The Lyme disease epidemic continues to rage world-wide in addition to the frightening explosion of confirmed cases in the US, and yet the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the IDSA continue to publish the clearly untrue statement that Lyme disease is hard to contract and easy to treat.

What many people do not understand is that the western blot was never meant to be a diagnostic authority but a tool to support clinical diagnosis.  The test measures antibodies, not the actual bacteria so if you have any positive bands on the western blot it means you have been exposed to Lyme disease.  It is the controversial (although why there is controversy is confusing in the extreme) amongst any intelligent mind, perhaps even more so with trained medical minds, why a western blot with any positive bands be considered a “false positive” or worse yet “negative” when the patient exhibits all of the symptoms of Lyme.

Add to that puzzle the requirement of a bulls-eye rash when researchers know that some viral strains of borrelia do not cause bulls-eye rashes (and even when they do, the rash is easily hidden in hair where tiny ticks could easily hide as they take their meal) and we must wonder if the CDC is purposefully dropping the ball.

Now, as science around Lyme and other tick-related diseases become more precise, the question begs to be asked: “Why isn’t the western blot more accurate?”

Furthermore, the proteins evaluated within the test are purposefully limited – in fact originally the test evaluated more proteins, some of which were much more indicative of the presence and activity of Borreliosis burgdorferi.  The extra bands were later removed along while at the same time the criteria for positive results was raised to demand more positive bands (five), even though one positive band should be enough to confirm a clinical diagnosis keeping in mind the CDC’s own instructions to use the western blot as a confirmation tool NOT a diagnostic tool.

Currently, Lyme disease tests in the United States are geared to detect a strain or two of a single species: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (SOURCE:GALDA – Georgia Lyme Disease Association.)  Even though we know there are many more strains capable of causing illness. (Some strains do not cause illness in humans, and some do not cause a rash.)

Another reason for negative results with Lyme infected specimens is due to differing proteins found among numerous strains of various B. burgdorferi species which provide further explanation for the reason some suspected Lyme patients may only show a positive band or two instead of the CDC’s required five.

A Chinese study found that changing western blot criteria to detect the prevalent strain of Lyme bacteria in their region increased the accuracy of the tests. Another study in the United States proved that mixing two infectious Borrelia strains in a western blot assay increased the test’s sensitivity. If simply adding other strains of the same Lyme species increases the western blot’s sensitivity, the changes needed in order to detect various Lyme species may be incredible.

“Up to now, the only species in the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato known to cause Lyme borreliosis in the United States has been B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. However, some atypical strains closely related to the previously designated genomic group DN127 have been isolated in the United States, mostly in California. [...] we analyzed the nucleotide sequences of the rrf-rrl intergenic spacer regions from 19 atypical strains (18 from California and one from New York) and 13 North American B. burgdorferi sensu stricto  strains (6 from California). [...] A heterogeneous group comprising strains belonging to the previously designated group DN127 clustered separately from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. Within this cluster, the deep branches expressing the distances between the rrf-rrl sequences reflect a high level of divergence. This unexpected diversity contrasts with the monomorphism exhibited by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. [...] We conclude that the taxonomy and phylogeny of North American B. burgdorferi sensu lato should be reevaluated. For now, we propose that the genomic group DN127 should be referred to as a new species, B. bissettii sp. nov., and that other related but distinct strains, which require further characterization, be referred to as Borrelia spp. ” (SOURCE: Journal for Clinical Microbiology: “Expanded Diversity among Californian Borrelia Isolates and Description of Borrelia bissettii sp. nov. (Formerly Borrelia Group DN127)” December 1998

For excellent information to better understand the current process for diagnosing Lyme and specifically the western blot, please read http://www.lymenet.de/labtests/brenner.htm

Following are recently published medical abstracts courtesy of Journal of Clinical Microbiology:

“Genetic Heterogeneity of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in the Southern United States Based on Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism and Sequence Analysis”

T. Lin, J. H. Oliver Jr.,L. Gao,.T. M. Kollars Jr., and K. L. Clark

Finally, a test to ask for (unless you live in Europe)! This revolutionary new test determines the existence of acute and chronic Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme) by evaluating the specific immune response in patients. The NEI (Neuro-Endo-Immune) Connection published the following information by Sirid Kellermann, Ph.D. in November 2010.

Watch ILADS Lyme disease conference lectures as leading professionals examine the cutting edge research and state-of-the-art clinical applications in the treatment and diagnosis of Lyme disease.

