“Sharp rise in Lyme cases due to changes in how they are reported
Reported Lyme disease cases in the U.S. rose nearly 70% in 2022. The CDC says it’s not because of a large increase in new infections but rather because of a change in reporting requirements.
According to the CDC, there were more than 62,000 reported cases in 2022. This was up from about 37,000 a year from 2017 through 2019.
Although the CDC estimates that about half a million people get Lyme disease in the US every year, “reported cases” are those that follow a strict case definition and specialized requirements.
In the past, in order for a Lyme case to be officially counted, local health departments needed to go through a complicated verification process for each case. In 2022, reporting requirements were eased in states the CDC considers “high incidence.” In those states, Lyme cases are now counted based solely on a positive Lyme test.”- article on Lymedisease.org site. I’ve added the link first thing.
Yep, not demon-possessed as I was blamed by some, not drama queen as I was addressed by others, simply fighting something along many others. Getting better, thank God!
As some of you know, healing from chronic Lyme Disease is a tricky and long process.
It’s been seven years since I’ve been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. After the diagnose we found out I had multiple co-infections such as Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma, in addition to mold, toxicity and intestinal parasites. I believe I was originally bit around 10-12 years old. Back then I fell into an unconscious state for 3-4 days with a sever hight fever. After I awoke things changed. Irritability, heat intolerance, irregular heart beats and anxiety were the obvious immediate symptoms, syncope came soon after.
In 2002 trauma-the loss of my baby brother- while pregnant with my third child triggered an immune response which kept me in a survival mode for few years from which I operated until a complete collapse in January 2014, due to the demands of my new job as a massage therapies- a job I LOVED! What once hid so well within my tissues resurfaced with a vengeance. The immune system collapsed and I along with it, living for two years on a thin thread, constantly balancing between life and…well, you know the darker side.
For those of you who can’t see the pictures of the three products I’ve posted on this blog and the link to the Amazon site where all three are sold, here are their names in order:
Vitamineral Green by HealthForce SuperFoods
Ion* Gut Health
Transfer Factors by Source Naturals
1.While in the survival mode I came across a product that saved me, I believe. I’ve spoken about it in the past but I can’t say enough great things:) I feel better within minutes after I mix one tsp of this superfood complex in some water and drink it. Spirulina and chlorella bind to toxins and flushes them out of the system. It’s like having ten salads in one glass, plus amino acids, plus protein in a vegan, gluten-free, organic mix. Been taking this for 18+ years. My kids love it too- not the taste but the results. Tastes like grass.
2.The second product is a more recent development. I began taking it around 8 months or so ago. It’s a liquid, tastes like water, looks like water with a little dirt in it. For those fighting autoimmune diseases with sensitivities start slow, about 1/2 tsp once a day and work your way up to the recommended dose of 1 tsp, 3 times daily. Do not take in the evening as it will keep you awake. It gave me energy- more energy than I had, no it did not fix me completely- and I noticed my gluten intolerance reduced. From not being able to breath in flour particles to being able to have a bite of a gluten filled desert now and again it’s a major improvement for me! My tummy used to swell up within 5-10 minutes if I ate something with gluten. I looked 10 months pregnant within minutes and my ribs hurt quite a lot from the expanded pressure of the belly. My joins flared up and my brain fogged to a point that I looked like a walking zombie.
If I eat Thai food and there is gluten in the sauce I’m fine now, or fries which are known to be made in the same oil as other gluten rich deep fried goodies, I’m also fine. This guy in the picture below helped me with that.
3.The third product, a very recent development does help with energy and a total wellbeing. What impressed me this past week was the speedy recovery of a very large bruise left on my inner arm on January 7th after four attempts to insert an IV cannula (a small plastic tube inserted into a vein). It was gone by yesterday! That’s impressive, since it took me at least two weeks to fully recover. I’ve already subscribed to a monthly delivery of this product. One capsule on empty stomach, three times daily.
I must add that a good diet void of artificial ingredients and processed foods is a must in order to heal, hope is deeply important, keeping a mental image of what you’d like to do once you’re feeling better and visualizing yourself doing it is a saver, even if all you’re up to today is maybe a shower. Try to move your body or breath deeply in order to get those lymph nodes moving the toxins out of you.
