So far, we’ve talked to my trusted pal and doctor Kenneth Bock, Integrative MD about adrenal fatigue and basic supplement recommendations. Today, we’re chatting about Lyme Disease, which is especially important this time of year whether you live in the Catskill Mountains or Palm Beach.
Recently, I was faced with the seriousness of this condition when my dog Lola was bitten. She’s doing well now, but this scary, first hand experience woke me up to the big health implications of a tiny tick bite. I strongly suggest talking to your veterinarian asap about how you can protect your fur-kid from those little buggers.
Every time I walk through my yard or take a hike I immediately check my skin and Lola’s fur and skin for ticks (and I often find a couple on both of us!). This simple precaution prevents what could be a big health issue. And the good news is that there’s a lot we can all do to stop Lyme Disease before it starts or to treat it effectively. So let’s get this tick-busting party started and review what we’ll be exploring in today’s video.
In this video, we’ll answer these questions:
What is Lyme disease?
How can you identify a tick bite?
What are the signs of Lyme disease?
What tests should you get if you think you have Lyme disease?
How can you treat Lyme disease?
What is chronic Lyme disease?
What’s a positive long-term perspective on living with Lyme disease?
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If you’d like to learn more about Lyme disease, check out Dr. Bock’s website. And to find out where ticks are most prevalent, take a look at these geographic distribution maps. You might be surprised about their abundance in your neighborhood!
Update: Additional Tick Tips & Recommendations
Thank you for sharing your Lyme disease resources and supporting each other in the comments below. I read through every one of your thoughtful words and pulled together the following tips, websites, blogs, videos and educational tools to help guide you on your journey to wellness. (Please note that these are suggestions from my readers.)
Tick Bite Prevention
Helen’s Tips:
Wear light-colored clothing. It makes ticks easier to see and remove before they can attach to feed.
Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Wear closed footwear and socks. Tuck your pants into your socks.
Put a tick and flea collar on your pet and check them for ticks periodically.
If you frequent the areas where blacklegged ticks are established, examine yourself thoroughly for ticks. It is important to do this each day. Pay special attention to areas such as groin, scalp and armpits. Use a mirror to check the back of your body or have someone else check it.
Elisabeth’s Tips:
For pets: In addition to checking your pet regularly, you need to use repellents, vaccine, keep hair short and avoid “at risk” places. Also, your pet can collect a tick and then give it to you.
For humans, I recommend avoiding “at risk” places (tall grasses, bushes, forest border, for example) … Take a shower when you come back and use a fine comb on your hair (especially the neck line).
Tick removal:
Meg’s Tips:
The best way to remove un-embedded ticks without exposing ourselves to them is to catch them with the sticky side of a piece of transparent tape and then quickly close it. Then we can look at the insect and also discard it safely. It’s easy to carry gift wrapping tape with you on a hike or to the beach.
Helen’s Tips:
Using fine-tipped tweezers, carefully grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible. Pull it straight out, gently but firmly.
Don’t squeeze it. Squeezing the tick can cause the Lyme disease agent to be accidentally introduced into your body.
Don’t put anything on the tick, or try to burn the tick off.
After the tick has been removed, place it in a screw-top bottle (like a pill vial or film canister), and take it to your doctor or local health unit … Establishing the type of tick may help to assess your risk of acquiring Lyme disease.
It is important to remember where you most likely acquired the tick. It will help public health workers to identify areas of higher risk.
Thoroughly cleanse the bite site with rubbing alcohol and/or soap and water.
Your turn: Have you had experience with a tick bite or Lyme disease? Share your insights and experiences in the comments.
Peace & skin/fur checks,
P.S. Interested in an infrared sauna?
I’ve been hooked on infrared saunas and their incredible detoxification benefits for over a decade now. If you’re looking for one for your home, Sunlighten is offering a special sauna deal for Crazy Sexy readers! Check ’em out here.
Although Lyme disease is rarely fatal, it proved deadly for a close friend of mine.
