Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

What Happens When You Get Caught in the Lyme Wars

https://www.lymedisease.org/mark-barrett-lyme-wars/

What happens when you get caught in the Lyme Wars

By Mark Barrett

Aug. 30, 2023

Three slowly moving poppy seed sized dots crawled up my left forearm.

Turning to my girlfriend, I pointed to the three dots, briefly explained that these were ticks that possibly carried Lyme disease, and casually informed her that she should be mindful of them.

Thinking no more of it, we carried on with our hike through Raccoon Creek State Park, little realizing that my life was about to be upended.

Terrifying symptoms

Three weeks later I awoke with fever and joint pain, but far more terrifying were the muscle spasms and twitching, with electric shock feelings pulsating through my body. At the emergency room, I underwent a battery of tests before a physician asked whether I had any recent exposure to ticks.

When he heard that I had, he was palpably relieved and confidently diagnosed me with Lyme disease or a tick-borne co-infection, casually prescribing two weeks of antibiotics, and authoritatively stating that I should be better by then. I settled in to await a recovery that would, in fact, not come for months.

After some initial relief from my symptoms, when the antibiotics ran out, so did my recovery. Seeing that combined with inconclusive blood tests, my physician now equally authoritatively assured me that I could not have Lyme disease. When I questioned this remarkable U-turn and the fact that I had received no testing at all for any tick-borne co-infections, he told me, dogmatically, that Lyme disease could not survive a few weeks of antibiotics.

Unwittingly, I had become collateral damage in the “Lyme wars”: the bitter debate between the medical establishment and the patients who continue to suffer symptoms and the doctors who support them.

I continued to deteriorate, dropping 50 pounds over two months with worsening muscle twitching and weakness along with migrating pain throughout my body. At this point, the pain was somewhat reassuring, since given my neuromuscular symptoms, a doctor suggested that I might be suffering from the typically painless ALS, a terminal degenerative disease.

It all began with exposure to ticks

Harrowing as this suggestion was, it seemed reasonable, considering I had begun walking with a cane and could barely climb the stairs in my home. But not that reasonable: Any such suggestion had to ignore the evidence that all my symptoms began on a definite day, three weeks after exposure to ticks.

Astounded by the refusal of my physician to even consider a tick-borne explanation and confronted with my failing body, I connected with a network of patients in similar circumstances, through groups such as the Pittsburgh Lyme Disease Support Group. I was introduced to dozens of Western Pennsylvanians who suffer from debilitating Lyme disease symptoms.

Through them I was also introduced to doctors who, dissenting from the establishment view, take seriously the evidence that tick borne infections persist and treat patients accordingly. But my own battle was only beginning.

Doctors who treat persistent tick-borne infections are an eclectic bunch, ranging from eccentric figures engaged in pseudo-science to rigorous researchers whose work has led them to recognize that the establishment consensus is wrong. Many are simply doctors who take seriously their duty of care for their sick patients.

Figuring out which doctors are which is the first step to healing, but is not easy. In my own case, this was complicated by the difficulty of keeping my job — and my health insurance. After several difficult conversations with my boss where my termination was discussed, something many Lyme sufferers experience, I managed to work out a schedule to work from home. But I had to take a reduced salary and rely on others to take dictation in typing the long law briefs when the muscles in my hands got too weak to type.

Narrow definition

I began treating with a local Lyme doctor, but it soon became clear that despite his sincerity, I was not improving under his care. In desperation, I began seeing a leading Lyme doctor in Maryland, over four hours from my home.

I had grown accustomed to doctors becoming indignant when I asked questions, but he walked me through the scientific basis for his diagnosis and treatment. He, an Ivy League trained rheumatologist, explained the role of co-infections in Lyme treatment — it can be a very big but often unrecognized role — and the deficiency in testing for them.

He also explained that the medical establishment works with a very narrow definition of Lyme disease that doesn’t account for all its effects. He noted that the individual host’s response and immune suppression contribute to symptomology. It affects people very differently.

