It is always a great pleasure to pass on hope.  Those of us suffering for years begin to forget the look and feel of hope and are easily lost in the fog of despair that accompanies the pain – both physical and emotional, and the fatigue that confounds our bodies certainly must affect the energy required to hold on to hope with the tragic debate over the very existence of our disease.

If we had cancer we would be surrounded by love and support, but mention Lyme disease and watch your friends fade away with silent and/or verbal questions of our sanity.  How could anyone imagine we want to live like this?

So, the good news – voices within IDSA are coming out of the closet.  A founding member no less, Dr. Burton Waisbren (of Milwaukee, Wisconson; http://www.waisbrenclinic.com) has bravely written a book on the evidence of chronic Lyme disease which includes 51 – yes, that is fifty-one, consecutive case reports between 2007 and 2011.  The book is available in ebook form – I downloaded it in less than one minute on my Kindle for less than $4! (“Treatment of Chronic Lyme…”)

Dr. Waisbren began serious inquiry into chronic Lyme in the late eighties, and is a rare breed of doctor for the Lyme weary patient – he is open minded.  He believes in what he calls “investigative internal medicine”, and has practiced and taught that concept for more than fifty-five years.  He also advocates that “the absence of proof does not equal the proof of absence.”  This is music to the ears of hundreds, if not thousands of people who have spent fortunes trying to find out what is wrong with them after every possible test reveals no evidence of anything wrong.

No, we aren’t going crazy, well…unless the Lyme takes over our brain!

ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) has presented a very informative critique by Dr. Steven Phillips on IDSA’s guidelines for any who are interested in understanding the ridiculous nature of the medical debate about chronic Lyme.  Download the pdf. document at http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/media/pdf/IDSA_stevephillips.pdf.

To conclude, Dr. Waisbren states emphatically in his book that he believes there is an epidemic of chronic Lyme in our country – based on his experience – which is vast.  Visit the doctors website to read a number of excellent essays regarding treatment and diagnosis as well as the medical debate at http://www.waisbrenclinic.com/index.html.

Hi everyone. My name is David Rodgers, and it is my pleasure to be posting in Jenna’s Lyme Disease blog, as she has done a great job keeping everyone updated on a regular basis about many different types of Lyme protocols, including diet, supplements, drugs, IV treatment, and more. She has truly been a great help to many in the community and I want to thank her for that.

Jenna has allowed me to let you know about an upcoming event I have planned, which I think will be of great benefit to many of you. For background information, I have had Lyme Disease for at least 10 years (although diagnosed about 4.5 years ago). Over these 10 years, I kept my head in the books, so to speak, and researched everything I could about all-natural ways to treat Lyme and similar conditions.

During these 10 years of research, I have also completed a Masters of Science in Nutrition at the University of Bridgeport, and I now practice as a nutritionist in the Detroit suburbs, as well as via phone or online video conferencing for anyone throughout the world.

As Jenna mentioned in one of her posts not too long ago, it seems like the Lyme patients who are disciplined regarding diet and lifestyle do the best with their treatments. The problem I’ve found is that people have differing views on what foods are healthy or not, and they are also unclear about which supplements are truly the best for optimizing health and avoiding deficiencies.

For these reasons, I am putting on a webinar called “Chronic Lyme Disease: 7 Natural, Proven Steps to Reduce Symptoms.” This will take place on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 8:30EST (5:30PST). All that you need to view it is an Internet connection and speakers. This webinar is thoroughly backed by the latest research and by my clinical experience.

Sometimes webinars are mainly a way to sell people some product. This is not the case here. I will be briefly letting folks know that I am open for new clients, but otherwise, I have nothing to sell – it is simply meant to help as many people as possible know about the latest research for diet, supplements, and lifestyle, and their connection to Lyme Disease. I don’t even sell supplements, but I’ll let you know which ones are worth your money.

You may want a little more background about my health protocols, so I also have a free e-report that I have made available called “Diet Soda Makes You Fatter Than Regular and 10 More Shocking Health Truths.” This is available at my website – http://www.nutrientbalance.com – and more information is available there as well.

To sign up for the free webinar, click this link.

Thanks, and if anyone has a question, you may email me at david@nutrientbalance.com – you may also send me questions via this email to be answered at the webinar. Also, please share this via Facebook, etc. or email the info to people you know with Lyme or similar conditions (chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia). Looking forward to seeing everyone there…

For those of you who have heard of the famous New York Lyme doctor, you may be curious to know more about his protocol.  For years it was necessary to buy his book – I recommend anyone who is seriously interested in this alternative approach to contact Dr. Zhang and make an appointment for a full evaluation.

