New Babesia-like Organism Identified, "FL1953 Protomyxzoa Rheumatica"

James Schaller, MD is renowned for his work in discovering and describing many of the co-infections involved in chronic Lyme disease, especially Babesia and Bartonella. He has many books published on these infections, which I highly recommend. In the following commentary: www.personalconsult.com/posts/FL1953.html, Dr. Schaller describes a newly-discovered pathogenic organism which may be implicated in some cases of chronic Lyme disease. Called,"FL1953 Protomyxzoa Rheumatica", this organism is similar to Babesia in its characteristics. New tick and flea-borne infections are being birthed into our world at an alarming rate, but I am grateful to physicians like Dr. Schaller who are taking the time to identify and describe them, so that effective treatment solutions can be developed for them.

Why Lyme Infections Weren't the Principal Cause of My Symptoms...and What Eight Years of Research Has Taught Me About Healing from Lyme

As this blog nears its five-year anniversary, I reflect upon all that I have learned about Lyme disease since I first began writing about it in early 2007. While I yet believe that most of what I have written about in this blog is relevant for today, many new diagnostic and treatment advances have been made in recent years, which are not thoroughly explained here. For this reason, I recommend consulting additional sources for information about Lyme, such as my book, Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment , other books written by Lyme-literate physicians, such as Ken Singleton, MD, and informational websites such as Scott Forsgren's Better Health Guy.

Perhaps the most important thing that I have learned about Lyme disease over the past decade, when I first began experiencing symptoms of illness, is that chronic Lyme disease is rarely just about a set of tick or flea-borne infections. For years, my treatment plans focused mostly upon removing infections from my body, but I experienced little improvement to my health as a result. Fourteen months of aggressive antibiotic therapy; several years of Rife machine, herbal, biophoton and other treatments, did little to ameliorate my symptoms. Antibiotic treatments, in fact, made me worse. Oddly, however, these therapies did remove the majority of Babesia, Bartonella, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, Mycoplasma and other infections in my body, according to Applied Kinesiology and energetic testing devices such as the Zyto, which, according to some Lyme-literate doctors, is over 90 percent accurate in its evaluation of infectious activity in the body.

So why didn't I get better? I had also eliminated wheat, gluten, dairy, sugar and other allergens from my diet; detoxified my body, and took nutritional supplements. Yet it wasn't enough.

It has taken me a long time to understand that treating chronic illness involving Lyme disease isn't just about removing infections, or taking a few nutritional supplements and detoxifying agents to aid the body in its recovery.

It is about aggressively healing the inner terrain of the body, which has been destroyed by environmental toxins, emotional trauma, and other factors. Often, Lyme is simply one manifestation of many things that have gone wrong in the body. Thus, healing it requires a comprehensive, detailed plan involving high doses of multiple nutrients; an impeccable diet, and a multifaceted detoxification protocol that goes beyond just taking some chlorella or doing a coffee enema.

I used to think I could do my healing journey alone, especially since, over the years, multiple physicians have failed to properly treat me, and I thought I understood all that I needed to know about healing from Lyme. But I have come to believe that healing from the complexities of chronic illness is too difficult for most people to do on their own--and that working with a holistic doctor who thoroughly understands not only Lyme disease, but also how to heal the inner terrain of the body, is essential for recovery.

In recent years, I have learned that other factors besides Lyme, such as mold toxins and electromagnetic pollution, have caused me to become ill. Emotional trauma was the initial trigger for the immune dysfunction in my body, which then caused me to become susceptible to sickness from these, and other factors.

Often, a healthy immune system can stave off much of the garbage that is found in the environment, including Lyme disease infections. But when the immune system is compromised by trauma, as was the case with me, infections and toxins can more easily gain a foothold in the body. Once this happens, it's important to not only remove the toxins and infections, but also treat the initial causes of immune dysfunction, and restore the body's inner terrain.

This knowledge provided the impetus for my most recent book, Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing the Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-Infections. I wanted people with Lyme disease to understand that their symptoms probably weren't just caused by tick-borne infections, and that focusing more upon healing the inner terrain of their bodies, and the immune system, was just as, if not more important, than treating the infections.

While it is true that Lyme disease infections are, for some people, the most important cause of symptoms, my research and experience have taught me that for most, they are just one factor in the overall disease picture.

I am still walking the path towards wellness, but I have made greater strides in my healing since I have shifted my focus to removing the other causative factors of disease in my body besides Lyme.

If you have spent months or years doing antimicrobial treatments, and not been made well, I highly recommend checking out my newest book, Beyond Lyme Disease. Like me, you may discover vital new solutions for healing your body from chronic illness.

