Archive for the ‘Inflammation’ Category

Lyme Disease & Dental Health: What You Need To Know

https://humanhealthproject.org/lyme-disease-and-dental-health-what-you-need-to-know/?

Lyme disease and dental health: What you need to know

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is caused by the tick-borne spirochete bacterium Borrelia burgdorfer.

Lyme disease is a multisystem inflammatory disease, and neurologic, articular, and cardiac manifestations may follow untreated early infection. While the B. burgdorferi bacterium does not make toxins or cause direct tissue damage, local inflammation results from host response mechanisms.

Three phases of general clinical manifestations

  1. Early localized: distinct, bull’s eye or target skin lesions in warm areas of the body (groin, axilla or belt line) that may itch, burn or hurt.
  2. Early disseminated: if treatment is not initiated involvement of brain or heart may occur.
  3. Late disease: also called as Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), this phase leads to muscle and bone involvement.

The link between Lyme disease and dental health

It has been observed that Lyme and many other chronic diseases are fed by the unique bacteria that develop in root canals and where teeth have been extracted. Lyme bacteria exists in the teeth, not in the enamel. The spirochete bacterium love to occupy in the dentin and some three miles of tiny tubules.

Its clinical manifestations may include facial and dental pain (tooth ache), facial nerve palsy, headache, temporomandibular (jaw) joint pain, and masticatory (chewing) muscle pain. The effects that can precipitate when performing dental procedures on a patient with Lyme disease must also be considered. 1

Symptoms of oral presentations

Symptoms associated with Lyme disease include headache and facial pain that often mimics dental pathology and temporomandibular (such as TMJ) disorders.

Other oral symptoms can be:

  • Dry mouth
  • Tooth sensitivity
  • Pulpitis, or the oral inflammation of dental pulp
  • Bell’s palsy, or partial facial paralysis
  • Cranial nerve palsy may occur in early disseminated disease. Bell’s palsy is a form of usually temporary facial neuropathy resulting from inflammation/damage to the seventh cranial nerve (i.e., facial nerve)
  • Involvement of the saliva producing glands may manifest as brief inflammation of the gland

Getting the right treatment

Because Lyme bacteria resides in the mouth, the disease can cause tooth pain unrelated to cavities or any other dental issues, which might indicate Lyme disease to your dentist. However, the misdiagnosis of any of these symptoms by a dental professional could result in unnecessary procedures, like root canals. Knowing the above oral symptoms can help a patient identify Lyme disease early.

Fortunately, oral symptoms will disappear after a successful treatment. That doesn’t mean you should drop your guard though. Another tick bite could mean another bout of Lyme disease. People who have been bitten by a tick or who live in tick infested regions should take these oral symptoms and other symptoms of Lyme disease seriously.

If a patient is worried about contracting Lyme disease, he/she should visit a medical care provider and dental hygienist to check the mouth for indications of Lyme.

References

  1. Lyme disease: considerations for dentistry. J Orofac Pain. 1996 Winter;10(1):74-86.
  2. Lyme disease awareness for the New Jersey dentist. A survey of orofacial and headache complaints associated with Lyme disease. J N J Dent Assoc. 1998 Winter;69(1):19, 21, 62-3 passim.
  3. Lyme disease: College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario

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**Comment**

Lyme disease is not just an inflammatory disease.  Let us never forget it is bacterial but also often viral, fungal, and parasitical due to the coinfection involvement in many cases.  While these pathogens cause widespread inflammation, it should never be treated solely as inflammatory – which would only be a bandaid on an infectious disease that requires antimicrobials.

Many never go through the three “phases” or “stages” of Lyme or if they do, they can be in any order. The EM rash is often absent.

For more on Lyme and dentistry:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/?s=biological+dentistry

 

 

Category:

Dentistry, Inflammation, Lyme, Treatment

Herxheimer Reactions & Lyme Disease: All You Need to Know

https://www.bca-clinic.de/en/herxheimer-reactions-and-lyme-disease-all-you-need-to-know/

Herxheimer Reactions And Lyme Disease: All You Need To Know

20. May 2019in BCA-clinic

Warm weather brings many opportunities for fun, especially for people who enjoy being outside. Whether it’s hiking, camping, picnicking or simply reading a good book in the garden, the spring and summer months have much to offer in the way of outdoor activities.

But along with opportunities for fun, unfortunately, spending time in nature during the warmer months also brings danger in the form of Lyme disease. This is especially true for people who live in regions where the ticks that carry Lyme infection are common. But Lyme disease has been found on every continent except Antarctica, and cases of Lyme disease are growing at such a high rate that almost anyone who spends a significant amount of time outdoors could be at risk of exposure to Lyme disease.

What is Lyme disease and how is it transmitted?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete (corkscrew-shaped) bacterium named Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacterium is carried by rodents and animals like the white-footed mouse and deer that are the preferred hosts of ticks known as Ixodes, deer or black-legged ticks.

When an Ixodes tick feeds on a creature that’s carrying Borrelia burgdorferi, it becomes infected with the bacterium. An infected tick can then transmit Borrelia burgdorferi to humans through a single bite, causing Lyme infection.

