Lyme Disease? Sure.
I'll be careful. Whatever.
I'll just go to a doctor if I ever get it,
which would never happen anyway.
I'm a CityKid, and that's when or if
I even go out at all!
Is this Embedded Nymph Deer Tick not the *most* Revolting thing you've ever seen???
This is a Super Macro Zoom image. They are a fleck of a speck in reality. (I took and zoomed this photo to see what was in my leg---dot would fit into this circle-->0<--.)
I drove 350 miles as it hitched a ride on my leg!
IF YOU ONLY GIVE THIS BLOG 3-MINUTES OF YOUR TIME, I WANT TO TELL YOU THREE THINGS YOU'LL *NEVER* SEE ON A LYME WARNING POSTER! (Okay four :)
1) YOU WON'T FEEL a TICK crawl on YOU (Yeah, I thought I would too)-their feet are designed to walk on skin undetected. Mine ran as fast as an ant in the container!
2) YOU WON'T FEEL THEM BITE!-NUMBING AGENTS in their saliva.
3) YOU *Absolutely CAN* get deer ticks in your own backyard or brought in by your pets.
4) YOU are up a CREEK without a PADDLE in NORTH AMERICA if you DO contract Lyme Disease!!!
In a HURRY? Watch my 11,000 view VIDEO:
"Seven ~7~ Lyme Facts That Could Have Saved Me!" <-VIDEO HERE
So...it's not my issue. Not my problem. It can't be serious anyway, right?
********************Wrong!!! ********************
It only takes a few minutes outside in the wrong place at the wrong time, coupled with a little ignorance, and there you go! Lyme Disease can be virtually impossible to get treated past the early stages, and sometimes has few or no symptoms early on. What a wake up call!
I was outside for 5-10 MINUTES handling an urgent matter (and of course, taking photos) before I went inside to trade shorts and sandals for pants, socks and shoes. (Lyme Conscious, Anti-Tick Attire).
***"This is only One Person's Story with links to information found on the world wide web, and any advice is not be be taken as a substitute for that of a competent physician."***
I want to tell you everything I didn't know until it happened to me!
It's only a Little Deal if you catch it right away...I mean RIGHT Away!
--Oh who are we kidding?!? It's NEVER A LITTLE DEAL!!!
Lyme Disease is a Spirochete (pronounced Spiro-keet).
The Spirochete is the demon devil of all bacterial infections if it's not treated very early and aggressively.
Prevention is really your BEST hope! Why?
* You WON'T feel a tick crawling on you! They're designed that way.
* You WON'T feel it dig in/numbing agents in their saliva.
* Ticks "unplug" themselves after 2-5 days & Tiptoe away.
* Chronic Lyme is very difficult & costly to Treat/Detect.
* 80% don't catch the tick & over 50% do NOT get a rash/clue they have Lyme!
* Lyme Disease attacks-Joints-Central Nervous System-Heart-Brain!
* Some have lost jobs-homes-families-health-LIVES to Lyme.
* If you get this, you may never be able to get proper treatment, and you'll never know if it's because your doctor doesn't know better, or because your HMO has threatened her/him.
***********CLICK HERE for Google Books "Cure Unknown" ***********
"Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic" -Page 302
A quick synopsis (same facts cited) by Brook Landau Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) HE too was BITTEN and ILL-->ClickHere<--
Lyme has been compared to Syphilis, but THIS SPIROCHETE is 25 TIMES LARGERthan the Syphilis spirochete, and MUCH harder to kill!
See:
"Potential Plague of The 21st Century! LINK HERE<--
This is for anyone who is ever bitten by a tick:
What you need to know if you want to live a long, healthy life afterward!
(And no, I'm not selling anything :)
I would like to share my experience so those that everyone else would know how medical professionals are performing when facing Lyme Disease threats in May of 2009. It seems that education, awareness, (& in some cases, incentive)--and therefore proper treatment are severely lacking among those we count on most to look after our health.
So it's up to US to get informed and know what we need. (Names of honorable Lyme groups at end of blog.)