But for those of you who are curious and want to know more about it before taking that step, the following is a document Dr. Zhang wrote recently about his view of Lyme, his protocol, and this contact information is at the very end.

Treating Lyme Disease with Modern Chinese Medicine

Introduction

Lyme disease occurs worldwide and it is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. In 1981 Burgdorfer identified a bacteria, Borrelia spirochete, in the stomach of ticks was named Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). The disease is now referred to as either LD or Borreliosis. In 19th century in Europe similar tick borne disease had been documented, therefore it might have been existed for more than hundred years. In the United Sates LD epidemical areas are in the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific coast.

Canada, Europe, and some Asian countries have reported the epidemic.

In China it wasfirst reported in 1985 and now more than 18 provinces reported LD cases. Once infected, Bb disseminates via tissue and the bloodstream and getting into cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and central nervous system. The spirochete divides slowly in every 8 to 12 hours. It invades fibroblasts and lymphocytes, bind with host proteins, and triggers the secretion of cytokines and antibodies, which causes inflammation.

Because the tick may transmit multiple pathogens, such as Babesia, Bartonella, mycoplasma, and Ehrlichi. LD often has multiple co-infections. In the Northeast, about 66% of cases are co-infected with babesiosis, a malaria-like disease.

Bartonella, Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME), Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis

(HGE), Rocky Mountain Fever, Mycoplasma, etc. also common co-infections. These coinfections make the symptoms patterns of LD vary widely and the treatment of LD more difficult. In treating chronic LD, the treatment must be able to cover these pathogens.

During long-term antibiotics treatment, iatrogenic (medication-caused) problem are fungal infections and liver enzyme elevation. All these problems make chronic LD a difficult to treat disease.

Acute LD is mainly treated with antibiotics, which was usually not sufficient because the limited CDC definition made the treatment course too short. It can suppress most patients’ symptoms, but could not eradicate the spirochete and co-infections in many patients and render the LD became chronic.

Chronic LD is an extremely complex and recurrent illness that is still poorly understood. It may be accompanied with brain foggy,cognitive problem, fever, fatigue, arthritis, cardiovascular problem, fibromyalgia, and malaise. It is a disease involving multiple body system damages, which are the consequence of inflammation and immune dysfunction.

In tradition Chinese medicine (TCM), LD is considered as a syndrome of toxic dampness heat, which has a symptom-pattern: water retention, M.S.-like symptoms, and rheumatoid-like arthritis, vasculitis, peripheral neuritis, and encephalitis. It is resemble the symptom patterns of syphilis and leptospirosis, which are spirochete diseases.

TCM has accumulated abundant experiences on treating these two spirochetal diseases. The treatment principle is ”heat-clearing, damp-drying, and toxic-resolving.“ The herbal remedies we have developed for LD were found from herbs with these features.

Their phytopharmacological data has also used to confirm their actions of anti-pathogens, regulating immunity, anti-inflammation, and promoting tissue repair.

Dilemma of Conventional Medicine in Treating Chronic LD

One reason why patients turn to alternative medicine for LD treatment is because conventional medicine has some deficiencies in its treatment. It focuses on anti-pathogen and mainly uses antibiotics (ABX). From my clinical practice I have found that ABX treatment for LD has some problems, which made it not so effective:

The worldwide extensive use and abuse of ABX has breed ABX-resistant bacteria and created “antibiotics-resistant” LD. I have seen patients have used ten even more kinds of ABX treatments in a rotation. None of each one has been used in sufficient course and this kind of practice only encouraging resistance to develop. Resistance made ABX as whole less effective.

ABX is design for short-term use, mostly use for two to three weeks. Because Bb dividing slowly and it has a dormant cyst form, plus disseminated chronic infection, LD needs long-term treatment. The chronic LD treatment course needs half year or longer.

ABX is not suitable for long-term use, it will inevitably cause damages in the liver, hearing, and the kidney.  ABX is extracted from fungi and it can suppress bacteria but could encourage fungi overgrow. Long-term use ABX can cause fungal infection, such as urinary tract and vaginal yeast infections and causes flora imbalance in the body.

