Insights From ILADS--Discerning The Symptoms of Four Major Infections

I was fortunate to be able to attend the ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases) conference a few weeks ago. I had never been to an ILADS conference, and learned a few new things about Lyme disease and treatments while there.

Of particular interest to me was a presentation by Dr. Burrascano, in which he shared insights into how to discern different Lyme disease co-infections. Since lab tests for co-infections are often negative or unreliable, and tests don't exist for many strains of the different infections, it can be difficult discovering whether these are present and active in the body. Dr. Burrascano cited different means for discovering the presence of such infections, including the patient's symptom picture and response to treatments.

BORRELIA BURGDORFERI

The onset of symptoms for those with Borrelia burgdorferi can be slow and gradual. You may notice that you are no longer sleeping well, for instance, or are losing weight. In my own case of illness, I had back pain and extreme anxiety for several years before the onset of other symptoms. Then, months before my "crash" in 2004, I began to lose weight, as well as my appetite. I didn't think much of it at the time, even though people commented to me that I was getting thinner.

Borrelia is also a multi-system bug, that usually causes multiple (and sometimes, a multitude!) of symptoms. These symptoms can change over time, and wax and wane over several weeks. For instance, you may start off with a pain in your upper back that over time, moves to the lower back and varies in intensity (When the pain doesn't migrate but remains constant, however, then this can sometimes be indicative of damage done by Borrelia, rather than the bug itself). So one year, you might have gut pain, and in the next, experience buzzing in your head. That's the nature of the Borrelia beast.

Some other patterns seen in those with Borrelia include:

* Having energy mid-morning until approximately noontime, as well as in the late afternoon or evening. The nighttime energy creates an inability to sleep
* Slow response to treatments
* Symptom flares every four weeks (the pathogen's life cycle is re-set by treatments if these are effective, so once a regimen is started, symptom flares can be expected at approximately four weeks beginning from the date of the onset of the treatment)
* Sub-normal morning body temperatures
* Joint cracking

BABESIA

Those with Babesia, according to Dr. Burrascano, often exhibit the following distinguishing patterns/symptoms:

* Tiredness/fatigue all day long
* A rapid onset of symptoms, often with a sudden high fever, severe headaches, night sweats (but which can also happen during the day), and fatigue
* Air hunger, which causes a need to frequently sigh and take deep breaths. People with this symptom often feel as though they run out of air when they talk. A dry cough may also be present
* Headaches, which can be severe. These headaches are global (all over), unlike Borrelia headaches, which are often found at the back of the head/neck
* Unexplained chest symptoms
* Fatigue is a prominent symptom of babesia, and manifests much like the fatigue in those with CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome)
* Feeling worse after exercise, instead of better
* Mental dullness and a slowing of reactions and responses
* Dizziness, but not like the vertigo that is found in those with Borrelia. This is more of a "tippy" feeling
* Rapidly cycling symptoms, with flares every 4-6 days. So a person with Babesia might have a particulary bad symptom day about once a week
* Rarely, an enlarged spleen may be present

People who present with very serious symptoms of Lyme disease may also have Babesia, since this infection makes Lyme symptoms worse and Lyme treatments less effective. If you are responding slowly to Lyme treatments, you might also have a Babesia infection that needs to be treated, as well.

BARTONELLA

According to Dr. Burrascano, Bartonella is often characterized by the following:

* Like Borrelia, a slow onset of symptoms
* Brain symptoms that are out of proportion to the person's physical/bodily symptoms
* Sensations of overstimulation, anxiety and tremors
* Extreme agitation
* Muscle twitches
* Sore soles, especially in the morning
* Tender nodules, especially on the outer thigh and shins
* Gastrointestinal problems, which may present as gastritis or abdominal pain that is similar to symptoms of a Helicobacter Pylori infection (Note: One experienced Lyme physician with whom I spoke believes that gut pain can also be a Babesia symptom)
* Occasional lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes)
* Morning fevers, usually around 99 degrees Fahrenheit.
* Occasionally, light sweats (milder than those found in Babesia)
* Sometimes, papular or linear red rashes (like stretch marks), especially those with gastrointestinal problems
* Rapid responses to treatment changes. Often, symptoms will improve within days of treatment, but relapses occur quickly if the treatment is withdrawn too soon