People who contract Lyme disease are often bitten by ticks that are still in their nymphal, or immature, phase. Nymphal ticks are tiny – about the size of a poppy seed – and their bite is usually painless, so many of those who have been bitten by a nymphal tick have no idea.

The chance of Lyme infection being transmitted from an infected tick to a human goes up the longer the tick stays attached, so the tiny size and painless bite of nymphal ticks are frightening factors that can increase infection risk.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

Lyme infection can be separated into two phases: acute and chronic. The acute phase is the preliminary stage of Lyme disease and typically includes the following symptoms:

  • Erythema migrans, an expanding red rash that sometimes resembles a bullseye
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Headaches
  • Neck pain and stiffness
  • Fatigue
  • Joint pain and swelling
  • Weakness and paralysis of facial muscles
  • Lightheadedness and fainting
  • Heart palpitations and chest pain
Neck pain is one of the symptoms of Lyme disease.

If Lyme disease is caught within the first few weeks of infection, it may be effectively treated with antibiotics. But if it’s not properly diagnosed or treatment fails, Lyme disease can progress to the chronic phase. Symptoms of chronic Lyme disease are many and varied, but some of the most common ones are:

  • Joint pain
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle aches
  • Memory loss, trouble concentrating or ‘brain fog’
  • Neuropathy (including nerve pain, numbness, or tingling)
  • Sleep problems
  • Changes in mood
  • Digestive issues

What is a Herxheimer reaction and how is it connected to Lyme disease?

Officially known as a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (and often called a Herx for short), a Herxheimer reaction occurs when the beginning of an antibiotic treatment course causes a spike in the die-off of spirochetal bacteria. It was named after European dermatologists who were the first to observe that symptoms worsened in syphilis patients being treated with mercurial compounds. This exacerbation of symptoms continued to be observed when penicillin became the main treatment for syphilis, usually occurring within the first 24 hours of treatment.

Like syphilis, Lyme disease is caused by a spirochetal bacterium. Herxheimer reactions sometimes happen to patients with Lyme disease when they first begin antibiotic therapy as a result of the Borrelia burgdorferi dying. The die-off causes your body to release proteins called cytokines. While a moderate amount of cytokines can help boost your immune system, too many of them can cause adverse effects.

Although they are sometimes considered a good thing because they indicate that the medication is working to kill Lyme bacteria, Herxheimer reactions can cause patients experiencing them to suddenly feel very poorly. Herxheimer reactions are characterised by a worsening of existing Lyme symptoms like:

  • Inflammation
  • Fatigue
  • Memory impairment and/or brain fog
  • Nerve and muscle pain
  • Chills/sweats

How is a Herxheimer reaction treated?

There’s no question that going through a Herxheimer reaction is difficult, and knowing that it’s a possibility can cause some Lyme patients to delay or even avoid treatment. When they’re already struggling with the symptoms of Lyme disease, the idea of feeling even worse is sometimes unbearable.

Although Herxheimer reactions be a necessary evil when beginning treatment for Lyme disease, there are things you can do to mitigate the damage. Some of the supplements believed to lessen Herxheimer symptoms include:

  • Glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that can help the liver process toxins
  • Activated charcoal, which may remove toxins from the body by binding to them
  • Curcumin, another strong antioxidant that has been shown to reduce inflammation
  • Epsom salts, which are used externally for bathing and contain magnesium sulfate for relaxing muscles and drawing toxins
Bathing in Epsom salts may help with symptoms of a Herxheimer reaction.

Aside from supplements, lifestyle choices like moderate exercise can alleviate the discomfort of Herxheimer reactions. While working out may be the last thing a Lyme patient experiencing a Herxheimer reaction wants to do, exercising stimulates the body’s lymphatic system, allowing more efficient removal of toxins from the body.

A Herxheimer reaction during Lyme disease treatment can make a bad situation worse, but knowing what to expect and how to support the body during this process arms patients and practitioners alike with the information they need to handle the challenge.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/08/15/herxheimer-die-off-reaction-explained/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/26/lyme-herxheimer-reactions-dr-rawls/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/12/06/tips-for-newbies/

https://www.lymedisease.org/lymesci-herxing/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/28/jarisch-herxheimer-a-review/

Enzymes:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/22/systemic-enzymes/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/05/how-proteolytic-enzymes-may-help-lyme-msids/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/24/herbs-habits-to-revive-your-gut/

MSM – another detoxifier, gut support, & inflammation & pain reducer:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/02/dmso-msm-for-lyme-msids/

One of the hardest things to understand about this complex disease(s) is that you feel a whole lot worse before you feel better and this can take considerable time.  Managing the herx is a challenging job.  See links above for ideas.

Category:

Herbs, Inflammation, Lyme, Supplements, Syphilis, Treatment

Breakthrough Paves Way For New Lyme Disease Treatment

https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/2019/06/17/new-lyme-disease-treatment-cure-ticks-virginia/1456187001/

Breakthrough paves way for new Lyme disease treatment

, Staunton News Leader
June 17, 2019 

A Virginia Tech biochemist has discovered the cellular component that contributes to Lyme arthritis, a debilitating and extremely painful condition that is the most common late stage symptom of Lyme disease, a press release said.

