Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

IDSA Guidelines Ignore Psychiatric Consequences of Lyme Disease

https://www.lymedisease.org/bransfield-psychiatric-lyme-disease/

Focus – Opinions and Features

LymeDisease.org
27 AUG 2021

Bransfield: IDSA guidelines ignore psychiatric consequences of Lyme disease

Dr. Robert Bransfield delivered the following public comment at the recent meeting of the federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group.

I’m a psychiatrist from New Jersey, who has treated thousands of Lyme disease patients over the past thirty years. I have also performed research. Three issues I would like to raise:

*A recent study unequivocally proves Lyme disease causes mental illnesses.

*This Working Group needs to be more attentive to the psychiatric symptom from TBD.

*The IDSA guidelines fail to recognize this causal association.

I recommend the following

The Working Group needs to gather and share information on psychiatric symptoms caused by Lyme/TBD.

Since the IDSA guidelines fail to recognize this causal association, they are outdated and the committee needs to recommend that all federal references and links to their guidelines must be removed.

To expand:

A recent article using the 7 million patients in the Danish nationwide database was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the number one psychiatric journal in the world. It proved the causal association between Lyme and any mental disorder, affective disorders, suicide attempts and death by suicide.

There are 400 other peer-reviewed journal articles proving the causal association between tick-borne diseases and psychiatric symptoms and 73 with dementia. Mental illness is the major cause of disability and death from tick-borne disease.

Psychiatric findings from TBD can include

  • developmental disorders
  • autism spectrum disorders
  • affective disorder
  • depression
  • anxiety disorders
  • addiction
  • opioid addiction
  • cognitive impairments
  • dementia
  • suicidality
  • violence
  • other impairments
This has caused chronic disability and deaths from suicides, drug overdoses, auto accidents and homicides.

This working group needs input from psychiatrists who understand tick-borne diseases and psychoimmunology. Addressing the causal association between tick-borne diseases and psychiatric symptoms and sharing this information with legislators and the public is critical.

When the psychiatric morbidity, mortality and disability are adequately considered, it greatly shifts risk/benefit clinical decision making involving diagnosis and treatment.

The American Psychiatric Association guidelines recognize this association, but the IDSA guidelines fail to consider the psychiatric consequences of Lyme disease. Therefore, these guidelines are outdated, unscientific, and hazardous.

The Working Group needs to recommend that all federal government links and references to these guidelines be removed.

Robert Bransfield, MD, DLFAPA, a past president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, is an internationally recognized expert in how Lyme disease affects mental health.

Dr. Bransfield’s list of 473 peer-reviewed articles that support the evidence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases causing neuropsychiatric illness: List of citations

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**Comment**

Dr. Bransfield is a true pioneer when it comes to psychiatric manifestations of Lyme/MSIDS.  He has fought long and hard on this arena.  He’s a rock star in my book.

For more:

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research

The Added Battle For Lyme Patients: Coinfections

https://holtorfmed.com/articles/lyme-disease/the-added-battle-for-lyme-patients-co-infections?

The Added Battle for Lyme Patients: Co-infections

Holtorf Medical Group

Lyme disease is slowly gaining the recognition it deserves as a complex and serious illness that can cause severe health problems if not treated early and properly.

Learn more about Lyme disease and its symptoms here

However, it is important to note that oftentimes Lyme disease patients are not just fighting the Lyme bacteria, but also other co-infections. More specifically, part of the complication with Lyme disease is that, when bitten by a tick, people can be exposed to other pathogens that also carry illnesses. These are called co-infections. A survey of chronic Lyme-infected individuals found:

  • 50% had at least one co-infection
  • while almost 30% had at least two

So, if you have Lyme disease, there is a chance some of your symptoms may be due to a co-infection.

Below we outline two of the most common Lyme co-infections, their respective symptoms, and how to receive a proper diagnosis:

Bartonella

First reported in 1990, bartonellosis is caused by an infection of Bartonella bacteria. These harmful bacteria are capable of infecting a wide array of organisms.