For years my friend, my neighbor and running partner, suffered a myriad of symptoms. She was told she had chronic fatigue syndrome. She sought help from traditional medicine and from alternative therapies. She tried altering her already-healthy, organic diet by eliminating common allergens or combining foods differently and took several herbal and nutritional supplements. She exercised, did yoga and tried for years to find out what was causing her fatigue, head aches and fog, and weight gain (she was a small woman but her belly became distended and she looked 5 months pregnant).
After years of battling an unknown condition, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease–the culprit of all her many health issues. Sadly, the diagnosis came too late and my dear, sweet friend died. Lyme had ravaged her body for too long. It has been 5 years since she died and I still miss her.
Thank you for sharing this important information on identifying Lyme disease. I appreciate Dr. Bock’s view that the disease must be treated in an integrative manner both aggressively and longer.
First of all, many thanks Kris for discussing Lyme disease. I lived near Lyme, CT when I was diagnosed. I was treated with antibiotics for 30 days. Long story short I have had relapses 4 times now over several years. The only treatment that truly helped me was a Lyme kit I was given by my naturopathic doctor (Dr Jonne Groves). Basically, there are 10-12 vials of various strands and strengths of Lyme. This along with an herbal immune support (immunitone), saved me. I still take an immune support supplement daily to prevent another episode. Also, for pets there is a Lyme vaccine. Best wishes to all you Lymies!
I was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease in Feb of 2012.
It had never crossed my mind that that was why I was feeling so lethargic & had such terrible headaches but when I received the diagnosis it made all the sense in the world (I was bit in May 2011 by a spider).
My herbalist gave me a remedy & within 3 days the symptoms were gone & I’ve felt great since!
So fortunate to have a great herbalist who was able to diagnose & treat it so quickly…it was not fun when I had it!
It’s great to see that you are opening up a conversation about Lyme. I’m a nutritionist and work with Dietrich Klinghardt who specializes in treating chronic Lyme disease. We see people with Lyme from all of the world. Often times our patients will have been suffering for 10, even 30 years before they find our clinic. BUT people do get well. I just want to drop that line of hope for any of your followers struggling with this. I see people heal from chronic Lyme, it is possible. You MUST connect with a Lyme literate practitioner who really knows what they are doing.
Most people are not familiar with Lyme as a chronic illness, so like always, I am SO happy to see you open up this dialogue.
Thank you for helping shed some light on Lyme Disease, it’s diagnosis and treatments! I would love love love if your doc would join you again to talk about the co-infections as well. For most people who have Lyme, they also have co-infections, which if treated, will make the recovery process that much faster. I know I would have loved this info back when I was trying to navigate my own Lyme journey.
If you have Lyme Disease it doesn’t need to be as arduous of a journey if more good information is out there, so definitely find a good Doc who knows her/his stuff and you’ll be able to find some peace. Having Chronic Lyme for over 10 years, I have learned heaps, about my spirit, my body, and what not to focus on:) Sending LOVE to anyone going through health challenges…it’s an education for sure!! <3
Thanks again and lots of love!!
Greta
Twin Tree Healing
PS. If you're in the Philadelphia Tri-State area and need a knowledgable doc, look up Dr. Frank Noonan near Reading, PA. He's awesome, and holistic minded (along with a traditional approach) as well.
Thank you so much for the vid and info! I live in a place called Woods Landing and I am concerned about Lymes disease, especially for my kids. A lot of friends and their families are struggling with this in our area, hence the name! And so far, we are lucky, no ticks for us but I’m pimping this post out to all of my peeps. So informative!
I have had tick bites but have not contracted lyme disease. If I find one one me and think that it could have transmitted something to me I take homeopathic Ledum to prevent it.
I had the classic tick bite rash followed by flu like symptoms when I was around 16. I lived in NH and was always covered in bug bites so I didn’t think much of the tick bite. I was unaware of Lyme. Now, 12 years later I was finally tested for it. The Western Blot test showed strains of Lyme but not in the combination that the CDC requires for an official diagnosis, which I think is silly. I am seeing a Lyme specialist now that wants to put me on a high dose of antibiotics. However, I have been battling a bad case of candida since I took antibiotics a year and a half ago for a sinus infection. I am very hesitant to start taking them again. Has anyone treated their Lyme naturally?
