Tickborne Diseases Of The United States: A Reference Manual For Health Care Providers
The complexity of diagnosis originates from patients presenting with non-specific and multisystem symptoms, with potential misattribution of symptoms by practitioners, regarding psychiatric and associated neurological problems. Using a mixed- methods approach, the combination of methodological approaches included a systematic review of the literature on psychiatric and neurological symptoms, in addition to a comparison of the case reports and the medical literature, with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions manual: Tickborne Diseases of the United States: A Reference Manual for Health Care Providers . The articles were pulled from English language journals found in PubMed. Only those which presented case reports or research related to TBD in the United States were included case reports from Europe and other countries were excluded as tick-borne pathogens may cause different symptoms.
Lyme Disease Could Be The Cause Of Your Brain Fog And Fatigue
If you regularly hike or enjoy walking along nature trails during the summer, you may be familiar with the black-legged tick notable for causing Lyme disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 476,000 diagnosed cases of Lyme disease occur each yearand that number is on the rise.
Ticks transmit Lyme disease to humans through tick bites. Lyme disease typically produces short-term flu-like symptoms ranging from fever and chills to muscle pain. However, Lyme disease can also cause long-term symptoms that can last after the infection resolves, such as brain fog.
What Is Lyme Disease Anyway
A few decades ago, back in the 1970s, in a little town called Lyme, Connecticut, the first diagnosis of a disease caused after a person was bitten by a tick was revealed. The doctor who recognized and connected the two events was Willy Burgdorfer, so any microorganism that results in Lyme disease is known as a Borrelia burgdorferi.
Was that the very first time Lyme disease ever occurred? Likely not. There is documentation of people with similar symptoms in Europe that dates back to the early 1800s.
But it was the first time a tick bite and the resulting disease symptoms were connected, giving us the opportunity to explore the association further. Now, with over 60 years to work on a treatment, Lyme disease doesnt have to come with the fatal diagnosis it once had.
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New Study Provides Insight Related To Lyme Brain Fog
Bonnie Crater, founder and vice-chair of the Board of Directors, Bay Area Lyme Foundation
I was driving down a road that Ive driven 1,000 times and suddenly I had no idea where I was or where I was going. So, I pull over to the side of the road to get myself oriented, and then 5-10 minutes later, I remembered and drove to my destination.
Several friends affected by Lyme have told me of this same experience. Its caused by the brain fog symptom of Lyme disease, which is often called mild cognitive impairment by physicians. I first learned about brain fog when my friend Laure and I founded the Bay Area Lyme Foundation. She explains it like this:
My nature is to be prompt, attentive and on top of things. Its important to me to remember people and conversations, and follow up later. Brain fog makes me feel like my brain is muffled with cotton, and it turns me into a flake which is very frustrating and hard for me to accept. There are times my brain has been so confused and my spatial awareness is so poor that Ive actually walked right into a wall. Often, when I am experiencing brain fog, I have to read paragraphs numerous times, and cant comprehend the content or remember the beginning of the paragraph by the time Ive gotten to the end.
Our hope is that one day Lyme disease will be easy to diagnose and simple to cure.
Hope For Healing With Hbot
But Megan would not let her symptoms beat her. She began to research what Lyme disease sufferers were saying in online communities. One treatment that patients recommended was hyperbaric oxygen therapy . Megan kept the information in the back of her mind, but did not pursue her research.
Megan felt somewhat better after a year and was able to discontinue the IV antibiotics, but within a month she wound up in the intensive care unit, suffering from sepsis, pneumonia and kidney stones.
After her doctors patched her up, Megan began researching hyperbaric oxygen therapy again. She learned that to actually kill spirochetes , doctors need to deliver HBOT at very precise oxygen rates and atmospheric pressures. Armed with the information she needed, Megan started researching doctors, and eventually made her way to Dr. Allan Spiegels practice in Palm Harbor, Florida.
In the video below, you can hear Megan describe the difference that HBOT has made in her life. Toward the end, she gives her testimonial:
Since Ive been down here, Ive been able to run. Ive been able to hold my baby. Ive been able to dance with him I enjoy running and I havent been able to run or exercise like this in years. The pain has subsided, and a lot of the brain fog has gone away. My energy is there. I can do my dishes. I can take a shower without feeling like Im going to faint.
And thats ALL good news. Thanks, Megan!