EHRLICHIA

Finally, Ehrlichia may be distinguished by the following:

* A rapid onset of illness, which may include fevers and headaches, that are sharp, knife-like and found behind the eyes
* Muscle pain, which can be mild or severe
* A low white blood cell count and elevated liver enzymes
* A diffuse vasculitic rash

Keep in mind that these symptom patterns are only generalizations, as infections can cause a multitude of symptoms that overlap with those of others, especially Borrelia, since it can cause over 300 different symptoms which encompass every bodily system. Discerning infections in those who are multiply co-infected may therefore be difficult, but by studying this list, you may notice certain patterns in your symptom picture which enable you to discover whether you have one or more of these infections. Through my experiences of talking with other Lyme disease sufferers, I have found that more often than not, people are infected with at least one of, if not all of, the above infections, in addition to Borrelia. In my new book on Lyme disease, Dr. Steve Harris notes that those who have been sick for more than twenty years tend to be those who have only Borrelia as their main infection. Whether this is because ticks twenty or thirty years ago weren't carrying around as many nasty infections as they do now, I don't know, but the finding is intriguing.

Hopefully, this information will help you and your physician to navigate your healing process, as Lyme disease tests, by themselves, are rarely sufficient for making an accurate diagnosis.

Lyme Teleseminar--Tonight at 8 PM EST

Join me tonight for a free teleseminar on Lyme disease! I will be speaking about my Lyme disease journey and new book, "Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment: Thirteen Lyme-Literate Health Care Practitioners Share Their Healing Strategies", as well as answering questions about Lyme and the book.
To register for the conference, go to: http://www.lymehope.com
Hope to "see" you there!

Seeing Isn't Believing...Believing Is Seeing

When you have been struggling with chronic illness for years, it can sometimes be a challenge to believe that life will ever bring you anything but days filled with pain, scrambled thoughts, depression and fatigue--or whatever assortment of symptoms that Lyme happens to have thrown at you. During such times, finding meaning and purpose in life can be an even greater challenge, especially if you are going the healing journey alone.

So many books tell us not to fret and fear the future, because the things we fear rarely happen. But what happens when your future turns out to be bleaker than your fears ever were? What happens when your dreams slowly die because year after year, your treatment regimens and symptoms leave you with little space or energy for those dreams you have held onto?

My relationship with God has been an integral part of my healing journey. God is my friend, my strength, and my encouragement. Even so, at times, there is a voice in my head that challenges God's love for me. In an ugly tone, it reminds me of how my young adult life has turned out to be more circumstantially difficult than I ever imagined it would be.

I didn't get the storybook life. None of you who are reading this probably did, either. Maybe you imagined yourself in a life of flourishing relationships, with a stable career and body and mind that would function well until at least age seventy.

I deluded myself with such expectations, but in my weaker moments, I have been taken captive by an even greater delusion--the belief that I got screwed in life because I got Lyme disease. I sometimes look with envy upon my friends who can hike, bike and ski and sleep six hours a night. Who can work in any job because they have the functioning mind and the stamina to run around in a thousand directions every day.

But I have also learned that there is redemptive power in illness, and as I struggle to lay hold of that power and as I wrestle with God, I realize that I am being moved towards a grander, more majestic life than the one I would have had, had Lyme not taken me down five years ago.

Majestic?
Okay, so I don't always believe that a life with Lyme is synonymous with a life of royalty and higher rewards, because pain and my constant treadmill of treatments feel paradoxical to a life of abundance. But even if I had been given my version of the fairy tale, without the character training that life with Lyme signed me up for, my fairy tale might have had a bad ending, anyway. Because optimism and happiness can only be maintained so long by circumstance.

Yes, a life of pain, fatigue and isolation predisposes people with Lyme disease to depression and despondency. Legitimately.

Yet, in my wiser moments, I believe that the mind and the spirit are sovereign over circumstances and a biochemistry that's been fouled up by Lyme. So even if my thoughts spiral downwards from too many spirochetes playing tag in my gray matter--I have found that my spirit can sometimes conquer temptations to give in to despondency, and even find great value and blessing in this cursed disease.

