LYME DISEASE (Borreliosis)
A Plague of Ignorance Regarding the Ignorance of a Plague© Copyright 2004, Dr Scott Taylor, DVM, All rights Reserved
Borreliosis: The Clinical Disease Lyme disease is an extremely challenging infectious/toxic disease for both doctor and patient. It can exhibit many different symptoms. The clinical picture of LD can be similar to fibromyalgia, including: chronic fatigue, joint pain (arthralgias), muscle, fibrous tissue and tendon pain. Lyme disease can also manifest primarily as a neurological disorder, including fatigue and many neurological symptoms. It is important to remember that there are hundreds of symptoms that are caused by LD and it can mimic many diseases; for this reason, LD is often called, "the great imitator."
The prognosis of Lyme disease depends a lot on how soon the disease is caught and how well it is treated. Early, aggressive, and comprehensive treatment improves the prognosis tremendously. Unfortunately it is difficult to diagnose many cases early because they don’t present themselves with obvious Lyme disease symptoms. They often show only one or a few subtle symptoms that can easily be misdiagnosed as something else.
Lingering Lyme: The Chronic Persistent Infection Some symptoms and signs of Lyme disease may not appear until weeks, months, or years after a tick bite. This stage typically involves intermittent episodes of joint pain or numerous neurological symptoms such as: meningitis, Bell's palsy, dysfunction of cardiac rhythm, and migratory pain to joints, tendons, muscle and bone. Arthritis is most likely to appear as brief bouts of pain and swelling, usually in one or more large joints, especially the knees. In some patients, the first and only sign of Lyme disease is arthritis. In others, nervous system problems are the only evidence of Lyme disease. However, any combination of symptoms can be present.
Primarily unique to humans, neuroborreliosis (the neurological form of Lyme disease) can include numbness, pain, Bell's palsy (paralysis of the facial muscles, usually on one side and more often the left), and meningitis (fever, stiff neck, and severe headache). Dysautonomia (a dysfunctioning autonomic nervous system) and irregularities of the heart rhythm may occur.
In a minority of individuals (11%), development of chronic Lyme arthritis may lead to erosion of cartilage and/or bone. Other clinical manifestations associated with chronic neuroborreliosis include neurologic complications such as disturbances in memory, mood, or sleep patterns, and sensations of numbness and tingling in the hands or feet (parethesia).
The course of the disease can best be described as persistent, with periods of worsening symptoms, often cyclical every few weeks or monthly. Especially disconcerting are persistent symptoms such as pain, headaches and fatigue. Some patients are more symptomatic than are others, which may reflect gender and genetically-determined differences in response to infection. The disease is progressive, destructive, and debilitating, and in severe untreated cases, it can be fatal.
Chronic Borrelia can also cause a degenerative skin disorder now known as acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA).
Lyme disease causes metabolic/endocrine dysfunctions that lead to weight loss or commonly chronic weight gain.
Generally, women struggle with chronic Lyme disease more severely than men do. It is not known for sure why.
List of Lyme Disease SymptomsAs I mentioned before, every organ and organ system can be affected, here’s a list of some of the LD symptoms as they relate to specific areas of the body:
Head – headache, neck pain, facial pain and paralysis, difficulty chewing, pain in teeth, dry mouth, loss of taste/smell, numb tongue/mouth. Peculiar metallic or salty taste is also common in LD. This is likely due to the BLPs present in the system.
Bladder -- frequent or painful urination, repeated urinary tract infections, irritable bladder, interstitial cystitis.
Lung -- respiratory infection, cough, asthma, pneumonia, pleurisy, chest pains
Ear -- pain, hearing loss, ringing (tinnitius), sensitivity to noise, dizziness & equilibrium disorders.
Eyes -- pain due to inflammation (scleritis, uveitis, optic neuritis), dry eyes, sensitivity to light, drooping of eyelid (ptosis), conjunctivitis, blurry or double vision, swelling around eyes / bags below the eyes.
Throat -- sore throat, swollen glands, cough, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing
Neurological -- headaches, facial paralysis, seizures, meningitis, stiff neck, burning, tingling, or prickling sensations (parathesia), loss of reflexes, loss of coordination, equilibrium problems/dizziness (these symptoms mimic an MS, ALS, or Parkinson’s like syndrome)
Stomach -- pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, anorexia
Heart -- weakness, dizziness, irregular heart-beat, myocarditis, pericarditis, palpitations, heart block, enlarged heart, fainting, shortness of breath, chest pain, mitral valve prolapse.
Muscle & skeletal system -- arthralgias (joint pain), fibromyalgia (muscle inflammation and pain)
Other Organs -- liver infection / hepatitis, elevated liver enzymes, enlarged spleen, swollen testicles, and irregular or ceased menses.
Neuropsychiatric -- mood swings, irritability, anxiety, rage (Lyme rage), poor concentration, cognitive loss, memory loss, loss of appetite, mental deterioration, depression, disorientation, insomnia
Pregnancy -- miscarriage, premature birth, birth defects, stillbirth
Skin – EM, single or multiple rash, hives, ACA
Another interesting symptom often noticed is an increased susceptibility to electrostatic shock. This is likely due to the BLPs causing a change in the electro-potential in our cells/nervous system. Some of these toxins are likely sodium channel agonists and can change the electrical potential of our body. Thus, the likelihood of electro-static shock.
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