We will be restreaming select presentations on December 17, 2011 that were not seen due to technical difficulties on October 27th & 28th, 2011 free of charge.

http://www.ilads.org/emails/livestream_online12172011.html

See the December 17, 2011 video streaming schedule below:

1:00pm-1:30pm (EST) or (10:00am-10:30am PST) Understanding
Symptoms Related to Visual Dysfunction following a
Tick-Borne Event — William V. Padula, OD

1:30pm-2:15pm (EST) or (10:30am-11:15am PST) Borrelia
Infections- diagnosis and treatment — Joseph J. Burrascano,
Jr. MD

2:15pm-3:00pm (EST) or (11:15am-12:00pm PST) Lyme Disease &
Babesiosis: Updates on Diagnosis and Treatment 2011 —
Richard I. Horowitz, MD

3:00pm-3:45pm (EST) or (12:00pm-12:45pm PST) Pregnancy and
Tick-borne Diseases: Gestational Lyme — Charles Ray Jones, MD

3:45pm-4:30pm (EST) or (12:45pm-1:30pm PST) Overview of
Integrative Patient Care in Tick-Borne Diseases — Steven
Bock, MD

4:30pm-5:15pm (EST) 0r (1:30pm-2:15pm PST) Identifying
Environmental Illness and Mold Exposure in Patients with
Persistent Lyme Disease. — Lisa L. Nagy, MD

5:15pm-6:00pm (EST) or (2:15pm-3:00pm PST) Management of
Ixodes scapularis bites. — Elizabeth Maloney, MD

6:00pm-7:15pm (EST) or (3:00pm-4:15pm PST) Coinfections And
The Opportunistic Groupies — Christine Green, MD

For complete information about the ILADS Live Streaming
Conference Presentations, December 17, 2011:
http://www.ilads.org/emails/livestream_online12172011.html

In a vast section of the Maine Wilderness there were one hundred and forty-two (142) moose found dead according to a recent article in the Bangor Daily News (December 2, 2011). These apparently healthy moose are found dead covered with ticks which points to the astronomical increase in tick population, and fuels the raging epidemic of Lyme disease and other potentially fatal tick born diseases. (Article link at end of post)

The moose were unmarked and dead for no apparent reason other than the fact that they were completely covered in ticks.  Their natural predators will not eat the moose in this condition,but the ticks will.  The ticks fill their bellies and hop off to breed more – up to three thousand youngsters each.

Do the math.

It isn’t just the moose in trouble.

This alarming news travels fast in a state that depends greatly on tourists and hunters who bring revenue into the state when they venture north to view the beautiful Maine wilderness and hunt in the vast forests.  And with Lyme and other tick borne diseases spreading like wildfire, people are hesitating to risk the exposure.

Is an enjoyable week-end worth the very real possibility of ending up as a tragic statistic – out of work and painful suffering for who knows how many years?  In New England the epidemic is common knowledge, even in Maine there are very few people who don’t know someone stricken with the disease.

I won’t be surprised to see legislation asking for pesticide drops to push back the dangerous infestation (as hinted in the article.)

When it was just humans suffering with tick born diseases we were told that we were crazy.  Now that the moose are endangered something must be done.

To read the article click here.

The German  “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme borreliosis” is a far cry from the US standard written by IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America).  In fact it reads more like Dr. Burrascano’s Guide and therefore deserves a careful read.

Not only does the guide define chronic Lyme disease but it clearly validates it.  Also noteworthy is the statement, “A negative serological finding does not rule out Lyme borreliosis.”

Written by Dr. James Schaller:  We know Lyme disease is highly under-reported.

The following checklist is not meant to be complete or authoritative.  Information about Lyme disease is constantly emerging and changing.  Therefore any checklist is intended for use as a starting point. In traditional medicine, a physician performs a complete history and physical.  Labs and studies assist in clarifying the differential diagnosis. 

In Lyme disease, much debate exists about laboratory kits, the alteration of kits to have fewer possible bands, and which labs are optimally sensitive and specific.  This checklist is not intended to address that issue or treatment.

Over 200 animals carry the Ixodes tick, which is the most commonly known insect spreading Lyme disease.  With so many vectors, the underlying assumption behind this checklist is that Lyme is not rare in North America, Europe, South America, Russia, Africa or Asia.

Immediately upon the onset of a tick bite, it transmits a pain killer, anti-histamine and an anti-coagulant.  Based on animal studies, it is also possible the bulls-eye rash is less common then assumed, in part because injections of spirochete related material in laboratory animals only show a rash with the second injection.

This checklist is offered with the sincere wish that others will improve on it.  It is this author’s personal belief that tick and flea-borne infection medicine is as specialized as HIV and Hepatitis medical science.

Some of the checklist materials might be new to you, which underscores the need for another scale to add to the ones currently in existence.  This list is based on a massive review of thousands of papers over a decade of full-time reading, 2012 science revelations, and/or massive chart reviews. 

Since modern Lyme disease seems to focus on tick borne disease and other laboratory testing, I will start with lab testing considerations. If a lab test has a value or a percentage, the numbers I choose are intended to avoid missing those positive patients who otherwise would be overlooked. I am concerned about physicians and other healthcare workers not treating an infected patient, who over time can experience disability or death at a frequency that is impossible to determine.