On Friday morning, I was in a pre-op room when I let my doctor know I'd discovered a deer tick (still embedded) in my left ankle while preparing to head into surgery. Since the procedure was to involve a spinal puncture and an injection of steroids, my doctor decided it would be safer to wait and make sure I'd not contracted an infection from the tick. She sent me to urgent care instead. I had the deer tick removed in urgent care (mostly so it would be established in my medical record that I have had a confirmed exposure). Of course, my husband whimsically noted that all our insurance company will see is that they sent in an anesthesiologist, and started an IV, and then removed a tiny deer tick!
But, this Urgent Care doctor, though he was kind and genuinely seemed to care about what he was doing, made three mistakes. He removed it by grabbing the body & pulling straight out with tweezers, and then went back in to get the parts left behind. He did not offer antibiotics, and advised that I could receive treatment if I developed symptoms. It did not occur to him to check my other ankle.
This was Friday and it had been in at least since Wednesday (when I went outside unprotected to get between some children and a horse). Then Saturday I found a second tick in my right ankle! Unable to remove it with tweezers (my Gawd-was this disgusting! Know what's worse? Ticks may "PUKE" into you if you use oils or chemicals), I went back online and learned of the "Tick Twister" and called to make sure they had it, & went to PetCo to buy one. Of course, I had my tiny dog in my arms, so the cashier had to ask, "So, your dog has a tick?" and I had to admit, "No, the dog came home with none. It's in me."
If you find yourself with a Tick in spite of your efforts, NOTHING is better than the Tick Twister for removing the tick quickly and intact. *Keeping a Tick intact lessens the chance of forcing more disease from the tick into you!
Tick Twister also lets you be a few inches farther from the little bugger if you're at all squeamish about little bugs/spiders/arachnids like I am!
TaDa! ...Eeeew!!!!!!
This thing removes the tick quickly, easily, and totally intact. I was amazed at how active and fast these things are, as it crawled around in the container as fast as an ant!
The Tick Twister is a fabulous tool, so I wanted to mention it. (It's a tiny green hammer-hook looking tool-look it up.)
The urgent care doc who had removed the first one said that prophylactic treatment did not make sense, and to wait to see if I develop symptoms. Not knowing any better, I said, "sure".
Now-with a second tick removed after a minimum of 72 hours embedded, I did a little research, and I really wanted prophylactic treatment. Monday morning, I called my regular doctor, through her nurse, but when they did not get right back to me, I went to the Walgreen's Take Care Clinic near my home. This nurse practitioner was SO on the ball!
I showed her my photos, (always take photos) and then she out-performed both of the other doctors by leaps and bounds. She instantly knew there was a prophylactic treatment protocol, before I even told her.
Now, BOTH of the other doctors I'd consulted for this are GOOD doctors who listen to and CARE about their patients, but in dealing with LYME disease, be aware that your life and your health for the rest of your life are on the line. With a lack of consistant information, even the best doctors are at a disadvantage!
By the time my doctor's office got back to me (late afternoon), I had seen someone else, and had already taken the needed medication.
STILL, a single dose is nowhere near enough, but at least it's a start, and at this point, it was ALL anyone was willing to give me.
Add to this the fact that my doctor had her nurse let me know that she was not planning to give treatment unless I developed symptoms, and it's clear that the walk-in clinic was the way to go, until I could get set up with an LLMD. Yet again, being an informed patient, (and having a stroke of luck) paid off big!
Bear in mind that when the Urgent Care doc rattled of the symptoms I should look for, "headaches, stiff neck, muscle aches, fatigue, memory loss, joint pain, etc...." I said, "How will I *know*? This is the EXACT list of symptoms that I came to CINN to try to handle."Thank God my wonderful CINN doctor would *not* allow the anestesiologist to pressure her into proceeding with the spinal injection with a tick protruding from my ankle! Are you KIDDING me?
My husband heard their debate on the other side of the door. Thank GOD he was there!
This was the beginning of a Journey, though--unfortunately not the end.
To: Horse Lovers, Tick Victims and..."Anyone who may benefit!"
Ticks are in high concentration when you're anywhere near a horse! You *and* the horse can get Lyme Disease! Click Here
Did you know that your DOG (or cat) can catch Lyme Disease from a tick too? Take precautions. Transplacental transmission has occured (mother to newborn) in dogs. Don't doubt it can happen in humans.