According to the release from Virginia Tech, the biochemist, Brandon Jutras, found that as the Lyme-causing bacteria borrelia burgdorferi multiplies, it sheds a cellular component called peptidoglycan that elicits a unique inflammatory response in the body.

“This discovery will help researchers improve diagnostic tests and may lead to new treatment options for patients suffering with Lyme arthritis,” said Jutras, lead author on the study. “This is an important finding and we think that it has major implications for many manifestations of Lyme disease, not just Lyme arthritis.”

Lyme disease is the most reported vector-borne disease in the country, and in Virginia reports have increased by more than 6,000 percent in the last fifteen years. The Centers for Disease Control, estimates that approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease annually in the United States. Scientists predict that the number of people who become infected Lyme will increase as our climate continues to change.

Jutras — an assistant professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an affiliated faculty member of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute — and his collaborators recently published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

According to the release, the PNAS paper was four years in the making, and Jutras began this research during his post-doctoral fellowship in the lab of Christine Jacobs-Wagner, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor at Yale University.

“Nowadays nothing significant in science is accomplished without collaboration,” said Jutras. Co-authors on this paper ranged from bench scientists to medical doctors and practicing physicians. Dr. Allen Steere, a Harvard doctor who originally identified Lyme disease in the 1970s, assisted Jutras with his research and provided access to patient samples.

The research could provide a new way to diagnose Lyme disease and Lyme arthritis for patients with vague symptoms based on the presence of the cellular component called peptidoglycan in synovial fluid.

Read: Every spot in Virginia is a hotspot for ticks

The press release said, the team found peptidoglycan is a major contributor to Lyme arthritis in late-stage Lyme disease patients. Peptidoglycan is an essential component of bacterial cell walls. All bacteria have some form of peptidoglycan, but the form found in the bacteria that causes Lyme, borrelia burgdorferi, has a unique chemical structure. When the bacteria multiply, they shed peptidoglycan into the extracellular environment, because its genome does not have the appropriate proteins to recycle it back into the cell.

“We can actually detect peptidoglycan in the synovial fluid of the affected, inflamed joints of patients that have all the symptoms of Lyme arthritis but no longer have an obvious, active infection,” said Jutras in the release.

Peptidoglycan elicits an inflammatory response and the molecule persists in the synovial fluid, which means that our bodies continue to respond, without mounting a counter response.

Receptors in our immune system sense bacterial products and, depending on the individual’s genetic predispositions, may determine how strongly a patient’s body reacts to peptidoglycan.

The next phase of Jutras’ work is to use methods to destroy the peptidoglycan, or intervene to prevent a response, which could get rid of Lyme disease symptoms. According to the release, Jutras predicts that with either therapy patients would start recovering sooner.

Breakthrough paves way for new Lyme disease treatment, as discussed in this video provided by Virginia Tech. Video provided by Virginia Tech, Staunton News Leader

Clinical samples included in this study were obtained from patients that had confirmed cases of Lyme disease under the guidelines of the CDC, but virtually all did not respond to oral and/or intravenous antibiotic treatment, the release said. The presence of peptidoglycan in these patients’ synovial fluids may explain why some people experience symptoms of late stage Lyme disease in the absence of an obvious infection. In this case, the usual antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease would no longer be helpful, but this discovery might provide avenues for new treatments, the press release said.

Members of the Jacobs-Wagner lab purified the peptidoglycan and removed all other bacterial components and asked: is peptidoglycan all on its own capable of causing arthritis in a mouse model?

According to the release, within 24 hours post-injection, mice presented with dramatic joint inflammation, indicating that peptidoglycan can cause arthritis.

Jutras is continuing his research at Virginia Tech on peptidoglycan by more thoroughly studying its chemical composition to determine how it is able to persist in the human body. This will also help further the understanding of how this bacterial product contributes to other manifestations of Lyme disease.

“We are interested in understanding everything associated with how patients respond, how we can prevent that response, and how we could possibly intervene with blocking therapies or therapies that eliminate the molecule entirely,” Jutras said.

__________________
**Comment**
This article brings up more questions than answers.
1) Were these patients used for this study truly treated appropriately to begin with?  For example, was the mono-therapy of doxycycline only used for a short period of time?  This treatment has been shown again and again to have treatment failures from the beginning of time. For examples of effective treatment:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/  In a nutshell, effective treatment takes into account pleomorphism, polymmcrobialism, and biofilm. Doxy alone will not do these things.
2) Would an anti-peptidoglycan treatment only be a bandaid covering up a systemic infection? Everything I know about borrelia would answer a resounding “yes,” to this question.  While that may not be a bad thing, we must be honest about what the treatment’s really doing as well as the fact borrelia can persist in the human body, something The Cabal isn’t admitting at this point. Again, we truly need to end this Lyme War and according to microbiologist Tom Grier, that isn’t going to happen until post mortem studies are completed:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/13/chronic-lyme-post-mortem-study-needed-to-end-the-lyme-wars/ Isn’t it a bit ironic that The Cabal is just fine with creating a patentable drug but NOT fine with doing the proper science that would put all of this to rest?
3) Bandaids on symptoms are used all the time to lesson pain and other symptoms; however, they shouldn’t be used at the expense of true, effective treatment for a systemic infection that’s relapsing in nature. In the case of Lyme disease, that would simply mean long-term antimicrobials. While I do not know the study parameters used here my guess would be the treatment that “didn’t work” was the mono-therapy of doxycycline which certainly doesn’t work for many coinfections such as Babesia, as well as the fact Eva Sapi has shown it to push the spirochete into the noncell wall form invitro:  https://www.dovepress.com/evaluation-of-in-vitro-antibiotic-susceptibility-of-different-morpholo-peer-reviewed-article-IDR
Just this year another study was done about it by Caskey et al.:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31057493
In a nutshell, using an anti-peptidoglycan without tandem antimicrobials could allow an infection to worsen over time to cause refractory (unmanageable) disease in patients.

