"... the depth of ignorance is staggering." Alasdair Crockett(1968-2006)
BIG NEWS! Over 1000 blogs on LymeBlog Congratulations to elr1227 for posting the 1000th blog on LymeBlog
YOU ARE NOT ALONE Tell Your Story
Start your own Lyme Web Log (LymeBlog)
If you have Lyme or are close to someone who does
Click Here to start a free LymeBlog journal
"When wealth determines access to the public forum, it causes distortions."
"To take just one of many examples, for the past several years , the need to eliminate the inheritance taxes on the wealthiest 1/100 of 1 percent of the families in America (the only taxpayers who are still subjected to it) has been treated as a much more important priority than the need to provide at least minimal access to health care for tens of millions of families who currently have no access to health care coverage at all." From "The Assault on Reason"
Talk Back to ABC News about Reforming U.S. Healthcare
ABC's Good Morning America wants to know what problems-- or solutions-- you may have for the U.S. healthcare system. Click Here
Talk back to them by sending your video or e-mail questions and comments and you just might get them aired on Good Morning America or ABC News Now! Click Here
I went away for one day to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and I have been in bed ever since. I was not so okay before I went away but not bed ridden. Whats happening?
Today I thought was going to be a better day. I got up at 10am instead of 4pm and my head felt more clear but less than 2 hours after I got up I feel completely drained out. Completely! I know I slept hard because I woke myself up twice from the sound of my own snoring. Mike was right, I do snore! But I won't admit it to him. :-)
I need to get back in fight mode. Its hard, I need to dig deep but I will do it. Today I will get back on the treadmill and fight. I suppose I should start with food. Mike is at church so I need to get up and make myself a protein shake.
Maybe instead of the treadmill I will take a walk. Its a beautiful sunny day in CA today and the fresh air would do me good. I got my first daffodil bloom in my garden! Yeah its spring!
Mike has been on vacation for a week now. I seem to feel better when hes at work. I like being all alone for the most part of the day. Its the late evening and night that I need the company.
He has one more week off and he goes back on his regular 24 on and 24 off shifts. I think I might try and talk him into going fishing with a buddy. He needs to get away from me and have a little fun.
Okay, time to quit procrastinating & get my sorry behind out of bed and go fight. Pray for me.
As the day progressed and evening came on, I digressed. My stomach began to bother me. I only drank half of a protein shake and had some carrot salad for dinner but after I ate the carrot salad I began to get bad stomach pain. By the time I went to bed it was most uncomfortable. I could not sleep. My stomach was making loud noises and it hurt. My stomach was bloated, lovely. Finally around midnight I rushed to the bathroom and all I will say is I was up and down until 4am.
I still had problems most of the morning and even while I write this in the evening, my stomach is still not quite right yet. Not right and empty!
Not sure what triggered the stomach issues but its not anything new to me. I have a lot of random stomach issues since lyme diagnosis. Today I will eat very light and drink a bottle of Kombucha.
Kombucha is a raw organic drink (Chinese tea) that has enzymes + probiotics, amino acids and antioxidants. Taste strange. I don't care that its got a bit of carbonation but its natural carbonation.
Hope my stomach settles down so I can get a good night sleep tonight!
Wow, I'm declining fast today. I feel nauseous, chilled and when I move around & flush or maybe a slight fever while resting. (taking temp while writing)The pain is extreme, all over and the fatigue is awful. Emotionally I have been weak, crying a lot like I used to when I had PMS. Maybe hormonally I am out of whack?? Maybe just mourning feeling good? This has been a long run of not so good.
Interesting, I do have a low grade fever 99.2. My normal body temp is 97 and my house is cold today so this is definitely a fever. Mike has been feeling my head lately and saying I feel warm but I have not taken my temp until now.
So last week I did some online research about thyroid tests and I learned that a low number result means hyper thyroid and a high number result means low thyroid. If this is true than I am hyper thyroid and should not be given an increase in my dose.
