Adrianna was normal until the age of 16 when she went on a mountain vacation with her family. When they arrived at the cabin near Yosemite they were surrounded by 6 deer. It was a beautiful moment.
Ten days later Adrianna became agitated and started having auditory hallucinations. Her family brought her to a psychiatrist who diagnosed her as psychotic and prescribed medications, which didn’t help. The next 3 months were a torturous road of different doctors, multiple medications, and a cost near $100,000. Adrianna had become a shadow of her former self.
Desperate, her parents brought her to Amen Clinics for a scan. Her scan showed areas of unusually decreased activity. It caused our physician to look deeper at the potential causes of Adrianna’s symptoms, such as an infection or toxicity. It turned out she had Lyme Disease. After antibiotics, she got her life back.
Lyme Disease is on the Rise
The Lyme disease (LD) infection rate is increasing. It is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States.
Public health officials report between 30,000 and 36,000 cases of the disease a year. According to the Center for Disease Control, LD is now present in nearly half of U.S. counties in 43 states, a leap of nearly 45% since 1998.
What is Lyme Disease?
According to the CDC, “Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black legged ticks.” These ticks are mostly found in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, the northern Midwest and the West Coast, and are often found on white-footed mice and white-tailed deer living in woods and high grass areas. Interestingly enough, Lyme disease was named after Lyme, Connecticut in 1975, the town where it was first identified.
Lyme disease can be effectively treated and cured
Doctors faced with treating the disease in early stages can successfully cure it with the use of antibiotics. Unfortunately, LD can be misdiagnosed because some doctors are not familiar with it. For those who feel they may have the disease, it is best to be diagnosed and treated by a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor that may likely to be a member of ILADS, the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society.
Symptoms may start with flu-like feelings such as fever, chills, sweats, possibly muscle aches, fatigue, nausea or joint pain. Physical symptoms often begin with what may look like a bull’s eye rash and in some cases even Bell’s Palsy (facial drooping). An even bigger problem, there may be no indication of a bite at all, which is a reason why Lyme disease may not be suspected.
Lyme disease is hard to detect
The disease has a way of manipulating the brain into thinking you’re not sick, as it slowly starts to work on neurological functions. LD is known as the great imitator because it can mimic various disorders such as Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, ALS, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s disease, just to name a few.
Even in later stages of the illness, LD can be treated. However, some may have symptoms that can linger for months or even years following treatment. In some instances, people experience memory loss, depression, anxiety, trouble focusing, emotional tantrums, or personality changes. Many find themselves suffering, not understanding why they can’t seem to get better until they are finally properly diagnosed and get the treatment needed to become healthy.
How to protect yourself from Lyme disease
Protect yourself, children and pets against LD by avoiding areas where deer tick live, such as wooded bushy areas with long grass. You can also decrease your chances of getting LD by covering up, using insect repellant, clear brush or tick enticing areas, and remove ticks immediately with tweezers. The ticks are most active in May, June, and early July.
Parents may have concerns because children are affected with the disease more often than adults, but neurological symptoms of late-stage Lyme disease are found to be rare in children.
The first step in any healing process is an accurate diagnosis. If you or someone you know may be experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease, call us today at (888) 288-9834 or visit our website to schedule a visit and find out more about how we can help.
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