Although he explained his reasoning, he knew that after my experiences, I would not believe him until I started to improve. Which I did after a few more weeks of combined antibiotics and natural antimicrobials. Two months after having to walk with a cane, I was playing soccer and basketball. Although I still suffer from some symptoms, I am far closer to good health than I was before.

Invaluable lessons

I learned invaluable lessons through my experiences. About doctors (they’re not infallible and there’s a lot they don’t know), chronic illness (it’s real and brutal, but some people don’t believe you), about myself and the hidden suffering of others.

But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is this: do everything you possibly can to avoid ticks.

Mark Barrett is a lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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**Comment**

A common refrain, unfortunately.

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks

Government Neuroweapons & Undetectable Illness (Is Lyme/MSIDS One?)

https://gregreese.substack.com/p/targeted-individuals  Video Here (Approx. 6 Min)

Targeted Individuals

The US government has been targeting thousands of innocent civilians for decades

GREG REESE

SEP 5, 2023
Excerpts:

Targeted Justice dot com is currently working on suing the federal government for targeting individual US citizens with different high-tech weapons including Directed Energy Weapons. The Havanna syndrome, when diplomats in Cuba were attacked with Directed Energy Weapons, was not an isolated event. There are thousands of individuals who claim to be under this same sort of attack. And they have the scars to prove it.

As far back as 1976, the technology to remotely alter brain waves has existed. Including Voice to Skull technology that allows the government to directly transmit voices into people’s brains.

As bad as all this is, it is likely to get much worse. In 2017 Dr James Giordano gave a lecture on the latest government technologies to target individuals. Such as neuroweapons to control brain function and modify memories. Nano particulates that can give an individual a stroke. He explains how they can make people sick with an undetectable illness to make them go crazy. And he says they can already control insects and use them to deliver bioweapons.

(See link for article and video)

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http://

The Brain is the Battlefield of the Future

Dr. James Giordano

July 3, 2023

**Comment**

If you don’t have time to view the lengthy video, at least watch the brief 6 minute one in the top link.  Relevant snippets have been pulled that you need to hear.

http://

Directed Energy Weapons

DOD spends about $1 billion annually on directed energy—concentrated electromagnetic energy—weapons, including high energy lasers and high powered microwaves. DOD has pursued these potentially transformative technologies for decades because they could provide considerable advantages. They can deliver destructive or disruptive effects to targets at the speed of light and have potentially significant advantages over kinetic weapons, such as guns and missiles, including lower per-use cost.

Speaking of targeting civilians, recently Hawaii was hit with fires that defy explanation. Let’s review the events:
  1.  No fire sirens were sounded – intentionally.
    The Head of the Maui Emergency Agency, who made this decision, resigned for “health reasons.”
  2. A state official refused to release water to fight the fires and officials are accused of preventing access to water.  Deputy director Kaleo Manuel, linked the the Obama Foundation, and known for his stance on water “equity,” has since been “reassigned” amid accusations of a delayed response that led to death and destruction.
  3. Despite fire warnings, Hawaiian Electric didn’t shut off power to reduce fire potential.
  4. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier who has top FBI clearance and was involved in ethics complaints resulting in an investigation, just happened to be the incident commander in Las Vegas during the horrific 2017 mass shooting.  I mean, what are the odds?
  5. Police put up barricades causing a gridlock and death. Those who disobeyed the road closures survived.

In fact, the entire event is shrouded in bizarre and inexplicable events, until you hear Hawaii Governor Josh Green stating there will be deadly fires “month in and month out” all across the country and that in an effort to “build back better,” the “state will acquire properties as a memorial and for workforce housing.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a blackout fence is being built around the entire town. Somehow we are supposed to believe that wild fires selectively burn some houses and not others, and leave whole trees standing while everything in their path is reduced to ashes.  A book was published about the Maui fires just two days after the brunt of the fires were over.  I highly recommend “What the Media Won’t Tell You About the Maui Fires,” with eye-witness accounts.  I also recommend “A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century.”

Again, things are not as they seem. 

