10/08/2010

Lyme Disease - A Three Stage Progressive Infection

I assume I'm pretty safe in guessing that most people are unaware that there are 3 stages of Lyme infection. The more you educate yourself about the symptoms of Lyme Disease, the earlier you could advocate for testing. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms that doctors don't have an explanation for or write off as stress or other diseases mentioned in an earlier post about misdiagnosis this information may be the key to a diagnosis. So read about the 3 stages and educate a friend about them :)

Stage 1: Early Localized - day of bite up to 4 weeks
In this stage of lyme infection, many patients have no symptoms. Others may experience:
- a Bulls-Eye Rash (erythema migrans)
- Flu-like symptoms
- Fatigue
- Headache and neck stiffness
- Fever and/or chills
- swollen lymph nodes

Stage 2: Early Disseminated - 4 weeks to 4 months
Stage 2, known as early disseminated, begins approximately 4 weeks after the initial bite by an infected tick. Many people have no symptoms prior to this stage, when more noticeable symptoms begin occuring. These symptoms may include:
- Significant fatigue
- Joint pain
- Skin rashes in several places on your body that develop as the infection spreads (not a Bulls Eye Rash)
- Heart palpitations/Irregular heart beat (in some cases severe heart problems have been reported)
- Pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart)
- Dizziness or fainting
- Meningitis (swelling of the lining of the brain)
- Poor memory
- Difficult with concentration
- Swelling of the liver
- Carpal tunnel syndrome

- Bells Palsy (paralysis to one side of the face cause by paralysis to one of the facial nerves)
- Conjunctivitis
- Numbness, weakness or pain in the arms or legs
- Vision changes due to damage to deep tissues in the inner eye

Stage 3: Late Persistent or Chronic
Sadly, the majority of people now being diagnosed with Lyme Disease are in the third stage and are often experiencing heart, neurological and joint symptoms. Symptoms at this stage are vast! It would take me weeks to try and list them all. Below is a very incomplete list of commonly reported complications of chronic lyme infection:
- Swelling and pain in the joints (often knees)
- Chronic Lyme Arthritis, which causes recurring episodes of swelling, redness, and fluid buildup in one or more joints that last up to 6 months at a time
- Severe fatigue (often diagnosed as Fibromyalgia, Mononucleosis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
- Light sensitivity
- Optic nerve atrophy and eye swelling
- Numbness or tingling in the hands, feet or back
- Neurological changes, including problems with memory, mood, or sleep and sometimes problems speaking or retrieving words
- Anxiety or depression
- Dementia
- Psychotic episodes or episodes of confusion
- Paralysis
- Dysphagia (Swallowing/Feeding Disorders)
- Loss of motor control (Dyspraxia)


Top Mis-diagnoses:
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson's Disease
- Alzheimer's
- Lou Gehrig's Disease /Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Chronic Fatique Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Lupus
- Scleroderma
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Autism
- ADHD
- Irregular Heart Rythm, Angina, Heart Failure
- Eye Inflammatory Reactions
- Panic Attacks / Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Schizophrenia and/or Psychotic Episodes
- Obssessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Bell's palsy (Facial Paralysis)
- Blood Coagulation
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Meningitis
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Athritis
- Asymmetrical Hearing Loss
- Deafness (sometimes sudden)
- Tinitus (ringing in the ears)
- Brain Tumor or Aneurysm
- Cortical Blindness
- Photophobia (Light Sensitivity)
- Dementia
- Demylinating Disorders
- Miscarriage or Fetal Death
- Migraines / Severe Headaches
- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Hypothyroidism
- Horner's Syndrome
- Influenza (in earlier stages)
- Vertigo (Dizziness)
- Tourette's Syndrome
- Syphilis
- Transient Ischemic Attack
- Stroke
- Transient left ventricular dysfunction
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Epilepsy (Seizure Disorders)
- Pericarditis
- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

(Please note that is a VERY small list of the many diseases/disorders Lyme can mimic! Please do your research!)



Many people have emailed asking what they can do to help. Here's what you can do.....educate two friends about the stages and symptoms of Lyme Disease. Tell them to education two friends and ask those friends to educate two more friends. Let's start the cycle of education and bring attention to a disease millions are silently suffering from at this very moment and don't even know it!




1 comment:

  1. My daughter (Annabel) suffered from schizophrenia for 5 years. I had no idea what was happening and didn’t know where to turn for help. It was hard then because I really didn’t understand the symptoms earlier until she was diagnosed. There was a time she decided to get away from everyone, I was not excluded. I had to sit and cry almost every day because I felt helpless as a single mother (she is all I have got). The anguish I went through taking care of her alone is beyond explanation because there was no support whatsoever from the dad or family members. I fought for proper medical care and humane treatment; I did everything within my reach to get her cured but all to no avail. Countless different medications was prescribed (Zyprexa, fluphenazine, Risperdal, quetiapine, etc.) that she was taking but all we could get was myriad of side effects such as rigidity, drowsiness, dizziness, tremors and restlessness which tends to worsen the already damaged situation. Frustration was the order of the day. I wrote a couple of messages to Ontario Mental Health Foundation for help because watching my daughter go through such was devastating. It was at this foundation someone shared a testimony about DR James herba mix medicine, how effective it is and how she went through the most difficult times of her life trying to help her mom fight Schizophrenia. Being that I was already at the verge of giving up because I just couldn't imagine waking up every morning to fight the same demons that left me so tired the night before. I had to contact the doctor,on his email  (drjamesherbalmix@gmail.com)  from our conversations; I was relieved and convinced that the result is going to be positive because I was made to contact people with worse cases. Today, the awful situation of my daughter has gone by. Her happy life is back. She is now a schizophrenia survivor and I am glad because my daily routine activities can now kick off without obstructions. Don't let Schizophrenia hinder you from living a desired life and also, never allow anyone to decide for you especially when they don't know what you have to go through to get to where you are. I was almost discouraged by the doctor but then, I remembered that: I have to shield my daughter’s destiny with courage, faith and perseverance because she is not in her right state of mind and that the bravery and freedom from fear is found in the ‘doing’. Her life is now a testimony. After my daughter got cured,from the herbal mix medicine Dr James prepared and sent to me, she said, Mom “I just thought, ‘Well, I’m a weirdo, I’ll never be normal, then I said, my daughter, life itself is a misery and we get stronger in the places we have been broken. Thanks to you Dr. James  for your excellent counseling, no more psychotic symptoms for the past 3 years and 4 months now. To know more about Dr.James and the effectiveness of his Herbs and roots extracts and he said he got cures for diseases like Bipolar,DIABETES, HPV,SHINGLES,CANCER, ALS, HEPATITIS B, KIDNEY DISEASE, HERPES, Ovarian Cancer,Pancreatic cancers, Bladder cancer,Skin cancer, Prostate cancer, Glaucoma., Cataracts,Macular degeneration,Cardiovascular disease,Autism,Lung disease.Enlarged prostate,Osteoporosis.Alzheimer's disease,psoriasis ,Tach Diseases,Lupus,Dementia.kidney cancer, lung cancer,. You can reach him on his Email at ... drjamesherbalmix@gmail.com.  I believe you will testify just like me.

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