LABORATORY TESTING—INDIRECT AND DIRECT

(Check those which apply)

• Vitamin D level is in the lowest 20%.  If you supplement, it should be in top 50%.
• CD57 or CD58 is in the lowest 20^th percentile.
• Free testosterone is in 10^th percentile or below.
• In 5% of patients the testosterone or free testosterone is over the normal range.
• DHEA is in lower 20%.  Or rarely is it fully over the top level.
• Free dihydrotestosterone is in the lowest 20^th percentile or well over the normal range.
• Epstein Barr Virus is abnormal in any measure.  [This virus is believed to be positive over normal positive levels in the presence of infections or high inflammation.]
• On the Western Blot, IgG or IgM any species specific band at any blood level, e.g., 18, 21, 23, 30, 31, 34, 37, 39, 83, 93.
• A free T3 level under 2.8 [the normal bottom range in 1990 was 2.6; the influx of large numbers of elderly patients reset the healthy “normal” range].
• Positive for viruses such as CMV, HHV-6, Coxsackie B Types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Parvo B-19 or Powassan virus
• Positive for Mycoplasma, e.g. mycoplasma pneumoniae
• The patient is positive for infections other than routine Lyme, [that is Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii].  Some of the other infections also carried by infectious ticks, fleas or other vectors include Babesia (duncani, microti or other), Anaplasma (HGA), Ehrlichia (various species/strains), Rocky Mountain or other Spotted Fevers, Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Q-fever, STARI (Master’s Disease), Malaria, and Bartonella [e.g., B. henselae, B. quintana, B. elizabethae and B. melophagi].  Once tests are commercially available for testing all forms of protozoa affecting humans, including FL1953, all Bartonella species, and Borrelia miyamotoi and other Lyme species, reporting should increase.
• IL-B is in lowest 10^th percentile.
• IL-6 is in lowest 10^th percentile.
• TNF-alpha is under 2, or in lowest 20^th percentile.
• A WBC count was, or is, under 4.5.
• Eosinophil level in the CBC manual exam is either at 0-1 or 6-7.
• Total manual Eosinophil level is 140 or less.
• XRAY or other study shows cartilage defects in excess of injury or age median.
• If a full auto-immunity panel is run with at least eight different tests, two are positive; for example, you have a positive anti-gliadin and a positive thyroid peroxidase.
• Positive or near positive (borderline) ELISA, PCR, or a positive tissue biopsy; or a tick from your body is positive for Lyme or other tick infection
• Lab tests show high inflammation, e.g., a high C4a, elevated cholesterol and C-peptide.  These are never specific just for Lyme.
• Lab tests show a MSH level under 30 [the reference range of 0-40 is due to the increase of very sick patients tested, and 40-85 is a better reference range which was used before the flood of the sick reset the range of normal].  MSH is an anti-inflammatory hormone.
• VIP is under 20.  This is an anti-inflammation chemical.

BODY EXAMINATION RESULTS

• Weight loss or gain in excess of 20 pounds in 12 weeks
• A round or oval rash with a dark center was or is present in a loose “bulls-eye pattern” or other size and shape rashes that have no other cause after exposure to ticks and vectors
• Healing is slow after scratches or surgery.  For example, after a cat scratch, flea bite or tick bite the mark is still visible later.
• Skin on arms, hands or feet has a texture like rice paper.
• Clear reaction and effect is seen with antibiotic treatment.  Specifically, a marked improvement or worsening of a serious medical problem or function is observed with a spirochete killing treatment, e.g., doxycycline, tetracycline, minocycline, any penicillin such as amoxicillin, azithromycin, clarithromycin or cefuroxime.
• Presence of skin tags, red papules of any size, excess blood vessels compared to peers, and stretch marks with color or in significant excess of peers.
• Moles and raised or hard plaques in excess of the few on normal skin
• Areas of skin with ulcerations such as those seen in syphilis, but at any location on the body
• Areas of clear hypo-pigmentation and hyper-pigmentation
• Positive ACA (Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans) which is a sign of long term untreated Lyme disease.  Some report ACA begins as a reddish-blue patch of discolored skin, often of the hands or feet.  It may include the back in some patients.  The lesion slowly atrophies over months to years, with many developing skin that is thin, dry, hairless, wrinkled and abnormally colored.  The color of the extremities such as hands and feet can be red, dark red, brown, dark blue or purple.