This same thing can happen to Lyme/MSIDS patients who have been given catabolic steroids such as prednisone for inflammation.  Without tandem antimicrobials to continue a full-court press on pathogens, the steroids dampen the immune system and allow the pathogens to strengthen. Ask any ILADS trained doctor and they will say the same.  For an example:  http://danielcameronmd.com/steroid-use-can-lead-long-term-treatment-failure-lyme-disease-patients/  Excerpt: 

Treatment failures were found in Lyme arthritic patients who were treated with intramuscular (IM) benzathine penicillin following steroids. [3]

In another study, two patients were ill for 3 years and one patient for 6 years despite receiving intravenous (IV) ceftriaxone. The authors explained, “Patients unresponsive to ceftriaxone were more likely to have received corticosteroid treatment.” Dattwyler et al. from Stony Brook Medical Center found an “association of steroid use with an increased failure rate or worsening of disease is understandable in view of the well-known effects of these agents on the inflammatory and immune responses.”

Dattwyler advised against the use of steroids in Lyme disease patients based on these two studies. “In view of the strong association between the use of steroids and the lack of response to antibiotic therapy, we believe that glucocorticoids should not be used in the treatment of Lyme borreliosis.” [2]

This article highlights yet again the importance of needing the right research to be done. The Cabal continues full-steam ahead doing research built upon false premises that could hurt patients in the end.

 

Category:

Inflammation, Lyme, research, Treatment

What You Need to Know About Neuralgia Caused by Lyme/MSIDS

Many Lyme/MSIDS patients suffer with neuralgia, a twenty dollar word for pain due to irritated or damaged nerves. The following articles do a great job explaining it. I was elated to see that the first article written this month attributes Lyme disease to causing it, along with other infections. My guess is Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma, Brucella, and possibly other tick-borne illnesses, including viruses, could all play a part. Because the CDC/NIH/IDSA do not accept the fact this is often times a polymicrobial illness (infected with far more than just Lyme), and many of the coinfections are not reportable, authorities have absolutely no idea about prevalence.  

My guess is there are many diagnosed with neuralgia that have an undiagnosed Lyme/MSIDS infection.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325331.php

What to know about neuralgia

Last reviewed
By Jamie Eske
Reviewed by
Neuralgia refers to severe, shooting pain that occurs due to a damaged or irritated nerve. Neuralgia can affect any part of the body, causing mild to severe pain. Certain medications and surgical procedures can effectively treat neuralgia.
Severe neuralgia can interfere with a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks and may impact their quality of life.
Neuralgia has many possible causes, including:
  • infections, such as shingles, Lyme disease, or HIV
  • pressure on nerves from bones, blood vessels, or tumors
  • other medical conditions, such as kidney disease or diabetes
  • aging

    Types of neuralgia

    Healthcare professionals divide neuralgia into categories depending on the areas of the body it affects. The following are some common types of neuralgia:

    Trigeminal neuralgia

    Woman experiencing headache and neuralgia in face holding glass of water in pain

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) involves the trigeminal nerve in the head. It has three branches that send signals from the brain to the face, mouth, teeth, and nose.

TN falls into two subdivisions: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 TN causes a painful burning or electric shock-like sensation in parts of the face. People with type 1 TN experience irregular episodes that come on suddenly.

The duration of these episodes varies among people but can last up to 2 minutes, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Type 2 TN produces a constant, dull aching sensation in the face.

The exact cause of TN remains unclear. However, pressure from an enlarged blood vessel can irritate or even damage the trigeminal nerve.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can give rise to TN. MS is a neurological disorder that causes inflammation that damages the myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibers in the central nervous system.

Postherpetic neuralgia

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a painful condition that affects the nerves in the skin.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PHN is the most common complication of shingles, affecting about 10–13% of people who develop it.

Shingles is a viral infection that causes blisters and a painful skin rash. The varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, remains dormant in the nervous system and reactivates later in life, causing shingles.

When the virus reactivates, it can cause inflammation in the nerve fibers. This inflammation can lead to permanent nerve damage that causes pain, even after the infection subsides.

Occipital neuralgia

This form of neuralgia affects the occipital nerves, which originate in the neck and send signals to the back of the head.

Occipital neuralgia causes a throbbing or shooting pain that starts near the base of the skull and radiates along the scalp. Occipital neuralgia pain can flow to the back of the eyes.

Occipital neuralgia has numerous potential causes, including:

  • sudden head movements
  • tense neck muscles
  • lesions or tumors in the neck
  • inflamed blood vessels
  • infections
  • gout
  • diabetes
  • neck injuries

Peripheral neuralgia

Difficulty eating or swallowing are potential symptoms of peripheral neuralgia.