This link below will tell you: How to protect yourself in the first place,
http://www.sewill.org/protect.html
***At first I was excited and relieved that there might be a fast, cheap & easy protection against Lyme***(and other tick borne pathogens)...and then I read more carefully:
Journal Watch Began that paragraph with, "...prior studies have found no benefit to this approach (TWO to be exact)
http://infectious-diseases.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2001/622/1
(JWID 2000, p. 76, accession number 000921004, and Clin Infect Dis 2000; 31:1), a report newly released by the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that a single 200-mg dose of doxycycline provides effective prophylaxis."
It's CURIOUS....Were they $ilenced Too???
One thing is certain. Repugnant as it was removing these creepy little 8-legged creatures from my skin, AFTER they were out was when I *really* opened up a can of worms...
****I used to believe that when not treated early, Lyme patients suffered from knee joint pain, but knew little else of what was really going on. ****
Up until now, I just thought that those suffering from Advanced Lyme Disease were people who didn't get to a doctor in time!
By this time, my bites began to blister. First the tiny bite on the right leg filled with fluid. Then the left one went from looking like a well-healing tiny hole to filling with fluid too. I had to really search hard to find a doctor who would know what to do or even believe any treatment was warranted.
I could in no way afford to fantasize that I'd just been bitten by two sterile ticks!
Be aware that Lyme is in all 50 states, and is widely known to be seriously underestimated.
LYME DISEASE TREATMENT and FACTS<--Click Here
I don't *hike, *camp , or spend much time outdoors. I was bitten while outdoors near a horse, not even in an established "hot spot"state/area. DON'T think there's a state in the union that is not affected. *People have picked up ticks/Lyme Disease while gardening in their own backyards in every single state.
The more I learned, the more deeply shocked I became. Guidelines for treating Lyme were deliberately made cheap and ineffective! The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) was investigated. It was discovered and The Connecticut Attorney General confirmed that 9/14 IDSA members had "undisclosed financial interests".
Translation: They made $Money$ by keeping patients ill and dying so that their Health Insurance would not have to pay for the needed treatment.
Fox News Release regarding IDSA causing Lyme Disease patients to be denied effective treatment!
http://origin.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354168,00.html
I asked my LymeNet friends,
"IS LYME FATAL?"
-THEY GAVE ME THESE LINKS TO THREE
Lyme Memorial Sites:
♥♥♥http://www.lymememorial.org/
♥http://www.angelfire.com/planet/lymedisease/Lyme/Memorial.html
♥http://www.lymedisease.org/lyme_times/issues/lyme_times_issues_spring2009.html ♥♥♥
DR. JEMSEK's TAKE ON HEALTHCARE REFORM!!!<---Click Here!
What I had was a Nymphal Deer Tick,(the worst kind of deer tick), since these young ones have been feeding on white-footed mice or birds, which are common carriers of Lyme Disease spirochetes-and they are so tiny that they often aren't noticed as they fill up and tiptoe away. 80% of confirmed Lyme patients, NEVER FIND/CATCH/RECALL THE TICK! (CLICK HERE)
Lyme discoverer Willy Burgdorfer breaks silence on heated controversy <--click here!
Yet... Odd how everyone has no trouble expressing the need for caution about ticks in terms of prevention, but then once it becomes too late for that, the treatment of Lyme Disease is expensive if it's not handled soon after exposure, so once people become *really* ill, some people decided it costs too much to treat it so, "Chronic Lyme Disease doesn't really exist".
Sadly, after advocating for others,
DON'T Wait until it affects someone you love to take action. Remember some, maybe even most people never see the tick on them, and 60% or more never get the BULLS-EYE rash associated with Lyme Disease Onset. Accurate testing can be elusive.
And with the cost of effective treatment being so high...
Imagine multiple 30 day courses of IV antibiotics. Even THIS is not always enough!
Click here to see what it took to Save BROOK Landau!