                                                   SAMPLE NEUROLOGY EXAM

• Patient’s short-term memory is poor.  For example, if asked to recall these numbers—23, 5, 76, 43 and 68—the patient cannot recall them.
• Patient cannot reverse four numbers, so if given—18, 96, 23 and 79—the patient cannot do it.
• If asked to subtract 17 from 120, (college graduate), it cannot be done in a timely manner.  If a high school graduate, subtract 7 from 100 and continue to subtract by 7 four times in 20 seconds.
• Light headedness upon standing quickly in excess of peers, and with no clear cause
• Dizziness unrelated to position
• Dizziness made worse by Lyme killing antibiotics
• Trouble doing a nine step heel to toe straight line walk test with fingers slightly in pockets [The patient should not sway or need their hands pulled out to prevent a fall].  In patients with past experience in skating, skiing, dance or ballet this should be very easy and is rarely a challenge to such people.  If it is not easy, it is suspicious medically, but not only for Lyme disease.
• Trouble performing a one leg lift, in which one leg is lifted 12-18 inches off the ground in front of you, as you count, e.g., “one Mississippi, two Mississippi, etc.”
• Positive nystagmus [your eye jerks when you look right or left]

PATIENT’S REPORTED PHYSICAL HISTORY

• Illnesses that come and go and decrease functioning with no certain cause
• Serious illnesses that undermine function with no clear cause, and which affect more than one body organ
• An abnormal lab result, physical exam finding or illness that is given many diagnoses or has no clear cause
• Mild to severe neurological disorders or psychiatric disorders
• A very profound neurological disease which does not clearly fit the labs, studies and course of the illness
• A moderate or severe medical, psychiatric or neurological illness.  [Many severe disorders can be associated with spirochetes such as those causing syphilis, and some propose that Lyme is also related to a well-known serious brain disease.]
• Severe medical, psychiatric or neurology illness with uncommon features, such as Parkinson’s disease, appearing at a young age
• Facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy)
• Personality has changed negatively and significantly for no clear reason.
• Adult onset ADHD/ADD [Primary psychiatric biological ADD or ADHD is present at 7 years of age. Adult onset is a sign of a medical condition.]
• Functioning at work or in parenting is at least 20% reduced
• Patience and relational skills are decreased by 20% or more
• Inability to learn new information as well as in the past [receptive learning]
• Repeating stories or forgetting information told to close relations, such as a spouse, roommate, sibling, best friend or parent
• Fatigue in excess of normal, or fatigue that is getting worse
• Trouble sleeping including mild to severe insomnia and disrupted sleep
• Sleep in excess of 9 hours a day or night, or sleeping in excess of 9 hours every day if allowed
• Trouble falling asleep
• Trouble staying asleep [Taking a 5 minute bathroom break does not count]
• Gastritis or stomach sensitivity not caused by H. Pylori
• Sensitivity to lights, sounds, touch, smell or unusual tastes
• Sensitivity to cleaning chemicals, fragrances and perfumes
• Blood clots fast when you get a cut, or you have a diagnosed problem with clotting.  This may also be seen in blood draws where blood draw needle clots when blood is being removed. If on a blood thinner, blood thinness level goes up and down too much.
• Someone in your neighborhood within 400 yards in any direction of your dwelling has been diagnosed with a tick borne infection [This includes vacation locations].
• You have someone living with you with any type of tick-borne infection—this assumes they were not merely tested for one infection.  [It is not proven that the small Lyme-carrying ticks only carry Lyme, and it is possible some carry other infections without carrying Lyme at all.
• You have removed any ticks from your body in your lifetime.
• You have removed ticks from your clothing in your lifetime.
• After a tick or bug bite, you had a fever for at least 48 hours.
• After a tick or bug bite, you were ill.
• Grew up or played in areas with many small wild mammals
• When you are in a room that has visible mold or smells like mold and you start to feel ill, you do not return to your baseline health in 24 hours.
• Gaining or losing weight in a manner clearly inconsistent with diet and exercise
• New or more food allergies than ten years ago
• Feel worse after eating breads, pasta or sweets
• No longer tolerate or enjoy alcohol
• Anti-histamines are bothersome, more so than in the past.
• Reaction to medications is excessive (you are very “sensitive” to medications)
• Your response to antibiotics is significantly positive and you feel more functional, or you have the opposite reaction and feel worse, feeling ill, fatigued or agitated.
• Numbness, tingling, burning, or shock sensations in an area of skin
• One or more troublesome skin sensations that move over months or years and do not always stay in one location
• Muscle pain or cramps
• Muscle spasms
• Muscle wasting without a clear cause
• Trouble with your jaw muscle(s) or joint insomnia (TMJ)
• Joint defects in one joint with no clear cause if 20 or younger
• Psychosis at any age, but especially after 40 years of age when usually it would have already manifested itself
• Severe anxiety
• Mania or profound rage
• Depression
• Depression or anxiety that did not exist when you were less than 25 years of age
• Irritability
• Any one of the following: paranoia, dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, major depression, anorexia nervosa or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Increased verbal or physical fighting with others
• A mild to profound decrease of insight, i.e., an infected patient does not see their decreased function, failed treatment or personality change
• A new eccentric rigidity to hearing new medical or other important information
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating
• Poor memory and reduced ability to concentrate
• Increasingly difficult to recall names of people or things
• Difficulty speaking or reading
• Difficulty finding the words to express what you want to say
• Confusion without a clear reason
• An addiction that results in relapse in spite of sincere, reasonable and serious efforts to stop
• Intestinal troubles that are unable to be fully managed and/or which have no clear diagnosis
• Nausea without a clear reason
• Ear problems such as pain or increased ear “pressure”
• Any trouble with the senses (vision, sound, touch, taste or smell).  The use of corrective lenses or contacts does not count, unless the prescription is changed more than expected.
• Buzzing or ringing in ears
• Double vision, floaters, dry eyes, or other vision trouble
• Conjunctivitis (pinkeye) or occasional damage to deep tissue in the eyes
• Cardiac impairment
• Chest pain with all labs and studies in normal range
• Occasional rapid heartbeats (palpitations)
• Heart block/heart murmur
• Heart valve prolapse
• Shortness of breath with no clear cause on pulmonary function tests, examination, lab testing, X-rays, MRI’s, etc.
• Air hunger or feelings of shortness of breath
• Any discomfort within two minutes of being in a musty or moldy location
• Rash or rashes without a simple and obvious cause
• Rashes that persist despite treatment
• Eccentric itching with no clear cause
• Hair loss with no clear cause
• Joint defects in two joints or more if 35 or younger
• Joint defects in three or more locations if younger than 55 with no clear trauma
• Swelling or pain (inflammation) in the joints [Most patients never have joint disease.]
• Joint pain that shifts location
• Neck stiffness
• Chronic arthritis with or without episodes of swelling, redness, and fluid buildup
• Chronic pain in excess of what seems reasonable
• Nerve pain without a clear cause
• Headaches that do not respond fully to treatment, or which are getting worse
• New allergies or increased allergies over those of your peers
• Any autoimmunity–Lyme and other tick infections, over many years, increase inflammation and decrease anti-inflammation chemicals.  We believe this leads to increased food sensitivities, increased autoimmunity and a heightened sensitivity to various chemicals and medications.
• Day time sweats
• Night time sweats
• Chills
• Flu-like symptoms
• Bladder dysfunction of any kind
• Treatment resistant interstitial cystitis
• Abnormal menstrual cycle
• Decreased or increased libido
• Increased motion sickness
• Fainting
• A spinning sensation or vertigo