Video about my new book, "Beyond Lyme Disease"

Hello All! I just finished a video about my new book, "Beyond Lyme Disease". You can watch it by clicking here. For those who are interested in more details on the book, a longer version of the same video is available by clicking here. As well, I invite you to visit the book's website to learn more about it. Please share this information with everyone you know who suffers from chronic Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other "mystery illnesses" Thanks!

Now available! FREE sample chapter of "Beyond Lyme Disease"

Hello Readers! Just wanted to let you know that I have posted a FREE sample chapter of my new book, "Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing the Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-Infections" on the book's website. This chapter describes why adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism are primary causes of chronic illness in people with Lyme disease, and why treating them is essential for a full recovery.


Click here to access the FREE sample chapter.

I pray this information would help you in your journey towards recovery.

Blessings,

Connie Strasheim
Author

Treating Lyme Disease With Natural Remedies

While antibiotic treatments are sometimes necessary for people to recover from Lyme disease, they also damage the immune system and other organs/systems of the body. For that reason, I always encourage people to try natural protocols first when treating Lyme disease. One physician whom I have come to greatly respect for his success in treating Lyme disease using natural medicine is Lee Cowden, MD. I strongly believe that he is one of the most knowledgeable, caring Lyme-literate physicians worldwide. While Dr. Cowden no longer actively practices medicine full-time, he continues to teach doctors and patients about his natural treatment protocols, which have helped thousands of people to recover from Lyme disease and other chronic health conditions.

Following is an hour-long presentation on Dr. Cowden's support program for Lyme and co-conditions that accompany Lyme. This presentation was done at the 2012 Austrian ILADS Lyme disease conference, and is well worth watching!

Click here

It's Here! My New Book: "Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing the Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-Infections"

It's here! My latest book, "Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing the Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-Infections" is now available for purchase. For more information, click here. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I wrote this book because eight years of research and experience have taught me that it isn't just tick-borne infections that make people with Lyme disease sick, but also a plethora of environmental factors which are, like Borrelia, primary causes of illness, and not just a result of Lyme.

These factors include:

-Adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism
-Toxic Food and Nutrient Deficiencies
-Electromagnetic Pollution
-Pyroluria and Heavy Metal Toxicity
-Parasites
-Gastrointestinal Dysfunction
-Emotional Trauma
-Dental Foci Infections
-Mold and Biotoxin Illness
-Candida/yeast infections
-Other opportunistic infections

While this book was written for people with Lyme disease, it is also relevant to anyone who suffers from chronic illness or symptoms that are caused by the aforementioned factors.


May this book provide new solutions and hope in your healing journey, when antibiotic and other antimicrobial regimens have failed to provide a full recovery. I look forward to your feedback!

Warm regards,

Connie Strasheim
Author

Lee Cowden on Lyme Disease

Following is a short video about the best way to diagnose chronic Lyme disease, as well as how it's most often transmitted, according to Lee Cowden, MD. The benefits of an herbal antimicrobial regimen for treating Lyme are also briefly mentioned, as well as why herbs can be better than antibiotics for healing from chronic Lyme. Enjoy!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FuZw1lbOAIs

Adrenal Fatigue or Lyme Disease?

"It's not all about the bugs"-You might say that this is one of the themes of my upcoming book, Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing the Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-infections. As mentioned in my previous post, my new book- which will be available for sale in approximately two weeks, Beyond Lyme Disease describes what's making people with Lyme sick- besides infections!

For example- adrenal fatigue. Lyme disease causes adrenal fatigue, but adrenal fatigue also creates susceptibility to symptoms from pathogenic infection, because the adrenal glands play a crucial role in immune function. And when the adrenals (or more accurately, the HPA-axis), becomes dysfunctional, due to stressors of all kinds- physical as well as emotional- immune function is compromised because adrenal hormones such as cortisol play a crucial role in the body's inflammatory and other immune responses.

Interestingly, symptoms of adrenal dysfunction mimic those of chronic Lyme disease, so it can be difficult to distinguish how much each one is contributing to the overall symptom picture (taking into account that Lyme causes symptoms of adrenal fatigue). Dr. Lam, author of the incredibly well-researched and informative book, Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome, writes in his book, "Symptoms of Lyme disease and H. Pylori infection, in particular, can mimic adrenal fatigue syndrome." He also writes, "Adrenal fatigue syndrome, particularly stage 3 (adrenal exhaustion) is related to many recognized diseases, such as hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), fibroids, hypoglycemia, depression,Lyme disease, IBS, autoimmune diseases and many other defined and regularly diagnosed and treated medical conditions." He states that people will sometimes be diagnosed with conditions (such as these) which are really not the root cause of their symptoms. His book, which was just published this year, confirms something that I have suspected for many years- adrenal fatigue can be what causes Lyme infections to gain a foothold in the body, and is sometimes more important in the overall symptom picture than infections.


