Tick insect warning sign in infected forest. Lyme disease and meningitis transmitter.
The best defense is a good offense regarding some health issues…Lyme disease is preventable with precautions!
I was amazed to read the story by Lucy Leaf, as I too, was diagnosed with Lyme Disease many years ago. Though our infections originated in different areas of the United States, it seems the complications of the disease were very similar.
Unfortunately, those complications included issues I once would never have imagined in the medical field; ignorance, ego, and complete denial of a disease that was wrecking my own and others’ lives.
Upon the diagnosis of Lyme, my doctor gave me a prescription for Doxycycline. With the medication achieving no results, a referral was made to an infectious disease specialist in the northern part of Florida. The specialist advised me I could not possibly have Lyme disease as it didn’t exist in our state. He stated the last thing he needed was a bunch of people in his office thinking they had Lyme disease. I reminded him my primary doctor had made the diagnosis; I had never heard of Lyme prior. I walked out, never to return.
During a routine appointment with my son and his pediatrician, I shared my dilemma with him thinking he might have information relevant to Lyme. He stated if I thought I had Lyme disease, what I needed was a “shrink.”
When I returned to my primary and related what took place, he just shook his head, stating he had experienced similar attitudes during a recent seminar when the subject of Lyme surfaced. He encouraged me to educate myself regarding the disease and prepare myself. His words? “It won’t kill you, but it will make you wish you were dead.
After tests made by a neurologist, results showed cognitive damage; I took a leave professionally.
Later, a scientist in the field of epidemiology from a Florida university held a symposium in a local church and confirmed what most of the audience knew – Lyme was, indeed, in the state of Florida.
After several years of battle and endless antibiotic cocktails, like Lucy, I decided to take control, and I started thinking outside the western medicine box. I researched herbs and homeopathy, diet, and lifestyle and began taking steps to improve my immunity and overall health.
Positive changes did happen, though slowly. It took nearly two decades to get where I am today healthwise. Though not all of my health issues are resolved, I am still more capable as a senior than I was 20 years ago.
So when a friend sent a link to an article in the Daily Mail stating tick-borne illnesses have increased 350 percent in rural America since 2007, I was shocked. I had heard almost nothing regarding this disease for decades.
According to the Daily Mail and reporter Luke Andrews, towns and cities also have seen an increase of 65% of confirmed Lyme cases.
Insurance companies are reporting a surge in claims by 357 percent.
So while the news regarding Covid and now Monkeypox continues to take over the airways, the presence of Lyme is in the background quietly, claiming a host of new victims.
With climate change and heat indicated for the rise, ticks are migrating to areas previously not known to be a risk.
However, at this writing, news was released by NPR regarding a tick vaccine and its final stage of clinical trials. VLA15 is in the third phase of clinical study in humans and created by Pfizer and Valneva, a French pharmaceutical company.
Its intended use is for adults and children as young as five. But it will take years for the results and conclusion of the trial, and then approval by the FDA.
At this time, the USA has no vaccines available for the prevention of Lyme. Past vaccines approved by the FDA were sited to have adverse reactions and eventually removed from the market. However, vaccines are still available for dogs.
You are the best defense in protecting yourself from Lyme, Covid, or any other infectious disease. Sometimes what you can’t see is more important than what you can see. And you cannot expect miracles from the medical profession; a 30-minute visit to your doctor and a prescription is not always the answer.
The practical suggestions in Lucy Leaf’s article are the best preventative measures available for Lyme disease at this time, and the decades-old adage “your best defense is a good offense” still applies.
The best part: you don’t need a doctor’s order!
Thank you, Lucy Leaf, for sharing your experience and knowledge of this dreaded disease.