ABX usually has bigger molecular weight, which made it difficult to penetrate the bloodbrain-barrier. Majority of chronic LD patients have center nerve system infections, so the remedies used for treating CNS infection, must be able to go through the BBB. Larger the molecule, the less able to go through the BBB.

ABX is only effective in suppress bacteria, but LD is a multiple pathogen co-infection,therefore it is impossible to deal with non-bacterial pathogens, such as Babesia, mycoplasma, and Rickettsia. The anti-microbial spectrum of ABX is not wide enough to deal with those non-bacteria microbial.

In chronic LD host’s inadequate immune reactions, such as autoimmunity caused vasculitis and circulatory immune complex, play important roles in pathogenesis and healing. ABX is not an immune regulatory agent. So use ABX as a sole therapy to treat chronic LD is obviously insufficient.

The conventional medical community is aware the dilemma of the ABX usage in LD.

The following is a quotation from an article written by eminent LD specialists: “ Relapses following use of potent antibiotics and detection of the Lyme organism or its DNA following treatment likewise demonstrates an inability to completely eradicate the pathogen and permanently halt the pathologic process with current methods of treatment in some patients.

“This is a problematic situation because intensive antibiotic treatment is costly, … and carries associated risk for the patient. … For some patients however, this may be the only presently available alternative to progressive neurologic deterioration. In view of this dilemma , the international biomedical research community must give high priority to the development of improved and /or alternate methods of treatment that can definitively cure persisting Bb infections responsible for neurologic and other manifestations of chronic Lyme disease.” (Kenneth B. Liegner et al., Lyme disease and the Clinical Spectrum of Antibiotic Responsive Chronic Meningoencephalomyelitides, Proceedings of Lyme & Other Tickborne Disease: A 21st Century View, Nov 10,2001, p.72)

Over the past six decades, the results of the use of antibiotics in conventional medicine have made us appreciate the importance of the philosophy of TCM. Many Chinese medicinal herbs are composed of “active ingredients” that are ABX in nature. For example, Coptis chinensis is an herb commonly found in formulas for diseases that are often described in modern medicine as bacteria infections, which western medicine treats with ABX. The strategic principle of western medicine for infectious diseases is to identify and eradicate the pathogen with anti-microbial drugs. Misusage of this stratagem has resulted in a worldwide crisis, as people realize that over the past 60 years we have conducted a worldwide breeding program of ABX-resistant strains of bacteria. Yet despite the presence of ABX ingredients in TCM formulas that have been in continuous use for thousands of years, no such iatrogenic catastrophe has ensued in China.

In order to avoid these problems of ABX, we have been researching herbal remedies with no resistance strings have developed, virtually non-toxic to be able to use for long term safely, to suppress fungi simultaneously to avoid yeast infections, with a small molecular weight to penetrate the BBB easily, with wide anti-microbial spectrum suitable for suppressing multiple pathogens. These are the principles guiding us to search effective active herbal ingredients to develop our herbal anti-pathogen remedies. More importantly we have developed immune regulatory and supportive treatment to strengthen the anti-pathogen actions and promote the healing process.

Modern Chinese Medicine Approach on LD

An infectious disease consists of two sides, the invading pathogen and the body’s reaction to the invasion. TCM’s view of an infectious disease is quite different from WM.

It holds that determining a disease happen or not is decided by internal cause, the body’s immunity. Its theory of pathogenesis of an infection disease is “Zheng xu xie shi”, literally translation is “body resistance weakened while pathogenic factors prevailing.”

In a LD epidemical area, most people expose to tick bites, but not every body develop LD. For those developed LD the severity is quite different. TCM holds that the determine cause of LD is the body’s internal factor; Bb is just a condition. Therefore, only rely on ABX to eradicate the bacteria without enhancing the body’s immunity and repairing the  amaged tissue is an incomplete strategy of treatment. Therefore the conventional allopathic medical approach has only partial efficacy.

To treat the LD, Western medicine (WM) dependent on ABX alone and does not count body’s healing power. In WM, the human body just like a testing tube, it idly stays there doing nothing and letting the ABX does the job. TCM considers the body is the major healing force and drugs, herbs can only help the body to heal, but cannot take over the role of healing. Because these philosophical differences when design a treatment strategy, WM is mainly focus on the eradicating the infectious agents (the external cause) by ABX (the external intervention). WM paid little attention to regulate the body’s immune reactions and to promote damaged tissue repair. In WM, external factors are the decisive causes of disease and healing. This way of thinking is not correctly reflecting the truth.

