyme disease."
In addition, the bill calls for the NIH and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to sponsor a scientific conference on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The report language accompanying the bill said "the committee believes that the conference should represent the broad spectrum of scientific views on Lyme disease and should provide a forum for public participation and input for public participation and input from individuals with Lyme disease."
"I am hopeful that giving CDC and NIH the tools to work on more accurate diagnostic testing, directing both agencies to take all scientific viewpoints into account when evaluating Lyme, and ensuring that Lyme patients are part of the discussion, will go a long way toward raising awareness in our region," Wolf said. "I am committed to making a difference on this issue and encourage parents, especially during the summer months, to check their children for ticks when they come indoors."
"Lyme is a serious and devastating disease," Wolf continued. "I am hopeful that through increased education and awareness efforts about the threat of Lyme disease, we can help to ensure people living in high risk areas know how to protect themselves and their children from ticks."
The full House is expected to take up the bill next week; the Senate has yet to act on its version of the spending plan.
In the 110th Congress Wolf cosponsored the Lyme and Tick Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), which would have authorized $100 million over five years to expand Lyme Disease research and education. Regrettably, this legislation was not considered by the House.
Wolf also wrote the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services asking that the department review its continued link to Lyme treatment guidelines published by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) in light of a finding by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal that several IDSA panel members may hold conflicts of interest.
Congressman Wolf's official website can be found here.
Perspecitive on the age of the earth
In celebration of the first moon walk I give you my perspective on geological time. Heavy subject I know but when I really get my head up my you know what about Lyme Disease it helps to get me on track. I told a friend about it and they said it was totally depressing. But for some reason I find it helpful and reassuring.
1. The Sun is abut 4.5 billion years old now. It is about 300 degrees hotter and 6% greater in radius than when it was first born.
2. Vaporizing our oceans 2 billion years
3. by a half billion years, carbon dioxide levels will be too low for productive plant life
4. If the earth temperature raises by only 2 degrees human life is totally disrupted
5. If it increases by 9% or more the human life will come to close
When will that happen 1 million years give or take. We are talking about geological time here. Some people say it is happening now and that global warming is just the misunderstood end of life due to the earths relationship to the sun.
Why do I love to think about such gloom and doom? Well to me it is actually very grounding. I ask myself, "what will I put into the universe?" or "how will I contribute?" No, not a great work of art or a scientific breakthrough - all that goes poof in the end. If visitors from another planet visit the earth in its end stages there will be no geological evidence of anything I ever did. I believe humans truly only add to the spiritual nature of things in a lasting way. Love, friendship, honesty, caring, obedience to God all transcend the existence of the universe itself.
1. The Sun is abut 4.5 billion years old now. It is about 300 degrees hotter and 6% greater in radius than when it was first born.
2. Vaporizing our oceans 2 billion years
3. by a half billion years, carbon dioxide levels will be too low for productive plant life
4. If the earth temperature raises by only 2 degrees human life is totally disrupted
5. If it increases by 9% or more the human life will come to close
When will that happen 1 million years give or take. We are talking about geological time here. Some people say it is happening now and that global warming is just the misunderstood end of life due to the earths relationship to the sun.
Why do I love to think about such gloom and doom? Well to me it is actually very grounding. I ask myself, "what will I put into the universe?" or "how will I contribute?" No, not a great work of art or a scientific breakthrough - all that goes poof in the end. If visitors from another planet visit the earth in its end stages there will be no geological evidence of anything I ever did. I believe humans truly only add to the spiritual nature of things in a lasting way. Love, friendship, honesty, caring, obedience to God all transcend the existence of the universe itself.
Maryland Department of Health: Howard County had the highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease
Howard now leads the state in Lyme disease
Figures from 2008 show county rise, statewide drop
By Heather Carney
hcarney@patuxent.com
Posted 7/20/09
Howard County had the highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the state in 2008, according to a recent report from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
There were 369 confirmed and probable cases reported in Howard County in 2008, according to the report, 11 more than in 2007.
Montgomery County, which had been tops in the state, was second to Howard in 2008 with 314 cases, down from 475 the previous year.
Statewide, the total decreased from 2,576 cases in 2007 to 2,216 in 2008.
No data is available yet on the number of cases reported in 2009.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transmitted by an infected tick, according to the state health department. It is treatable if caught early, but if not treated may cause chronic symptoms that can include joint pain, heart palpitations and neurological problems.
Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson attributed the increase here to the county’s growing development.
“We’re developing more in areas that were originally woodland, decreasing the distance between the forests where ticks are more prevalent and where people live,” Beilenson said.