I remember back in 2015, one of my goals was to make it to the mail box and check my own mail again. When I finally accomplished that I was so happy, but gave myself a new, more difficult goal, and just kept going. No one understands except those doing the suffering how utterly disheartening the relapses are after a victory. No one understands than those who walked the road how easy is to loose hope when all you feel is constant and debilitating pain, and one little victory can put you back in the bed of recovery for a whole week. I’ve been there more times than I like to think about, but keep on going! Fight for your life! No one will do a better job than yourself:)
Hope is a dangerous thing. It can break through any dark matter and bring along the light we need and long for.
I’ve purchased the latest expanded and revised book called Healing Lyme written by Stephen Harrod Buhner.
It’s been five years since I found out I had Lyme, so why wait until now to read some of these books ? I suppose due to couple factors. In the beginning 95% of anything I read I could not process or retain.Once I pushed past that I was too overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation, a situation without a positive finality. No cure for Lyme is something I hear often yet I have a hard time accepting. How I see it, there’s a cure for everything. We simply need to find it, and hopefully during our life-time.
The additional pain that comes from a relapse pushes me yet again into the research field, because we all know pain is the best incentive to make us act, and have come face to face, yet again, with the Buhner protocol, a treatment I heard about with many positive results but never tried it al least not in its entirety.
Yesterday was my first day, and all was good but today I have a very big headache and I feel funny (nausea, headaches, feel like Im getting a nose bleed, fatigue and pain behind my eyes). I’ll have to reduce the doses.
I’m following the example Buhner has in his book for a Neuroborreliosis protocol, since it got in my brain, which consists of the following tinctures.
*Polygonum cudpidatum or Japanese Knotwood tincture- 1/2tsp, 3-6x daily -for endothelial protection.
*Salvia Miltiorrhiza or Sage and Scutellaria baicalensis or Skullcap combined tinctures, 1tsp 3x daily for cytokine remodulation.
*Cordyceps/ Eleutherococcus/Uncaria tomentosa or Cat’s claw combined tincture, equal parts of each, 1.5tsp 3x day for immune remodulation.
*Glycyrrhiza or Licorice tincture, 1/4 tsp 3x daily. (not if you have high blood pressure) for immune remodulation.
Uncaria rhynchophylla, 1/2-1 tsp 3-6x daily for neuroborreliosis.
*Withania somnifera or ashwagandha. Powder: 1/2 tsp am, 1tsp before bed time (pm) for immune remodulation.
Tryptophan, 1500 mg 3x daily for neuroborreliosis.
*Great lakes gelatin powder, 1 Tbl. in the morning with water or juice for collagen.
*Vitamin C, 1000-3000mg daily for collagen protection.
*Selenium, 200mcg daily for collagen protection.
All supplements with a * are part of the core protocol, so you can add to this protocol based on your needs. The book has a long list of other tinctures to add.
In addition to this I take Sida Acuta tincture, since my body has always responded extremely well to it, weather is in IV form or tincture. I don’t respond well when its in pill format. Sida Acuta helps with tremors associated with neuroborreliosis.
Burbur-Pinella tincture helped with the headache.
Like I said, hope is a dangerous thing, it stubbornly pushes through dark walls looking for a way out. God, I pray I’ll find my way out so others can find theirs. Thx.
Imagine me sighing now, because that’s what I’m doing and I haven’t begun writing this blog yet.
Thank God for artist like Mandisa, for friends and loved ones, for great hubbies and wives, for sisters, parents, brothers, for friends and for those wonderful people who do research work so we can find The Cure. We must find the cure! There are only so many relapses we can walk through with our heads high and hope filled hearts. But we do it! Ultimately thank God for life, shitty like it is at times is better than not having it.
Recovery from a chronic illness is an up-and-down process.* No need to beat around the bushes about this, those who suffer know this truth.
Just when you think everything is turning around, a set back kicks you in the …well just about everywhere. You’re on your back, in bed, wrapped in the blanket of pain and now what? Why God? Why again? Did I eat the wrong thing? Did I do too much? Took the wrong medication? And you trace back every single step with a fine brush and can’t seem to find anything. Or maybe you do.
