Rebecca Wells is the author of Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. She has a secret though. Want to know what it is? She has Lyme Disease. She announced in 2005 that back when she was writing the novel that she was battling a variety of symptoms. She saw 12 different doctors before finding out what ailed her. She battled this illness for 5 to 6 years before getting her diagnosis in 2004.
Amy Tan is also an author. Her latest book that I know about is called Saving a Fish from Drowning. It was published in 2006. I have not read any of her bodies of works, but I do know something special about Amy Tan. Amy Tan has been battling Lyme Disease since 1999. I'm not sure about her health status now, but here is her website where she talks about Lyme Disease. Here she is reading some of her book.
Amy Tan also was in Under Our Skin and talked about Lyme Disease at the Tribecca Film Festival where Under Our Skin was first shown. They refer to her here as "former Lyme patient." So I am assuming she is doing well at this time. However like others who "do well" ... a relapse could always happen.
Daryl Hall and John Oates have been working together since the 70's. Their songs are some of the best ever recorded and one of my favorites is "Maneater." In 2005, Daryl Hall had to cancel some of his performances with John Oates after his diagnosis of Lyme Disease. In June of 05, he wasn't feeling well and had to cancel one show. Then shortly after he performed, but had to stop half way through the performance. Then had to cancel the show altogether. On his blog, he said he would be on antibiotics for a month and be CURED. That was before he had done his research.
Here is his interview with Inside Edition on Lyme Disease.
Here are some Youtube videos of my favorite Hall & Oates songs.
Maneater
Kiss on my List
Rich Girl
Out of Touch
You've Lost that Loving Feeling
(though it was originally done in 1965 by the Righteous Brothers)
Hopefully Daryl Hall is feeling much better now.
Showing posts with label Lyme Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lyme Disease. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Videos
I posted these videos on my Living the Lyme Life blog in 2008. While searching for Lyme Disease, I found a few videos on You Tube. This particular set of videos are from a radio station in Washington DC on KJFK with Andy Abrahams Wilson from June 17, 2008. For those of you that do not know, Andy is the director of a documentary about Lyme Disease called Under Our Skin. I found these to be very interesting and hope they shed some light on Lyme Disease and the documentary.
There are three parts to the video and combined they last 27 to 30 minutes. They discuss symptoms, testing issues and other answers by Andy.
Part 1 lasts about 9 to 10 minutes (What are the Symptoms plus other answers by Andy)
Part 2 lasts about 9 to 10 minutes (What are the testing Issues and other answers by Andy)
Part 3 lasts about 9 minutes (Questions from Callers and answers by Andy)
There are three parts to the video and combined they last 27 to 30 minutes. They discuss symptoms, testing issues and other answers by Andy.
Part 1 lasts about 9 to 10 minutes (What are the Symptoms plus other answers by Andy)
Part 2 lasts about 9 to 10 minutes (What are the testing Issues and other answers by Andy)
Part 3 lasts about 9 minutes (Questions from Callers and answers by Andy)
Monday, June 7, 2010
The 3 stages of Lyme
There are three stages of Lyme Disease.
The first stage of Lyme Disease is called the early localized infection. This stages happens immediately and can last up to about the 4th week after the tick bite. Some people infected get what's called a bulls eye rash. The technical term is called Erythema Migrans. A lot of Lyme patients call it the EM rash. It is very important to point out that not all that are infected with Lyme get this rash. It's also important to recognize that the EM rash could be hidden in the scalp area underneath hair. When you are bitten by a tick, it's important to do daily checks with a mirror to check all hidden areas for unusual rashes. If possible, have someone check your scalp too.
In the first stage of Lyme, it is possible to get several symptoms. Some get flu-like symptoms with or without the rash. The lack of energy seems to be the most common symptom and a lot of people ignore this extremely important symptom by thinking the lack of energy is caused by something else (working too hard, playing too hard, staying up too late, not getting enough sleep and the list goes on). Some other symptoms that may appear in the early localized stage are headaches, stiff neck, fever, chills, muscle and/or joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes. In some occasions, people may not even notice a single symptom during the early localized infection stage.
When Lyme Disease is not detected or treated right away when early symptoms arise, the infection may (and often does) spread to multiple systems in your body in the early disseminated infection stage. This can happen almost immediately around week 4, depending on your immune system, to the 4th month. The infection could cause problems with the skin, joints, nervous system and heart within weeks to months of the initial infection. Symptoms that may appear during the early disseminated stage are rashes, tiredness, pain, weakness, numbness, paralysis in the face, recurring headaches, fainting, inability to concentrate, memory loss and rapid heart beats.
If the Disease isn't treated properly and swiftly, Lyme turns into a Chronic Infection called Late Persistant Infection. Damage can be done to the brain, nerves and joints months to years after the initial infection. You may have swelling and pain in the joints, numbness, tingling, severe fatigue, neurological changes, sleep disturbances, problems speaking, chronic arthritis, problems of the heart and difficulties with your nervous system.