Bartonella bacteria are most commonly spread by fleas, ticks, and lice. There are several different types of this bacteria. For instance, sand flies in South America carry one strain of Bartonella while human body lice, globally, carry another. Today, scientists have detected 29 different strains of this bacteria with approximately 15 that are capable of causing bartonellosis in humans.

Once Bartonella has infected the body, they primarily occupy the inside lining of blood vessels, specifically, red blood cells, macrophages, and endothelial cells. Until recently, it was believed that cases of bartonellosis tended to be mild, acute, and had little risk of contributing to further disruption. However, doctors have started finding that Bartonella may result in chronic infection.

Depending on the strain of Bartonella, symptoms may vary slightly. Bartonella henselae causes “cat scratch disease” and is associated with a bump or blister at the point of infection, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headaches, fever, and body aches.

Carrion’s disease (Bartonella bacilliformis) is linked to miliary lesions that ulcerate or bleed, fever, joint pain, and liver and spleen enlargement.

Bartonella quintana’s trench fever causes a fever, rash, bone pain (predominantly in the shins, neck, and back), enlarged lymph nodes, encephalitis, and eye infections.

As Bartonellosis commonly affects the skin, a streak-like rash is perhaps the most indicator of this infection. Other indicators of the condition include: tremors, neurological issues, blurred vision, numbness in the extremities, and psychiatric manifestations.

When Bartonella is attacking an immune system weakened by Lyme, it is possible to develop a more severe manifestation of bartonellosis. Bartonellosis can lead to endocarditis (heart infection) and bacillary angiomatosis (tumor-like masses caused by an infection in blood vessels).

Because bartonellosis can affect multiple bodily systems, it is often misdiagnosed or dismissed by standard practitioners. Proper diagnosis of Bartonella can be conducted through a variety of testing measures including Western Blot, IFAs (Indirect Immunofluorescent Assay), and others.

Babesia

Babesia is a parasite similar to malaria. Both fall into the category of piroplasm, which are organisms that infect red blood cells. Infection of babesia is called babesiosis and is the most common Lyme co-infection as well as the most common piroplasm infection among humans.

The first Babesia species was discovered in 1888 by Hungarian pathologist, Victor Babes. Since then, over 100 distinct strains of Babesia have been identified, but only a few are considered human pathogens. In fact, babesiosis has long been recognized as a disease of cattle and other animals but the first human case was not documented until 1957. A young Croatian farmer was infected with Babesia and died shortly after of kidney failure. By the 1960s, babesiosis cases were documented in North America, and the bacteria is recognized as a serious and potentially harmful human pathogen.

The strain of Babesia that most often affects humans is Babesia microti. Like Lyme, babesia may be transferred via tick. However, it can also be transmitted from mother to unborn child through the transfusion of contaminated blood. This quality makes babesia an exceptionally sinister threat.

Symptoms of babesiosis share several similarities with Lyme. However, it may be distinguished with an initial high fever and chills. Progression of the infection brings with it symptoms including fatigue, headache, sweating, muscle aches, chest and hip pain, and shortness of breath, or air hunger. Fortunately, symptoms of babesiosis tend to be mild and non-life-threatening. However, the mildness of the symptoms also means that the condition is often overlooked until symptoms become more severe.

Because Babesia targets red blood cells, babesiosis is often linked to a condition called hemolytic anemia. Hemolytic anemia is characterized by red blood cells dying at a faster rate than the body can produce new ones. Symptoms include: confusion, dark-colored urine, rapid heart rate, heart murmur, dizziness, fatigue, pale skin, jaundice, and swelling of the spleen and liver.

Unfortunately, when babesia goes untreated, it can lead to more severe complications, especially for immunocompromised individuals.

Because symptoms of babesiosis are largely non-specific, especially early on, it is easily missed by standard practitioners. A blood test is required to check for signs of a Babesia infection. It is also important to check if there are other conditions present with babesiosis such as Lyme disease for optimal treatment.