Many thanks to Kris for all that you do (I am a big fan!) and for helping to raise awareness about Lyme Disease.
At least 50% of chronic cases do not recall having a tick bite and I’ve also read that in 65% of these cases Lyme symptoms occur after a trauma. I went in for surgery in 2011 and had an intense flare of Lyme-like symptoms almost immediately afterwards. It’s taken me almost 2 years to get a diagnosis and I finally had to have blood-work sent to Igenex lab (which specializes in Lyme-related cases) in the States from Canada. For anyone, looking at the map (http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/geographic_distribution.html) of the ticks spread —the ticks do not need a passport to cross the border!!! Lyme is now widespread all across Canada as well.
I have come across people who have healed their chronic cases *without* antibiotics. This is the route I’ve chosen to take and am currently using a GB4000 Rife Machine, as suggested by Lyme Advocate Bryan Rosner (http://www.lymebook.com/) who healed himself with Rife and swears by it. I’m also using an intense herbal protocol inspired by Steven Buhner’s book ‘Healing Lyme’ (http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/) along with lifestyle, diet, etc. Any treatment for Lyme is a long term commitment and it’s still too early to tell how well I’m responding to treatment but I feel hopeful.
This disease is getting out of hand and we need more doctors like Dr. Bock who are Lyme-literate and more public awareness of the extreme risk of tick exposure. There are no Lyme-literate MDs in Calgary, Canada like may other places and this is a huge problem! Also important to note that Lyme is transmitted through more than just ticks! Some literature says mosquitoes, body fluids and through pregnancy. There are more and more cases of married couples who both end up with Lyme.
I have been battling chronic lyme and co-infestions for about 8 years with my all my family. Thank you so much for bringing attention to this poorly understood, tested and treated diseases. Thank you so much also for your wonderful website and diet recommandations that are absolutely instrumental in helping to fight these diseases.
I just would like to comment on Kriss saying on the video that we need to keep checking for ticks after going outside. It’s absolutely true but far from being enough. A large number of victims vever saw a tick on them or had a rash. A ticks lives 2 years and in its 1st year is as small as a dot a the end of this sentence. Even at this size, it can bite and transmits multiple diseases. So there is clearly much to be done to stay safe. For pets, you need to use repellents, vaccine, keep hair short, avoid at risk places in addition to checking the pet regularly Also, your pet can collect a tick and then give it to you. For humans, I recommend to avoid at risk places (tall grasses, bushes, forest border for ex) and when going out, wear long sleeves, tall boots, tuck your pants in your socks, wear light colored clothes, wear a hat, use repellent., etc …Take a shower when you come back and use a fine comb or your hair (esp the neck line). I know, it’s very cumbersome but lyme is not a clearly picnic, esp chronic lyme, that you can transmit to your family. It seems that chronic lyme cannot be cured today, just controlled by our immune system. We don’t know the impact on our kids when they have their own babies or on us when we’ll be getting older and that our immune system will be less strong …
Thank you for the video. Dr Bock is also doing a community Lecture followed by a Q & A on ” Lyme Disease – The Great Imitator” on Thursday, May 9th at 6:00pm at the Woodstock Day School on Glasco Turnpike in Saugerties, NY. A very special opportunity to listen and speak with this internationally known doctor.
Wondering about recommendations for repelling ticks naturally/safely? YES we will wear long clothing and inspeact often, but I have kids in the woods in prime tick season and am wondering if there is additional safe protection available?
Great topic. I was clinically diagnosed with Lyme in 2011. I developed this really large strange looking bruise (in a circle) on the side of my leg and did not remember bumping into anything. I took a picture of it and had gone to see the doctor to make sure it wasn’t a blood clot or anything serious. The Dr didn’t think it was anything serious – just a large bruise. Within two weeks of the bruise appearing I began to experience neurological symptoms such as pins and needles and tingling in different areas of my arms, legs, and back that would come and go. Then I experienced extreme fatigue, dizziness, and nausea. I went to the ER because I felt like I was going to faint. They ran a ton of tests and everything came back normal. They thought it was just a virus coming on. Then in the next couple of days I experienced bad headaches, pain in my knees, hands and ankles so I went back to the doctor.
