An Interview with Joseph Bradley, author, Lyme disease survivor
Q: Tell me about your experience with Lyme disease.
A: “I never saw the tick bite. Perhaps I got the disease as a kid, or as a teen, I don’t know. A healthy immune system can keep it in check, but once the immune system is compromised the disease takes over. The spirochete bacteria start to multiply. They can hide virtually anywhere – in the brain, the heart, in muscle – it’s difficult for the immune system and antibiotics to find them, making it incredibly hard to cure, especially once it’s well-established. Several years ago, all of a sudden, all sorts of things started to go wrong with my health. For a week or two I thought it was the flu, but instead of getting better it kept getting worse. My mother-in-law had suf- fered with similar symptoms and had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, so I started to do my own research. I went to various online health sites, described my symptoms, and Lyme disease came up as a potential diagnosis.
I could barely get out of bed. I went to
my primary care physician, told him about my research, and lobbied hard to be treated for Lyme. Reluctantly, he prescribed 10 days of antibiotics.
Q: Did the antibiotics eliminate the disease?
A: The antibiotics eased my symptoms for a couple of weeks, but then the disease came back hard. At one point I couldn’t even pick up a glass of water, the pain in my wrists was so intense.
Q: Will you need to be on antibiotics for the rest of your life?
A: Many people with late stage Lyme do have to stay on antibiotics all their lives. Some people are lucky if the antibiotics will keep them alive and relatively symp- tom free. I was on antibiotics for 3 years, and have been off for about 4 months. So far, my lifestyle modifications are holding the disease at bay.
Q: What can you tell me about your upcoming book, The Lyme Conspiracy?
A: While the book is a mystery thriller and the story is fiction, the informa- tion about Lyme disease is based on research and fact. I’ve incorporated things people need to know, such as the potential involvement of the government, the role Plum
My Lyme tests came back negative, so
my PCP was unwilling to prescribe more an- tibiotics. My online research suggested that most Lyme tests were incredibly unreliable, resulting in 60 to 70% false negative read- ings, but I couldn’t convince my PCP, so I searched for, and finally found, a Lyme-liter- ate doctor – Dr. Hoadsley in Massachusetts. She used the IGeneX test, which showed that I had late-stage Lyme. She started me on an aggressive antibiotic treatment. I started a 30-day raw diet and a regi-
men of natural supplements. For the rest of my life, processed food, simple carbo- hydrates, and sugar are off limits, as they weaken the immune system, and I need mine to stay strong.
Island might play, conflicts of interest at the Center for Disease Control, and the fact that pharmaceutical companies make a ton of money off Lyme.
Q: If you could leave readers with a few final thoughts, what would they be?
A: Three things. 1. Know that Lyme can pres- ent as many different diseases. 2. Remember that most primary care physicians are not Lyme-literate, and many don’t want to be, 3. Lyme tests are unreliable, and most people receive only a generic test because that’s the only test insurance pays for. The Igenics test is the gold standard; if you have Lyme that test will probably disclose it, but that test can cost as much as $450 out of pocket. I’m lucky to have recovered as well as I
have – I’ve met so many people with Lyme, and heard so many heart-breaking stories, ranging from blindness to lives of agony to premature deaths. I’ve included some of the stories at the end of my new book, and there are others on my website. I hope those stories will help people identify the disease earlier, and not suffer needlessly, as so many people have.
Submitted by Deb Percival. Joseph J. Bradley is the author of four mystery thrillers. He is a former police officer with a masters degree in criminology. Joseph was a fighter and has been training and teaching martial arts since 1973. He is a veteran of the United States Army, where he operated in the DMZ in Korea conducting recon patrols. The Lyme Conspiracy is scheduled to be released in X.
www.josephjbradley.com.
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