WebMd
It is important to get treated right away because as you can see within months of a tick bite things can get really serious really quickly. If you aren't aware of your tick bite, physicians look at all the problems seperately and often patients are sent on a wild goose chase.
The first stage of Lyme Disease is called the early localized infection. This stages happens immediately and can last up to about the 4th week after the tick bite. Some people infected get what's called a bulls eye rash. The technical term is called Erythema Migrans. A lot of Lyme patients call it the EM rash. It is very important to point out that not all that are infected with Lyme get this rash. It's also important to recognize that the EM rash could be hidden in the scalp area underneath hair. When you are bitten by a tick, it's important to do daily checks with a mirror to check all hidden areas for unusual rashes. If possible, have someone check your scalp too.
In the first stage of Lyme, it is possible to get several symptoms. Some get flu-like symptoms with or without the rash. The lack of energy seems to be the most common symptom and a lot of people ignore this extremely important symptom by thinking the lack of energy is caused by something else (working too hard, playing too hard, staying up too late, not getting enough sleep and the list goes on). Some other symptoms that may appear in the early localized stage are headaches, stiff neck, fever, chills, muscle and/or joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes. In some occasions, people may not even notice a single symptom during the early localized infection stage.
When Lyme Disease is not detected or treated right away when early symptoms arise, the infection may (and often does) spread to multiple systems in your body in the early disseminated infection stage. This can happen almost immediately around week 4, depending on your immune system, to the 4th month. The infection could cause problems with the skin, joints, nervous system and heart within weeks to months of the initial infection. Symptoms that may appear during the early disseminated stage are rashes, tiredness, pain, weakness, numbness, paralysis in the face, recurring headaches, fainting, inability to concentrate, memory loss and rapid heart beats.
If the Disease isn't treated properly and swiftly, Lyme turns into a Chronic Infection called Late Persistant Infection. Damage can be done to the brain, nerves and joints months to years after the initial infection. You may have swelling and pain in the joints, numbness, tingling, severe fatigue, neurological changes, sleep disturbances, problems speaking, chronic arthritis, problems of the heart and difficulties with your nervous system.
WebMd
It is important to get treated right away because as you can see within months of a tick bite things can get really serious really quickly. If you aren't aware of your tick bite, physicians look at all the problems seperately and often patients are sent on a wild goose chase.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tick Borne Illness
Originally posted on Living the Lyme Life in September of 2008. I have altered it a bit to fit the Tick Lady blog.
I often get questions about Lyme Disease. The most often question I get is, "How did you get that?" Once I tell them, it is generally followed by, "Where did you get it?" I can answer them by saying here (North Carolina) which is followed by a look of shock and confusion. Then they quizzically ask, "Really? I thought it was only in the New England states." Those statements are even made to me by physicians at a local hospital.
They are small. Some are small as the size of the period at the end of this sentence. However, little ticks carry big diseases. Some diseases that are most often heard of are Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Not only are there other tick borne illnesses, but each disease has many different strains making it difficult to diagnose and to treat.
There are several diagnostic tests for tick borne illnesses, but those tests only test for a few of the strains of each illness causing many false negatives. The best lab in the United States to test for Tick Borne Illness is IgeneX in Palo Alto California, but even they don’t test for all the strains of each illness.
Lyme Disease is a spiral bacteria. It bores into your cells and hides. Because of it’s corkscrew shape, it travels into your tissue and hides itself in healthy cells. Therefore, your own immune system doesn’t start to fight it since it doesn’t even realize that there is bacteria there. The borrelia (Lyme Disease) bacteria also can change form when in a “hostile” environment (example: when attacked by antibiotics) and can form into cysts which are safe from most antibiotics.
Lyme Disease reacts differently in each person and there can be a multitude of symptoms. Some people infected with the Lyme bacteria have over 75 symptoms. Even though most people associate joint pain with Lyme Disease, not everyone with Lyme Disease has joint pain. Also another marker of the disease is a bulls eye rash near the site of the tick bite.
Even though physicians call this a tell tale sign of Lyme, many people do not even get the bulls eye rash. The other problem is that sometimes the rash may be in an area where it can not be detected. An example of this would be on your scalp under hair. Because the bacterium multiplies so quickly, when the bacterium is killed it creates toxins which often make the patient feel worse on antibiotics.
There are two types of physicians that treat Lyme Disease. It is a very controversial illness and the two types of physicians believe different things. One particular group of doctors believes that long term antibiotics is not the answer. That if you are on antibiotics for more than a month and still have symptoms that you have Post Lyme Syndrome. The other group of doctors believe that if you have symptoms of Lyme Disease (or any of the other tick borne illnesses) that you still have Lyme. Most Chronic Lyme patients side on the group of doctors that believe in long term antibiotics.
The reason Lyme Disease is so difficult to diagnose is that it causes multi-system symptoms. If you don't know you've been bitten by a tick, it is even more difficult to get a diagnosis. You may ask how can you not know you've been bitten by a tick. Wouldn't you know right away? Not necessarily. First thing is that ticks inject their saliva into your blood stream when they bite and their saliva is numbing.