Elizabeth Bohle, director for the county Health Department’s division of communicable disease, said Lyme disease is better-reported now because people are much more informed about the disease.
Since 2006, the number of reported cases in the county has tripled.
“In the county, we’ve really had it as a priority to follow up on Lyme disease through education, and devoting many of our resources to tracking each reported case,” Bohle said. “We’ve just created a much more heightened awareness in the clinicians and the public.”
She added that Howard County is a particularly good breeding environment for Lyme disease because of the high numbers of deer and white-footed mice, both of which are carriers of the black-legged tick that transmits the disease.
Bohle also noted that the county is plentiful in parks, forests, lakes and other moisture-rich locations, where ticks flourish.
Beilenson said the best approach to prevention is educating the public about ticks and teaching people to check for ticks after they’ve been outside and to remove the ticks quickly if they find any. He added that in most cases, a tick must be attached to the skin for 24 hours for the disease to be transmitted.
“I use the mentality, what would I do if I found a tick on my child? I would automatically take them to the doctor to get them checked,” Beilenson said.
The county health department, which held a series of sessions on Lyme disease in March and April, is planning another session near the end of August.
Lyme primer:
How Lyme disease is transmitted: Through the bite of an infected black-legged tick.
Symptoms: From three to 30 days after a tick bite, a gradually expanding rash occurs at the site of the bite in three-quarters of infected people. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and fatigue. If untreated, symptoms include a loss of muscle tone in the face, severe headaches and neck stiffness, shooting pains, heart palpitations, dizziness and joint pains.
How to treat: Most cases are cured with antibiotics, especially when caught early. See your doctor.
How to prevent: Use insect repellent when outside, and if possible, wear long sleeves and long pants tucked into your socks. After being outside in wooded areas, check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks.
To remove ticks: Using fine-tipped tweezers, grab the tick close to the skin and gently pull it straight up until all of the tick is removed. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products to remove ticks.
Figures from 2008 show county rise, statewide drop
By Heather Carney
hcarney@patuxent.com
Posted 7/20/09
Howard County had the highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the state in 2008, according to a recent report from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
There were 369 confirmed and probable cases reported in Howard County in 2008, according to the report, 11 more than in 2007.
Montgomery County, which had been tops in the state, was second to Howard in 2008 with 314 cases, down from 475 the previous year.
Statewide, the total decreased from 2,576 cases in 2007 to 2,216 in 2008.
No data is available yet on the number of cases reported in 2009.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transmitted by an infected tick, according to the state health department. It is treatable if caught early, but if not treated may cause chronic symptoms that can include joint pain, heart palpitations and neurological problems.
Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson attributed the increase here to the county’s growing development.
“We’re developing more in areas that were originally woodland, decreasing the distance between the forests where ticks are more prevalent and where people live,” Beilenson said.
Elizabeth Bohle, director for the county Health Department’s division of communicable disease, said Lyme disease is better-reported now because people are much more informed about the disease.
Since 2006, the number of reported cases in the county has tripled.
“In the county, we’ve really had it as a priority to follow up on Lyme disease through education, and devoting many of our resources to tracking each reported case,” Bohle said. “We’ve just created a much more heightened awareness in the clinicians and the public.”
She added that Howard County is a particularly good breeding environment for Lyme disease because of the high numbers of deer and white-footed mice, both of which are carriers of the black-legged tick that transmits the disease.
Bohle also noted that the county is plentiful in parks, forests, lakes and other moisture-rich locations, where ticks flourish.
Beilenson said the best approach to prevention is educating the public about ticks and teaching people to check for ticks after they’ve been outside and to remove the ticks quickly if they find any. He added that in most cases, a tick must be attached to the skin for 24 hours for the disease to be transmitted.
“I use the mentality, what would I do if I found a tick on my child? I would automatically take them to the doctor to get them checked,” Beilenson said.
The county health department, which held a series of sessions on Lyme disease in March and April, is planning another session near the end of August.
Lyme primer:
How Lyme disease is transmitted: Through the bite of an infected black-legged tick.
Symptoms: From three to 30 days after a tick bite, a gradually expanding rash occurs at the site of the bite in three-quarters of infected people. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and fatigue. If untreated, symptoms include a loss of muscle tone in the face, severe headaches and neck stiffness, shooting pains, heart palpitations, dizziness and joint pains.
How to treat: Most cases are cured with antibiotics, especially when caught early. See your doctor.
How to prevent: Use insect repellent when outside, and if possible, wear long sleeves and long pants tucked into your socks. After being outside in wooded areas, check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks.
To remove ticks: Using fine-tipped tweezers, grab the tick close to the skin and gently pull it straight up until all of the tick is removed. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products to remove ticks.