Thank goodness my doctor put it all together and clinically diagnosed me with Lyme. The large bruise was my body’s version of the erythema migrans rash. My Lyme test was negative but since my Dr clinically diagnosed me I was treated with antibiotics for 4 weeks. I still had symptoms after initial treatment so I needed another course of antibiotics. I used good quality probiotics throughout treatment as well as supplements.
My advice on getting properly diagnosed is be persistent – if you don’t feel well your doctor needs to find out why. Get a second opinion if needed. Also, my immune was shot after the antibiotic treatment and from the disease itself. Sleep, exercise, supplements, and really healthy eating are important in recovery. I still don’t feel like I am back to 100% how I was before Lyme (allergies are worse and I suffer from anxiety) but I keep up with a healthy lifestyle and I am slowly getting there!
Hi, I was curious if anyone had information regarding Lyme and pregnancy? My husband has had Lyme Disease since he was young, and I am curious if there is any way this could be genetically passed on and have an effect on our children?
Thanks so much for the great information – love Dr. Boch! He’s wonderful!
I was diagnosed with lyme disease in June 2011 and it was completely debilitating. I was in between primary care physicians at the time (due to insurance changes), and was seen by an ER doctor who treated me with antibiotics for 10 days (way too short!) and told me to come back a month later. I had a 101 fever and severe aches and pains for so long, and when I did return to the ER, they ran more blood work that told me I was in early stages of Lupus!!!
I’m someone who likes to be my own advocate, so I researched (and researched!) lyme disease and came across this site: http://hisgoodherbs.com/HGH-Lyme01.html. I learned that, as Dr. Boch said, lyme disease is the great imitator – and that’s likely why it *looked* like I had Lupus. Lyme was messing with my auto-immune system big time!
I ordered and took the tincture of teasel from His Good Herbs, and within a week or so, my lyme symptoms began to fade. When I finally found a new primary care physician in September 2011, she ran more blood work and retreated me with a 21-day course of antibiotics. My tests came back negative for both lyme and lupus, thank God.
Thank you for discussing Lyme. I have Chronic Lyme & several co-infections. Myself and fellow lymies have had so many misdiagnosis it’s staggering. Please get tested for Lyme and co-infections at a knowledgeable lab so you know what you are really dealing with. I would highly recommend getting tested through http://www.igenex.com/Website/ Some people also use http://www.frylabs.com/
In Canada a good resource for info is http://canlyme.com/ It can not be stated enough Lyme is worldwide, many do not have the rash or remember a bite. It can be transmitted through insects other than just the deer tick. If you find an attached tick please remove it properly. This is an example of Dr. Murakami (retired LLMD) 2 removal methods. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9dsmFVPDqs Personally I would keep the tick and send it for testing. I know this is only a fraction of the info people could use but I hope it will help in some small way.
Much love.
I had Lyme about 26 years ago and I had to ask my doctor to test for it. I had all the symptoms, fatigue, joint aches and he still thought I was crazy. Turned out I had it and was treated early. I live on Long Island and I think the best way is to check yourself and animals and kids every day. Never had a rash either! Horrible disease.
I see Dr. Nicholaz Gonzalez in NYC for my cancer that is incurable in the conventional world. He uses diet, supplements and detoxification to treat all types of cancer and chronic disease and is absolutely amazing.
He has been treating lyme with great success for many years. I don’t believe that he uses antibiotics.
I’m writing this before reading/listening to Kris’ blog, but I hope this is emphasized, because I must recommend immediately: One of the first things to do, (NOT the “last resort” thing) is to commit to cleansing the gut (colonics) as fast and close together as the body can handle, along with nourishing the gut with very high probiotics and/or cultured/fermented foods in small amounts to start. Then maintenance cleansing should never stop. Just as we continue to clean our teeth and mouth for a lifetime, cleaning the gut should also be a priority! After all, it’s the most unclean part of the entire digestive “tube”! To keep the unfriendly “guests” under control, we must keep it cleaner (just like in our mouth); otherwise, the friendly bacteria can’t do their many jobs and even half of them can turn against us if they have a bad place to live. Having 10 times more microscopic “guests” in or on us (with the majority in our gut) than we have cells, surely means we need to respect and nourish/cleanse the gut.