I have found it to be a battle and a process that takes years. And while I am slowly reaping the results of that journey, I admit that along the way, I have resented those who have admonished me to "just take my thoughts captive" when everything in my biochemistry has conspired against thoughts of optimism. It's much harder to be optimistic when your hormones and neurotransmitters are a mess, but the flip side to that is, disciplining the thoughts can also alter the biochemistry.

I also think that God's spirit living within us can overcome the weaknesses of the earthly body. It may overcome by providing direction about how to heal the brain or by giving us the will to change our thoughts.

Such has been the process with me. And as part of that, I am learning to do another thing--believe (for abundance) in order to see (that abundance). Perhaps this is one way to endure, or even be freed from, a life of chronic illness, isolation and financial poverty.

Believing against the odds. Believing when every day looks darker.
To see life through spiritual, instead of earthly, eyes. Because often, what is most real is what is unseen. In the spiritual realm, seeing isn't believing. We must believe in order to see...because a true life of abundance comes from believing in a god who loves us, who wants the best for us and who is working circumstances for our highest good. And if that abundance isn't immediately manifest in the physical realm, it can be witnessed in an even more important place-the spirit.

Indeed, perhaps reality and truth are the potential and hope of what is unseen, in our hearts and minds. That potential and hope are released by faith, to finally bring into existence the abundant life, according to the One who made us, and the One who loves us more than we can we can imagine, even though that love is often misunderstood.

But it requires seeing circumstances with spiritual eyes, which means believing in order to bring into existence that which is not yet manifest.

Lyme Disease Is Not Your Life

Yes, it may seem like it, because adequately treating the disease requires hours of therapies, research and rest. It sometimes requires every last ounce of energy that you can muster, and every last dollar in your bank account. But your life doesn't have to be just about Lyme.

I don't usually respond to posts on Internet Lyme disease groups, because I don't have the time and have also needed to take a break from the "L" word. Every once in awhile, however, I peruse the groups to stay updated on how people are faring with the latest treatments, so that I can, in turn, provide this information to my readers.

Today, I came across a conversation on http://www.Lymenet.org which saddened me. I would have responded directly to the conversation, but I am not allowed to post on this group (probably for political reasons since I am the author of two Lyme books). That's OK. Rarely do I feel the need to answer someone on a Lyme disease group, but today I feel compelled to respond to this person's anguish.

So if you are reading this, my friend, I just want to tell you that I know what it's like to feel as though this disease has consumed your life. I know what it's like to wonder if your life will ever be about anything else but Borrelia. I know what it's like to feel as though you are being sucked into a vortex of Lyme thoughts, and no amount of clutching or clawing will get you out. And I know what it's like to beat yourself to a pulp for not being able to think about anything but Lyme.

It's easy to fall prey to desperation. Adequately treating this disease requires much time, energy, research and money. At times, it will take all of your brain power and all of your strength just to figure out what you must do to get through the day.

I don't blame you. I used to shed many tears over this disease, resenting how it had snatched my life out from under me, and wondering how to get out of the "Lyme disease" mentality.

I'm still trying to find my way out, but it becomes easier as I heal and am able to get out and do other things.

But the thing is, even in my sickest days, I sensed that what the doctor(s) had said in my book was accurate. That making Lyme the focus of my life wasn't beneficial for my healing. (Many of these doctors have been touched personally by Lyme, by the way).

Yes, to get well, I had to devote a lot of time and energy to research and treatments, and especially initially. At the same time, making every effort to incorporate other thoughts and activities into my life became vitally important, for my sanity and well-being. Such activities included watching funny movies, reading uplifting articles or novels that had nothing to do with Lyme, spending time in prayer to discipline my mind, and just doing anything and everything to keep all of my thoughts from being stayed on Lyme.

Being that Lyme tends to suck people into a vortex of obsession over treatment, trying to focus on other things can seem like a supernatural feat. Indeed, it may be the hardest thing that you will ever do as you heal. And if you are really, really sick, it may seem next to impossible.