PUBLIC SAFETY: Maryland Department of Health: Howard County had the highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease
Howard now leads the state in Lyme disease
Figures from 2008 show county rise, statewide drop
By Heather Carney
hcarney@patuxent.com
Posted 7/20/09
Howard County had the highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the state in 2008, according to a recent report from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
There were 369 confirmed and probable cases reported in Howard County in 2008, according to the report, 11 more than in 2007.
Montgomery County, which had been tops in the state, was second to Howard in 2008 with 314 cases, down from 475 the previous year.
Statewide, the total decreased from 2,576 cases in 2007 to 2,216 in 2008.
No data is available yet on the number of cases reported in 2009.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transmitted by an infected tick, according to the state health department. It is treatable if caught early, but if not treated may cause chronic symptoms that can include joint pain, heart palpitations and neurological problems.
Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson attributed the increase here to the county’s growing development.
“We’re developing more in areas that were originally woodland, decreasing the distance between the forests where ticks are more prevalent and where people live,” Beilenson said.
Elizabeth Bohle, director for the county Health Department’s division of communicable disease, said Lyme disease is better-reported now because people are much more informed about the disease.
Since 2006, the number of reported cases in the county has tripled.
“In the county, we’ve really had it as a priority to follow up on Lyme disease through education, and devoting many of our resources to tracking each reported case,” Bohle said. “We’ve just created a much more heightened awareness in the clinicians and the public.”
She added that Howard County is a particularly good breeding environment for Lyme disease because of the high numbers of deer and white-footed mice, both of which are carriers of the black-legged tick that transmits the disease.
Bohle also noted that the county is plentiful in parks, forests, lakes and other moisture-rich locations, where ticks flourish.
Beilenson said the best approach to prevention is educating the public about ticks and teaching people to check for ticks after they’ve been outside and to remove the ticks quickly if they find any. He added that in most cases, a tick must be attached to the skin for 24 hours for the disease to be transmitted.
“I use the mentality, what would I do if I found a tick on my child? I would automatically take them to the doctor to get them checked,” Beilenson said.
The county health department, which held a series of sessions on Lyme disease in March and April, is planning another session near the end of August.
Lyme primer:
How Lyme disease is transmitted: Through the bite of an infected black-legged tick.
Symptoms: From three to 30 days after a tick bite, a gradually expanding rash occurs at the site of the bite in three-quarters of infected people. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and fatigue. If untreated, symptoms include a loss of muscle tone in the face, severe headaches and neck stiffness, shooting pains, heart palpitations, dizziness and joint pains.
How to treat: Most cases are cured with antibiotics, especially when caught early. See your doctor.
How to prevent: Use insect repellent when outside, and if possible, wear long sleeves and long pants tucked into your socks. After being outside in wooded areas, check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks.
To remove ticks: Using fine-tipped tweezers, grab the tick close to the skin and gently pull it straight up until all of the tick is removed. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products to remove ticks.
Figures from 2008 show county rise, statewide drop
By Heather Carney
hcarney@patuxent.com
Posted 7/20/09
Howard County had the highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the state in 2008, according to a recent report from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
There were 369 confirmed and probable cases reported in Howard County in 2008, according to the report, 11 more than in 2007.
Montgomery County, which had been tops in the state, was second to Howard in 2008 with 314 cases, down from 475 the previous year.
Statewide, the total decreased from 2,576 cases in 2007 to 2,216 in 2008.
No data is available yet on the number of cases reported in 2009.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transmitted by an infected tick, according to the state health department. It is treatable if caught early, but if not treated may cause chronic symptoms that can include joint pain, heart palpitations and neurological problems.
Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson attributed the increase here to the county’s growing development.
“We’re developing more in areas that were originally woodland, decreasing the distance between the forests where ticks are more prevalent and where people live,” Beilenson said.
Elizabeth Bohle, director for the county Health Department’s division of communicable disease, said Lyme disease is better-reported now because people are much more informed about the disease.
Since 2006, the number of reported cases in the county has tripled.
“In the county, we’ve really had it as a priority to follow up on Lyme disease through education, and devoting many of our resources to tracking each reported case,” Bohle said. “We’ve just created a much more heightened awareness in the clinicians and the public.”
She added that Howard County is a particularly good breeding environment for Lyme disease because of the high numbers of deer and white-footed mice, both of which are carriers of the black-legged tick that transmits the disease.
Bohle also noted that the county is plentiful in parks, forests, lakes and other moisture-rich locations, where ticks flourish.
Beilenson said the best approach to prevention is educating the public about ticks and teaching people to check for ticks after they’ve been outside and to remove the ticks quickly if they find any. He added that in most cases, a tick must be attached to the skin for 24 hours for the disease to be transmitted.