ENVIRONMENT

 Pets or farm animals positive with ANY tick borne virus, bacteria or protozoa, or clinical symptoms without a clear diagnosis or cause

• The patient’s mother is suspected of having or has been diagnosed with Babesia, Ehrlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasma, Lyme, Bartonella or other tick borne disease based on newer direct and indirect testing, or clinical signs and symptoms.
• A sibling, father, spouse or child with any tick borne infection
• Casual or work-related exposure to outdoor environments with brush, wild grasses, wild streams or woods (Examples- golf courses, parks, gardens, river banks, swamps, etc.)
• Pets, e.g., horses, dogs or cats, have had outdoor exposures to areas such as brush, wild grasses, wild streams or woods.
• Exposure to ticks in your past homes
• Clear exposure to ticks during vacations or other travels
• You played in grass in the past.
• You have been bitten by fleas.
• You have been scratched by a cat or dog.

FINAL WORDS

 Some of the above listed signs and symptoms fit other infections that may be more common than Lyme disease.  Unfortunately, the research and experience indicating diverse infections carried by the Ixodes and other ticks is ignored.  Further, “testing” usually involves one test for a mono-infection–Borrelia or Lyme.  Ticks and other vectors should never be assumed to carry only Lyme disease.

Please note that when we are talking about the Ixodes tick we are not referring to this as a “deer tick” since it has over 200 vectors (Ostfeld).  Many of the tick reduction options presently suggested are not successful in accomplishing their goals.  Reducing deer populations, once thought to reduce tick populations and incidence of Lyme disease, may simply increase tick numbers in mammals and other carriers that live closer to humans.

All healers have their familiar way of thinking, testing and treating.  Kuhn has shown we are all biased and struggle to be objective.  Further, tick and flea infections have almost infinite pathological effects because the human body and these clusters of infections are so complex.  I have not suggested a grid or a set number of symptoms, because one would not fit this list.  Simply, the goal of this checklist is to have you think broadly.

You cannot use this checklist to diagnose Lyme disease or to rule it out.

A Lyme checklist is very medically important, since it is still an emerging illness and can sometimes disable or increase mortality risk in patients of any age if not diagnosed and treated early in the infection.