My #1 flaw. With increase of energy my thirst for life returns and I end up wanting to do all those things I dreamed of doing while imprisoned in bed, so I do them! And for brief periods of time I feel like I belong in the vast community of humans where I too look and behave normal, where pain and disease are not the subject of the day, where I can be stupid and silly and alive. That’s when I collected memories. That’s what I call it. These memories are worth every single stab of pain I feel later on, because Lyme punishes us like that. If you see me out there in the world and if I’m visiting you or you’re visiting me, I’m living and loving it, even if I know Lyme’s punishments will come later on.
Fortunately, with time, these setbacks gradually become less common and less intense. * True. At least it is for me.
System disruptors that cause setbacks: poor nourishment, toxins, emotional stress, physical stress, oxidative stress (increase in inflammation), radiation (from computers and cell phones), microbiome imbalance (new bite, flue, cold, Herxheimer reaction, flu vaccine), bacterial and viral fare-ups (Epstein-Barr virus reactivation, other herpes- type viruses, Borrelia, Mycoplasma etc), drug reactions, inadequate sleep, and/or allergic reactions to herbs or drugs, or even food, travel or stressful events, or if you’re like me I enter complacency- do more and eat more sugar. The weather changes also affect us, less sun and more cold, rainy, humid days bring the flare-up fast. Cancer, menopause and other such unexpected illnesses, it can do a number on the body.
General Guidelines: If you can get sun or move to a sunny area, do it. REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I make that clear? I hope so:) Lots of liquids and when I say liquids I mean water, tea (ginger) and natural non-sugary drinks. Vitamin C, turmeric and boswellia to reduce inflammation, Enzymes to help you break down the food you eat. The best one is just eating pineapple or take Bromelain, Omega-3 fatty acids, heat, CBD oil (I take that quite a bit during flare-ups, it keeps me sane), herbal supplements, go outside and breath fresh air and walk barefoot on the dirt, meditate, make your world smaller, try to exercise-Yoga is good- (now this is one of those catch 22 issues, flare-ups brings along severe fatigue symptoms and we only have a certain small amount of energy every day and many times we have to choose between cooking or exercising) but endorphins suppress pain and enhance immune function.
And the hardest one of all, figure out how to reduce fear. Yeah, easier said than done, right?
How do I do it? Well, I cry first and I get angry then I start formulating a plan. I’ll give you some ideas, but if you have other ones please share them and I’ll add them here.
Plan ideas
What do I want to do this summer? Realistic goals only. Everyone can make their way outside and lay on a piece of grass and soak the sun, for example. So look forward to those activities.
What new recipes do I want to make? (Most days I only want to eat sugar, so this one is tough:).
What friends do I want to see once I feel better? Assuming they’re still talking to me;)
How can I be part of my children’s lives more?
What hobby brings me peace? I should start that hobby then. So on.
In conclusion, please rest, surround yourself with good and positive encouragement material via books, shows, friends, activities and look forward for the happy spring and summer seasons. Keep fighting because a cure will be found:)
I hope some of this information has been helpful to you:)
God Bless:)
* Quotes or information taken from Williams Rawls book, Unlocking Lyme.
Biofilms are colonies of microbes. They hide safely inside a protective polysaccharide shell which protects the organisms inside from starvation, drying out, the immune system, and antibiotics. Inside they’re free to mingle and exchange information.* As M.D. William Rawls put it in his book Unlocking Lyme; “imagine a crowded dance floor with bodies squeezed together forming a uniform mass swaying to the rhythm of the music.”
If immune function is compromised, like in chronic immune dysfunction, biofilm can form on surfaces of the body. It’s very hard to rid your body of these biofilms and when the bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi finds the environment safe they come out (multiplied by now) and goes wild in the body causing the known relapses and/or other complications.
Common biofilm illnesses include bacterial vaginosis, chronic UTI’s, chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, middle ear infections in children, heart valve infections. “Lyme disease is not primarily a biofilm disease.” According to M.D. William Rawls. However, symptoms of Lyme disease are caused by the bacteria manipulating the immune system to generate inflammation, and it can allow the biofilm generated by other bacteria to flourish. Ex: Dizziness common in Lyme disease may be related to biofilm formation with calcium deposits in the inner ear probably caused by other baacteria.*
How can you overcomebiofilm?
A strong immune system will do it:)
Herbal therapy with antimicrobial and immune-enhancing properties (garlic, zinc, elderberry, echinacea, mushrooms, sage, artemisia, calendula, capsicum etc). Personally I respond really well to artemisia.