SCIENTISTs we are supposed to be able to trust are LYING FOR MONEY
The "IDSA" -- Infectious Disease Society of America set treatment guidelines that were flawed (cheap, but ineffective) because of *undisclosed financial interests*<--Link Here)
*Now* do you know why I'm on high alert? Don't worry. I am using "the power of positive thinking", but I do this with full knowledge and understanding of what's at stake, and what to to watch for and what to do if I do get ill. The hardest thing to find was a doctor who knows and cares enough to treat Lyme Disease.
Lyme Disease is a tricky insidious thing to fight. These SPIROCHETES rarely show up in blood, instead, they hide deep inside of vital organs. An ounce of prevention is clearly worth a pound of cure here.
An LLMD is a "Lyme Literate Medical Doctor". The name implies that he *knows* more about Lyme, and he does. But, more importantly is the fact that he *cares* about treating Lyme patients.
(Remember, there is the fact that I had TWO nymphal deer ticks. Additional measures may be in order.)
Below is the link to the settlement statement containing the truth about how money influenced physicians to ignore and allow Lyme Disease to destroy lives or even kill its victims!
Just look for a second at this page! -->http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS303US303&q=+lyme+2006+settlement&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
This disturbs me. There was a "settlement" reached, as if there'd been a mere "conflict" rather than a pure FRAUD that cost precious American lives!
From now on, I will forever keep Tick Twister & permethrin (not DEET) in my car and on my person *always* if I'm in potentially infested areas! Lesson Learned.<--click here for the Permethrin vs. DEET comparison and instructions.
Special Thanks to the Wonderful people of LymeNet and the International Lime & Associated Disease Society (ILADS) and the Lyme Disease Association (LDA) for their generousity, Wisdom and Insights! Be EVER CAREFUL who you trust for Lyme Treatment Information! The people I've met have no other motive than to see people recovered and Lyme Disease erradicated. Be especially wary of people selling things touted to "cure" Lyme disease without antibiotics.
Under Our Skin:CLICK IMAGE FOR PREVIEWS
<---*MORE PREVIEWS HERE*
Lyme disease is THE FASTEST Spreading Infectious Disease in America! Bigger than H1N1, West Nile, Bigger than AIDS! Why, oh why don't we know until BITTEN??? Lyme disease is *Especially Dangerous for PREGNANT moms and Babies! <---CLICK HERE
P.S. Guided by the people of ILADS I sent my ticks to Clongen Labs for testing.
JUNE 26, 2009 ----
I JUST got the results from tests performed on the two ticks that lived on my legs for days... they were POSITIVE FOR Lyme Disease. Burgdoferi. THINK about it. When was the LAST time doctors have been challenged by an illness named by a LIVING scientist?!?!?
Luckily, my child had already changed into cowboy boots and jeans, and seems to have emerged tick free, but knowing how fast and easily it happened to me, she will learn from my mistake. Sometimes in life, we are amazingly fortunate and given a precious gift. I can't let anything happen to her. I am sure other parents who are not outdoors types, end up outside for short periods in similar situations.
WARNING...Lyme disease is a SPIROCHETE. The only other such organism known to cause this kind of devastation was the spirochete that causes Syphilis. You all KNOW what happened to those who went untreated, and end up with spirochetes disseminated throughout their brains, nervous systems, etc.
You wouldn't DREAM of advising a syphilis patient to skip the antibiotics and try this or that made up remedy. Can you just SEE this happening for Tuberculosis (TB)?!?!? Until antibiotics, EVERY TB patient died. They called it "consumption" because it consumed them a little at a time, in a slow, painful death.
Look up the long term permanent damage from syphilis spirochetal infections, and you SHOULD UNDERSTAND the harm of ignoring Lyme disease. Both spirochetes masquerade as SOME other illness when they move in for the kill. DON'T let fraudulant science sentence others to a slow and painful death. BUT...IMPORTANT difference: The LYME DISEASE Spirochete Organism IS 25 TIMES Bigger than Syphilis and MUCH TOUGHER TO KILL! Lyme is the most DANGEROUS pathogen attacking the people of America.
For Honorable, Reputable organizations, with NO other motive than to see people relieved of debilitating illness and premature death, see these organizations, and the ones they link into:
http://www.lymenet.org/ * http://www.ilads.org/ * http://www.turnthecorner.org/ *www.lymeblog.com
Questions or comments welcome at tickedoffliterally@gmail.com
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