Writings in the past fifteen years have either viewed Babesia and Bartonella as mere “co-infections,” or a footnote of a spirochetal infection [i.e., Lyme].  Either infection can hide for decades, and then possibly disable or kill a person by causing a clot, heart arrhythmia or by other means.

The detection of Lyme from stained tissue samples or blood is very difficult.  Currently, the well-established indirect lab test patterns presented are not used or understood by all health care professionals.  While this is fully understandable, I hope it may change in the coming decade.  Tick infections have systemic impacts on the body, and are not limited to effects reported in journal articles, a few books or any national or international guidelines.

ABOUT JAMES SCHALLER, M.D., M.A.R.

Dr. Schaller has published the four most recent textbooks on Babesia and the only recent textbook in any language on Bartonella.  His most recent book on Lyme, Babesia and Bartonella includes a “researchers only” list of over 2,600 references considered to be a start for basic education in tick infection medicine.

He published articles on both Babesia as a cancer primer and Bartonella as a profound psychiatric disease under the supervision of the former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  He also published entries on multiple tick and flea-borne infections, including Babesia, Bartonella and Lyme disease, in a respected infection textbook endorsed by the NIH Director of Infectious Disease.

Dr. Schaller is the author of seven texts on tick and flea-borne infections.  He is rated a TOP and BEST physician, with the latter being awarded to only 1 in 20 physicians by physician ratings.  He is also rated a TOP physician by patients, again ranking in the top 5 percent of physicians.

For full bibliography of text click here.

“In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36-48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted.” 

This quote is taken directly from the CDC website, the one place we all wish would share the facts and evidence (although the truth is very unpopular with many medical professionals who in turn look to the IDSA for guidelines on treatment and diagnosis of Lyme.  Unfortunately the evidence is missing there too – see http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/media/pdf/IDSA_stevephillips.pdf.)

Although the following story was not documented, the veterinarian still sticks to his story almost ten years after the fact.  I would be willing to bet there are many more unpublished and undocumented stories such as this – especially from veterinarians who have been on the front line of treating Lyme in this country.

Dr. Gary Stuer, the owner of Bethel Animal Hospital in Bethel Maine tells of a potentially tragic story – derailed due to his sharp intelligence and experience of working with tick-borne diseases in western Maine just steps away from the Appalachian trail.

He describes taking a blood sample from a nervous dog suspected of having Lyme disease, and as the vial filled with blood the dog shook his head strenuously which knocked the syringe from the doctor’s hand and sent the needle flying directly into Dr. Stuers arm.

Dr. Stuer immediately removed the needle and was shocked to see a bulls-eye rash develop in that exact location just days after the incident.  The rash was quickly followed by flue-like symptoms that Dr. Stuer immediately treated successfully with four weeks of Doxycycline.

Dr. David Pendray, a respected veterinarian friend of mine in Laramie Wyoming complains bitterly of the current state of affairs in our country where we take better care of our Lyme-infected animals than we do the ever-escalating number of humans.  When I first became ill and could not get a diagnosis from any of the myriad of tests my doctor took, Dr. Pendray suspected Lyme and/or a co-infection of Lyme as soon as I began to share my symptoms with him. 

To this day, five years later, I still have marginal test results in spite of the severity of my symptoms and yet my husband, who is actively working and seemingly symptom free, is strongly Lyme-positive according to the CDC’s definition using the western blot.

People forget that there is no definitive test to diagnose Lyme yet, but we have reason to hope there will be soon (see http://www.lymediseaseresource.com/wordpress/dr-eva-sapi-forges-ahead-with-exciting-new-lyme-cultures/.)  Additionally due to political pressure and the hard evidence researchers are finding about Lyme and related tick born diseases, new research dollars are being channeled into promising cutting edge science.

Keep tuned.

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.

Amy says, I am healthy and happy and continue to be asymptomatic.

My recovery, due primarily to stem cell therapy in India (with a little side credit going toward pre-stem cell antibiotic therapy, as stem cells only have the ability to repair the body but cannot kill bacteria), is still mine to keep.

I believe India is an extremely viable option for Lyme patients to consider pursuing, if traditional treatment has failed. I believe it saved my life. Nothing I had tried prior had come even close to restoring my health back to whole again.

I have disclaimers that always come with any talk of my improvement with stem cells. I give them genuinely, and not out of fear that something I say will send people in the wrong direction. They are just what I’ve come to know about this treatment.

1. I do not recommend this treatment for two categories of people: Anyone with ALS (this excludes those with ALS/Lyme disease whose physicians, or themselves, believe their symptoms may be primarily related to Lyme); and those with psychiatric disorders. 