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Cdc Guidance Medical Literature And Patient Self
These findings are further detailed through comprehensive comparison tables that collect all CDC-reported symptoms for all tick-borne diseases, as documented and shared with health providers. This listing entails a wide range of reported symptoms from a variety of commonly acquired tick-borne diseases, as reported by the CDC. A second table includes all CDC-reported psychological and neurological symptoms, comparing the CDC guidelines for health care providers to the literature found via PubMed. To date, less information is available on the psychiatric and neurological symptoms that extend beyond the CDC-recognized symptoms of headache or altered mental state. Through a comprehensive search via PubMed, the symptoms are identified and summarized to assess differing and dispersed knowledge regarding possible presentations of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
The overall framework was holistic and exploratory to look across outcomes of symptomology using a triangulation approach in comparing differing methods, including the official guidance, case reports, and medical literature, and patient self-reports from a national sample. The patient symptom survey was approved by the Ethics Committee under the Declaration of Helsinki Institutional Review Board Guidelines. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
When To See A Healthcare Provider
If you notice a tick bite on your body, have flu-like symptoms, or live in an area where ticks are common, you may want to reach out to your healthcare provider. You should still seek medical care even If your symptoms go away. Left untreated, the Lyme disease-causing bacteria may spread to different parts of the body and lead to more severe symptoms. Although Lyme disease is rarely fatal, early diagnosis and treatment can prevent you from developing serious symptoms and lead to a better quality of life with the disease.
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Lyme Disease Can Cause Chronic Fatigue
Lots of things can cause chronic fatigue, but Lyme disease is undoubtedly one of them. Left untreated, it can develop into a chronic infection that can affect everything from your sleep to your adrenal glands, sex hormones, gut health, thyroid, immune system, heart, and brain. All of these things are critical to your overall health and well-being and can cause a deep level of exhaustion.
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to treatment. The current thought leaders in this space are the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society and the Infectious Disease Society of America . Each has published its own evidence-based treatment guidelines, but while ILADS is committed to long-term treatment, IDSA favors a short-term approach.
Dr. Ridinger is a member of ILADS. Lyme disease is complex and treatments have come a long way since the early days, when patient after patient experienced little to no benefit from antibiotic regimens. The modern approach is grounded in whole-body wellness, which gives your body the reserves it needs to successfully fight infection so you can start feeling better quickly.
Lyme Disease And Brain Fog: How You Can Cope
Want Less Brain Fog?
Have you been diagnosed with Lyme disease and have been foggy-headed lately?
If so, youre not alone.
Brain fog can be a frustrating and debilitating side effect of this illness.
In this post, well discuss what causes brain fog and some ways that you can cope with it.
Lets get into it.
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Sensitivity To Sound And Motion
Theres also hypersensitivity to sound and motion. Its hard to explain to my husband, a music lover, who recently installed wireless amps and speakers in every room in the house and outdoor garden areas, that music sometimes feels like an assault on my brain. It mystifies him, even though he knows I have Lyme disease.
Why can music suddenly make me agitated, unhappy and downright crazy, when hes always known me to love all kinds of music? For some Lyme patients, loud sounds, music, bright lights or fast motion can trigger seizures. For me, music or action and war movies, can trigger uncontrollable muscle tremors, brain fog, confusion, insomnia, extreme agitation, brain freeze pain and even angernot to mention the earworm from hell.
When Im in a downturn of Lyme, nothing makes me more furious than a cheerful French song, the twang of a country melody or the pitch of pop music. My husband gets it as best as he can, but since Im not having a seizure, its hard for him, or anyone else to really understand.
Ways To Overcome Lyme Brain
1. Reduce stress.
Doctors are fond of advising patients to lower their stress levelsand for good reason. When stress is ongoing, the body can get stuck in fight-or-flight mode. The surging adrenaline and heightened attention to any potential threat can harm the immune system and cause the brain to function differently . Breathing techniques, meditation practices, and soothing activities like yoga can all help a person get a handle on their stress and relax.
2. Get enough rest.
Sleep can have a powerful impact on the brain, including consolidating memories and enhancing learning. Once new information or a skill is acquired, the brain continues to strengthen neural connections and solidify learning when it goes offline to rest. As a result, quality sleep frequently goes hand-in-hand with building neuroplasticity.
3. Focus on healthy nutrition.
What you eat can majorly impact how you feel physically. Antioxidants, for example, can protect cells from being damaged by free radicals, which are linked to disease and aging. Research shows that diets which are rich in polyphenols can make a huge difference to the brains neuroplasticity curcumin, catechins, resveratrol, and omega-3 fatty acids also have protective benefits that Lyme patients may find useful, such as reducing inflammation.
4. Engage in physical activity .
5. Learn something new.
6. Increase cognitive flexibility.
7. Practice neuroplasticity-building techniques.
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All About Lyme Disease Brain Fog And Other Symptoms
- All About Lyme Disease, Brain Fog, and Other Symptoms
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Lyme disease is one of those conditions we hear about but never think we’ll get. Yet, almost half a million people are diagnosed with this tick-borne disease every year.
Anyone can get it if they’re bitten by an infected black-legged tick. The bacteria get into the body and are one of the very few that can break the blood-brain barrier.
So, the tick-bite victim ends up with neuropsychiatric symptoms that have to be treated. But fighting Lyme disease is a combination of multiple treatments. Patients will need medicine as well as brain function therapy to limit cognitive impairment and brain fog.
