According to the latest research: “There is always some risk of getting Lyme Disease (LD) from a tick bite in the woods. But there may be a bigger risk of getting Lyme disease in the bedroom.”
Press release, January 25, 2014: Carmel, CA – A new study suggests that Lyme disease may be sexually transmitted. The study was presented at the annual Western Regional Meeting of the American Federation for Medical Research, and the abstract was published in the January issue of the Journal of Investigative Medicine.
“Our findings will change the way Lyme disease is viewed by doctors and patients,” said Marianne Middelveen, lead author of the study presented in Carmel. “It explains why the disease is more common than one would think if only ticks were involved in transmission.”
How common is Lyme Disease? Almost twice as common as breast cancer and six times more common than HIV/ AIDS.
What is Lyme Disease (LD)?
Lyme Disease is a disorder caused by an invasive spirochetal bacterium, Borrelia Burgdorfer (Bb). As of 2008, more than 100 strains of Bb had been identified in the U.S., that number increasing to over 300 worldwide. The sheer number of strains has caused many problems with diagnosis and treatment.
One of the most difficult things to understand about Lyme Disease (LD), is that once antibiotics are prescribed, as far as insurance companies are concerned, treatment AND Lyme Disease are over. Even though chronic LD symptoms can persist for years, the hard cold reality is that they are no longer considered Lyme Disease, but something different–and within that difference the insurance money stops!
A quick word about antibiotics. When being treated for Lyme Disease, I cannot stress enough how important it is to receive the right antibiotics, right dosage, at the right time. I do not doubt the effectiveness of antibiotics. What I doubt is traditional medicine getting these things right. For that reason alone, I may not want to solely rely on antibiotics for Lyme treatment, particularly if it progresses into a chronic vs. acute state.
The most talked about early symptom is Erythema Migrans, or the bulls-eye rash (pictured above). This warm, red, expanding rash can get as large as 12 inches in diameter and is often whitish in the middle. It does not usually cause pain and itching as some rashes might, and as days go on, the bulls eye rash can spread to other parts of the body.
The problem with relying on the “bulls-eye” for diagnosis is that less than 50% of Lyme Disease cases report a rash (depending on what study you look at, this percentage can vary anywhere between 20% to 80%.). Other early signs may include flu-like symptoms: fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches and headaches.
In general, you can think of Lyme disease as having three categories:
2. Early disseminated, and
The sooner treatment is begun after the start of the infection, the higher the success rate. Under-treated infections inevitably resurface, usually as chronic Lyme, with its tremendous problems of morbidity and difficulty with diagnosis and treatment. Strong emphasis, close attention, and utmost care should be made on early detection and treatment.
Diagnosis of Lyme Disease remains challenging, because:
- Lyme disease can mimic other disorders such as the common flu, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
- If early detection is missed, symptoms often multiply and worsen making proper diagnosis difficult.
- Blood tests to check for Lyme Disease antibodies only work a few weeks following infection and are notoriously inaccurate.
- Patients are often dismissed as having other diseases and then improperly treated for the wrong thing – thus worsening the Lyme condition.
According to Bryan Rosner, Freedom From Lyme Disease, “..the problem seems to be that chronic tick-borne infections are capable of cloaking themselves, of hiding from our immune systems and tricking our bodies into living in harmony with them. The immune system is still powerful; it just isn’t able to find the enemy…. most Lyme disease sufferers do have co-infections and must address these infections in order to get well.”
Remember, Lyme Disease can manifest itself differently from person to person. Some people lose mobility, others lose their cognitive functions, many have symptoms of lupus, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, etc. No two Lymies will ever experience the same symptoms or for that matter—treatment.
If you think you might have Lyme, find a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD). That can be difficult because of the controversy over what is considered Lyme Disease, and what is not, which correlates directly to what is covered by insurance. LLMD Managing-Lyme-Disease-PDF practitioners are generally not advertising that they are Lyme Literate Doctors for fear of a back lash from insurance companies and regulatory agencies for not adhering to restrictions on Lyme treatment payments and protocol.
One option is to join an online Lyme Disease community forum where you can receive up-to-date information, advice from survivors, and through word of mouth, find a Lyme Disease literate healthcare practitioner. Here are a few Lyme Disease forums (current as of 07-14-2016):
An excellent resource and diagnostic (symptom checker) tool can also be found at: https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-disease-symptom-checklist/
Three Lyme Alternative Therapies
To Download the Bob Beck Protocol Click PDF Image
Stephen Tvedten’s book, Healing Lyme Disease Naturally, is excellent–in that it covers ALL alternative therapies and supplements, but therein lies its problem. Unless you are familiar with many alternative health protocols, it is a bit too much and somewhat disorganized. Publication Date: May 23, 2016
- Can Lyme be cured? That depends.
- Is it complicated? Yes.
- Is it easy? Probably not, unless you are so tired of suffering, that you are willing to follow a strict regimen.
Getting started, you might ask the following questions in regards to toxicity and deficiency:
- What nutrients and/or hormones do I need to heal (deficiency)?
- How can I clear out the infection(s) in my body (toxicity)?
