THE HISTORY OF LYME DISEASE

THIS IS SOME OF THE HISTORY OF LYME DISEASE. HOWEVER, I DO THINK THERE IS A LOT MORE TO THIS STORY THEN WE KNOW....
OR MAY EVER KNOW?

Lyme disease was first recognized in Lyme, Connecticut in 1977. Physician Allen Steere et al described the first clustering of the disease misdiagnosed as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Several children died as a result of the outbreak. They named this condition 'Lyme Arthritis'.
This is where the popular misconception that Lyme disease was discovered in the late 1970's in Lyme, Connecticut was started. Medical literature is actually rich with more than a century of writing about the condition, although most of it has been published only in Europe. At least this is what the history books tell us? It is my feeling a lot more has taken place with this bacteria once it was clearly understood the devastating effects it had on humans. This part of history has not been proven and is not in the history books. It is just my speculation.

This resilient bacteria migrated over time across the US on birds, deer, rodents, and all other animals that carry ticks. Even insects!
As it spread across the country the bacteria took on many different forms as it mutated over time. For a lack of better understanding many of us living outside of the North East have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, yet what we have is very different indeed. However, it is still a Tick Borne Illness. Unfortunately, we know it isn’t only carried on ticks. Since the 70’s it has been found that you can get Lyme disease from Flea’s, Mites, Bed Bugs, and other blood sucking insects. There is even speculation and controversy over Lyme being a Sexually Transmitted Disease. It is known that Lyme has infected the blood supply since it can not be detected.

This is the reason for the great controversy in the medical and political arena regarding this
disease. Most in the medical community say that what many of us are suffering with is not lyme disease. I guess in a way they are correct. It is not the Lyme disease that those in Lyme Connecticut suffered from. Lyme Disease has over 300 co-infections and is called the great imitator because it has some of the same symptoms as many other diseases. Therefore, it is very difficult to diagnose.
 

WHERE TO BE TESTED FOR LYME DISEASE
For all latent lyme sufferers there are not any reliable blood test available, except for one that you can get from www.igenex.com  That is true regardless of what any one in the medical community tells you. If you have a good relationship with your doctor hopefully you can talk him into drawing your blood and sending it to Igenex. You can get the lab kit from Igenex at no charge. You will have to pay for the results when you send your lab work to the lab.

So that only leaves you with symptoms to attempt to diagnose it. That is very difficult to do when it mimics so many other diseases. Here are a few that a Tick Borne Illness can mimic and therefore may be misdiagnosed. Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, ALS, MS, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, ADD, Bi-Polar, Depression, Migraine Headaches, Arthritis, Chronic Pain, Dementia, along with other psych illnesses, these are just some.
The list can go on. To view a more comprehensive list you can go to: http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/symptoms.php 

More excellent resources are:

http://www.lymediseaseresource.com/
http://www.lymeinfo.net/
These web sites are loaded with great information.

I am not implying that if you’ve been diagnosed with any of the diseases above you have Lyme Disease. Far from it!

Nor is it my desire to instill fear in anyone. I am writing this to educate.
I want to share with you what has happened to me and my experience in order to help others not go through the
same thing.

The point I’m attempting to make is we have something, but it most likely isn’t anything like the originally discovered Lyme Disease. To alleviate the confusion many have attempted to give this thing many different names other than Lyme. There’s Master’s Disease, named after the doctor that discovered the infection we are dealing with in the Midwest is a different disease then those in Lyme Conneticut. My doctor referes to it as Borrelias Disease. Others refer to it as TBI for Tick Born Illiness.

So for convenience sake and to eliminate confusion I am going to call what we have Lyme Disease as an umbrella term covering all of what ever it is we are dealing with?

DISCLAIMER: This information is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure disease. Jecobie Roberts is a Lyme disease patient, not a physician or doctor. Some of the treatments discussed are not FDA-approved. Please consult a licensed physician before beginning any new treatment program. This web page was developed to share her personal opinion, research, and experiences - not as medical advice.