I have twin girl clients (age 19), after/along with doing many other things, who are now getting much better able to concentrate, study and function in general (including able to drive again). Their mother is so thankful that she says she won’t even care if the insurance company ends up not paying (which they should pay), because, the reason is obvious!
ALSO, having just attended The Take Back Your Health Conference April 27/28 near Washington, D.C. (founded by Robin Shirley in 2011 with encouragement from David Wolfe of The Longevity Now Conferences/Superfoods fame–which I’ll be attending in California May 3, 4, 5! ), I HIGHLY recommend looking into the AMEN CLINICS Lyme Disease testing/treatment protocols, etc. They have 6 locations now; the closest to me is near D.C. in Reston, VA. Doctor Daniel Amen also speaks/associates with David Wolfe. Website: http://www.AmenClinics.com
One of our speakers at TBYH Conference was the chief psychiatrist at Dr Daniel Amen’s clinic, namely Dr Joseph Annibali, who’s treated many Lyme Disease/Co-infected patients, including his own family members! They could probably refer people in UK to an experienced Lyme doctor there. He stressed that it’s VERY IMPORTANT to find an experienced and knowledgeable doctor! The symptoms of Lyme can be misdiagnosed and resemble so many other horrendous maladies, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Schizophrenia, Bi-polar Disorder, etc.!
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Although Lyme disease is rarely fatal, it proved deadly for a close friend of mine.
For years my friend, my neighbor and running partner, suffered a myriad of symptoms. She was told she had chronic fatigue syndrome. She sought help from traditional medicine and from alternative therapies. She tried altering her already-healthy, organic diet by eliminating common allergens or combining foods differently and took several herbal and nutritional supplements. She exercised, did yoga and tried for years to find out what was causing her fatigue, head aches and fog, and weight gain (she was a small woman but her belly became distended and she looked 5 months pregnant).
After years of battling an unknown condition, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease–the culprit of all her many health issues. Sadly, the diagnosis came too late and my dear, sweet friend died. Lyme had ravaged her body for too long. It has been 5 years since she died and I still miss her.
Thank you for sharing this important information on identifying Lyme disease. I appreciate Dr. Bock’s view that the disease must be treated in an integrative manner both aggressively and longer.
Andrea
First of all, many thanks Kris for discussing Lyme disease. I lived near Lyme, CT when I was diagnosed. I was treated with antibiotics for 30 days. Long story short I have had relapses 4 times now over several years. The only treatment that truly helped me was a Lyme kit I was given by my naturopathic doctor (Dr Jonne Groves). Basically, there are 10-12 vials of various strands and strengths of Lyme. This along with an herbal immune support (immunitone), saved me. I still take an immune support supplement daily to prevent another episode. Also, for pets there is a Lyme vaccine. Best wishes to all you Lymies!
Thanks for writing about this!
I was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease in Feb of 2012.
It had never crossed my mind that that was why I was feeling so lethargic & had such terrible headaches but when I received the diagnosis it made all the sense in the world (I was bit in May 2011 by a spider).
My herbalist gave me a remedy & within 3 days the symptoms were gone & I’ve felt great since!
So fortunate to have a great herbalist who was able to diagnose & treat it so quickly…it was not fun when I had it!
What remedy did your herbalist give you?
Love to know the name of your herbalist as well please.
Hi Kris,
It’s great to see that you are opening up a conversation about Lyme. I’m a nutritionist and work with Dietrich Klinghardt who specializes in treating chronic Lyme disease. We see people with Lyme from all of the world. Often times our patients will have been suffering for 10, even 30 years before they find our clinic. BUT people do get well. I just want to drop that line of hope for any of your followers struggling with this. I see people heal from chronic Lyme, it is possible. You MUST connect with a Lyme literate practitioner who really knows what they are doing.
Most people are not familiar with Lyme as a chronic illness, so like always, I am SO happy to see you open up this dialogue.
