The Battle Against Lyme Disease - Part Two
By Rudy Mueller, DC, IFMCP Chronic Lyme: An Attitude and Lifestyle Adjustment
the very hard to understand symptoms I was experiencing such as fatigue, muscle pain and diffi culty sleeping. I self-medicated/sup- plemented in order to help reduce symptoms and I went through a very brief time of depressive thinking, believing that it all was in my head. It was a very diffi cult time trying to understand the cause of my “weird” symptoms. This is a common story often echoed by my patients about their troubles. Lyme is known as the great imitator. Symptoms vary greatly
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among individuals and can often mimic more severe conditions. Patients are often sent from specialist to specialist to rule out major conditions such as cancer, heart disease, auto-immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, neuropathy, hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, and psychiatric disorders, among others. Patients com- monly end up with no defi nitive diagnosis or occasionally receive a very broad umbrella diagnosis such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fi bromyalgia. Unfortunately, some may be told it’s all in their head. Although it is a relief not to receive some of the major condition diagnoses above, not knowing the cause of the “weird” symptoms becomes very troubling and diffi cult. After receiving a diagnosis of Lyme, the people who are most successful in treatment are those who become empowered by adhering to a very systematic regimen of due diligence and detailed tracking. Tracking and journaling become very important tools to fi guring out what factors may trigger changes including prescribed protocols, food, stress, and environmental exposures. Logging and tracking symptoms and changes in lifestyle helps you and the prac- titioner create an effective treatment program.
16 Essential Living Maine ~ August 2014
eing diagnosed with Lyme was a life changing experience for me. Prior to the diagnosis I had major work-ups done in order to try and understand what was creating some of
Borrelia Burgdorferi: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing About a year ago, when I found out I had Lyme disease, I began
researching Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the bacteria that causes Lyme, and I was truly impressed with its capabilities. First of all, it is by far one of the most, if not the most advanced bacteria. Its capabilities are frightening and parallel attributes that you would want if you were going to war or entering another country as a spy. In essence that is exactly what this organism does when entering your body, it goes to war against the immune system. Bb is classifi ed as a spirochete, and is related to the organism that causes syphilis, Treponema palladium. Spirochetes have long tail like structures that extend from either end and allow them to travel in any direction within the body. These long hair like struc- tures allow them to burrow, attach and wreak havoc in our body. Bb likes to live within collagenous material, such as the eye, brain, nervous system, joints, muscles, among others. It spends very little time in the blood. Bb very much mimics a parasite but instead of stealing your nutrition from your gastrointestinal tract it has the ability to secrete enzymes that breakdown your body’s tissue into its basic components in order to gain nutrition. All of this being quite scary or impressive, the most amazing of Bb’s abilities is evading detection from its enemy, the immune system or antibiotics/antimi- crobials:
1. Shield: Research has demonstrated that Bb has the ability to shield itself from the surrounding environment within moments of detecting hostility. The cyst form of the Bb has the ability to lay dormant for months to years and reactivate when the environment becomes more compatible for survival.
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