 

Peripheral neuralgia, or peripheral neuropathy, refers to pain that occurs due to nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system. This includes all nerve fibers outside of the brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral neuralgia can affect a single nerve or entire nerve groups.

Sustaining damage to the peripheral nervous system can affect nerves that control muscle movements, transmit sensory information, and regulate internal organs.

Peripheral neuralgia can cause pain or numbnessin the hands, feet, arms, and legs. Other symptoms may include:

  • involuntary muscle twitching or cramping
  • loss of coordination
  • difficulty performing complex motor tasks, such as buttoning a shirt or tying shoelaces
  • hypersensitivity to touch or temperature
  • excess sweating
  • gastrointestinal problems
  • difficulty eating or swallowing
  • difficulty speaking

Intercostal neuralgia

Intercostal neuralgia affects the nerves that sit just below the ribs. Doctors call the muscles in this area the intercostal muscles.

Several potential factors may contribute to intercostal neuralgia, such as:

  • injuries or surgical procedures that involve the chest
  • pressure on the nerves
  • shingles or other viral infections

Intercostal neuralgia causes a sharp, burning pain that affects the chest wall, upper abdomen, and upper back. Certain physical movements, such as breathing, coughing, or laughing, can worsen the pain.

Additional symptoms may include:

  • tightness or pressure that wraps around the chest
  • tingling or numbness in the upper chest or upper back
  • muscle twitching
  • loss of appetite

Diabetic neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy is the most common complication of diabetes. Because diabetes affects so many people, rates of peripheral neuropathy are now beginning to rise.

Symptoms include loss of balance and numbness, tingling, and pain. The best way to prevent diabetic neuropathy is to bring blood sugar levels within a suitable range.

 

Symptoms

In general, neuralgia causes intense and distinct symptoms, including:

  • sudden episodes of extreme shooting or stabbing pain that follows the path of a damaged or irritated nerve
  • persistent aching or burning pain
  • tingling or numbness
  • muscle weakness
  • loss of muscle mass, or atrophy
  • involuntary muscle twitching or cramping

 

Treatments

Treatment options for neuralgia vary depending on the type and severity of the condition.

Topical ointments, local nerve block, and steroid injections may offer temporary pain relief for mild neuralgia.

Treating severe neuralgia pain may require prescription medications, surgical procedures, or both.

Medications

A doctor may prescribe medication to treat neuralgia.

  • anticonvulsants, such as carbamazepine, topiramate, and lamotrigine
  • antidepressants, such as amitriptyline
  • muscle relaxants, such as baclofen
  • membrane-stabilizing medications, such as gabapentin

Surgery

Some surgical procedures can help relieve neuralgia pain when the condition does not respond to medication.

Examples of surgical procedures that can help treat neuralgia include:

  • Microvascular decompression: This helps remove an enlarged blood vessel pressing on a nerve. The procedure involves placing a soft pad between the blood vessel and the affected nerve.
  • Stereotactic surgery: This is a noninvasive procedure that delivers highly concentrated radiation beams to the root of a damaged nerve. The radiation disrupts the transmission of pain signals to the brain.
  • Balloon compression: This involves inserting a small balloon into the affected nerve. The balloon inflates, resulting in controlled, intentional nerve damage. This procedure prevents the affected nerve from sending pain signals to the brain. However, the effects of the procedure usually wear off after 1–2 years.

 

Outlook and takeaway

Neuralgia causes painful symptoms that vary in duration and severity. As well as pain, neuralgia can cause numbness, muscle weakness, and hypersensitivity.

If a person does not receive treatment, neuralgia can interfere with their ability to perform daily tasks.

People can work with a healthcare provider to establish the best course of treatment for their specific symptoms. If the condition does not respond to initial treatments, a healthcare provider may refer the person to a pain management specialist.

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**Comment**

They don’t list antimicrobial treatment as a treatment for this, but it is. Again, if Lyme/MSIDS is behind it, the only thing that’s going to squash this pain at the root is to eradicate the pathogens behind it.  Nothing touched this pain for me but long-term antimicrobials.  While some of the listed treatments may help, they are bandaids. I talk more about this further down.  Keep reading….

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320143.php

What you need to know about occipital neuralgia

Last reviewed
By Danielle Dresden
Reviewed by
Occipital neuralgia is the term for a headache that starts in the upper neck or back of the head and spreads or radiates behind the eyes, forehead, and up to the scalp.

 

Headaches are one the world’s most common health problems, with 80-90 percent of Americans experiencing a “tension headache” at some point in their lives.

More painful migraine, cluster, and other headaches are a leading cause of doctor or emergency room visits.

Although headaches are a common health problem, occipital neuralgia is a specific type of headache. According to the American Migraine Foundation, it is also rare, affecting only 3.2 people out of every 100,000 a year.

Fast facts on occipital neuralgia:
  • It is called occipital because it affects the area around the occipital bone.
  • Pain associated with occipital neuralgia is often sudden and severe.
  • Symptoms can be alarming, but they are not usually associated with any life-threatening health conditions.