Love and light to you my friend!
You are such a healing force,
Alexis xo
Thank you for helping shed some light on Lyme Disease, it’s diagnosis and treatments! I would love love love if your doc would join you again to talk about the co-infections as well. For most people who have Lyme, they also have co-infections, which if treated, will make the recovery process that much faster. I know I would have loved this info back when I was trying to navigate my own Lyme journey.
If you have Lyme Disease it doesn’t need to be as arduous of a journey if more good information is out there, so definitely find a good Doc who knows her/his stuff and you’ll be able to find some peace. Having Chronic Lyme for over 10 years, I have learned heaps, about my spirit, my body, and what not to focus on:) Sending LOVE to anyone going through health challenges…it’s an education for sure!! <3
Thanks again and lots of love!!
Greta
Twin Tree Healing
PS. If you're in the Philadelphia Tri-State area and need a knowledgable doc, look up Dr. Frank Noonan near Reading, PA. He's awesome, and holistic minded (along with a traditional approach) as well.
Thank you so much for the vid and info! I live in a place called Woods Landing and I am concerned about Lymes disease, especially for my kids. A lot of friends and their families are struggling with this in our area, hence the name! And so far, we are lucky, no ticks for us but I’m pimping this post out to all of my peeps. So informative!
I have had tick bites but have not contracted lyme disease. If I find one one me and think that it could have transmitted something to me I take homeopathic Ledum to prevent it.
I had the classic tick bite rash followed by flu like symptoms when I was around 16. I lived in NH and was always covered in bug bites so I didn’t think much of the tick bite. I was unaware of Lyme. Now, 12 years later I was finally tested for it. The Western Blot test showed strains of Lyme but not in the combination that the CDC requires for an official diagnosis, which I think is silly. I am seeing a Lyme specialist now that wants to put me on a high dose of antibiotics. However, I have been battling a bad case of candida since I took antibiotics a year and a half ago for a sinus infection. I am very hesitant to start taking them again. Has anyone treated their Lyme naturally?
Many thanks to Kris for all that you do (I am a big fan!) and for helping to raise awareness about Lyme Disease.
At least 50% of chronic cases do not recall having a tick bite and I’ve also read that in 65% of these cases Lyme symptoms occur after a trauma. I went in for surgery in 2011 and had an intense flare of Lyme-like symptoms almost immediately afterwards. It’s taken me almost 2 years to get a diagnosis and I finally had to have blood-work sent to Igenex lab (which specializes in Lyme-related cases) in the States from Canada. For anyone, looking at the map (http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/geographic_distribution.html) of the ticks spread —the ticks do not need a passport to cross the border!!! Lyme is now widespread all across Canada as well.
I have come across people who have healed their chronic cases *without* antibiotics. This is the route I’ve chosen to take and am currently using a GB4000 Rife Machine, as suggested by Lyme Advocate Bryan Rosner (http://www.lymebook.com/) who healed himself with Rife and swears by it. I’m also using an intense herbal protocol inspired by Steven Buhner’s book ‘Healing Lyme’ (http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/) along with lifestyle, diet, etc. Any treatment for Lyme is a long term commitment and it’s still too early to tell how well I’m responding to treatment but I feel hopeful.
This disease is getting out of hand and we need more doctors like Dr. Bock who are Lyme-literate and more public awareness of the extreme risk of tick exposure. There are no Lyme-literate MDs in Calgary, Canada like may other places and this is a huge problem! Also important to note that Lyme is transmitted through more than just ticks! Some literature says mosquitoes, body fluids and through pregnancy. There are more and more cases of married couples who both end up with Lyme.
In the spirit of healing,
Marie-Ève
I have been battling chronic lyme and co-infestions for about 8 years with my all my family. Thank you so much for bringing attention to this poorly understood, tested and treated diseases. Thank you so much also for your wonderful website and diet recommandations that are absolutely instrumental in helping to fight these diseases.