Once you start these two processes, in time, healing begins. How long it will take for an individual to heal is difficult to say. Each person has his or her own built-in time clock. Specifically, Lyme, like any disease, is alleviated, controlled, or even possibly cured by taking the necessary steps to detoxify by opening up the normal channels of elimination, and giving the body the necessary nutrients to heal.
PRAISE FROM RICHARD HOROWITZ, MD: FREEDOM FROM LYME DISEASE, New Treatments for a Complete Recovery, by Bryan Rosner, Sep 21, 2014. “Bryan Rosner has conducted extensive research and thinks outside the box, and this book provides new insight into Lyme disease treatment options.”
The following measures are critical for healing, in addition to the above protocols:
1. Internal cleansing
2. A high alkaline/low acidic diet
3. Specific protocols (Bob Beck, MMS, Gerson, Rife, etc.) and supplements
4. Spinal Adjustments
5. Coffee Enemas and Juicing
6. Right thinking—CRITICAL in healing any disease
Newsmax, June 9, 2016: Country music legend Kris Kristofferson, who has battled memory problems for years, is apparently among many Americans who have been misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, only to learn later that they actually have a treatable illness – Lyme Disease, a top expert says.
“I think that it’s possible for Lyme disease to be misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s and Kris Kristofferson’s story speaks to the importance of an accurate diagnosis,” Dr. Gary Small, director of the University of California-Los Angeles Longevity Center, tells Newsmax Health.
Kristofferson, 79, was under the belief that his long standing memory problems stemmed from Alzheimer’s, but now his wife says that the iconic singer, songwriter, and award-wining actor actually had untreated Lyme disease. “There are still bad days. [But] some days he’s perfectly normal and it’s easy to forget that he is even battling anything.”
2/16/2014 Author Andrea Ceasar speaks about her Book – A Twist of Lyme: Battling a Disease That “Doesn’t Exist”, and her lifeling battle with Lyme Disease with Kelly Brown on Public Affairs Show “Seacoast Sunday Morning” with Kelly Brown
“Remember, the symptoms of most diseases are like the warning lights on your dashboard–
they are not the cause.”
Captain of Your Healing Vessel
Randy was like most people after being diagnosed with Lyme Disease, thinking it couldn’t be as complicated as many patients and doctors on the internet were making it. In a complex world, Randy liked to keep things simple. He thought that a couple of rounds of antibiotics would be his salvation. But because of that–Randy suffered longer, deeper, and lost more of his life than he might have, had he been more open to the complex reality that others on the Lyme blogs were trying to tell him. If Randy would have listened more openly, he might have stopped doing what wasn’t working sooner.
Lyme disease is more complex than anything else in medicine–even cancer. Healing this miserable condition requires more tools, more medicines, more patience, and more knowledge than one can ever imagine. How do all the Randy’s, who like things simple, access the necessary resources to heal? How do you attack a disease your own immune system cannot defeat? It starts with proper medical care.
“Where do we get this medical care? Sadly, hardly anywhere. There are only a handful of ‘Lyme literate MDs’ in this country and most people cannot afford to see them. Care for Lyme disease is very expensive and most Lyme doctors do not accept medical insurances for payment. Even when a patient has the economic resources to see one of these physicians, their care does not guarantee a successful outcome.
Not only is it unbelievably complex, impacting all body systems and requiring management of neurologic, hormonal, rheumatologic, orthopedic, psychological, ophthalmologic, cardiac, hepatic, gastrointestinal, urologic, dermatologic and other system complications, it produces a degree of suffering and disability that is unparalleled in medicine. And this happens to hundreds of thousands of new victims every year.” Rosner, Bryan. Freedom From Lyme Disease: New Treatments for a Complete Recovery
The best advice I have for all the Randy’s in the world–become your own health advocate and teacher. Doctors, even if available and affordable, don’t know it all and cannot know what might work best for you. Some Lyme patients get better with nothing more than a few months or maybe a few years of antibiotics. Some seem to stay better. But many don’t, and now we understand more about why. Biofilms, genetics, known and unknown co-infections, pre-existing deficits, hormonal degradation, and more—there are just too many variables at play for anyone to compute–so what do we do? We do what all great captains in the past have done–to discover new cures we must have the courage to lose sight of the old ones.
In the end, the most fortunate get well, others get better, while some are still working on it, and some still struggle. Just remember, if you are one of the fortunate, the sky might be blue and cloudless today, but always be ready for the next storm.
From what I have observed the patients who do the best, whatever the disease, are those who take control of their own recovery, become educated, and learn to be the captains of their healing vessels. For Lyme, that is even more important, because LD affects people very differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all template. You’re in unchartered waters, and must learn to navigate most often through trial and error.
Four Common Health Triggers:
- Your Diet: Sugar and refined carbohydrates are at the top of the list if you want to heal. Dairy consumption may also be problematic, especially because of “animal hormones” found in milk products. Try cutting out sugar and dairy for a few weeks to see if that makes a difference.
- Your Hormones: Fluctuations in hormones can exasperate most health conditions. In particular, highs and lows in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Thyroid hormone disruptions can also mimic a host of diseases.