Final Thought

Patients treated at Holtorf Medical Group have seen an average of 7.2 different physicians prior to their visit to our center, without experiencing significant improvement.

At Holtorf Medical Group, our physicians are trained to utilize cutting-edge testing and innovative treatments to uncover the root cause of your symptoms and treat the source. If you are experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease, a co-infection, or if you have been previously diagnosed, but aren’t getting the treatment you need, call us at 877-508-1177 to see how we can help you!

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For more:

Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme

The Thorny Question of (No) Insurance Coverage For Lyme

https://www.lymedisease.org/touched-by-lyme-the-thorny-question-of-no-insurance-coverage-for-lyme/

TOUCHED BY LYME: The thorny question of (no) insurance coverage for Lyme

By Dorothy Kupcha Leland

Aug. 13, 2021

People suffering from persistent Lyme disease typically make a lot of unpleasant discoveries early on. For instance, how many different places your body can hurt. And how exhausting even simple exercise can be.

But the pain and exhaustion isn’t just physical. It’s also financial. Turns out, your regular doctor probably can’t help you—and your health insurance likely won’t pay for anybody who can.

The topic is frequently discussed in Lyme patient support groups, whether online or (back in the day) in-person.

But the issue of lack of insurance coverage for Lyme disease treatment is rarely mentioned in the mainstream news media.

Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to see the following headline and article in Business Insider, an online news publication with a worldwide readership.

Reporter Heather Schlitz presents a pretty accurate picture of how Lyme patients get little to no support from their health insurance companies.

Profiling a patient from Northern California, she notes: “Over three years, she estimates she paid around $100,000 for antibiotics and other medications, an amount that drained her and her husband’s savings account and retirement funds, but that managed to rein in the avalanche of symptoms.”

Schlitz explains that insurance companies often refuse to cover the costs of treatment because of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s stance on the subject. She writes:

“Anthem, one of the largest insurers in the country, considers long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease ‘medically unnecessary,’ which means that if an Anthem member’s Lyme disease symptoms aren’t cured with a few weeks of antibiotic pills, their health plan would likely not pay for additional treatment.”

Schlitz continues:

“It can be difficult to pin down what kind of treatment insurance companies will cover, because much depends on the state the patient lives in and how much work a doctor puts in to get insurance to approve a drug, Lorraine Johnson, the head of LymeDisease.org, a Lyme disease advocacy group, said. But because the best method for treating the disease’s long-term effects remains elusive, insurers should rely on clinical judgement of doctors rather than opting not to cover treatment at all, Johnson said.”

Not covered in this article is Torrey v. IDSA, a lawsuit originally brought by patients against the IDSA, its Lyme guideline authors and eight insurance companies.

As it now stands, the insurance companies have all settled and the individual authors have been dropped from the suit. According to journalist Mary Beth Pfeiffer, who has been following the case, “Pending approval by the court, TORREY v. IDSA is now an anti-trust lawsuit against a single defendant: The Infectious Diseases Society of America.”    See her website for more information about Torrey v. IDSA.

Click here to read the article in Business Insider.

TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, LymeDisease.org’s Vice-president and Director of Communications. She is co-author of When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.

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For more:

For insurance coverage bills to be effective, it is imperative that doctors are allowed freedom to treat patients as they seem fit – without medical governing boards and state medical boards continually threatening them and without insurance companies hiding behind the faulty parameters being set by public health authorities.  We are seeing the exact same problem with the treatment of COVID.

Category:

Activism, Lyme

Author of New Book on Lyme Disease Says There Are Lessons in COVID-19 Pandemic

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/lyme-disease-new-book-covid-19-1.6115145

Author of new book on Lyme disease says there are lessons in COVID-19 pandemic

St. Stephen journalist’s book Lyme Disease in Canada shows the frustration of Lyme patients
Steven Webb · CBC News · 

Black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are the species tick species most likely to carry Lyme disease. (Submitted by Vett Lloyd)

When science writer and journalist Brian Owens was approached by a publisher to write a book about Lyme disease, he was soon struck by how the history of the disease had some parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The St. Stephen resident set out to write a resource guide to the tick-borne disease, but writing the book in the midst of the global outbreak brought a new perspective on his subject.