I just would like to comment on Kriss saying on the video that we need to keep checking for ticks after going outside. It’s absolutely true but far from being enough. A large number of victims vever saw a tick on them or had a rash. A ticks lives 2 years and in its 1st year is as small as a dot a the end of this sentence. Even at this size, it can bite and transmits multiple diseases. So there is clearly much to be done to stay safe. For pets, you need to use repellents, vaccine, keep hair short, avoid at risk places in addition to checking the pet regularly Also, your pet can collect a tick and then give it to you. For humans, I recommend to avoid at risk places (tall grasses, bushes, forest border for ex) and when going out, wear long sleeves, tall boots, tuck your pants in your socks, wear light colored clothes, wear a hat, use repellent., etc …Take a shower when you come back and use a fine comb or your hair (esp the neck line). I know, it’s very cumbersome but lyme is not a clearly picnic, esp chronic lyme, that you can transmit to your family. It seems that chronic lyme cannot be cured today, just controlled by our immune system. We don’t know the impact on our kids when they have their own babies or on us when we’ll be getting older and that our immune system will be less strong …
Thank you for the video. Dr Bock is also doing a community Lecture followed by a Q & A on ” Lyme Disease – The Great Imitator” on Thursday, May 9th at 6:00pm at the Woodstock Day School on Glasco Turnpike in Saugerties, NY. A very special opportunity to listen and speak with this internationally known doctor.
Wondering about recommendations for repelling ticks naturally/safely? YES we will wear long clothing and inspeact often, but I have kids in the woods in prime tick season and am wondering if there is additional safe protection available?
Great topic. I was clinically diagnosed with Lyme in 2011. I developed this really large strange looking bruise (in a circle) on the side of my leg and did not remember bumping into anything. I took a picture of it and had gone to see the doctor to make sure it wasn’t a blood clot or anything serious. The Dr didn’t think it was anything serious – just a large bruise. Within two weeks of the bruise appearing I began to experience neurological symptoms such as pins and needles and tingling in different areas of my arms, legs, and back that would come and go. Then I experienced extreme fatigue, dizziness, and nausea. I went to the ER because I felt like I was going to faint. They ran a ton of tests and everything came back normal. They thought it was just a virus coming on. Then in the next couple of days I experienced bad headaches, pain in my knees, hands and ankles so I went back to the doctor.
Thank goodness my doctor put it all together and clinically diagnosed me with Lyme. The large bruise was my body’s version of the erythema migrans rash. My Lyme test was negative but since my Dr clinically diagnosed me I was treated with antibiotics for 4 weeks. I still had symptoms after initial treatment so I needed another course of antibiotics. I used good quality probiotics throughout treatment as well as supplements.
My advice on getting properly diagnosed is be persistent – if you don’t feel well your doctor needs to find out why. Get a second opinion if needed. Also, my immune was shot after the antibiotic treatment and from the disease itself. Sleep, exercise, supplements, and really healthy eating are important in recovery. I still don’t feel like I am back to 100% how I was before Lyme (allergies are worse and I suffer from anxiety) but I keep up with a healthy lifestyle and I am slowly getting there!
Hi, I was curious if anyone had information regarding Lyme and pregnancy? My husband has had Lyme Disease since he was young, and I am curious if there is any way this could be genetically passed on and have an effect on our children?
Hi Kris,
Thanks so much for the great information – love Dr. Boch! He’s wonderful!
I was diagnosed with lyme disease in June 2011 and it was completely debilitating. I was in between primary care physicians at the time (due to insurance changes), and was seen by an ER doctor who treated me with antibiotics for 10 days (way too short!) and told me to come back a month later. I had a 101 fever and severe aches and pains for so long, and when I did return to the ER, they ran more blood work that told me I was in early stages of Lupus!!!
I’m someone who likes to be my own advocate, so I researched (and researched!) lyme disease and came across this site: http://hisgoodherbs.com/HGH-Lyme01.html. I learned that, as Dr. Boch said, lyme disease is the great imitator – and that’s likely why it *looked* like I had Lupus. Lyme was messing with my auto-immune system big time!
I ordered and took the tincture of teasel from His Good Herbs, and within a week or so, my lyme symptoms began to fade. When I finally found a new primary care physician in September 2011, she ran more blood work and retreated me with a 21-day course of antibiotics. My tests came back negative for both lyme and lupus, thank God.