If you are extremely sensitive, you might feel them crawling on you and you might feel the bite. Are you itching yet? I am. :) However a lot of people may not feel them crawling or the tick may take a ride up the side of the pants and have very minimal skin contact until they actually attach. Once they attach, they feed on your blood until they are full. Then they back out and you never know they were there. And also if they crawl up into your scalp, you may not ever see the tick. You might have an itchy spot, but you just figure you've got itchy skin.
Lyme Disease can cause flu-like symptoms, joint pain, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, rashes, muscle twitches, sore throat, sensitivity to lights, seizures, ringing in the ears, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, sweating, heart pain, poor balance, dizziness, mood swings, sleep deprivation, over sleeping, memory loss, speech difficulty, reproduction & sexual dysfunction, low body temperature, continued infections, increased allergies, and many many more.
These are some of the best websites that I have found on Lyme Disease and the last one is a newsletter for tick borne illnesses and other public health issues.
http://www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html
http://www.carolinalyme.org/
http://www.truthaboutlymedisease.com
http://www.nclyme.org/
http://www.publichealthalert.org/
Jennifer ~
The Tick Lady
I often get questions about Lyme Disease. The most often question I get is, "How did you get that?" Once I tell them, it is generally followed by, "Where did you get it?" I can answer them by saying here (North Carolina) which is followed by a look of shock and confusion. Then they quizzically ask, "Really? I thought it was only in the New England states." Those statements are even made to me by physicians at a local hospital.
They are small. Some are small as the size of the period at the end of this sentence. However, little ticks carry big diseases. Some diseases that are most often heard of are Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Not only are there other tick borne illnesses, but each disease has many different strains making it difficult to diagnose and to treat.
There are several diagnostic tests for tick borne illnesses, but those tests only test for a few of the strains of each illness causing many false negatives. The best lab in the United States to test for Tick Borne Illness is IgeneX in Palo Alto California, but even they don’t test for all the strains of each illness.
Lyme Disease is a spiral bacteria. It bores into your cells and hides. Because of it’s corkscrew shape, it travels into your tissue and hides itself in healthy cells. Therefore, your own immune system doesn’t start to fight it since it doesn’t even realize that there is bacteria there. The borrelia (Lyme Disease) bacteria also can change form when in a “hostile” environment (example: when attacked by antibiotics) and can form into cysts which are safe from most antibiotics.
Lyme Disease reacts differently in each person and there can be a multitude of symptoms. Some people infected with the Lyme bacteria have over 75 symptoms. Even though most people associate joint pain with Lyme Disease, not everyone with Lyme Disease has joint pain. Also another marker of the disease is a bulls eye rash near the site of the tick bite.
Even though physicians call this a tell tale sign of Lyme, many people do not even get the bulls eye rash. The other problem is that sometimes the rash may be in an area where it can not be detected. An example of this would be on your scalp under hair. Because the bacterium multiplies so quickly, when the bacterium is killed it creates toxins which often make the patient feel worse on antibiotics.
There are two types of physicians that treat Lyme Disease. It is a very controversial illness and the two types of physicians believe different things. One particular group of doctors believes that long term antibiotics is not the answer. That if you are on antibiotics for more than a month and still have symptoms that you have Post Lyme Syndrome. The other group of doctors believe that if you have symptoms of Lyme Disease (or any of the other tick borne illnesses) that you still have Lyme. Most Chronic Lyme patients side on the group of doctors that believe in long term antibiotics.
The reason Lyme Disease is so difficult to diagnose is that it causes multi-system symptoms. If you don't know you've been bitten by a tick, it is even more difficult to get a diagnosis. You may ask how can you not know you've been bitten by a tick. Wouldn't you know right away? Not necessarily. First thing is that ticks inject their saliva into your blood stream when they bite and their saliva is numbing.
If you are extremely sensitive, you might feel them crawling on you and you might feel the bite. Are you itching yet? I am. :) However a lot of people may not feel them crawling or the tick may take a ride up the side of the pants and have very minimal skin contact until they actually attach. Once they attach, they feed on your blood until they are full. Then they back out and you never know they were there. And also if they crawl up into your scalp, you may not ever see the tick. You might have an itchy spot, but you just figure you've got itchy skin.
Lyme Disease can cause flu-like symptoms, joint pain, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, rashes, muscle twitches, sore throat, sensitivity to lights, seizures, ringing in the ears, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, sweating, heart pain, poor balance, dizziness, mood swings, sleep deprivation, over sleeping, memory loss, speech difficulty, reproduction & sexual dysfunction, low body temperature, continued infections, increased allergies, and many many more.
These are some of the best websites that I have found on Lyme Disease and the last one is a newsletter for tick borne illnesses and other public health issues.
http://www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html
http://www.carolinalyme.org/
http://www.truthaboutlymedisease.com
http://www.nclyme.org/
http://www.publichealthalert.org/
Jennifer ~
The Tick Lady
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