- Your Water: Drinking enough water is often overlooked. You should focus on drinking 1-2 liters of water a day, and for every cup of black tea or coffee you drink, try to replace it with 2 cups of water.
- Your Gut Health: Poor digestive function, which includes your stomach, liver, pancreas, and large and small intestines, can lead to a host of chronic health issues. Also, chronic constipation and poor elimination habits are the major causes of colon impaction and the main reasons for “leaky gut.”
The 7 Deadly Sins of Inflammation
Here are seven don’ts that are culprits when dealing with inflammation and most diseases. Remember, your healing may also depend on what you stay away from.
1. Saturated fats— such as in processed meats,
2. Nightshades— especially tomatoes, peppers, and hot spices,
3. Too many sweets,
6. Junk food (for adults as well as children), and
7. Fried foods
“The Magnificent Seven” Virtues
1. Fresh water, six 8-ounce glasses a day!
2. Vegetables, green leafy in particular—75 percent of the daily diet.
3. Fresh fruit/berries — CAUTION: eat very little fruit, and avoid at all cost in case of candida overgrowth.
4. Fish, fowl, and lamb, as animal protein. These should constitute 15 to 20 percent of your daily diet.
6. Olive oil, Coconut Oil, and Essential Oils, especially in cases of candida.
7. Rest, sleep, sunshine, and exercise.
Measures Critical for Healing
1. Internal cleansing: Enemas; high colonics; dry sauna, steam, and Epsom salts baths; laxatives; plenty of fresh water. To remove accumulated toxins (poisons) by improved bowel evacuation, adequate urinary drainage, and through the pores of the skin itself.
Coffee enemas per day as needed: The caffeine from coffee is one of the first enema choices because it is absorbed directly into the liver, where it becomes a strong detoxifier. It makes the liver produce more bile (bile contains processed toxins) and then moves bile out to the small intestine for elimination. At this point, the liver is freed up to handle new incoming toxic material that has accumulated in the bloodstream. There are stimulating alkaloids in coffee which produces glutathione – S –transferase. An enzyme used by the liver to help make the detox pathway work. It is important to support the formation of more glutathione as this is one of the main chemicals that enable toxins to be eliminated via the bile. In short, a coffee enema speeds up the detoxification process. What you need:
1. Enema bag or bucket,
2. Large clean cooking pot (glass or tempered steel),
3. Dark roasted organic caffeinated coffee, and
4. Distilled Water
Laxative–for a laxative you can take one to two tablespoons of Castor Oil on an empty stomach in the morning.
2. The proper diet: High alkaline (80 percent) to low acid (20 percent) ratio; high fiber, fresh berries and vegetables in particular, tends to keep the body chemistry more alkaline than acid. Also helps improve eliminations as well as body building.
Upon waking, drink 8 ounces of water with the juice of a whole fresh lemon.
Fresh Vegetable Juice — 50% Romain lettuce, a couple of carrots, and the rest green veggies, no fruit.
3. Herbal Teas: Slippery Elm Tea or Lozenges aids in the healing and rebuilding of the thin intestinal walls and prevent absorption of toxins. Saffron tea helps in the repair of intestinal walls, acts as an intestinal antiseptic, flushes out the liver and the kidneys, and removes toxins through the seat glands if you take it prior to a dry sauna.
4. Acupuncture and Spinal Adjustments: Spinal adjustment ensure proper nerve impulses and circulation to the walls of the upper intestinal tract, as well as the glandular centers.
5. Right Thinking: Keep your mind focused on the healing process and not on the disease.
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Keep an Open Mind
There are a lot of Lyme “experts” to choose from–Stephen Buhner’s herbs, to Cowden’s protocol, to Klinghardt, to Horowitz, and more. Most of the time two heads are better than one, but add all these opinions together and what you get is a big pile of “shitake.” Not that they are wrong in their opinions, it’s just that Lyme effects everyone differently. Some strategies include quick fixes such as antibiotics, others espouse fasting or detoxing so intense that they almost require retirement and full-time rest. Remember, when it comes to Lyme every “body” responds differently. Lyme is extremely complex. If you have Lyme, my suggestion is for you to try some these popular protocols, drugs, herbs, and diets, but please realize it is a trial and error process and there is no miracle-silver-bullet-cure.
Many treatments that at first glance seem strange actually work. If you’re like the Randy’s of the world, that likes things simple and traditional, you’re most likely going to be skeptical and pass up many good treatments. Be less skeptical and try new things. I’m not saying to be a brainless idiot and hand over your hard-earned cash to Middle-America’s-BS-Marketing-Swindlers—do your homework and make good decisions. But, just because you haven’t heard of a new treatment, don’t assume it’s not valid. Remember, the experts of Western medicine will often ridicule treatments that come from other parts of the world, other cultures, and other medical paradigms. Don’t listen to these so-called experts. Listen to the patients who actually use the treatments; ask them if they’ve received help. Also, this is not a 50-yard-dash, patience, perseverance, and discipline are keys to healing Lyme Disease. Best of luck, and may God bless you and your loved ones during your healing journey.
Excellent step-by-step presentation of how Lyme Disease effects our body.