Therapies designed based on this way of thinking will not be very effective. It can only be workable when the external factor is extremely powerful and overwhelm the internal factors. This explains why WM use such strong, heroic ABX and caused so many side effects, but still can’t fulfill its job.

TCM’s treatment strategy is termed as “Fu zheng qu xie”, which can be translated as “expelling the evil (the invading pathogen) by strengthening the righteous Qi (the immunity).” In TCM the eradication of the infectious agent is done by the body’s defense and medical treatment can only help to strengthen the defense. So in TCM theory not only the disease is mainly determined by the internal factors and the healing is also done through strengthening the internal factors.

The eventual eradication of the pathogens is the role of the defense system of the body; ABX and herbal remedies can only be a help to the body in accomplishing this task. MCM as an integrated TCM and WM uses WM’s pathophysiological and pharmacological knowledge on LD to guide its research on new treatment methods and remedies in TCM. It also uses TCM principle to design a holistic comprehensive treatment strategy.

MCM Herbal Protocols for Chronic LD

Based on the pathogenesis of LD and TCM’s holistic philosophy, MCM herbal protocol consists of two major sections: anti-pathogen and constitutional (immune regulatory, supportive treatments) treatments.

MCM Anti-Spirochete and Co-Infection Treatment

In anti-pathogen section of the MCM use herbal remedies, which avoids the shortcomings of ABX treatment. For anti-Bb and co-infections other than Babesia, we have developed four herbal remedies: Allicin Capsule, Coptis Capsule, HH Capsule, and formula R-5081 Capsule. Allicin and HH together used as the first line of the treatment.

If a patient can’t tolerate the first line or not respond to the first line well, then use Coptis and R-5081 together as the second line. Sometimes, other combination of these four herbal remedies used as second line of therapy. The advantage of using Allicin Capsule is its active ingredient, allitridi, which has an extremely small molecular weight, (162.27) making it very penetrative to penetrate the BBB, which makes it very suitable for CNS infections. It has very wide spectrum of anti-microbial effects, it anti bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, protozoa, and certain viruses. Likewise, the active ingredients of both Coptis and HH have small molecular weight and wide spectrum anti-microbial effects.

All of these three herbs have very low or virtually no toxicity and can be used safely for long term. They have been effectively used for treating  leptospirosis in China. R-5081 is a TCM formula used for treating syphilis for more than hundreds of years and even for late stage of syphilis, it has more than 50% of cure rate. Because Allicin Capsule, HH Capsule, and Coptis Capsule have wide anti-microbe spectrums. When used for anti-spirochete treatment, they can also suppress fungi, so the treatment will not cause fungal overgrowth, avoiding antibiotics’ side effects. Their wide-anti-microbial spectrum made them suitable for treating co-infections of LD. They also suppress Bartonella, mycoplasma, and Ehrlichia.

MCM Anti-Babesiosis Treatment

Babesiosis is a cosmopolitan domestic and wild animal infection caused by protozoa, Babesia microti. Human Babesiosis is commonly a co-infection of LD. Babesia is transmitted by ticks, and multiply in red blood cells. It can cause febrile hemolytic anemia and hemoglobinuria. Its pathology closely resembled malaria. Clinically, the patients experienced a prolonged illness characterized by the insidious onset of fever, chills, sweating, myalgia, and mild to moderate hemolytic anemia. Symptoms mixed with the symptoms of LD. Co-infections changed clinical symptom patterns, decreased the reliability of diagnostic test and created chronic, persistent infections.

Conventional treatments for this parasite are similar to that of malaria. Chloroquine and Quinine have been used for symptomatic improvement. It is not sure whether they can eradicate the pathogen. Clindamycin and Quinine combination was used but found the combination was difficult to tolerate  because severe side effects. Mepron and azithromycin combination has also been used for treating this infection and was considered the most effective therapy. It needs a four months or longer treatment course.

The side effects are quite severe, including diarrhea, mild nausea, and sometimes, yellowish discoloration of the vision. And during the treatment, liver function and blood counts have to be monitored regularly. For this co-infection, herbal treatment is very effective. For this intra-erythrocyte (red blood cell) protozoal parasite conventional Western medicine using anti-malaria medications and Chinese medicine also use anti-malaria herbal remedies. Artemisiae Capsule, in which artesunate is the main ingredient, is the main herbal formula used to eliminate Babesia and this formula is also an anti-malaria herbal product. Compared to conventional treatment, the herbal treatment has a shorter treatment course and is much less expensive and causes almost no side effects.