For most with ALS, I simply think the disease is too fast progressing. I don’t think the stem cells can keep up, fighting the downhill battle of this disease. I think it’s too treacherous a trip and too costly financially and health-wise for those suffering with this delicate disease. In addition, I do believe it slows down the process just enough to make the natural disease process more difficult, but not enough to save the life of the suffering person. I have known many who have lost their battle with ALS after several trips to India. In fact, almost everyone I know who has gone. The one patient I know personally who is still living, is just doing that…living, but by no means engaging in life as most of us know it. Again, this statement this excludes those with ALS/Lyme disease whose physicians, or themselves, believe their symptoms may be primarily related to Lyme.

For psychiatric patients, I think it is downright dangerous. Culturally and medically, India (and its incredible doctors), do not have the same skills we have in other countries to safely handle these types of patients. The level of understanding from a human and medical perspective is not progressive enough yet, for me to feel this would be a good option. It is not for lack of being well meaning and compassionate. It is just a mix of Eastern culture, and limited experience.

The very skilled care needed in the case of a psychiatric emergency is not readily available and as advanced as most psychiatric patients are accustomed to. And above all that, this experimental treatment is far too experimental to even gauge what the effects on the brain chemistry could be in someone with a psychiatric condition.

With both of these conditions, my biggest concern is that once given stem cells, the effect (whatever that might be on an individual basis), cannot be undone.

2. This worked for me. But yes, I have known others who did not have the same results. There is a huge component of individuality when it comes to medical treatment of any type. Because it worked for me, does not mean it’s a cure-all for everyone suffering with Chronic Lyme disease.

On the flip side, because others may have not gotten miraculous results, means nothing against the treatment either. I learned this through my years of my own illness. For instance, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which I attended for nearly 100 treatments (far longer than the recommended treatment length), gave me very little improvement. In fact, after the treatment, I had slightly better cognitive functioning, but my pain was worse than I had ever experienced.

However, I met former Chronic Lyme patients at the hyperbaric clinic who came back year after year for maintenance doses as they believed that treatment was keeping them in remission, after having tried many other failed modalities.

The generalization of one person deciding whether stem cell treatment, or any treatment, is a reasonable solution to Chronic Lyme disease, is very dangerous. I will not do it here, or anywhere. Each person has the right to follow their own path, to find their own health, to be the anomaly.

In my own world, I have one condition that did not resolve with stem cell therapy. In fact, I believe it was exacerbated by it (probably due to hormonal fluctuations in the body post stem cells). I have endometriosis, which causes extremely painful and debilitating menstrual cycles.

However, through my exploration of energetic medicine in the last six months (including Emotional Freedom Technique, meridian therapy, Eden Energy Medicine and others), I have made huge strides. I still have a little ways to go, but not much at all now.

This, after 5 failed surgeries, years of hormone therapy and a host of other drastic attempts to gain control of it. I have, by working on myself, gotten completely off narcotic painkillers during my worst 1-2 days a month that I had to use them, and am unbelievably impressed with this work. I have gone back to school to become a practitioner myself, and have seen incredible results with those I’ve shared the techniques with, for both physical and psychological symptoms.

But as for Lyme, I bid it farewell a long time ago, and frankly, I never expect to see it again. It has taken much for me to stop peeking around corners every time something doesn’t feel 100% right in a very normal way (being tired after a long day, something I ate disagreeing with me, etc.). But I have done it. I am far more likely to think of 20 things it might be when I have a little headache, before Lyme ever crosses my mind.

When recovery happens quickly from a chronic condition, normalizing your life to meet it becomes a whole new ball game. One that takes time. Admittedly, sometimes I’m in it, even this many years later. But I can say without doubt, there is no game I’d rather be playing.”

If you had the time to listen to the fascinating interview presented on this blog last week between Dr. Mercola, Dr. Klinghardt and chronic Lyme disease, you may have heard Dr. Klinghardt’s assessment of the ultimate havoc that radioactive EMF (Electro-Magnetic Fields) have on our health.

Today, every person on the planet is enveloped in radioactive electromagnetic field (EMF) pollution or “electro-smog.”

Dr. Andrew Weil states that“Electromagnetic pollution (EMF) may be the most significant form of pollution human activity has produced in this century, all the more dangerous because it is invisible and insensible.”

Where does it come from?

For starters, let’s look at your home.

The wiring in your walls and outlets create an ever-present electromagnetic field in the room. Nearby power lines radiate even more EMF exposure into your home.

Household appliances and lighting, especially “energy-saving” computers, refrigerators, plasma TVs, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and dimmer switches produce a particularly harmful dose of EMFs.

When these energy-efficient electronics and appliances tamp down the electrical current, they create a wildly fluctuating and potentially dangerous electromagnetic field.

High-frequency voltage transients, or “dirty electricity,” results and radiates into your home.

These EMFs can also back up along your wiring all the way to the utility, infecting every energy customer in between.

Add in all the everyday things you use – alarm clock, electric razor, hair dryer, electric toothbrush – and you’re literally cluttering your living environment with toxic doses of EMFs.