Essential oils like eucalyptus and thyme.
Protein-digesting enzymes.
Monolaurin- comes from coconut fat.
NAC (N-acetyl cysteine.
EDTA, a chelating agent.
Oxygen and nitric oxide. *
More research is needed and being done on biofilm, but one think research has shown is the ineffectiveness of antibiotic treatment against biofilms.
On a personal note, I believe based on the research I did, that lyme bacteria can hide for years in these biofilm colonies, multiply and get stronger and a compromised immune system due to trauma, accident or serious illness can trigger them and set them free to cause extensive damage in the body. For me personally was a combination of my little brother Fanu passing away and third pregnancy. I absolutely love Alex, my third and don’t regret anything but I will forever miss my little brother, Fanu.
Hope some of this information has been of help to you today and keep fighting, a cure may be around the corner:)
God Bless:)
*Quotes or information taken from the book Unlocking Lyme by William Rawls M.D.
Lyme is a cruel disease. The co-infections that come along with it are horrendous and most often worse than Borrelia Burgdorferi alone.
Co-infections I suffer from are: Babesia Duncani, Bartonella, Mycoplasma Pneumoniae. In addition there’s Ehrlichia/Anaplasma/Rickettsia (the worst one) and Chlamydia. There are said to be hundreds of Borrelia versions yet undiscovered.
Viruses such as Epstein Barr Virus, Streptozyme (strep infection), MMV6 Herpesvirus have been found in my body. In addition to these there are also CMV or Cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B and C, HSV-1, HSV-2, herpes virus, HHV-6a, HHV-6b, HHV-7, parvovirus B-19, adenovirus are the most commons. There are thousands more, some undiscovered yet. Most people are carriers of some of these viruses but the immune system is stronger and keeps them in check. For Lyme patients these only add to the multi-head-monster-disease and cause serious damage.
In addition intestinal parasites, mold and toxicity and some genetic cellular dysfunctions such as HTGF C677T mutation was positive for me, a critical enzyme required for a metabolic process that repairs DNA. But the list is long in this criteria as well.
There’s also a vitamin deficiency usually present such as Vitamine D, B, and magnesium; these were in my case and can vary for others. Also the HTGF B1 or Human Transforming Growth Factor was high in my case meaning high amount of inflammation present in the body.
By now I had non-epileptic seizure (I learned that later) all the time, paralysis of arms and feet, tingling of extremities, face and lips, among my many other symptoms.
I’ve seen cardiologists, neurologists, urologist and was referred to immunologist, endocrinologist, but due to feeling too weak to stand and too poor I opted out of some.
I had Lyme for years, but I got re-bit and the high amount of trauma/stress at the time (my little brother died, pregnancy #3, school, trip to Europe and work) triggered the monster.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease and Co-infections for me: flu-like symptoms it’s how it began with face pallor, chills, muscle ache, low fever then high fever and malaise. Added along the way: numbness and tingling of upper and lower extremities, face and lips. Constant nausea. Peripheral blindness, air hunger (Babesia), rashes, joints, muscles and bone pain around the clock, dissociation, fog vision, fainting spells, rapid weight loss without activity, hyper-sensitivity to noise and light, hyper-anxiety, irritability, depression, ghost like facial paler, loss of hair/eyelashes and eyebrows, bitter/metallic taste in the mouth, stomach discomforts, swollen lymph nodes, left side pain in the spleen region, shallow breathing, irregular an heavy periods, headaches, confusion, loss of memory especially short memory, speech impairment, swollen eyelids, ovary and bladder pain, chronic UTI’s, Bell’s palsy on the right side of face, non-epileptic episodes, to name a few.
How to treat?
Since there’s no cure for Lyme Disease yet, the treatments are very controversial in the western medical circles and three weeks of antibiotics only helps half of the patients while the other half go on a life long debilitating and severely painful battle.
Advise #1 from me: Fight for your life and don’t allow the doctors to brush you aside as if you’re crazy. Most likely they’re frustrated as well by the lack of knowledge on this subject and most are scared of the CDC, a corrupt and criminal corporation in my opinion, not looking out for patience at all.
Antibiotic treatment may have helped a limited amount of people but science shows the presence of Borrelia in tissues even after treatment.