“I use the mentality, what would I do if I found a tick on my child? I would automatically take them to the doctor to get them checked,” Beilenson said.
The county health department, which held a series of sessions on Lyme disease in March and April, is planning another session near the end of August.
Lyme primer:
How Lyme disease is transmitted: Through the bite of an infected black-legged tick.
Symptoms: From three to 30 days after a tick bite, a gradually expanding rash occurs at the site of the bite in three-quarters of infected people. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and fatigue. If untreated, symptoms include a loss of muscle tone in the face, severe headaches and neck stiffness, shooting pains, heart palpitations, dizziness and joint pains.
How to treat: Most cases are cured with antibiotics, especially when caught early. See your doctor.
How to prevent: Use insect repellent when outside, and if possible, wear long sleeves and long pants tucked into your socks. After being outside in wooded areas, check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks.
To remove ticks: Using fine-tipped tweezers, grab the tick close to the skin and gently pull it straight up until all of the tick is removed. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products to remove ticks.
PUBLIC SAFETY: LYME DISEASE: Cary NC News
FROM THE CARY NEWS IN NORTH CAROLINA
MY VIEW: LYME DISEASE IN NC
BY DAVE TIERNEY
JUNE 9, 2009
Many North Carolina residents have recently contacted our Department of Public Health to voice their concern over losing state appropriated funding to advance Lyme disease knowledge within North Carolina. Last year the Department of Pest Management collected over 1,400 black-legged ticks, which can transmit the bacteria for Lyme disease to humans.
Although DPH representatives have publicly stated that Lyme disease is both "rare" and that the tick that transmits Lyme to humans is uncommon in our state, the fact that 1,400 ticks were collected last year can hardly be viewed as "uncommon." Now the funding, which was to be used to test those ticks, is being cut and the truth concerning the risk of Lyme disease from the collected tick sample will never be known.
In order to be diagnosed with Lyme disease, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that the patient be evaluated on both physical symptoms and if the patient was exposed to an area which is designated "high risk" for contracting Lyme. Currently no county in North Carolina is designated "high-risk." Thus, many doctors will not diagnose a resident if he or she never left the state in the previous weeks prior to the onset of medical symptoms.
Since the DPH has never conducted any research or initiated any effort to determine if areas of North Carolina are at high risk, many residents go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed medically due to the false belief that no areas in our state are at risk for Lyme disease. Residents are then forced to seek an out-of-state doctor to be treated. But the appalling issue concerning Lyme disease in North Carolina is that when residents see a doctor outside the state, they can be diagnosed for the same disease they were told they don't have by their North Carolina physician. How can the state of Virginia have over 900 cases of Lyme disease last year, with over 26 counties designated "high risk" for Lyme, while residents in North Carolina are asked to believe that infected ticks do not cross the state border or that the ticks behave differently in our state (do not bite humans)?
MY VIEW: LYME DISEASE IN NC
BY DAVE TIERNEY
JUNE 9, 2009
Many North Carolina residents have recently contacted our Department of Public Health to voice their concern over losing state appropriated funding to advance Lyme disease knowledge within North Carolina. Last year the Department of Pest Management collected over 1,400 black-legged ticks, which can transmit the bacteria for Lyme disease to humans.
Although DPH representatives have publicly stated that Lyme disease is both "rare" and that the tick that transmits Lyme to humans is uncommon in our state, the fact that 1,400 ticks were collected last year can hardly be viewed as "uncommon." Now the funding, which was to be used to test those ticks, is being cut and the truth concerning the risk of Lyme disease from the collected tick sample will never be known.
In order to be diagnosed with Lyme disease, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that the patient be evaluated on both physical symptoms and if the patient was exposed to an area which is designated "high risk" for contracting Lyme. Currently no county in North Carolina is designated "high-risk." Thus, many doctors will not diagnose a resident if he or she never left the state in the previous weeks prior to the onset of medical symptoms.
Since the DPH has never conducted any research or initiated any effort to determine if areas of North Carolina are at high risk, many residents go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed medically due to the false belief that no areas in our state are at risk for Lyme disease. Residents are then forced to seek an out-of-state doctor to be treated. But the appalling issue concerning Lyme disease in North Carolina is that when residents see a doctor outside the state, they can be diagnosed for the same disease they were told they don't have by their North Carolina physician. How can the state of Virginia have over 900 cases of Lyme disease last year, with over 26 counties designated "high risk" for Lyme, while residents in North Carolina are asked to believe that infected ticks do not cross the state border or that the ticks behave differently in our state (do not bite humans)?
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