LYME DISEASE 101

WHAT IS LYME DISEASE ANYWAY?

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. LD is a spirochetal bacterial infection that results in a multi-system infection.

Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick and can also be passed from mother to fetus in utero and through breast milk

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EARLY SYMPTOMS OF LD

Early symptoms of LD manifest as a variety of ailments including:

Headaches, fatigue, fever, joint and muscle pain, sinus infections and heart palpitations

LATE STAGE SYMPTOMS OF LD

Late-stage LD can be much more serious and can include: Cardiac and central nervous system irregularities, meningitis, facial paralysis, neurological complications, arthritis, vision abnormalities and endocrine disorders.

DIAGNOSIS OF LYME DISEASE

LD is known as the “Great Imitator” and can manifest symptoms in multiple areas of the body. As such, it can be difficult to diagnose.

One of the problems with the proper diagnosis of Lyme disease in BC and Canada is the fact that doctors rely on blood tests to diagnose the disease. Because there is no gold-standard blood test for Lyme disease diagnosis is supposed to be based upon a clinical presentation of symptoms. Unfortunately in Canada doctors continue to rely on the results of these blood tests to make a diagnosis.

TREATMENT OF LYME DISEASE

If caught early, LD can be treated effectively with antibiotics. Late-stage disseminated Lyme disease is much more difficult to treat and can sometimes prove resistant to antibiotics.

IS LYME DISEASE FOUND IN CANADA?

LD is one of the fastest growing infectious diseases in the world. It is the most common vector-borne illness in North America.

Ticks that are known to carry Lyme disease, Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick) and Ixodes pacificus (Western black-legged tick), are endemic in many areas of Canada, notably British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

HOW CLOSE TO HOME IS IT?

The BC Centre for Disease Control acknowledges that ticks carrying Lyme disease can be found on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, theSunshine Coast, the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley, the Kootenays and the Okanagan Valley.

For more information about Lyme Disease, Ticks, Prevention & Awareness please visit:

Canlyme.com (Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation Website)

DR E. MURAKAMI CENTER FOR LYME (Canadian Website)

ILADS.org (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society)

LYME LINGO

LD - Lyme Disease
LLMD - Lyme Literate Doctor
LYMIES - Fellow LD sufferers

ABX - Antibiotics
DX - Diagnosis
RX - Prescription

BABS - short for Babesiosis, a Co-infection of LD
BART - short for Bartonella, a co-infection of LD

"GOOD" DAY - means functional despite feeling like you've been run over by a mack truck

HERXING - Hell on earth
I'll spare you the whole scientific explanation, simply put herxing is the term used to explain the medical phenomena that occurs when you start killing of the LD bacteria with abx. As the bacteria die, they release toxins that exacerbate ALL your LD symptoms, 100 fold. These exacerbations can be so intense that they can leave the patient near death and/or completely debilitated.

Herxes are generally cyclic, occuring about every 4 weeks. However during the early phase of treatment, herxing can last anywhere from several hours to weeks or months. As treatment progresses and the bacterial load is lessened, the herxes become more predictable and less intense.

Herxing is an unexplainable yet unavoidable yet necessary horror to endure. And as hard as it is to believe it is actually a horrible sign that you are getting better.