Treatment For Lyme Brain Fog
There is no direct treatment for Lyme disease-induced brain fog, but doctors may be getting closer to finding out just where the inflammation that causes it occurs. Research published last year showed that a controlled study using a new type of PET scan could pinpoint heightened levels of translocator proteins. These proteins are often higher when inflammation is present, so this breakthrough could help doctors diagnose Lyme patients with brain fog and treat it at the source.
The study itself was small, and the research would need to be exhausted in other studies with bigger groups and to include other controls, but the results show a little bit of light at the end of the Lyme disease tunnel.
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A Whole Body Approach To Diagnosis And Treatment
As you might read in her book, Dr. Tenesha Wards has experienced personal challenges with Lyme Disease. Her own journey in identifying and treating this chronic and debilitating disease has made her one of regions premier experts on the topic. Read on to learn more about the prevalence of Lyme disease in Austin, Texas and the associated symptoms.
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection that is transmitted through the bite of infected Black-legged deer ticks. Due to the sheer number of white-tailed deer in parts of our area, its no wonder that the Texas Hill Country is likely to have more cases than other areas of the state with a lesser deer population.
While its true that most Lyme Disease cases in the US are contracted in the upper Midwest and Northeastern states, Texas sees dozens of cases every year, mostly within the region between Houston, Dallas and Austin. Moreover, the range of counties where infected deer ticks are being found is increasing.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
One of the most common and earliest symptoms is a mild cognitive impairment known as brain fog. In fact, studies show that approximately 20% of patients with early on set Lyme disease only complain of fatigue, unexplained muscle and joint pain, more frequent headaches and brain fog.
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Using The Infinity WayTM to Heal from Lyme Disease
What Is Lyme Disease Brain Fog
Brain fog due to Lyme disease is complex, and it has to do with inflammation.
Lyme disease infections can inflame blood vessels in the brain, inflame nerve roots from the brain to the spinal cord, and erode the myelin sheath that protects nerves. It can disrupt thought processes, concentration, speech, and memory.
There are two kinds, Type 1 and Type 2 Brain Fog. You can have one or both categories at the same time.
Type 1 brain fog makes you feel like your brain is clouded or foggy. Its caused by a buildup of inflammatory chemicals, like cytokine, mold, yeast, and other toxins.
Type 2 brain fog is characterized by an inability to think temporarily: confusion, poor attention, short-term memory issues, and lack of organization.
A Lyme specialist can assess you for which type of brain fog you have and develop a treatment plan for fixing it. Fixing type 2 will also fix type 1.
To do this, you must decrease inflammation and take steps to eliminate infections. Both must be done with the help of a Lyme literate specialist. Together, you can implement a treatment plan that includes the right therapies, like the ones listed below.
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What Causes Brain Fog
The Pathogens Themselves
| Lyme is also capable of moving beyond the blood brain barrier which is supposed to protect the brain from pathogens such as Lyme. This is why its very important to have a treatment protocol that consists of some type of antimicrobial that can cross the blood brain barrier as well.Toxins – The Lyme bacteria releases two types of toxins in the body – exotoxins, which are toxins they release all the time as waste material, and endotoxins, which are toxins they release when their cell walls are lysed from either the immune system or some type of antibiotic or antimicrobial. |
Treating Neurologic Lyme Disease
Facial palsy is treated with oral antibiotics and Lyme meningitis can either be treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics, depending on severity. Most people experiencing the early onset of Lyme disease respond well to antibiotic therapy and fully recover. If you dont seek immediate treatment, there are varying degrees of permanent nervous system damage that may develop in late-stage Lyme disease.
To add to that, they will notice a slow degradation of the body functions leading to arthritis, heart problems, and neurological problems affecting the brain and the nervous system. Patients can experience persistent pain, fatigue, or cognitive disability that lasts as long as 6 months, sometimes even years.
Neurologic Lyme disease requires a specific intravenous antibiotic protocol to rid the bacteria from your central nervous system and brain tissue.
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What Is Neurologic Lyme Disease
Neurologic symptoms of Lyme disease occur when the Lyme disease bacteria affect the peripheral or central nervous systems.
- Cranial nerve involvement: When the cranial nerves are affected, facial palsy can occur on one or both sides of the face.
- Peripheral nerve involvement: When the peripheral nerves are affected, patients can develop radiculoneuropathy which can cause numbness, tingling, shooting pain, or weakness in the arms or legs.
- Central nervous system involvement: When the central nervous system is affected, Lyme meningitis can cause fever, headache, sensitivity to light, and stiff neck.
Out of every 100 patients whose cases are reported to CDC, 9 have facial palsy, 4 have radiculopathy, and 3 have meningitis or encephalitis. Because of reporting practices, this statistic may overestimate how often these manifestations are seen by clinicians.