Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

Prior Trauma May Worsen Symptom Severity of Lyme Disease

https://danielcameronmd.com/trauma-worsen-symptom-severity-lyme-disease/

Prior trauma may worsen symptom severity of Lyme disease

trauma-lyme-disease

Lyme disease can lead to severe symptoms in some individuals. In their study, “Psychological factors in the prediction of Lyme disease course,” Mustafiz and colleagues examined whether prior trauma may worsen the severity of symptoms for Lyme disease. [1]

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The authors cited earlier research by Solomon and colleagues on the role of prior trauma in Lyme disease.²  “The investigators noted that patients who reported a higher number of lifetime traumatic events (i.e., a higher trauma score) at initial presentation were more likely to report a painful, disabling symptom course at follow-up.”

Mustafiz and colleagues described the history of prior trauma in 60 individuals with Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS). Twenty-five patients met the criteria for highly probable PTLDS and 35 for definite PTLDS.

PTLDS is a term used to describe individuals who fail initial treatment for Lyme disease and remain ill with impaired cognitive function, pain, fatigue, and poor function.

The history of trauma life events was assessed by The Trauma History Screen (THS). “This self-report assesses exposure to 14 types of high-magnitude stressor events that could be traumatic (e.g., natural disasters, sexual or physical abuse, military trauma, loss of a loved one),” wrote the authors.²

They observed that prior trauma may worsen symptom severity of Lyme disease on every measure except for pain and fatigue. “A greater number of traumatic events were significantly associated with greater symptom severity on the scales of mood (stress, depression, and anxiety), cognition, multisystem symptom burden, and functional status (mental and physical), but not on measures of pain and fatigue,” wrote the authors.

“The investigators concluded that traumatic psychologic experiences predating disease onset may play an important etiologic role in symptom severity for chronic conditions like Lyme disease.”¹

The impact of prior trauma on the symptom severity of Lyme disease was modest. Therefore, the authors suspected that other factors were responsible for the symptom severity of Lyme disease. “These factors range from characteristics of the Borrelia strain to the biological characteristics and clinical history of the human host.”

Editor’s note: Some doctors have used PTLDS for individuals with Lyme disease who remain ill despite antibiotic treatment. I have not used the term PTLDS until they have a validated test to rule out a persistent infection.

References:
  1. Mustafiz F, Moeller J, Kuvaldina M, Bennett C, Fallon BA. Persistent Symptoms, Lyme Disease, and Prior Trauma. J Nerv Ment Dis. May 1 2022;210(5):359-364. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000001452
  2. Solomon SP, Hilton E, Weinschel BS, Pollack S, Grolnick E. Psychological factors in the prediction of Lyme disease course. Arthritis Care Res. Oct 1998;11(5):419-26. doi:10.1002/art.1790110514

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**Comment**

I have seen this personally with patients and it’s an important aspect to consider.  For far too long we have separated the mental & spiritual from the physical when they are all interconnected. 

I also appreciate Dr. Cameron’s refusal to call these PTLDS patients until there is a validated test to rule out persistent infection because that is also crucial to address – persistent infection(s).

Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research

Tick-borne Diseases & Coinfection: Current Considerations

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877959X20304775

Tick-borne diseases and co-infection: Current considerations

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101607Get rights and content

Abstract

Over recent years, a multitude of pathogens have been reported to be tick-borne. Given this, it is unsurprising that these might co-exist within the same tick, however our understanding of the interactions of these agents both within the tick and vertebrate host remains poorly defined. Despite the rich diversity of ticks, relatively few regularly feed on humans, 12 belonging to argasid and 20 ixodid species, and literature on co-infection is only available for a few of these species. The interplay of various pathogen combinations upon the vertebrate host and tick vector represents a current knowledge gap. The impact of co-infection in humans further extends into diagnostic challenges arising when multiple pathogens are encountered and we have little current data upon which to make therapeutic recommendations for those with multiple infections. Despite these short-comings, there is now increasing recognition of co-infections and current research efforts are providing valuable insights into dynamics of pathogen interactions whether they facilitate or antagonize each other. Much of this existing data is focussed upon simultaneous infection, however the consequences of sequential infection also need to be addressed. To this end, it is timely to review current understanding and highlight those areas still to address.

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**Comment**

Timely is an understatement.  Long over due is more appropriate.

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Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks

Mum Who Thought She Had Dementia for 29 Years Discovers She Has Lyme Disease

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-who-thought-dementia-

Mum who thought she had dementia for 29 years discovers she has Lyme disease

By Rosaleen Fenton Deputy Features Editor

Updated 12 May 2022

Mum-of-three Pauline Bowie, 54, suffered brain fog, headaches, muscle pain, carpal tunnel, and was even wetting herself after being bitten by a tick in America in 1989.

A teacher who feared she had dementia has told how she was diagnosed with Lyme disease after nearly 30 years.

She begged NHS doctors to take her symptoms seriously but they were repeatedly stumped for answers until she took matters into her own hands.

It wasn’t until Pauline sent blood samples to Armin labs in Germany in 2018 that she was finally given the diagnosis of Lyme disease, after being bitten by a tick in America in 1989.

The condition, a bacterial infection transmitted through ticks, can cause serious problems and attack the nervous system if left untreated.