MCM Constitutional Supportive Treatments

Patients with chronic LD, the symptoms may represent ongoing persistent infection; or a sequel damage of past infection; or a self-perpetuating  autoimmune response to the Bb infection. For this, the conventional treatment is still repeat antibiotics. This is obviously insufficient. Treatment scheme should fit the pathogenesis of the disease. Antibiotics are only to killing of suppressing the infectious agents, it has no effects to suppress the inflammation, to promote the repair of the damaged tissue, and to modulate the immunity, especially to suppress the autoimmune response.

When an infectious disease become chronic and has been persisted for years, the importance of etiological factor, the pathogens, become not the leading factor in the disease progression. The pathogenesis factors play much more profound roles indetermine the diseases progress. In this stage of the disease, only focus on eradicating the pathogens is not sufficient, the pathogenesis factors can have more profound effects on disease progression than the etiologic factor (the pathogens). But conventional treatment is focused on only the etiologic factor and does not address complicated pathology of the chronic disease.

What can be done about the pathological damage that has already been done by chronic LD?

The clinical symptoms are signs of brain, muscle, and joint damages. Conventional treatments do not address this problem. This section of MCM treatment includes immune-regulatory therapies, anti-inflammatory, improving microcirculation, and treating LD-related symptoms to improve life quality.

For patient with joint pain, muscle aches, fibromyalgia, skin rashes, allergies, vasculitis, and severe Herxheimer reaction, AI #3 Capsules should be used. Fatigue is one of the most common complaints of LD patients and Cordyceps Capsule can be used to improve the energy level and up regulate immunity, especially cellular immunity.

Mental clarity usually decreases during the course of chronic LD. If difficulty in concentration, cognitive problems, memory loss, difficulty in finding words are major problems, Puerarin Capsule should be used.

Circulation P Capsule is a necessity for all patients. In order to increase blood infusion to the tissues, promote the repair of the inflammation-damaged tissues, and promote the phagocytosis of macrophages for removal of the deposed circulatory immune complex in inflamed tissues, this formula should be used for every patient.

Duration of chronic LD treatment course is at least six months or longer.

Herxheimer’s Reaction

Both anti-spirochete and anti-Babesia herbal treatment will induce the Herxheimer’s reaction during the first few weeks of treatment. A Herxheimer reaction is part of the immune system response to the die off of the spirochete or the babesia. The symptoms will worsen temporarily. It may indicate that the treatment is working. If the reaction becomes hard to tolerate, then the dose of anti-infection herbs should be reduced to half or even less to build up tolerance gradually. After the reaction period is over, the patient will experience gradual and steady improvement. One herbal remedy, AI #3 Capsule has the effect of reducing the strength of Herxheimer reaction.

Conclusion

Chinese herbal treatments for LD are effective, safe, and affordable. The cost is much less than that of conventional treatments.Because the diagnosis and monitoring tests for LD are generally not accurate, so it is difficult to set up an end point of treatment.

To date, I have treated more than 1000 cases of LD at different chronic stages. Most patients of mine have been able to taper off antibiotics and still control their symptoms. After approximately six months or longer of herbal treatment more than 60% of them have completely stopped the treatment and manage to remain symptom free.

Qingcai Zhang, Lic. Ac., M.D. (China) and Yale Zhang, Zhang’s Health Clinic, 20 East 46th Street, Suite 1402, New York, NY 10017

This month gives those of us with chronic Lyme disease something to really celebrate.

If you have been following along with the developments at Viral Genetics, you will be interested to know that Dr.Luc Montagnier, co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine and the co-discoverer of the HIV virus, has joined Viral Genetics as a research consultant.  He is the co-founder of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention and co-directs the Program for International Viral Collaboration.

Dr. Montagnier, was quoted as saying, “While some preventive candidate vaccines failed to protect against HIV infection, and since there is no treatment able to cure the disease, it is important to come back to basic research and to explore new ways of research and treatment such as those explored by Viral Genetics. This is why I joined the Advisory Board of this Company.”