Consider this- many people harbor Borrelia, Babesia and Bartonella- as well as other tick-borne infections (which aren't just "tick-borne" anymore!)- but are unaware of it because they don't have symptoms from these infections because their immune systems keep the infections under control. A person with severe adrenal fatigue is less able to do that.

So when adrenal fatigue is primary in the symptom picture, or the trigger for disease from infections, toxins and other factors, it requires more than just taking some Vitamin C and pantothenic acid to heal it. As I mentioned in an interview today with my publisher, Bryan Rosner, healing requires addressing all of the factors that caused the adrenal fatigue to happen in the first place; from unhealthy beliefs and behaviors, to bad eating habits, relationship problems, environmental toxins, and so forth. Adrenal fatigue represents, at its core level, a mishandling of, or accumulation of, life's stressors. Sometimes, it can be triggered by one thing- such as a major trauma, and of course, infection.

Knowing this matters because it determines the level of priority that will be given to treating the adrenal dysfunction. Often, Lyme-literate doctors and people with Lyme will invest a fair amount of energy and effort into treating infections, while regarding adrenal fatigue as an "incidental" problem that can be dealt with by simply taking some Vitamin C, adrenal glandular products, or pantothenic acid. But taking a few supplements will not correct the condition for many people.

And if adrenal fatigue isn't adequately addressed, then the immune system may not be able to effectively eliminate the Lyme disease infections. When adrenal fatigue occurs, all of the body's processes slow down- from metabolism to energy production, cellular detoxification, and waste removal. The latter is because the liver,kidneys and other organs cease to function properly. And if the body cannot remove toxins, then antimicrobial treatments for infections can make a person worse.

I wrote Beyond Lyme Disease because I realized that conditions such as adrenal fatigue, among many others- were major causative factors of illness in people with Lyme, along with Borreliosis and co-infections, and I wanted to provide solutions that would help people to heal from these conditions.

It is my hope that by "going beyond"in my new book, people who have not found healing from chronic illness involving Lyme, will encounter new hope, answers and practical solutions for wellness.

New Book, "Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing The Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-infections

I was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2004, but it would be several more years before I would fully grasp the reality that I wasn't just sick because of a handful of tick-borne infections. Rather, a multiplicity of environmental toxins and other societal factors had caused the demise of my body and mind- and I would need much more than antimicrobial remedies to heal. Years of medical research have since taught me that healing chronic Lyme disease is about more than just eliminating a few bugs.

I just finished writing my fifth book, which is entitled, Beyond Lyme Disease: Healing the Underlying Causes of Chronic Illness in People with Borreliosis and Co-Infections. It describes the principal causes of illness in people with Lyme disease, besides Borreliosis and co-infections. Most people who have studied chronic Lyme disease for any length of time understand that chronic Lyme disease causes many problems in the body, which must be treated apart from Borrelia and co-infections, but not everyone knows that infections aren't always the main cause of symptoms those with Lyme disease. Sometimes, dormant infections emerge as a byproduct of other problems in the body, and are not the main cause of illness.

From my perspective, the Lyme disease community has placed too much emphasis upon treating Borrelia and co-infections, and not enough upon the other underlying factors which caused the immune system to be dysfunctional in the first place. Therefore, my new book, Beyond Lyme Disease describes what some of those factors are and, how to treat/remove them, so that the body can fully heal.

If you have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, or know somebody who has a chronic illness of unclear origin, please read this book (which will be available for purchase in 4-6 weeks on Amazon.com, as well as on a website that is currently under construction), and share it with others. I have seen too many people remain ill after years of antibiotic and other antimicrobial treatments, simply because these other causes of disease were either not acknowledged or were inadequately, or improperly, addressed. My hope is that this work would provide greater insights into the healing process, so that you or your loved one would experience a more complete recovery.

To be notified when Beyond Lyme will be available for purchase, please check back at this site or sign up to receive my publisher's newsletter at: www.lymebook.com/newsletter.

Blessings!

Connie Strasheim

Q & A With Dr. Cowden

The following video discusses the Cowden Support Program for Lyme disease, which is an excellent, non-toxic alternative to long-term antibiotic therapy involving the use of various herbal and homeopathic products. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpedySBsmY&feature=youtu.be&hd=1