What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease and one of the fastest growing infectious diseases.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admits to over 300,000 new cases per year! We have reason to believe this disease is spreading exponentially. Since national surveillance began in 1982, the number of annual Lyme cases reported has increased nearly 25 fold. While most attribute Lyme disease to the northeastern portion of the Unites States, the disease is rapidly spreading across the county. It has been reported in nearly all 50 states, including those who have never been previously recorded. In the northeast alone, Lyme has increased 320%.

Lyme disease is a unique disease with many diverse symptoms. It has even taken a new name: MSDIS – Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome.

What causes Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is caused by the infectious spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Typically, patients present with a wide range of primary and secondary infections including bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections. The most common to travel with Borrelia are its cousin germs Bartonella henselae, Babesia microti, and the bacteria of the Ehrlichia species.

What makes Lyme Disease dangerous?

Borrelia burgdorferi is classified as a spirochete. Spirochetes are corkscrew shaped which enables them to burrow deep into the connective tissue. To add insult to injury, these bugs are pleomorphic, meaning they can change size and shape at will which allows them to burrow deep into the tissues, joints, and even across the highly selective membrane, the Blood-Brain-Barrier. Borrelia’s destructive power primarily comes from the ability to release endotoxins and neurotoxins. These toxins destroy muscle and nerve fibers throughout the body causing chronic inflammation to joints, muscles, and brain cells. This can lead to a wide array of symptoms and often why this disease is misdiagnosed. These bacteria can live intracellularly and can even bind to heavy metals in your body which provide a protective shell that prevents antibiotics from effectively treating it. These properties, along with the ability to shift surface antigens, are the reason Borrelia burgdorferi is considered a “superbug” and extremely dangerous.

The diagnosis of Lyme disease is primarily through the use of ELISA and Western Blot tests; however, these tests are often inaccurate. This is due in large part to the spirochetes ability to infect white blood cells. Since lab tests rely on the normal function of these cells to produce the antibodies, they will not respond to an infection appropriately. The worse the infection, the less likely it will show up on a blood test. Johns Hopkins says it misses 55% of Lyme positive patients. The CDC and New York State Department of Health say they miss 81% of the people that did not have a bullseye rash.

How would I get Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease can be spread by ticks, mosquitoes, spiders, fleas, saliva, breast milk and can even be sexually transmitted, according to Richard Horowitz, MD, Hyde Park, New York and DesBIO Homeopathics. It has recently been found to be transmittable in the saliva of other animals including pet dogs.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease

Acute stages of infection are localized to the skin with the most well-known sign presenting as erythema migrans, a “bulls-eye” rash that develops 3-14 days after a bite. While this is a typical sign of Lyme disease, most individuals do not present with a rash.  Acute infection also commonly presents with flu-like symptoms including fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle aches and joint pain, decreased appetite, constipation, and fever.

 There are three phases in Lyme disease.

1. Bite Phase: The patient may have the classic bull’s eye rash. Arthritis symptoms are very common
Initial Symptoms: Unrelenting fatigue, recurring fever, headaches/migraines, achy muscles and joints.

2. Latent Dormant Phase: Minimal symptoms and the rash and arthritis seem to improve.

3. Late Stage Phase: The disease returns in its full-blown glory as it attacks the nervous system and the immune system with many diverse and varied symptoms.

The first step to determining an individualized protocol is determining what co-infections are also present. As most Lyme patients know, Borrelia never seems to travel alone. Bites can transmit numerous other bacteria and viruses. The most common being: Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma, Coxsackie, Nanobacterium, Parvovirus, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Valley Fever. The body may also be harboring Brucella, Candida, C. Difficile, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr Virus, H.Pylori, SIBO, Hepatitis, Herpes Simplex, Herpes Zoster, Streptococcus, Toxoplasma Gondii, Chlamydia, Condylomata (HPV).

Lyme Disease Symptoms:

Lyme disease can present in a wide variety of symptoms that overlap with other conditions including chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. Many Lyme patients report being misdiagnosed with a different condition before being properly diagnosed with Lyme disease.

NEUROLOGIC SYSTEM

Numbness in body, tingling, pinpricks, burning/stabbing sensations in the body, burning in feet, weakness or paralysis of limbs, tremors or unexplained shaking, seizures, stroke, poor balance, dizziness, difficulty walking, increased motion sickness, wooziness, lightheadedness, fainting, encephalopathy (cognitive impairment from brain involvement), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), meningitis (inflammation of the protective membrane around the brain), encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord), academic or vocational decline, difficulty with multitasking, difficulty with organization and planning, auditory processing problems, word finding problems, slowed speed of processing

COGNITIVE

Dementia, forgetfulness, memory loss, poor school or work performance, attention deficit problems, distractibility, confusion, difficulty thinking, difficulty with concentration, reading, spelling, disorientation, getting or feeling lost, unusual sexuality.

GENERAL
WELL-BEING

Decreased interest in play (kids), extreme fatigue, exhaustion, unexplained fevers (high or low grade), flu-like symptoms (early in  illness), symptoms change, come and go.

EARS & HEARING

Decreased hearing, ringing or buzzing in ears, sound sensitivity, pain in the ears.