Pauline had battled her illness for almost 30 years before getting antibiotics which cured all her agonising symptoms away in just four weeks.
She was prescribed 28 days of doxycycline which cleared her symptoms, but after treatment stopped they returned.

(See link for article)

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**Comment**

Forty years after Lyme was “discovered” people still struggle with a similar fate: undiagnosis and stumped doctors.  Isn’t it about time for this to change?

The article states she was “cured” from all her ailments by using antibiotics in only 4 weeks, but when you read the article closely it states that after she relapsed she was treated for TWO YEARS with a combination of metronidazole and rife.  When I talk to Lyme old-timers they state metro used to be standard treatment but is completely forgotten or denied by mainstream medicine now.  This is unfortunate.  This article highlights Dr. Eva Sapi’s work showing:

Metronidazole led to reduction of spirochetal structures by ~90% and round body forms by ~80%. Tigecycline and tinidazole treatment reduced both spirochetal and round body forms by ~80%–90%.
In terms of qualitative effects, only tinidazole reduced viable organisms by ~90%. Following treatment with the other antibiotics, viable organisms were detected in 70%–85% of the biofilm-like colonies.

Metro is known for significant blow-back whereas tinidazole seems to be less prone to this.  It is what my husband and I pulsed for the ENTIRE DURATION OF TREATMENT of FIVE YEARS.  I scream that out so there is no doubt this sucker is hard to treat and takes far more than what is being given.  I ALWAYS herxed with tindy.  ALWAYS. 

A few points:

  • She felt she was losing her mind.  This is perhaps one of the toughest aspects of this illness but rarely talked about or acknowledged by corrupt mainstream medicine and public health ‘authorities.’
  • Unlike many, she actually had flu-like symptoms AND the bullseye rash. She should have been treated immediately as the rash is diagnostic for Lyme.  No testing required.
  • Some bone-head diagnosed her with ring-worm.  You seriously can’t make this stuff up.
  • Similarly to so many patients, she saw a slew of different doctors but nobody helped her.  This continues hows me three things:
  • She didn’t hear about Lyme until 2018 when she sent her own blood to Germany.  I’ve often heard this described as the “do it yourself disease.”  Mainstream medicine should be embarrassed.
  • She was prescribed 28 days of doxycycline which helped but symptoms returned once she went off the drug.  This is very, very common and only proves that the CDC monotherapy is rarely sufficient.
  • If she suffers a relapse she is given  antibiotics, but is currently enjoying remission and spends most of her days pain-free.  This also proves the point that many will manage this disease for life, and many will never be completely “cured.”  That’s not to say treatment doesn’t make all the difference in the world, but we need to be realistic about the fact this is a chronic/persistent disease for many.  If antibiotics didn’t still work for her, or the thousands of us in Lymeland, we wouldn’t take them – further proving that antibiotics can be extremely beneficial.  
  • Further proving this is a ‘do it yourself’ disease, this patient now treats herself – as so many do.

For more:

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Treatment

Klinghardt Institute Lyme Disease Protocols & Therapies Webinar Thursday May, 19, 2022

https://klinghardtinstitute.com/?mc_cid=0f2051eddd&mc_eid=fe12caca21

Join Dr Klinghardt this Thursday, May 19, 2022 for an update on his Lyme disease protocols and therapies.

Lyme disease is the most common vector borne disease in North America and Europe. It’s estimated that there are 300,000 new cases in the US and 100,000 new cases in Europe each year, although these numbers are likely to be underestimated as many infections go undiagnosed. With infections most common in the spring and early summer it’s important that we are all ‘Lyme aware’.

By registering for this webinar you understand that the information contained within it is the copyright of Dr Klinghardt and that NO recordings may be made.

Thursday 19th May at:
• 8.30pm UK
• 9.30pm Central Europe
• 12.30pm Pacific
•  3.30pm Eastern

If you’re unable to attend there will be a limited time replay available over the weekend.

We hope you can join us!
Dr Dietrich Klinghardt, Daniela Deiosso & the Klinghardt Institute Team

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Treatment

Man Ends up in ICU Due to Lyme Carditis

https://www.today.com/health/essay/lyme-carditis-lyme-disease-causes-rare-bacterial-infection-mans-heart

I ended up in the cardiac ICU. It was a rare complication of Lyme disease

I thought I was healthy — but when my heart rate dropped randomly, it seemed I’d need a pacemaker. Then a doctor suspected Lyme carditis.
I thought I was healthy so when I started to have signs of a heart block, I felt stunned that I had become so sick. I later learned that I had a rare complication of Lyme disease.

I thought I was healthy so when I started to have signs of a heart block, I felt stunned that I had become so sick. I later learned that I had a rare complication of Lyme disease. Courtesy Eric Miller

By Eric Miller, as told to Meghan Holohan

Eric Miller, 43, teaches principles of design and fabrication, maker classes and programming at a boarding school in Northeastern Ohio. As he started his new position last summer, he experienced a health crisis and landed him in the cardiac ICU with a dangerous arrhythmia. Doctors soon learned that he had Lyme carditis, a rare complication of Lyme disease. He shared his story with TODAY.

During employee orientation for my new job, I started feeling really rundown in the evenings. At first, I dismissed it as stress and nerves from starting a new career. (See link for article)

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Category:

Heart Issues, Lyme