So I called my llmds office, again, and left a message, again. A nurse called back and left a message saying if you are already on thyroid medicine, which I am, than a low reading TSH would be appropriate. What!? I sent an email and faxed a copy of my thyroid blood test to my GP and he responded saying the thyroid numbers were all in range except the TSH and he would not change one thing and certainty not increase the dose.
I was more confused. Why was he ignoring the fact my TSH was 3?
I called my llmd back, left another message stating that I was confused and concerned. I was very surprised to get a call-back from a Dr other than my llmd. I didn't question it and proceded to explain my concerns. he concurred! He said outright that he would be reducing my thyroid medicine not increasing like Dr G did but he needed to speak with her first and find out her "reasoning" on the increase. I told him what the GP said and he didn't say anything to rock that boat.
So that Dr called back and told me Dr G said my T-4 although was in range was a little low and she felt an increase was in order.
I am still very confused. I decided on my own to not do the increase and I am currently trying to get my llmd to refer me to a specialist. Something is not right. I got three different opinions and one of them was congruent to what I researched online. If I am hyper thyroid than an increase would make symptoms worse.
I need to know why my thyroid #'s were in range but the TSH very out of range. I am sooooo confused!
I feel like crap. I am not sleeping well and when I wake up at whatever hour my head feels heavy and my brain hurts. I can feel the fatigue and the neurological stuff going on at all hours. I have spent the past 3 days in bed.
People with Lyme: Actress Parker Posey Talks About Her Battle with Lyme Disease
LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By Mac McDonald
Actress Parker Posey Talks About Her Battle with Lyme Disease In Support of New Documentary, RETHINKING CANCER
NEW YORK, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the announcement of her
diagnosis with Lyme disease in February 2009, actress Parker Posey has
kept a low profile about her battle with the illness. Now the actress
is revealing something about the state of her health and battle, which
ultimately took a decidedly alternative holistic course, while throwing
support behind a thought-provoking new documentary which parallels her
own experience with the illness, Rethinking Cancer.
The
new documentary tracks the experiences of five patients, four with
cancer and one with Lyme disease, who took alternative means including
nutrition and detoxification and have remained disease-free for up to
35 years. The film also chronicles the 40-year history of New York
City-based F.A.C.T., the Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy,
which has led these and hundreds of others to alternative treatment
sources and practitioners. Clips and information about the film and the
bio-repair approach to battling disease it champions can be found at www.rethinkingcancer.org.
Producers had announced in August that Parker Posey had dropped out of the upcoming off-Broadway play, "This," after being diagnosed with Lyme disease
"As someone who dealt with Lyme disease recently, I had the
opportunity to approach it both with conventional medicine
(antibiotics) and homeopathic remedies and supplements," states Posey.
"The first round of antibiotics did not destroy all the bacteria and I
made a decision not to take them anymore and instead approach it purely
holistically -- through the help of my homeopathic doctor who guided me
with my diet and gave me the natural supplements to bring my body back
to its vitality."
"The five patients in Rethinking Cancer
share with us the path of their recovery: the courage to take their own
lives in their hands with a natural approach to healing their bodies,"
continues Posey. "It raises the questions: How can a natural approach
to healing oneself be considered so unconventional? Why do we think we
can't play an active role in getting healthy? Why do we give ourselves
away so easily to pharmaceuticals that deplete our system and confuse
the natural healing process? These people share with us the
responsibility they were impelled to take so that others can be
encouraged to follow the path of natural medicine and the healing arts.
Rethinking Cancer will enlighten and encourage anyone's approach in dealing with disease."
Unfolding like a real-life thriller, UNDER OUR SKIN
exposes the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease and reveals how our corrupt
medical system is failing to address one of the most serious illnesses
of our time. Open Eye Pictures is thrilled that the Academy has honored
the courageous Lyme patients and physicians whose stories are told in
this film. And we hope that this nomination will help spread awareness
about this devastating disease and serve as a catalyst for fixing our
country’s broken health care system.
The Documentary Branch
Screening Academy Committee viewed all eighty-nine qualifying
documentaries during the preliminary round of voting. Academy members
will now select five nominees from among the 15 titles on the
shortlist, and Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday,
February 2, 2010.