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Ticks

RIP: Minnesota Man Dies From Lyme Disease

https://www.hafh.org/obituary/Grant-Christianson

RIP Grant J. Christianson

Dec. 15, 1957-Aug. 28, 2023

Obituary

It is with great sadness and a broken heart that we share that on August 28th, Grant J. Christianson passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.  For the past three years, he courageously battled chronic Lyme disease and ALS with determination and grace. Grant chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and as a family, we did our best to honor his request. He wanted people to share thoughts about his life and character rather than about a disease that robbed his body of strength.  A service remembering Grant will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, September 22nd at Vinje Lutheran Church in Willmar.  Visitation will be from 4-6:30 pm, Thursday, September 21st at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar with a Time of Sharing at 6:30 pm.  Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Grant Jeffrey Christianson was born at Willmar Hospital on December 15, 1957.  He was the son of Grant L. and Arlies (Sachariason) Christianson.  He was baptized and confirmed at Svea Lutheran Church and has been a member of Vinje Lutheran since 1986.  Grant was born with a birth mark in his throat and had a tracheotomy for the first two years of his life.  The irony for those who knew Grant, is that he was unable to make a sound for those two years.  No crying, babbling or talking.  Grant made up for the lost time by being an excellent storyteller with a loud and distinct voice throughout his life.

Grant attended Blomkest Elementary School and graduated from Willmar High School and the University of Minnesota with an agri-business degree.  (He was always planning his trip to the Rose Bowl to watch the Gophers!)  The university did not disappoint as it was there, he met Joan Blonigan, the love of his life.  They were married on August 17, 1985, in Excelsior, Minnesota.  They were tripled blessed with children: Ali, Grant and Kai.  (See link for more)

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Category:

Activism, Lyme

New Treatment Options For Chronic Lyme Patients

https://www.lymedisease.org/members/lyme-times/2023-summer-features/new-treatments-chronic-lyme-disease/

New treatment options for chronic Lyme patientsNovel therapeutic protocols offer hope for complex cases.

By Dr. Steve Harris
 
Summer, 2023
 
Summary:
  • Dr. Mike Snyder’s group at Stanford is working on multiomics for chronic fatigue that track an individual patient’s data. This will help Lyme/MSIDS patients because treatments need to be individualized as each case is different.
  • Mitochondrial work is going to become bigger because illness and wellness is fundamentally all about energy.  Detoxing and absorbing nutrients will help the body function effectively without much external intervention.
  • Unique modalities like growth hormone, DHEA, and metformin are being used to decrease the age of cells to help the very complicated group of patients who are not getting better on standard treatments.
  • Regenerative therapies including exosomes, PRP, and alpha 2-macroglobulin, among others are also helpful for tendon issues, osteoarthritis and orthopedics but exosomes have been used in parallel to stem cell therapies which is written about in a book by Amy Scher titled, This is How I Save My Life.  She wrote about her journey through India, where she received human embryonic stem cells, and went from a very severe neurologic case of Lyme to being quite well now. 
  • Jaw misalignment, spinal issues, and craniocervical instability (all related to body structure) needs to be addressed due to the severe inflammation Lyme/MSIDS patients have.
  • Trauma needs to be addressed but often requires a circuitous approach such as the Dynamic Neural Retraining SystemTM (DNRS), vagus nerve training, neurofeedback, neuro stimulation, and various other methods.  A scientist in Wisconsin, Yuri Danilov, developed the PoNS device, which is a tongue neurostimulation device owned by a company called Helius Medical technologies. It is FDA approved for head trauma but it also works for PTSD.  They’re trying to get FDA approval and they are making it available to physical therapists. It’s mentioned in Dr. Norman Doidge’s book The Brain’s Way of Healing. Some patients have had  phenomenal results using it.
  • The onion parable is used to explain the importance of peeling back layer after layer of issues an individual has – and recognizing that being infected with Lyme and/or the various coinfections is only one layer in this complex puzzle.  Typically these onslaughts alone are not the problem, but the cumulative effect of multiple onslaughts is what makes us sick.
  • Viruses, which are becoming more of a problem, are opportunistic and cause the body to decompensate.  Again, treating them singularly usually isn’t the answer, but they are important to consider in the overall picture.
  • mTOR Agents and Autophagy:  Dr. Steven Phillips uses mTOR agents, (mammalian target of Rapamycin) to increase one’s autophagy (cleans the body of debris).  Honokiol (magnolia leaf), doxycycline, methylene blue, vitamin D, and other agents increase autophagy.
  • Toxic load, nutrient status, and environmental stressors:  using different kinds of fats helps patients through membrane chemistry to flush out debris in the lipid bilayer on the surface of cells.  Many things cause patients to be overreactive and dealing with it is very important.