This is a certain break in the log-jam of political posturing about Lyme disease.  Already Viral Genetics, the biotechnology company that discovers and develops immune-based therapies, came upon particular simularities in the testing of HIV that allowed them to look at Lyme disease in a whole new way.  It has been generally agreed upon that there needs to be agreement based on exact science not theories.

The purpose of the Viral Genetics Advisors is to provide independent wisdom and insight to assist Viral Genetics in the accomplishment of its medical and scientific objectives by providing advice that is consistent with best-in-class scientific and medical practices and principles.

Based on new information from ongoing AIDS and Lyme disease studies being led by head of research Dr. M. Karen Newell, PhD, new components of the mechanism of TNP, the Company’s drug compound, have been identified according to the Wall Street Journal.

Viral Genetics continues to aggressively seek out the appropriate individuals in relevant fields to assist as the studies continue to move forward. These will include highly sought-after individuals in many diverse fields of research.

The existing group and new advisers to be added have come together in an effort to spearhead Viral Genetics’ promising new model of targeted peptide therapies for AIDS and other immune disease as swiftly as possible.

This may be the best Holiday present we could have

This very special book on Lyme disease, “Lyme Disease Solution” by Dr. Kenneth Singleton, is written by a man who understands this infectious disease on many levels, and offers a unique hope for those who are willing to take responsibility for their own basic lifestyle, and to choose a healthy foundation from which to beat back this intelligent bacteria, Borrelia bergdoferi.

Ranging from the most basic aspects of prevention (in the case of Lyme, an ounce of preventions is most likely worth several tons of cure – not a measly pound!) to more sophisticated diet protocols for strengthening and supporting our struggling immune systems, Dr. Singleton carefully presents a series of treatment therapies based upon the underlying health of the affected individuals, the length of infection and the determination (and self-control) of the suffering victims.

Such a “meaty” book could easily disintegrate into hopelessness and/or despair given the lack of sophisticated doctors who understand this vicious and intensely complex bacteria (and could support the treatments recommended in the book), especially due to the fact that Dr. Singleton places the responsibility of finding recovery (or cure) squarely on the patients shoulders.  This shift is clearly necessary from a realistic standpoint (certainly not due to any ideal) to work in conjunction with antibiotics, supplements, diets and/or fitness routines.

The effort to read such a hard-hitting book may prove to be overwhelming for the Lyme patient struggling with Lyme “fog” and extreme mental disorders, however it is an excellent book for the caregivers who are oftentimes left in the dark without any understanding of the issues facing their suffering loved ones.

In addition to thoroughly describing the various antibiotic protocols along with several alternative healing protocols, Dr. Singleton offers a very hopeful protocol addition of “LDN Therapy”, which stands for low dose Naltrexone, a drug initially approved for treatment for drug addictions (esp. narcotics such as heroine, morphine and opium.)  It seems that LDN actively blocks the receptors in the brain that drive the cravings for the narcotics.

As a result of the testing of LDN Therapy for research as a treatment for Lyme, it was found to actually assist in total pain management as well as measurable enhancement of normal immune function.  This opens a potentially new area of research for those who do not respond to other more standardized treatments for pain management and immune system support such as Glutathione, high doses of fatty acids and the generally accepted list of supplements described by Dr. Burrascano in his “Treatment Guidelines for Lyme Disease” which you can download here.

Other notable additions to Dr. Singleton’s book are detailed instructions on detoxification and the critical importance of regular detoxification programs, and also the imperative focus on a healthy diet – not just to refrain from carcinogenic ingredients and/or trans fats and sugars, but very specific diets to support the over-stressed intestines as they process the mass neurotoxins from dying spirochetes and again, to support the immune system.

On a final note, it is certainly worth mentioning the importance of positive thinking and health-related affirmations that Dr. Singleton insists be integrated into every Lyme protocol.

Evidently due to the length of this book Dr. Singleton was not able to further develop the importance of such affirmations or to include any case histories to give credit to these strategies, but this is balanced by the clear conviction of Dr. Singleton’s personal belief in a “power beyond our own” and the necessity of reaching out for supernatural power to overcome this stealthy life threatening disease.

If you have not read this book, you can order it from the link to Amazon below.  It should be on every bookcase of those who have Lyme disease or who genuinely care about those with Lyme disease.

Purchase “The Lyme Disease Solution” here.

Lab 257, written by Michael C. Carroll, has appeared at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are searching for answers about Lyme disease, (which may soon become one of the largest epidemics of all recorded time.)