Director’s Statement
My journey into the depths of the Lyme disease controversy started by accident. A friend of
mine in San Francisco was getting sicker and sicker with severe and progressive neurological
illness. She was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and then ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease
(which is basically a death sentence). But she kept looking for possible explanations and, finally,
was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Lyme disease?! I recalled that my twin sister in Upstate New
York suffered from it years ago. I remember she was always tired and achy, even though she
looked just fine. So I never took it seriously, like most people, and I believed it was just an East
Coast disease, if a real disease at all.
So I was shocked that Lyme disease could be so debilitating, even life-threatening. I discovered
that the prevalence of Lyme disease in the U.S. may be at least ten times greater than HIV,
West Nile virus (and now swine flu) combined. Like its genetic cousin, the "great imitator"
syphilis, it mimics other illnesses, including chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis,
lupus, MS, ALS, Alzheimer's and autism. I learned it could be transmitted from mother to child
in utero and that sexual transmission has not been ruled out.
Photo: Under Our Skin
Lyme patient Marlena Connors suffers a seizure in UNDER OUR SKIN
Photo: UNDER OUR SKIN
Photo: UNDER OUR SKIN
Ben Petrick, once a Major League player, is now sidelined by Lyme disease
UNDER OUR SKIN Senior Producer Kris Newby and filmmaker Andy Abrahams
Wilson receive trophies at the International Health & Medical Media
Awards.
Photo: UNDER OUR SKIN
Under Our Skin
Directed by Andy Abrahams Wilson
See below for August showings
Runtime: 103 min.
Worse still: standard tests seem hopelessly inaccurate, and most physicians are untrained to
diagnose or treat the illness. Furthermore, physicians who do take on chronic Lyme patients
risk the suspension of their medical licenses. On the patient side, I found variations of the same
story repeated thousand-fold: doctor after doctor, years of misdiagnoses, hundreds of
thousands of dollars exhausted, denial of insurance coverage, accusations of hypochondria and,
finally if ever, a long road back to health.
What was going on? What if my friend had stopped after the ALS diagnosis? Would she still be
alive today? What if my sister didn’t persevere until she proved wrong those (like myself) who
thought it was all in her head? Sometimes I think the film is my way of making penance for the
way I treated my sister when she was sick. After all, William Osler, considered to be the father
of modern medicine, once said, "If you listen carefully to the patient they will tell you the
diagnosis." Our patriarchal, good-old-boy medical system is coming up against its limits of
knowledge and arrogance, threatened by "internet activists" (mostly women) who are taking
their family's healthcare into their own hands, sharing community and resources, and
demanding help.
After four years of research and production—and over 375 hours of footage, what we
uncovered is a chilling tale of microbes, medicine and money. Deregulation of scientific research
and conflicts of interest in medicine are poisoning healthcare, denying our citizens health, and
costing our citizenry profound loss of productivity and resources. We need an overhaul of our
medical research, health delivery and insurance systems. Lyme disease is the canary in the
coalmine and a case study for what's wrong and needs to be fixed. UNDER OUR SKIN is an
essential contribution to the current national debate about healthcare reform.
It’s true, Mount Allison has seen its first H1N1 (“heenee”) diagnoses.
Incidence in Canada is currently the third highest of all countries in
the world, falling just behind Mexico and the United States. While the
spread of the disease is real, maybe it’s just me, but it seems like
everywhere you look there’s a new myth about this infection. I thought
this week I’d attempt to dispel a few.
The vaccine is not going to kill you. As with any vaccine, there
are risks. Usually negative reactions are mild, but the rare patient
will have a severe reaction. Let me stress the rare part. The biggest
risk from the vaccine is Guillain-Barré, an auto-immune disorder that
attacks the nervous system. Odds of getting this from the vaccine are
about one in a million, but about forty in a million cases of swine flu
will see this. So you’re probably better off with the vaccine. All in
all, the vaccine is a hell of a lot safer than the disease.