How is it different from other headaches?

man holding the back of his neck

 

Headaches due to occipital neuralgia are frequently quite painful, starting with a sharp, stabbing pain, but most people with this condition respond well to treatment and most recover.

Occipital neuralgia is different from other types of headaches in two ways:

  1. The cause of the condition.
  2. The specific places where individuals feel pain.

Other headaches have more general causes, which can range from sinus infections to high blood pressure to medications and many other potential triggers.

But occipital neuralgia only develops when the occipital nerves are irritated or injured. These nerves are found at the second and third vertebrae of the neck.

Occipital neuralgia pain will only develop in areas touched by the greater, lesser, and third occipital nerves.

With one on each side of the head, the occipital nerves run from the spine to the scalp, and sensitivity can develop anywhere along this route.

What is causing this headache?

What is causing this headache?
There are many types of headache, learn more about them and their most effective remedies here.

What are the main symptoms?

lady touching side of face whilst lying in bed

 

For most people, the pain strikes on only one side of the head. It also tends to spread, usually from where the skull meets the neck, and then traveling up the back of the head and to the sides or behind the eyes.

In many individuals, the scalp can be affected, especially where the occipital nerves connect.

It can feel sore or extremely sensitive.

Light may also irritate the eyes.

Occipital neuralgia is described as coming in bursts of pain that come and go, lasting for a few seconds or minutes. At times, individuals may experience a lingering ache between more extreme bouts of pain.

Small movements can trigger an outburst of pain from occipital neuralgia. These movements include:

  • turning the head to the side
  • putting the head down on a pillow
  • brushing or washing the hair

The pain can be quite intense, which can prompt some individuals with the condition to say it is like a migraine or a cluster headache, even though these are different types and require different treatments.

What causes it?

Different conditions and circumstances can irritate the occipital nerves, which then give rise to occipital neuralgia.

Injury

Injuries to the neck area, such as whiplash from a car accident or some other sort of trauma, can damage the occipital nerves and lead to this condition.

Muscular problems

Tight muscles in the neck and the back of the head can put the squeeze on occipital nerves and pinch or entrap them, which can also lead to occipital neuralgia.

Back issues

Problems with the spine, such as arthritis, degenerating discs, or spondylosis, are possible sources of pressure on the occipital nerves, as are tumors.

Other causes

Other conditions that can play a role in developing occipital neuralgia include:

In many cases, it is not possible for someone to identify a single factor that damaged or irritated the occipital nerves.

How is it diagnosed?

doctor examining women's head and neck

 

A doctor taking a medical history and conducting a physical exam diagnoses occipital neuralgia.

This condition causes extreme tenderness along the occipital nerves. So, during a physical exam, the doctor may press on these areas to see if the pressure generates pain.

It is not always easy to diagnose occipital neuralgia because it has similar characteristics to many other kinds of headaches.

After initial exams, a doctor may order more involved tests.

One way to diagnose occipital neuralgia can also provide relief.

If a nerve block injected between the C2 and C3 vertebrae makes the symptoms go away, it is a strong indication of occipital neuralgia.

Deadening the nerves with anesthetics and corticosteroids helps individuals feel better, although the effects are temporary, only lasting about 12 weeks. However, injections into the vertebrae and numbing nerves are involved procedures, so a doctor will often pursue less invasive treatments first.

Can it be prevented?

For some people, antiepileptic medications and tricyclic antidepressants can prevent bouts of pain due to occipital neuralgia.

Treatments

Doctors will usually recommend straightforward treatments when individuals are first diagnosed with occipital neuralgia. These include:

The aim is to provide many people with relief by relaxing and releasing the muscles that are putting pressure on the occipital nerves.

Other medications, such as muscle relaxants and anticonvulsants, can help offset symptoms.

Nerve blockers

Nerve-blocking injections, which are used to diagnose the condition, can also be used to prevent pain.

Pulsed radiofrequency

Pulsed radiofrequency may be employed to stimulate the occipital nerves to keep them from sending pain signals. Although this procedure is more invasive than massage and medication, it does not damage any nerves or nearby tissue.

Surgery

Surgery is reserved for the most painful and difficult cases. Through a process called microvascular decompression, doctors eliminate pressure on the nerves by moving encroaching blood vessels out of the way.

Home remedies

Home remedies can do a lot to relieve the pain when tight muscles, injury, and stress cause occipital neuralgia.

Rest, massage, and warm compresses can help individuals work out the kinks that are creating pressure in their necks.

Physical therapy can help individuals work through the crisis phase of their occipital neuralgia and provide them with exercises they can do to prevent a recurrence of this painful condition.

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**Comment**

Again, they don’t state that proper antimicrobials addressing the systemic infection causing this as a treatment, but it is.  And for Lyme/MSIDS patients, it’s an extremely important treatment because as I stated before, all the others are mere bandaids.

This occipital neuralgia was my Achilles Heel and thorn in my side for years due to Lyme/MSIDS. I even had a MRI to rule out Chiari, which can be the result of a systemic infection.  I met 3 people in the same week with a Lyme/MSIDS diagnosis who also had Chiari:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/02/chiari/

One of the best drugs for me was minocycline, due to its ability to cross the blood, brain barrier:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/04/minocycline-for-ms-and-much-more/

I’m certain there are plenty more patients with this symptom who have an undiagnosed Lyme/MSIDS infection.

