39 things you must know about America’s Lyme disease epidemic

By DEREK CLONTZ
Your World Report

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES and cutting-edge researchers agree - Lyme Disease is the “illness with a thousand faces.”

“The Great Imitator” ravages patients with at least 39 symptoms that make the infection difficult to diagnose.

The similarity of Lyme symptoms to those caused by lupus, lymphatic cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV-AIDS, fibromyalgia, depression and other serious illnesses vexes doctors.

Those who haven’t kept up with developments in Lyme research often write their patients off as hypochondriacs.

They put them on anti-depressants or send them to see a psychiatrist, claiming Lyme is “rare” and “not in this part of the country,” even though skyrocketing numbers of infections have been documented in every state.

Other doctors believe their patients are sick, but refuse to believe they have Lyme.

They order up test after expensive test for AIDS, lupus, cancers, tuberculosis and more, seemingly unaware that the United States is in the throes of a hidden epidemic that may affect as many as 150 million people.

That’s the frightening projection from a computer model developed by Lyme specialists in Texas who say it’s possible half the population carries latent Lyme that could be triggered at any time by trauma, stress or an unrelated sickness.

Here, from medical journals, newspapers, magazines, and clinical and epidemiological studies, are prime symptoms of the illness. Treatment options follow.

1. Rash at bite site or other sites. This can be a general spreading rash or the classic “bulls-eye” rash that most people recognize as being related to Lyme

2. Muscle twitching of the face or other areas

3. Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills

4. Headache

5. Fatigue

6. Neck creaks and cracks, neck stiffness

7. Unexplained weight change (loss or gain)

8. Tingling, numbness, burning, stabbing sensations

9. Unexplained hair loss

10 Facial paralysis

11. Swollen glands

12. Eyes/vision: loss of vision, double, blurry, pain, increased floaters

13. Sore throat

14. Ears/hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain

15. Testicular pain/pelvic pain

16. Dizziness, poor balance

17. Increased motion sickness

18. Unexplained menstrual irregularity
light-headedness, wooziness, difficulty walking

19. Unexplained milk production (lactation)

20. Tremors

21. Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction

22. Disturbed sleep

23. Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido

24. Confusion, difficulty in thinking

25. Upset stomach or change in bowel function

26. Difficulty with concentration or reading

27. Chest pain or rib soreness

28. Forgetfulness, poor short-term memory

29. Shortness of breath, cough

30. Difficulty with speech

31. Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block

32. Joint pain or swelling

33. Mood swings, irritability, depression

34. Stiffness of the joints, neck or back

35. Heart murmur or valve prolapse

36. Muscle pain or cramps

37. Exaggerated or worse hangover from alcohol

38. Tenderness or enlargement of the spleen

39. Moderate to severe pain in jaw

READER ADVISORY: If you have symptoms or think you have Lyme Disease, ask your doctor for a blood test. Testing isn’t definitive, but it can help you and your doctor to arrive at a clinical diagnosis and suggest treatment for Lyme.

Pharmaceutical and Herbal Treatment Options

Pharmaceutically, the Centers for Disease Control and other federal agencies make it clear that broad-spectrum antibiotics such as Doxycyline are indicated in the treatment of Lyme.

Nutritional supplements and also other wellness strategies - such as stress-reducing lifestyle changes, relaxation strategies and mind-body techniques - are used as well.

Treatment will last anywhere from four weeks to several months to a year or more depending on variables that include age, length of sickness and also factors that are, to date, unknown.

Long-term oral and intravenous antibiotics are often necessary to successfully treat stubborn cases of the disease.

Not all patients get well with antibiotic treatments, which is why many turn to other therapies, either for use in conjunction with antibiotics or alone.

Regardless of the therapy you choose, early diagnosis and aggressive treatment can prevent many of the severe and debilitating complications of Lyme disease, the CDC and Lyme specialists agree.

Additional “home remedy” and self-help techniques have helped Lyme patients get well faster.

Derek Clontz (the author of this report) has interviewed thousands of patients, doctors and others on the front lines of the Lyme epidemic. He says successful patients often report that they:

1. Drink lots of water: 84 ounces a day filtered or steam distilled. (Ask your doctor about this.)

2. Exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day - working up a sweat if their physical condition allows it. (Ask your doctor to help you develop an exercise program that is right for you.)

3. Body-brush morning and night, a process that exfoliates and conditions the skin - the body’s “third kidney” - helping with the elimination of dead bacteria and toxins. It’s good for circulation, too.

4. Meditate and pray to reduce extreme stress and keep a positive attitude.

5. Eat fresh, whole, living foods while eliminating all the processed food possible. (Ask your doctor before making any significant change in your daily diet.)

The self-help techniques are simple, and they make good sense. Prayer and meditation, “in almost every case” are a prime therapeutic ingredients, she adds, and Lyme patients are using them “to very good effect.”

Commonsense Advisory: Report is presented for your information and is not to be construed as medical advice. Neither the publisher nor advertisers make any claims that antibiotic prescriptions or herbal supplements will treat or cure Lyme disease. If you are seriously ill or think you might be, consult a qualified health professional before you attempt to diagnose or treat yourself.

Question? Comment? What do you think? Write Derek Clontz . He reads and responds personally to every letter, often within minutes and always within one business day.

Copyright © 2009 4-Page Media, Inc./Your World Report. All rights reserved.