I hope this helps!
Thanks again for the great post!
Heather
Thank you for discussing Lyme. I have Chronic Lyme & several co-infections. Myself and fellow lymies have had so many misdiagnosis it’s staggering. Please get tested for Lyme and co-infections at a knowledgeable lab so you know what you are really dealing with. I would highly recommend getting tested through http://www.igenex.com/Website/ Some people also use http://www.frylabs.com/
In Canada a good resource for info is http://canlyme.com/ It can not be stated enough Lyme is worldwide, many do not have the rash or remember a bite. It can be transmitted through insects other than just the deer tick. If you find an attached tick please remove it properly. This is an example of Dr. Murakami (retired LLMD) 2 removal methods. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9dsmFVPDqs Personally I would keep the tick and send it for testing. I know this is only a fraction of the info people could use but I hope it will help in some small way.
Much love.
I had Lyme about 26 years ago and I had to ask my doctor to test for it. I had all the symptoms, fatigue, joint aches and he still thought I was crazy. Turned out I had it and was treated early. I live on Long Island and I think the best way is to check yourself and animals and kids every day. Never had a rash either! Horrible disease.
Thanks for sharing Kris. So important to know, particularly if you like to go for hikes.
We are seeing new areas up in Canada where ticks and lyme disease are showing up. Here is an article from the Toronto Star for the areas in Ontario: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/06/22/ticks_that_can_carry_lyme_disease_agent_spreading.html
Knowledge and identifying the symptoms is so important.
Keep the info coming,
Jo-Ann Blondin
Hi All,
I see Dr. Nicholaz Gonzalez in NYC for my cancer that is incurable in the conventional world. He uses diet, supplements and detoxification to treat all types of cancer and chronic disease and is absolutely amazing.
He has been treating lyme with great success for many years. I don’t believe that he uses antibiotics.
http://www.dr-gonzalez.com/index.htm
Good luck!
I’m writing this before reading/listening to Kris’ blog, but I hope this is emphasized, because I must recommend immediately: One of the first things to do, (NOT the “last resort” thing) is to commit to cleansing the gut (colonics) as fast and close together as the body can handle, along with nourishing the gut with very high probiotics and/or cultured/fermented foods in small amounts to start. Then maintenance cleansing should never stop. Just as we continue to clean our teeth and mouth for a lifetime, cleaning the gut should also be a priority! After all, it’s the most unclean part of the entire digestive “tube”! To keep the unfriendly “guests” under control, we must keep it cleaner (just like in our mouth); otherwise, the friendly bacteria can’t do their many jobs and even half of them can turn against us if they have a bad place to live. Having 10 times more microscopic “guests” in or on us (with the majority in our gut) than we have cells, surely means we need to respect and nourish/cleanse the gut.
I have twin girl clients (age 19), after/along with doing many other things, who are now getting much better able to concentrate, study and function in general (including able to drive again). Their mother is so thankful that she says she won’t even care if the insurance company ends up not paying (which they should pay), because, the reason is obvious!
ALSO, having just attended The Take Back Your Health Conference April 27/28 near Washington, D.C. (founded by Robin Shirley in 2011 with encouragement from David Wolfe of The Longevity Now Conferences/Superfoods fame–which I’ll be attending in California May 3, 4, 5! ), I HIGHLY recommend looking into the AMEN CLINICS Lyme Disease testing/treatment protocols, etc. They have 6 locations now; the closest to me is near D.C. in Reston, VA. Doctor Daniel Amen also speaks/associates with David Wolfe. Website: http://www.AmenClinics.com
One of our speakers at TBYH Conference was the chief psychiatrist at Dr Daniel Amen’s clinic, namely Dr Joseph Annibali, who’s treated many Lyme Disease/Co-infected patients, including his own family members! They could probably refer people in UK to an experienced Lyme doctor there. He stressed that it’s VERY IMPORTANT to find an experienced and knowledgeable doctor! The symptoms of Lyme can be misdiagnosed and resemble so many other horrendous maladies, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Schizophrenia, Bi-polar Disorder, etc.!
Blessings to All
Sally