Home remedies wouldn’t touch this pain with a 10 foot pole, much less NSAIDS.  I would caution the use of corticosteroids as these will suppress your immune system. The caveat would be if you are on an antimicrobial regimen and your practitioner is monitoring you.  I also caution the use of NSAIDS as taking massive doses of Ibuprofen about shut my husband’s liver down.

This pain may be the person’s first acknowledged symptom of Lyme/MSIDS.  Often men will suffer and self medicate and deny a real problem.  This is where spouses, friends, and family need to be educated about the possibility of a tick borne illness so they can mention it to the suffering person. If you are popping NSIDS like candy, something’s wrong.  Getting them to an open-minded, trained practitioner who will consider tick borne illness is your next job.  Contact your local support group for a list of ILADS-trained doctors.

Also, this pain for me radiated to the right side of my head from the occipital area to the right temple. There were times my right shoulder was involved with pain and numbness going all the way down my arm into my right pinkie finger.  The finger would also move on its own.  This can happen anywhere in the body.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321513.php

The following neurological conditions may be responsible for headaches on one side:

  • Occipital neuralgia: This occurs when nerves running from the top of the spinal cord to the scalp (occipital nerves) become damaged or inflamed. Symptoms include sharp pain in the back of the head and neck, pain behind the eye, and sensitivity to light.
  • Temporal arteritis: Arteries in the head and neck become inflamed with temporal arteritis. Along with muscle pain, it causes a severe headache on the side of the head. Other symptoms include fatigue, jaw pain, and tender temples.
  • Trigeminal neuralgia: This causes intense pain in the face and head. The pain usually affects only one side at a time. It is caused by disruption to the trigeminal nerve at the base of the brain.
Lyme/MSIDS infections can be behind all of this.  Spread the word.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Inflammation, Lyme, Pain Management, research, Treatment

What To Do When You Hit a Plateau In Treatment

https://globallymealliance.org/hit-plateau-treatment/?

By Kerry Heckman

My numbers won’t budge. Every month I go in for a blood test and every month I get an email from my doctor stating that my inflammatory markers are the same. The numbers are not so high to cause a panic, but they’re not low enough to signal any real improvement either. I’ve tried everything from meditation to medication, but nothing seems to work. Each month I pray the numbers will drop and I’m devastated when month after month they stay the same.

I’ve put in all the work; there’s been no stinting. I’ve been in treatment for three years. I’ve changed my lifestyle, my diet, and most difficult of all, my mindset. But I keep coming up short. There’s no doubt I’m better. My bedridden days are mostly in the past, and the pain that keeps me up at night (painsomnia, I call it) happens once or twice week instead of every day. Another marker of my improvement is after treatment my herxheimer reactions are greatly diminished. These are positive trends, but still I am not where I want to be. I want clinical proof that my recovery is real. I want to know unequivocally that I’m heading toward remission. I’ve  been at this dreaded plateau for months waiting to break free. I anxiously await the day when my inflammatory markers take a dramatic drop.

Your plateau may be different than mine. Maybe you, too, made big improvements in the beginning and now it’s tapering off, or maybe you’re stuck waiting for any minuscule improvement at all. Either way the lack of progress may be the hardest thing to bear.

All this was weighing heavily on me. Then one day I started thinking about actual plateaus in nature. Consider for a moment you are climbing up a mountain and reach a plateau. You’ve done the grueling work of going up the mountain and now you are walking on level ground. You are still moving forward, that hasn’t changed, but you’re not increasing your elevation. Maybe that’s what plateaus are in treatment—a leveling off that doesn’t feel like progress, because you aren’t climbing anymore. But you have achieved an incremental improvement in your recovery.

This bit of visualization changed the way I thought about my lack of headway, though  there were still some questions I needed to ask myself— questions you may need to  ask yourself as well:

Q: Have I really plateaued or is my progress just going slowly?

A: With Lyme disease the improvement can be slow . . . very slow. As they say, any progress is good progress. If you feel comfortable with your treatment protocol, you may need to practice patience and remember you are getting better. However, sometimes the progress is too slow and even if there is incremental improvement you may want talk to your doctor about exploring ways to speed up your treatment plan.

Q: Have you hit a plateau before? What helped jumpstart my healing?

A: If this has happened before, what was it that made the difference? Maybe it’s a new supplement or an increased dose of medication. Maybe your thyroid or adrenals are out of balance and need attention. Try to remember back to what helped you before and try it again. It may help to keep a journal about what you think is and isn’t working for you.

Q: Do I need to change my treatment or ride it out?

A: As I said, with Lyme getting better takes time. Ask yourself if you think your current treatment plan is sufficient to to get you better. This is a good place to use your intuition. If you feel skeptical every time you meet with your doctor that might be your body telling you something.

Q: If I plan to stay the course when will I know it’s time to adjust?

A: Give yourself a timeline—six months, nine months—for when you want to reevaluate. Verbalize your timeline to your doctor, so she or he knows what you’re thinking. Ask if there is a test that can be run at that time to compare where you were before to where you are now.

Q: Am I testing too often?