Pandemic ≠ black plague. Yes, the heenee has been dubbed a
pandemic, but this doesn’t mean people will be dropping dead in the
streets middle ages-style. This term refers only to the global spread
of the disease, not its severity. More people have died from Lyme
disease in the last 300 days than from swine flu. Who even knows anyone
who’s had Lyme disease? This number is bound to increase as the flu
season progresses, but it’s likely that the mass hysteria seen in too
many homes is a bit of an overreaction.
Home remedies probably won’t work. For any illness, rumours of
home-cooked cures are bound to spread, but it’s usually in your best
interest to trust sources like your doctor and Health Canada over your
grandmother’s herbal tea. Sandra Oh (and that one Argosy editor) were
wrong to think that vitamins would ...
Obituaries: Remembering Leslie Wermers. One year ago today.
LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By LymeBlog News Staff
Source: Minnesota Lymefighters
Co-founded by Leslie Wermers
"If I die tomorrow and I save one life, I'll die happy."
Leslie Wermers 07/07/1967 - 11/02/2008
Leslie Gave Everything She Had, Cared & Loved So Deeply, Until the Very End.
~God Broke Our Hearts and Angels Rejoiced, the Day Leslie Entered Heaven~ November 2nd, 2008
~You've touched CountlessLives in so Many Beautiful Ways~She Was Always ALoving
and Giving Sister; Daughter; Life- Partner; Jayde's Lessie; Ralphie
& Dudley's Mommy; Cherished Lyme Patient Advocate; Aunt; Niece;
Cousin; & Friend.
Here is an excerpt from the beautiful tribute that Andy Abrahams Wilson wrote in memory of Leslie.
Andy is the Producer/Director of the Powerful Lyme Disease Documentary,"Under Our Skin".
"The
Lyme community has lost an important hero and friend–and so did I.
Leslie Wermers, 41, died from heart failure in her sleep on November
2nd, 2008."
"It is hard to imagine Leslie’s heart giving out, because for anyone
who knew her she was all heart."
"A dear friend to so many and a tireless
worker on behalf of the Minnesota and national Lyme communities, Leslie
gave everything she had to help others who were sick. And everything
she had was an abundant reserve of love and support–even as her own
health waned."
EDWARDSVILLE, IL -- A Troy man accused of
shooting down a church pastor during a sermon is mentally unfit to
stand trial, a Madison County judge ruled Tuesday.
Circuit Judge
Richard Tognarelli based the ruling on a report he received from
court-appointed psychologist Robert Heilbronner's examination of Terry
Sedlacek.
Photo: Provided to BND
Terry J. Sedlacek Jr. Sedlacek's mental health deteriorated after he contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite years ago.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed the
psychologist would testify that Sedlacek is schizophrenic and probably
wouldn't be able to understand the legal proceedings or assist in his
own defense.
Sedlacek, 27, is accused of fatally shooting the Rev. Fred Winters of First Baptist Church in Maryville on March 8.
Sedlacek
has no apparent connection to the church or to Winters. His attorneys
said early on in the case that Sedlacek's mental health deteriorated
after he contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite years ago.
His
attorneys, Ron Slemer and Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski,
filed a motion in July asking for the mental examination. They argued
that Sedlacek has "visual and auditory hallucinations," speaks in a
code and is bipolar and schizophrenic.
The motion also cited the tick-borne illness and other maladies, dating back at least 10 years.
He
has suffered bouts of erratic behavior his family has attributed to
Lyme disease, though Tognarelli's three-page ruling makes no reference
to the ailment.
Tognarelli wrote that prosecutors and defense
attorneys agree that Heilbronner, if called to testify, would describe
Sedlacek as ...
NOTE TO AUTHORS: If you are the author of this article and do not wish to have this article printed on the LymeBlog website, please write to us and we will remove the article.
Disclaimer: No warranties are provided either explicitly or implicitly as to the validity of any information herein. URLville Web Services does not take responsibility for the accuracy of any information and suggests that you do your own research and consult your doctor before making any treatment decisions.
URLville Web Services is not responsible for any third-party information referred to from the site. URLville Web Services may make a small referral fee for products you purchase from links within this site. URLville Web Services is not responsible for information or products found through sites referred by stories or ads on this website.