“In conclusion, these are a few different ways to address this most complicated, most difficult group of patients. I truly believe that everybody can get better, and I think that sharing that hope with the patient is a way for them to be able to hold on during what is a marathon for many of them. Not everybody needs to take every step, but the steps are there, and it can be done.” — Dr. Steven Harris

(See link for article)

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Category:

Chiropractic Care for MSIDS, Detoxing, diet and nutrition, Herbs, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Treatment, Viruses

The Complex Story of the Lyme Disease Vaccine

http://www.lymedisease.org/the-complex-story-of-lyme-vaccine/

The complex story of the Lyme disease vaccine

By Dorothy Kupcha Leland
Aug. 25, 2023

Bloomberg Businessweek, one of the top business publications in the US, this week took a look at the question of the Lyme disease vaccine.

Currently dubbed VLA15, the vaccine is being developed by Pfizer, Inc, in partnership with French drug maker Valneva SE. In the final phase of clinical trials, it is expected to be available to the public in 2026.

Bloomberg published the article this week under the following headline:

The article gives background on Lymerix, the failed Lyme disease vaccine from 20 years ago. But it doesn’t paint an accurate picture of why the Lyme community continues to view the question of a Lyme vaccine with skepticism.

For that side of the story, I suggest you read the following blogs we posted five years ago. Our concerns haven’t changed.

Stricker: Lyme vaccine failed because safety was ignored

“Powerful” patients axed Lyme vaccine? Baloney!

Important background on Lyme vaccine controversy

As Dr. Raphael Stricker stated in the above-referenced article:

“The Lymerix vaccine failed in large part because valid safety concerns were ignored, and future variations of Lymerix that whitewash these concerns risk the same negative outcome.”

Last week, Lyme Disease Association President Pat Smith told me she had an extensive interview with Kristen Brown, a co-author of the Bloomberg article. Smith said she gave the reporter documents and names of credentialed individuals who would be able to provide information and perspectives on the Lymerix experience, including a private meeting LDA had with the Food and Drug Administration.

However, Smith said, “None of that information appears to be referenced in this article.”

Instead, the article devotes only a few lines to Smith, quoting her as saying: “We are interested in the possibility of a vaccine. The issue is the safety and efficacy.”

That is certainly putting it mildly.

TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, President of LymeDisease.org. She is co-author of When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide, and of the forthcoming title Finding Resilience: A Teen’s Journey Through Lyme Disease. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.

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**Comment**

Stay tuned for the ongoing saga of the dangerous and ineffective Lyme “vaccine” that gives people Lyme-like symptoms.

I highly recommend Weintraub’s book, “Cure Unknown, Inside the Lyme Epidemic,” as truly very little has changed since it was penned in 2009 (isn’t that sad?).  Weintraub highlights important history and facts every Lyme/MSIDS patient needs to understand.  It’s heavy.  It isn’t fun.  But it’s true.

If you don’t want to tackle a whole book, read Weintraub’s 2001 article which highlights the first Lyme vaccine called “Lymerix,” which maimed people.  Those behind its creation, referred to as The Cabal, of course deflect and deny this and will never in a thousand years admit that many patients suffer with symptoms due to a persistent/chronic infection(s).  It doesn’t fit their vaccine agenda.

Category:

Lyme, vaccines