My Experience With Lyme Disease

What is Lyme disease, and why is it important? Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease created by bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. “The infection is primarily transmitted by Ixodes ticks, also known as deer ticks, and on the West Coast, black-legged ticks” (Lymedisease.org). It’s hard to identify the ticks because of their tiny size, similar to a poppy seed. To make that exact the female adult deer tick is about 2.7 mm in length, and the male is smaller than that (tickencounter.org). The size makes it even more difficult to feel or find a bite from the tick. However, the consequences can be very serious, sometimes even fatal (cdc.gov). Lyme disease is a serious public health in the United States that is overlooked.

Lyme disease was discovered in the 1970’s, as any other disease was, by a large number of cases, with patients having the same symptoms. In Lyme, Connecticut, a doctor was having patients who were all suffering from the same symptoms that made patients become debilitated. There were so many cases that the doctor marked it as an unknown disease. It wasn’t until later in the 1980’s that there were more widespread cases throughout the north-east. Lyme disease is becoming a serious problem in the north-east and especially in New York State, given the drastic increase of cases. Without treatment Lyme disease can result in blindness and in severe cases, death.

Treat the gut first. Many people with chronic Lyme disease have gut dysbiosis (an imbalance in the good gut flora). A high quality, potent probiotic is a good first step.

Chronic Lyme disease isn't the only medical issues that Lacey Miller has. Lacey Miller has arthritis, dementia, loss of vision, seizures and many other medical problems. Lacey is currently unemployed and bedridden. Lacey doesn't let chronic Lyme disease let get her depressed, however. Lacey is a loving mother and wife that spends time with her family making them laugh and smile.

The threat of Lyme disease is an ever growing concern especially due to the fact that late stage Lyme has no cure and early stages are hard to diagnose. The

Lyme disease can be a very serious disease if not treated early enough. The most important way to keep from getting the disease is prevention. Education is the key to prevention. The only way to contract the disease is to be bitten by a tick that is carrying the bacteria Borrelia Burgoloferi. By educating the public on the facts of the disease and how it is transmitted will greatly lower the number of cases each year.

In Nova Scotia, especially my residential area of Lunenburg County, Lyme Disease is an uprising problem. I myself initiated in a way to help raise awareness. Moreover, I produced a Facebook page to raise people’s knowledge regarding Lyme Disease, I created a survey to help the understanding of issues people may not be familiar with, and responded to any questions people had regarding Lyme Disease.

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type.[1] The most common sign of infection is an expanding area of redness, known as erythema migrans, that begins at the site of a tick bite about a week after it has occurred. The rash is typically neither itchy nor painful. About 25% of people do not develop a rash. Other early symptoms may include fever, headache, and feeling tired. If untreated, symptoms may include loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face, joint pains, severe headaches with neck stiffness, or heart palpitations, among others. Months to years later, repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur. Occasionally, people develop shooting pains or tingling in their arms and legs. Despite appropriate treatment, about 10 to 20% of people also develop joint pains, have memory problems, and feel tired much of the time.[2]

Lyme borreliosis or Lyme disease can be devastating both physically and mentally for victims. The disease is transmitted by a vector, specifically a tick, which infects their host by biting and infecting them with pathological spirochete bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi (Muschart & Blommaert, 2015). There are several species of Borrelia globally, and as a group, the bacteria are referred to as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Pearson, 2015). The disease originated from, Lyme Connecticut, of which it was named, after a patient was mistakenly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when the cause of their disease was B. burgdorferi or Lyme disease (Snow, 2013). Lyme disease is classified as one of the most common and growing vector-born disease in the United States as well as Europe (Snow, 2013). Understanding how Lyme disease progresses through the body as well as the disease’s signs and symptoms are essential to understanding how to treat the disease and stop it from spreading throughout the body with destructive results. With a disease as potentially devastating as Lyme disease, early treatment is required for a better outcome (Pearson, 2015). This research paper will discuss the pathophysiology of three Lyme conditions known as Lyme arthritis, Lyme neuroborreliosis, and Lyme carditis and provide an overview of the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and treatments, and how to prevent infection.

Lyme disease occurs when the bacteria from the tick enters through the skin. The early signs of Lyme disease include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. These symptoms start at the entry site of where the tick bite happened (CDC, 2014). Later signs include severe headaches, stiffness, more rashes on the body, arthritis, and Bells’ palsy, heart palpitations, and dizziness, shortness of breath, nerve pains, and problems with short term memory (FamilyDoctor.com, 2014). Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi (Shiel). For a patient to be infected with Lyme disease, the deer tick must be infected. Prevention of Lyme disease includes showering immediately and removing the tick from the skin (CDC, 2014).

Summary: We all know that Lyme disease is hard to diagnose and millions of people suffer from this disease without knowing the reason behind their illness.

Even though people think of this disease as an East Coast phenomenon it is actually found all over the United States and in other countries. Diagnosing Lyme disease can be difficult, which leads to misdiagnosis and treatment for other conditions. This is primarily because Lyme disease symptoms mimic several other diseases. People who spend time outdoors are at higher risk for tick bites, as are children. The disease can affect people of all ages.

This will cause joint damage and go on Lyme Arthritis, this disease also focuses on the nerves. This can go on to mental problems and even cause another disease by the name of Tics. That disease focuses on the heart it will slow down somebody's heart rate. Most diseases should have a treatment, Lyme disease has many treatments. Such as Antibiotic drugs like doxycycline, amoxicillin, penicillin, and erythromycin are many treatments for this disease. There was a newer vaccine for this disease, this is called LYMErix. One of the greatest problems with the medical care for Lyme disease is the problem with when they diagnose the vaccine . Diagnostic tests are very unlucky to be done unless the disease is getting out of hand. Even when Lyme disease is suspected, currently available diagnostic tests often yield false negative results and are usually correct. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, the disease may look like it is going away, but it is just getting worse. The spirochete basically takes over the disease at this

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with approximately 30,000 cases reported a year1. The disease was first discovered in 1975 after a group of children were suffering from a rheumatoid arthritis like disease. One similarity all the children had was playing in wooded areas during the summer months in the area of Lyme, Connecticut. This led to the discovery of a new disease, Lyme disease. However, the bacteria that caused the disease was not isolated until late 1981 by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer during his research on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever2. Lyme disease has become an important public health problem in the Midwest and Northeastern United States with incidence rates steadily increasing.

My mom has been suffering the symptoms of Lyme disease for well over two years now, but was only recently diagnosed this month. Her symptoms began with a general sense of fatigue and an overall sense of pain and aches throughout her body. Over time, her health continued to deteriorate and her unknown illness developed into something significantly more debilitating. Some days, she endured such extreme fatigue and pain that she could not manage to get out of bed. I then noticed that her memory and cognitive abilities began to decline. She experienced trouble remembering simple phrases and conversations I had with her, to the point that she couldn't repeat a number I had just given to her seconds before. For over two years she attended countless