Lyme Disease ~ The Facts! #lymedisease #tickborneinfections #lymeeducation #lymemyths #lymefacts

I've been reading articles about Lyme Disease recently, which lack so much common sense, that I feel the need to write a post to clear a few things up.......or at least, hopefully, raise a few questions.
In particular, I'm going to focus on articles entitled "Lyme Disease Myths"; there are so many reputable sites that are misleading the public. I'm not going to point my finger and list these sites (not in the mood to be sued) but a simple Google search of "Lyme Disease Myths" will bring up plenty!

Instead of simply writing more Lyme Myths.......I thought, why not write Lyme facts? Facts that might make things clearer for someone trying to weed through accurate and inaccurate information on the web. I remember the beginning of my Lyme journey.........no idea what was wrong with me. Scared. Defeated. I'd say more than half of what I read on the web (again.......from sites most anyone would think reputable) did nothing but confuse me further. So please read on.....and learn some truths!

Fact 1: Lyme Disease CAN be acquired ANYWHERE in the USA and across the globe for that matter!
- I can't count the sites that state that Lyme can only be "caught" in New England; or that 90% of all documented cases (documented being the KEY word) are in New England so "if you don't live there, you don't have it." Then you have people like myself, born and raised in Maine, who get Lyme and the doctors here say "It can't be Lyme. That's only in Connecticut. And still.......it's not very common".

If you dive into Lyme research (and I mean way down below the surface) you begin to see the magnitude of Lyme and other co-infections worldwide. The below map is a guideline to the magnitude of this Lyme epidemic ~ notice the countries highlighted are considered (documented) "EPIDEMIC" already. If this were a factual map of where Lyme Disease can be contracted, the entire world would need to be highlighted in green!




Fact 2- You CAN have Lyme Disease WITHOUT a Bull's Eye rash.
Research is beginning to show that as few as 20% of individuals with Lyme Disease ever recall a Bullseye Rash. With this being a core component of diagnosis (a stupid "core" might I add) to most uneducated doctors, this leaves many people suffering! Myself, being one of them for years. Unfortunately, many doctors refuse testing for Lyme Disease unless this rash is present. Advocate for yourself and demand it!!

Bullseye Rash - Lyme Disease - only 20% of the time! Pictures of the Varying Rashes Caused by Tick-borne Illness

http://www.lymeandback.blogspot.com/2012/08/bullseye-rash-only-20-of-time-pictures.html

Fact 3- The tests for Lyme Disease ARE UNRELIABLE.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims that the current tests for Lyme Disease have "very good sensitivity". I don't know about you, but for me "very good sensitivity"....what exactly does "VGS" mean? Research supports that a clinical diagnosis of Lyme (or co-infections) should be given based on symptoms due to the inaccuracy of current testing. I wrote about the 4 types of tests generally used for Lyme testing in a previous blog post (please refer to this for more information). I think its safe to say that after 6 weeks of being infected with Lyme spirochetes, the ELISA test is JUNK and is the cause of many false negatives. The Western Blot is a slightly more accurate test, but again does not test for co-infections or the hundreds of Lyme strains, which are increasingly on the rise and barely mentioned to the general public.

Lyme Disease - Testing & Diagnosis - Lesson Learned

http://www.lymeandback.blogspot.com/2010/09/testing-diagnosis-lesson-learned.html

http://www.lymeandback.blogspot.com/2010_09_11_archive.html

http://www.lymeandback.blogspot.com/2013/08/lyme-disease-blanket-term-over-300.html

Fact 4- Lyme is only ONE of a MULTITUDE of Tick-borne Disease.
I've talked about this subject many times before on my blog. When I was diagnosed I had no clue that there were tick-borne illnesses aside from Lyme Disease. Please see my post - "

Lyme Disease, Other Tick-Borne Diseases / Co-Infections - The Facts"

http://www.lymeandback.blogspot.com/2010/09/lyme-disease-other-tick-borne-diseases.html

Fact 5- There ARE ways to be CURED from Chronic Lyme Disease.
Let me start by saying, I'm living proof!.....as are many people I've come to know well through this whole process! My treatment protocol consisted of standard (antibiotic) and naturopathic medicine and I highly recommend that you keep an open mind to all medical options out there - talk with a Lyme Literate Doctor who can steer your treatment in the right direction for YOUR needs!

If you'd like to read more about my treatment protocols, read my post:

Lyme Disease and Co-infections ~ My Treatment Protocol ~ Antibiotics and Dr. Zhangs Modern Chinese Herbal Medicine Lyme Protocol #lymedisease #lymeadvocate #lymeeducation #lymetreatment #drzhanglymeherbalprotocol

http://www.lymeandback.blogspot.com/2014/07/lyme-disease-and-co-infections-my.html

As always, advocate advocate advocate!!! Knowledge is power :)