A: If you’re like me and your numbers aren’t budging, maybe it’s time to put more space between tests. This depends naturally on what is medically advisable. But I I did realize that the constant testing was causing me frequent disappointments, which weren’t good for my healing. I have since decided to go from once a month to once every other month for my bloodwork and focus on other things in the meantime.

Q: Is there something else I could do to move forward?

A: A plateau is the perfect time to reevaluate your habits. Perhaps it’s time to add more nutrients to your diet or increase detox. Have you always wanted to try a complementary therapy? Now may be the time. Or are there other options?

Q: Is this a good time for a healing pause?

A: Have no doubts, recovery from Lyme treatment is a full-time job. It seems like there’s always something else you can try, but is that the best thing for your body? This could be an indication that it’s time to take a break from all the intensity and let your body rest at the top of the mountain.

Take some time and ask yourself these questions. Get quiet and let your intuition speak. There are few doctors, medications, or therapies that can give us as much insight as our own common sense. Remember the image of the mountain and keep walking forward on the level ground of the plateau—the uphill slope may be only a few steps ahead.

kerry heckman

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own.

Kerry J. Heckman is a licensed therapist and author of the healing and wellness blog Words Heal. She was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in 2016.

 

 

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**Comment**

Great article to begin meaningful dialogue.

  1.  Not sure what tests she keeps having done but I’ve heard mixed opinions about the CD-57 test which some docs swear by and others like my own say it’s a general, very basic indicator of immunity and unless you have the number before you were sick and then taken at regular intervals throughout treatment, it’s just a number. https://www.tiredoflyme.com/cd57.html
  2. Inflammation is a definite bad-boy.  One thing I discovered to eventually help me was MSM; however, I didn’t notice the help taking it while in treatment, only after treatment did it seem to really crush pain and inflammation:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/02/dmso-msm-for-lyme-msids/.  This article also shows it’s good for the gut:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/01/03/the-invisible-universe-of-the-human-microbiome-msm/
  3. Another thing that helped this inflammation/pain for me was systemic enzymes: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/22/systemic-enzymes/  There are many brands out there.  You might have to try a few to find one that works. I’ve tried different variations of Wobenzym as well as a brand my doctor sells. (I’m not affiliated with any companies)
  4. LDN was also a game changer:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/12/18/ldn/ I use a compounded form with only olive oil as an additive.
  5. For many, Lyme/MSIDS causes imbalances and deficiencies in the body. Finding out what those are and supplementing can make all the difference.  For instance, most patients struggle with thyroid dysfunction (as well as other hormones) and magnesium deficiency (magnesium can help depression and 1,000 other things):  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/01/16/magnesium-an-invisible-deficiency/ (In the comment section I give the kind my LLMD sells in his office and it’s been particularly successful. Again – no monies are exchanging hands)  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/12/the-importance-of-vitamin-d-k-and-magnesium-for-lyme-msids-patients/ Most of us Northerners are deficient in vitamin D.
  6. I’ll never forget the ranger in the documentary, “Under Our Skin,” state that he never could have imagined that his greatest improvement would come AFTER three years of treatment.  This has been my experience and my husband’s as well.  I must add that after 4.5 years of treatment for us, and two relapses requiring 2-3 month stints of treatment, we got better EACH TIME we treated. This very well could be the “cycling” approached discussed by Dr. Burrascano here:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/28/the-history-of-lyme-disease-dr-burrascano/  In brief:  he found that cycling 3-4 times typically worked for most patients. Ironically, the 3rd cycle yielded the worst herx.  Pam Weintraub wrote about this in, “Cure Unknown:  Inside the Lyme Disease Epidemic,” way back in the 90’s, yet few doctors do this. Cycling just means that after you are symptom-free for 2-3 months you quit ALL treatment.  If and when symptoms return, you hit hard with antibiotics until symptoms leave again. You do this 3-4 times.  Burrascano states his symptoms never returned and many of his patients had the same experience.
  7. Sometimes diet has made all the difference for some patients – like cutting out gluten or dairy or both. For some, herbs or treatments for inflammation made all the difference or help with sleep.  I’ve also known patients who got better only after they treated for worms/parasites: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/03/removing-parasites-to-fix-lyme-chronic-illnesses-dr-jay-davidson/
  8. When I hit a plateau after years of treatment yet still had symptoms, I called another LLMD I knew and asked if he’d be willing to do a phone consultation with me, not as a treating physician, but as a second ear to hear what I’ve done to give me ideas for any omissions he saw. That phone call was worth every penny as he carefully listened to what I’d done and gave me ideas for things to try.  Very helpful. I then took that knowledge to my LLMD and he was smart enough to implement them at my request based on another experienced practitioner’s wisdom.
  9. Lastly, I’ve found surrounding myself with experienced patients and doctors to be extremely helpful. You learn a lot by sharing your experiences and always come away with something you haven’t tried before.  Don’t let this information bog you down. Only try 1 thing at a time so you can track any changes. Support Group is a great place to do this.  Always run things by your practitioner as there might be drug interactions or things you need to consider or can’t try at all based on your specific issues/drug interactions.
I’ve learned the most from patients who are on the same journey. Don’t isolate yourself.

Category:

diet and nutrition, Gut Health, Inflammation, Lyme, Pain Management, Treatment