A holistic systematic approach to healing has proved to help. Tincture protocols like Buhner and Cowden as I mentioned in previous steps seem to help tremendously. Herbs and aromatherapy also do wonders, and are far more affordable than antibiotic IV’s.
Core Herbal Protocol*
Primary
Resveratrol from Japanese Knotweed: 200-800 mg, 2-3 time a day.
Andrographis: 200-800mg, 2-3 times a day.
Cat’s Claw: 400-800mg, 2-3 times a day.
Chinese Skullcap: 400-1000mg, 2-3 times a day.
Garlic with stabilized allicin:180-1200mg, 3x daily.
Sarsaparilla: 200-1000mg: 2-3 times a day.
Secondary
Cordyceps: 1-3 grams (1000-3000mg); 2-3 times daily
Reishi: 1000-2000mg, 2-3 times a day.
Eleuthero: 50-200mg 2x a day.
Supportive Supplements
NAC
Alpha Lipoic acid
Vitamin C
CoQ10
Vitamin D
Resveratrol from Japanese Knotweed
French Maritime Pine Bark
Hawthorn
Milk Thistle
Omega 3
* Treatment info comes from the book Unlocking Lyme by William Rawls, MD. Most of these treatments I take with great results. It’s the relapses that suck.
Gut restorative supplements as well as toxin and mold removal are a must. (See previous Series for more info).
Hope some of this information can help you find some answers and gives you some tools towards getting better.
As I’m writing this series, I realize just how complicated this disease is, and why it’s so hard to treat.
“Beyound collagen, microbes- Lyme and Co-infections- commonly scavenge specialized fats in the brain and nervous system. Myelin, the fat that surrounds and insulates nerves, is a common target for Borrelia and Mycoplasma (which I was diagnosed with along with a few other co-infections). Loss of myelin and other brain fats cause a range of neurological symptoms, from tingling to burning to brain fog and depression (all symptoms I do and have experienced).*
Eggs, are a good source of lecithin and choline, both essential brain nutrients. Omega-3 fatty acids and minerals including zinc, an essential nutrient for brain function.*
Monolaurin, a fatty substance derived from coconut, is known for supressing microbes, including Borrelia.* I took this supplement for one year.
Also certain mushrooms, including lion’s mane and chaga are known for protecting and restoring the brain function. Reichi and Cordyceps mushrooms provide neuro-protective properties.* I take reichi powder in tea and it helps tremendously. Other herbs include ashwagandha and bacopa.
Lavender, rosemary and lemon balm are great essential oils to use.
I had neurotherapy injections done along the spine and in over the adrenal glands for 6 weeks, to help re-boot the parasympathetic response ( rest and digest, during which the body heals ).
The brain fog I experienced was severe and could no longer remember every day words, I skipped the order of words in a sentence, repeated one word over and over and could not remember what it meant, I had a hard time comprehending what others were telling me, if I read I could not comprehend anything and after reading one sentence ten times I gave up, etc. These are just few examples of brain fog. This however diminished almost entirely, right after I pulled my mercury fillings out.
Mold presence in the system, as well as toxins created a bomb gone wild, along with Lyme and its co-infections. Those need to be removed one at the time as not to overwhelm an already fragile body.
Anti-mold diet: avoid sugar, dried fruits, peanuts and make sure you drink plenty of water-about 10 cups a day-. Glutathione and Phosphatidychlorine Iv’s were helping bring the mold out of the body and support the nervous system. Chlorella pills help remove toxins out by binding on the toxic molecule and flushing it out through urine or sweat. Bentonite clay, activated charcoal (I can’t do this one) and infrared sauna.
Meditation and deep breathing helps quite a bit as well as yoga exercises.
Hope this info helps you and I’l be moving on to our next step:)
God Bless:)
*Quotes from the book Unlocking Lyme by William Rawls, MD
It’s hard to watch this without feeling the pain of their battles. As I’ve relapsed in September and had seizures or tendencies to fall into one almost hourly, I know how nasty it is. I’m slowly coming out of it, but I’m still in lots of pain, and the cold, gray weather does not help.
I have to focus on one step at the time and keep moving forward. Is it sinister what’s happening to people suffering from this disease? Yes. Is this the only disease hurting others? No. This one, along with a few others are hard to diagnose, understand, and eliminate. So far. We hope the research will reveal a cure and the government will allow it.
Have a good day today and hope for a healthy tomorrow:)
Journey 