Give yourself a break. There will be days, weeks, and months when you must research the next treatment, and it will take up huge chunks of your waking hours and thought patterns. It's OK.

Your whole life won't always be about Lyme, and even during the months, or years, when it is a primary focus, your life can yet be about other things.

It's incredibly difficult. I know. Desperation will cause you to cling to thoughts of Lyme. You want to be well NOW and so your mind becomes a treadmill of "what-can-I-do-to-heal?", running ever faster, to get to where you want to go.

It's hard to let those thoughts go. And it's hard to change, especially when you believe that you don't have the time, will or energy to think about anything else but Lyme, and your body reminds you every two seconds about how broken you are.

Healing is a constant tug-of-war between spending adequate time on treatments, and thinking on other things. But if you know that part of your healing involves creating a life outside of Lyme, however small, it becomes a tad easier to let the Lyme life go.

You can do it, my friend. Just take baby steps towards thinking on other things, and give yourself grace on the days when Lyme does take up the majority of your thought space. I believe that this will bring healing to not just your body, but also your spirit.

FREE Sample Chapter from New Lyme Disease Book

Hi Everyone!

For anyone who is interested in getting a closer inside look at my current best-selling book on Lyme disease, entitled, "Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment: Thirteen Lyme-Literate Health Care Practitioners Share Their Healing Strategies", my publisher has created a link to its first chapter, which we share with you here:

http://www.lymebook.com/insights-into-lyme-treatment-SAMPLE-CHAPTER.pdf

In this chapter, you will learn all about Dr. Steve Harris' approach to treating Lyme disease. Dr. Harris is an ILADS member who has been treating Lyme disease patients for over ten years. His father owns IgeneX labs in Palo Alto, CA.

Because thirteen health care practitioners participated in the book, other approaches to treatment are discussed throughout its pages. These treatments include herbal, plant stem cell and homeopathic remedies, as well as strategies found in energy medicine.

A plethora of information is found in every single chapter of this book, and Dr. Harris' chapter is no exception. It provides those who cannot afford the book with treatment insights that could only be gained by spending two hours interviewing him on the phone (as I did!)

It also provides a sneak preview of the book's contents, for anyone wanting to learn more.

My publisher and I look forward to your thoughts and hope that the chapter will be a blessing to you!

For The Denver Lyme Folks!...Discussion On Lyme Disease and Relationships...Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I will be facilitating an interactive discussion on Lyme disease and relationships at the Aurora Public Library, Central Location, from 2-4 PM, for anyone who is interested in attending!

This meeting will discuss how family and friends can better support those with Lyme, as well as how those with Lyme can do the same for their loved ones...so that they may experience a less rocky, and more peaceful, healing experience.

Please forgive me for the last-minute post on this meeting; my obligations have been taking me a thousand directions lately and it slipped my mind to post this until now.

Hope to see you there!

The Lyme Co-Infections Game Continues to Get Complicated

I've noticed that people tend to think in terms of nice, neat little boxes when it comes to discerning and treating Lyme disease infections. The assortment of potential infections appears to be clear-cut and limited to only a small handful that we can definitively test for; for example, borrelia, babesia, ehrlichia, bartonella and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. And only one or two species of each can be tested for by conventional methods and hence, discussions and treatment of Lyme co-infections tend to revolve exclusively around these one or two species.

The research-savvy folks, however, know that there's more to tick-borne infections than just this little group of bugs. They know that some tick-borne pathogens interbreed to form new bugs with biofilms and a completely new set of genes, although tests to detect, and treatments to eradicate, these new bugs remain mostly unknown. The information-diggers also know that many species of the most commonly known co-infections exist, but that little is known about these infections in humans, due to the limits of blood testing.

Suppose that these species ARE prevalent in humans, though. Would the ten or twenty relatively unknown species of babesia, for example, respond to treatment in the same manner as the known species of babesia microti and babesia duncani? Maybe, or maybe not. Babesia duncani often doesn't respond to two years of treatment with Mepron (the most commonly prescribed medication for this infection), while babesia microti is generally more susceptible to its effects. So in this case, it pays to know which organism you are dealing with. And what about the other babesia species?