The book reads better than your favorite spy thriller, but finishes like a horror novel instead of a documentary.

Mr. Carroll convincingly traces the recent outbreak of West Nile disease to faulty security measures at a government testing lab on Plum Island just off the coast of Long Island. West Nile was a deadly germ that was kept in a very secure freezer along with hundreds of other diseases including Lyme.

The story gets worse when a hurricane knocks the power out for a long enough time that the freezers contents melted and activated, from there we see the evidence of a worsening epidemic with no way to measure the true results of the outbreak – firstly because there is no adequate test to diagnose Lyme disease, and secondly because there are many who refuse to acknowledge the disaster.

Even the most severe critic can not find flaws in the hard evidence, meticulous interviews, and obvious conclusions that Mr. Carroll has made and collected over a seven year period. He even visited the government facility himself on three occasions and witnessed first hand the deplorable physical condition of Lab 257, the lab which contained hundreds of deadly viruses.

And yet, the growing controversy about the book is not surprising given the astonishing mismanagement of deadly viruses by our government – a government which I am normally the first in line to support.

Nobody wants to believe the horrifying facts revealed in this book, but it make sense when you look at the dates that Lyme disease began to spiral out of control, and the epicenters from which they spread.

A further shattering conclusion that was barely hinted at, is the curious rise of co-infections being diagnosed – all carried by the intensely frightening and seemingly in-destructible tick.

Most recently, Dr. Benjamin Luft and his team of researchers at Stony Brook University Medical Center have determined unequivocally that the virulent strain of Lyme bacteria that we are struggling with here in the US is a clone of the European strain.

Read more about the discovery here.

Hopefully the truth of this story will continue to spread, and perhaps…some day… it will lead to a cure.

BUY HERE

This book is a masterpiece that not only unravels the confusing history of the raging medical debate about chronic Lyme disease, but successfully tracks ongoing research to better understand the disease and ultimately find a cure.

If you suffer with Lyme disease, be prepared for a very frustrating project as you try to follow the chapters that jump from story, to story, to interview and back again. Important dates are hard to remember and research chapters packed so full of critical facts that you will need a highlighter and notepad to digest all the information.

I found it extremely difficult to read not only because of the format but also because of the information. No matter how many times I re-read a chapter, for the most part I couldn’t help but want each to end differently, like watching “Gone With The Wind” and hoping Rhett won’t walk away at the end.

The current situation and meticulously documented facts are frustrating indeed, however, your determination to read the entire book will be rewarded as mine was, with the precious gift of understanding.

We who have Lyme disease are the victims. We suffer daily with the tragedy of how Lyme disease is treated by mainstream medicine. We suffer the humiliation of being told a disease doesn’t exist in spite of the fact that it is medically proven with reams of documentation from top scientists. We suffer with the unbearable financial burden. We suffer the loss of friends. We suffer the loss of our lives (as we knew them), and unfortunately our story can’t be re-written.

We are suspended in the fog of our disease along with the bigger fog of medical deception while doctors under-treat if they treat at all, and certain highly placed medical doctors “fix” tests to prove their theories instead of searching for solutions.

This state of affairs would be dreadful with any disease but for the raging epidemic that faces our nation today with Lyme disease, it is a crime beyond belief.

And yet the author does provide hope.

There is hope for a political change with Connecticut’s Attorney General investigating the conflict of interest for the authors of the current IDSA’s guidelines (Infectious Disease Society of America) for diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.

There is also hope for the medical community to redeem itself with the advent of new technologies and technicians.

For instance, a new team of top researchers currently gather under the leadership of infectious disease specialist Dr. Benjamin Luft (Stony Brook University) to methodically sequence every gene in every strain of B. burgdorferi which will allow diagnosticians to test for over 1800 possible proteins instead of the ten limited proteins as is now done with the western blot.

The Luft team is also testing a new antibiotic “Tigecycline” which kills spirochetes fast, possibly eliminating the need for such long courses of antibiotics.

An exciting hope for a new vaccine is being developed by Eugene Davidson, a molecular biologist who has shattered spirochetes using ultrasound and begun trials injecting the tiny pieces (non-infectious on their own) into laboratory animals, and thus far producing total immunity.

I plan to follow these developments very closely on this blog and desperately hope that meaningful answers will come before it is too late for me and others like me. Smiling at my grandson, I am confident that they will come in time to protect him.

Click here for more information from Amazon.