In addition to all of that we have wi-fi and mobile phones.

The electrosmog created from all sources, including electronics, cell and cordless phones, wireless technology (especially Blue Tooth and WiFi), certain alarm systems, and radio and TV transmissions are now conclusively proven in over 2,000 studies to be hazardous to your health.

In fact just recently, on May 31, 2011, the World Health Organization reversed previous statements and declared that cell phones very possibly cause cancer.

But don’t wait for your cell phone carrier or Internet provider to deliver the bad news. Wireless Internet technology, some home alarm systems, cell phones, digital cordless phones, and blue tooth all use dangerous microwave radiation.

Cell phone radiation comes into all homes from nearby cell phone panels. So whether you are at home or away from home – there is no place “safe” anymore unless you make it that way.

And then you add wireless technology. Even if you don’t have WiFi, the EMFs from your neighbors’ wireless technology extends into your living space as well.

As you might already realize, cell phones, especially when used without a safe headset, are very problematic when it comes to EMFs — for both the user and others. Of all the cell phones, the iPhone presents an exceptional hazard.

Even when switched off, the iPhone acts as a transmitter from other cell phone users. In other words… if you happen to be the closest person to a cell phone tower, you and your iPhone serve as a transmitter station for possibly thousands of other cell phone users further away!

This is not just a theoretical threat.  This is a reality that is currently detriorating the lealth of millions of people around the world – especially those who are already sick with cancer or chronic Lyme disease.

Every cell in your body undergoes more than 100,000 biochemical reactions per second. And to ensure things run smoothly, every cell, tissue, and organ need to talk to each other and share information about those reactions.

This critical information travels as light signals via the autonomic nervous system throughout your body. These light signals connect to a biophysical field of light that your body creates outside of itself. This outer biophoton field, or “biofield,” is sensitive to magnetic and pulsating light fields.

The frequencies used by your body to communicate its information are in the range of a couple of billion Hertz. And that is the problem.

The cell phone industry is now using this very same frequency band for cell phone-to-cell phone communication.

We now have strong scientific evidence that these cell phone microwaves are significantly interfering with the healthy communications between your physical body and your external “biofield” of light.

In other words, they’re causing “static” and breaking down your body’s essential communications. Your cells can’t properly respond to signals from your brain, nervous system and immune system.

According to the Journal of Biochemistry, just living in a community with cell phone reception destroys crucial central signaling pathways in your cells.

Poor cellular communication and the dysfunctional autonomic nervous system that results are known precursors to cancer and other types of chronic illnesses.

A German study very clearly demonstrates these effects from cell phone radiation. For the first five years of exposure to a community cell phone tower, there is no increased cancer risk.

After five years, there is a sharp rise. At the end of ten years, there is a three to five-fold increase in cancer rates.

If you want to know your exposure, check http://antennasearch.com.  Just enter your address and get a free report listing all existing towers and antennas (even those planned for the future); of every type and even raw power and frequency data for that location.

I guarantee you will be alarmed, or at least you should be.  You can have the best diet with the highest quality organic foods and top shelf supplements, exercise and low stress…but the radioactive EMFs will be eating away at your health.

What can you do?

There are products galore that advertise their protective power against this electro-pollution – from canopies that cover your bed while you sleep to headbands, hats, and just about anything you can conceive of.  Don’t let the hype confuse you.  In my opinion there are two products that are important for you and each member of your family.

First, assuming you use a cell phone (if you don’t great – skip down to the next section) you don’t want to fry your brain (See “Are You Frying Your Brain With Your Cell Phone?”)  Green 8 USA has what you need with all of the science and testimonials you need to feel confident about the quality and safety of this product – not to mention the economy! You must check this out:

Green 8 USA

Now, what about the rest of the radioactive EMFs pounding at your body day and night.  Do you really think that turning off your wi-fi at night is going to help?  Perhaps…marginally…but there is a fantastic new product on the market now that can protect you and your family all the day and night – its called a BioElectric Shield.

Using applied physics, the living energy BioElectric Shield provides a lifetime of EMF protection, stress reduction, and energy enhancement. The Shield, uses “Earth Resonance Technology” developed from Nobel Prize winning physics – specifically the scientifically activated matrix of quartz and other living crystals which:

• PROTECTS you from cell phones, computers and other electromagnetic radiation by deflecting and redirecting this unhealthy energy;
• STRENGTHENS your own natural healthy energy field, amplifying your abilities to handle stressful situations and people more easily;
• ENHANCES your natural energy, improving focus, performance and goal achievement.
• BALANCES your system to the level of your DNA and helps to keep your immune system strong.

BioElectric Shield

Increase your chances of recovering completely from chronic Lyme disease.  Protect yourself from radioactive electromagnetic fields with a Green 8 USA for your cell phone, and a BioElectric Shield to block electro-smog and radioactive EMFs.