Energetic testing, fortunately, can sometimes reveal whether other species of pathogens are present in the body, when blood tests fail to do so. For instance, a couple of years ago, I tested positive to five strains of babesia on an Asyra scan. Like all testing methods, the Asyra is limited in its ability to definitively detect the presence of infections, so I didn't think much of my test results.

Further tests down the line, however, confirmed that babesia was a problem for me. Fry labs found the actual bug (which strain, I don't know) in my body, which is about as definitive as it gets. And as one wise Lyme-literate doctor said to me, "If you test positive on the antigen test, the infection is prevalent in your body." Why? Because antigen tests, which measure the presence of foreign proteins (bugs) in the body, are often inaccurate, too, because the particular sample of blood that is measured might not contain the pathogen. So if you get a sample that tests positive, chances are, the pathogen is everywhere in your blood.

But here's the thing. Six months of 6,000 mg of artemisia, taken daily, didn't get rid of my babesia. (Please don't take this high of a dose unless instructed to by your physician)! It didn't even faze the bug, as I had no Herxheimer reaction nor subsequent improvement as a result. An indication, perhaps, that I was instead dealing with babesia duncani, which is a "tougher" bug than microti? Or perhaps I had a different strain altogether?

Recently, I got my hands on the energetic blueprints for seven different types of babesia. Contained in liquid vials, these blueprints can be used to test for the presence of other babesia species. By placing the vials close to the body and using a testing device, such as the biotensor, to check for resonance between the body and the pathogen, the presence of that pathogen in the body can be determined.

In addition to using the biotensor, I was tested for babesia via two other energetic methods and discovered that in fact, my body harbors mulitple species of the organism. Now how in the bleep did that happen? I don't know. You'd think I was rolling around in every forest from Kansas to New York, but perhaps these bugs are more prevalent in the general population than we know. Hence my concern over pigeonholing infections into just a few categories and species.

But maybe I need not be concerned. I mean, how many people walk around with three thousand infections in their bodies which are dormant or which aren't ruffling the feathers of the immune system?

Looking at symptoms is therefore useful when attempting to confirm a diagnosis and in fact, most Lyme-literate doctors would say that clinical diagnosis should be primary. So in my case, while I am pretty functional these days, I still don't feel like a spring chicken, which means that more treatment for babesia may be warranted.

I have been so far mostly pleased with the results of the Bionic 880 for the treatment of infections, and so will use this device for the treatment of babesia. Fortunately, it works well when combined with the corresponding energetic signature for specific infections. In my case, those are babesia duncani, babesia bovis, babesia motasi, babesia divergans, and babesia canis...Oh yeah, along with borrelia bisetti, a Colorado strain of borrelia. If you've never heard of these species before, don't be alarmed! I hadn't, either, until I discovered http://www.ergopathics.com, a site that sells electromagnetic signature vials for a million and one pathogens.

I surmise that conventional treatment methods for babesia, such as Meprone and Malarone, along with artemisia, would probably eradicate at least some of the above-mentioned forms of babesia. So if you have babesia, or another infection, does it matter whether you know which strain you have?

My tentative guess would be that if your symptoms don't improve with traditional treatments, then yes, maybe you need to go deeper to find out which cousin (or grandkid!) you are dealing with.

Treatment for Lyme and Company is further complicated by the fact that bugs aren't primary in the overall symptom picture for everyone, so discerning whether symptoms are the result of a different bug, an endocrine defect or malfunctioning liver can be difficult.


When I first learned about biofilms and bugs that interbred, I thought, "You have got to be freakin' kidding me..." There is no way we are going to be able to learn about all these species of organisms and effectively treat for them! But then I told myself that maybe it doesn't matter, because healing from chronic illness involving Lyme is such a multi-layered, elusive affair that involves more than bugs and the biochemistry-it involves the spirit, mind and the effects of the environment in which we live. But again, sometimes knowing which critters you are up against can be helpful (as is the case with babesia duncani and babesia microti).

So I'll let you know whether anything changes after I go after my five or six (or whatever it is!) species of babesia. I am curious to discover whether my newfound knowledge will make any difference in my overall symptom picture.