“There kept being reasons to mention COVID, beyond just marketing,” Owens said in an interview from his home.

And while the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the focus of the book Lyme Disease in Canada, Owens said there are lessons from the past 18 months that could help people battling Lyme disease.  (See link for article)

_____________________

**Comment**

A few points:

  • While the author states people struggle to get diagnosed and treated, he also states it’s “changing.”  I would disagree.  Very little has in fact changed, except more and more people are getting infected.
  • He points out that there is a completely different attitude by the public health community regarding people with long-term COVID, as they are immediately taken seriously, and are seen as partners, unlike long-term Lyme/MSIDS patients.
  • The author and a tick researcher in the article think the “effectiveness of COVID ‘vaccines’ could create more interest in a Lyme vaccine.” They obviously haven’t read anything but vaccine manufacturer propaganda as these COVID injections which aren’t vaccines aren’t effective at all.  Break-through infections are only rising and more and more are dying from COVID that are fully “vaccinated.”
  • The author states that the previous Lyme vaccine was a “victim of strong anti-vaccine” reaction and that the company pulled it because it wasn’t profitable.  Again, he must have missed the details of thousands of people struggling with debilitating Lyme-like symptoms after this vaccine. (People to this day contact me explaining they are still suffering from the vaccine’s effects). A new jab is in the works.
  • The tick researcher predictably blames climate change for growing tick populations.  She must not be aware of her own countryman’s work that proves this tenet to be false.  Ticks are impervious to weather.
  • I won’t be buying this book.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, vaccines, Viruses

Tick-borne Diseases in the Time of COVID

https://www.recorder.com/Tick-borne-diseases-in-the-time-of-COVID-41916546

My Turn: Tick-borne diseases in the time of COVID

Mary Carey STAFF FILE PHOTO

By MARY CAREY
Published: 8/18/2021

In early July, I was hoping my husband Brian, who was feeling uncharacteristically under the weather, would bounce back to his hardy self soon, so we could rent an AirBnB on a lake or a beach for a few days.

By the end of the month, I just wanted him to get better.

We were increasingly anxious to find out what was causing his pillow-soaking sweats, violent chills, head and neck aches and extreme fatigue as one week, then a second, and half of the third week went by. Despite two visits to an urgent care clinic, a diagnosis of cellulitis and an antibiotic, he was getting worse. An emergency room doctor at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, for whom we are deeply, deeply grateful, eventually identified the culprit. But it was a confounding journey leading up to the revelation. Living in the shadow of COVID, as we all are, didn’t help.

The idea that Brian could be one of the unlucky minority of the fully vaccinated to get a breakthrough infection was always on his mind. He had had three COVID tests which all proved negative — a relief on the one hand, he said, but a little bittersweet, because if he had COVID, at least we would know what was wrong with him. (See link for article)

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**Comment**

This article is important for numerous reasons.

  1. Not everything is COVID
  2. I find it interesting that these symptoms all cropped up after he’d been “fully vaccinated” for COVID. Vaccines purposely lower the immune system so that it then mounts an immune response to whatever is injected into the body. This vaccination chain of events has reactivated latent tick-borne infections in people.  
  3. Having swollen and red toes, elevated liver enzymes, and erratic temperature fluctuations are all fairly hallmark symptoms of tick-borne illness.
  4. Cellulitis is a common misdiagnosis.
  5. The doctor thankfully recognized the symptoms and commented that they had seen a lot of tick-borne diseases – not just Lyme at the hospital this summer.
  6. Blood tests revealed the patient had Babesia, Anaplasmosis, and Lyme disease. This guy was lucky and won the jack-pot.  Patients are often seronegative due to abysmal testing and never get diagnosed.
  7. This man needs lengthy follow-up as all of these infections are notoriously persistent.

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Lyme, vaccines