Sharon E. Rainey's Blog, page 9

Note from Sharon: I know Robin, the woman below, who has started up this incredible service for Lyme patients and those who are chronically ill and need help with their nutrition.  She’s the real deal.  She has a good heart and a giving soul.

Robin is currently offering some things that I think 90% of my fellow Lymies can benefit from.  One of those things includes a weekly meal plan with the grocery list.  I have attached a list of the rest of the offerings.

Her regular monthly fee is $17.95.  But right now, she is offering this service for just $4.95 a month.  That’s why I am telling you about this NOW.  Sign up NOW.  It’s worth the $5, I promise you! Enter the code Lyme75 to get the discount.  

Robin is very good about addressing food allergies, questions from those of us with sugar addiction (who me?), food restrictions due to health issues, etc.  She is approachable, friendly, VERY knowledgeable, and very reasonable!  Give it a look and let me know what you think!



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I’m Robin Shirley, Certified Holistic Health Coach and nutritionist to Chronic Lyme patients.

I was infected 17 years ago, during the summer before 7th grade at summer camp in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After 12 painful years of symptoms, my diagnosis of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis was finally attributed to a tick bite and I was able to begin appropriate treatment.

After overcoming Chronic Lyme through a complementary approach including nutrition therapy, I now consult with Chronic Lyme patients to support them with their own recovery. I am a member of the American Board of Drugless Practitioners.

I host a natural health conference twice a year, called the Take Back Your Health Conference. I also speak at national conferences and local support groups. I am currently working on a series of Take Back Your Health™ book.

Flow. I bet some of you thought this might be about yoga. Wrong.

When I hear about a close friend experiencing a medical crisis, I go into full forward motion. I do anything and everything I can to motivate and coordinate people into helping the person in need. I may not be able to do everything, but I can find people who can fill in the blanks. The difficulty I have in this is that I tend to bring that anxious energy and fear into my own body and I store it there. I don’t let it just FLOW through me as I learned in Somatic Experiencing therapy. I think I need a refresher course.

When I go to the doctor’s office for a test, I get tense. My muscles are tight and I don’t even realize it. I try to make small talk with the emotionless tech but by the end, I’m still tense and anxious upon leaving.

When I get a massage, I can sometimes get emotional. It’s like a total cleansing. Getting all the bad juju out in an hour.

When I get acupuncture, I usually feel invigorated and relaxed. I feel enlightened, actually and I can usually come home and write rather easily and freely.

Today, I did all of the above. And I am completely exhausted. I sucked in all the negative energy with my friend Bambi’s stroke updates. I didn’t let the energy FLOW through. I caught, but didn’t release.

I tried deep breathing at the doctor’s office, but I’m still emotionally and physically processing what is happening. This was totally unexpected and I feel like I’ve been thrown off kilter. It takes me awhile to get my balance back.

The massage was fantastic, first time with this person, first massage by a man (yes it was weird, but he is amazing) and he got into my muscles and fascia really deeply. My physical therapist has to use a steel tool to break my fascia apart from my muscles. And as I got more relaxed, I could feel my emotions from the week starting to surface. But I was ok so far.

And then there was acupuncture. My acupuncturist is a weird dude. But he is incredibly talented with the needles. I travel from Great Falls to Leesburg every week just to see him. He’s that good. So I sit down on the table and he says, “So, you seem kind of friendless lately. What’s going on?” And the tears started coming. And they are still coming.

In the past 11 months, I have lost my best friend who doesn’t even contact me anymore. Everyone around me reminds me not to take it personally. They all independently agree that this is more about her than it is about me. Intellectually, I know that. In my heart, I miss my friend. I used to see her every single day. And now I never see her. And at times, it is agonizingly painful in my heart.

I lost another best friend who was temporarily living with us for 18 months. I saw her every day too. She had to move away. I still talk to her via facebook or text every day, but she’s not there to watch Big Bang Theory or Modern Family with me. I miss her laugh. I miss her letting me hug her every day. I miss her letting me love her.

I lost a group of friends that met for three (or was it four?) years every other Saturday as we studied different spiritually based books. We keep trying to get back together, but one of us has moved to Montana, and we just don’t seem to be able to get it back together. The summer has been rough on each of us so I hate that we aren’t getting together to support and love on each other.

And, I lost a member of a small group of Lymie friends we had in an instant message group. JoAnn Colburn died in May I think. And I miss her. She was one of the first Lymies I met in 2009 and her kindness, compassion, optimism, and realism were refreshing and invigorating for me. The rest of the group still talks and jokes and sends love. But it’s just different. And today I felt that loss.

And, today, my husband is gone, having gone south to work on his fishing spot. I told him to go. I just couldn’t make the long drive with this leg thing happening. He was TOTALLY worried about leaving me alone and I reassured I was FINE – having the house to myself, no fighting over the remote, bed to myself (minus the space for the dogs), I can go to sleep when I want, wake when I want. I can eat gluten free oatmeal in the morning. I can even eat cookies for breakfast if I want to. But I want to have breakfast with Jeffrey. I want to reach across the bed at night and find him, hold his hand, brush his hair through my fingers.

I’m a HUGE introvert. I prefer being alone. I love days like this and the thought that if I want to, I could choose to speak and see no one all day long. I’m really good at isolating. Too good. I make Jeff worry when I am like this. He is the one who drags me out of the house every weekend.

So back to my acupuncturist, Dan. The weird guy. “So, you seem kind of friendless lately. What’s going on?” he said. We talked, he made me laugh, then he stuck needles in me and left me alone with my grief, exhaustion, and aloneness.

And when he came back, I could breathe more freely, I felt not so alone, I felt validated, and I felt excited for the weekend, regardless of what I do or don’t do. I think the energy that I had trapped from Bambi’s stroke finally passed through me, leaving me a clean palate.

So I came home with doggie treats, ate a few pistachios and a very juicy, flavorful pear. I’m drinking a lot of water to flush the toxins out. I took a shower, washed my hair. I’ve taken my meds, put on my pajamas, slipped into bed and turned out the lights. I’ll put on the sleep timer and hopefully, pass off to a restful night’s sleep soon.

And when I wake up, I’ll still be alone, but I won’t be lonely. Because I’m going to meet my women’s group at 7:45 am and we will rock and roll with honest laughter and endearing frankness. And hugs. We hug a lot. And I like that.

 

 

 

The past few weeks, I have been coming into Starbucks with my laptop and earbuds, listening to Joni Mitchell, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige and other strong women belting our their pain and strength and determination. I’ve been determined to finish my Lyme Savvy manuscript and to start on my third book, a Healing Journal that I can sell as a companion piece to Lyme Savvy.

This effort has been quite successful thus far. The Lyme Savvy manuscript is in final edits with the co-author right now. And I am about half way done with the Healing Journal. I thought I might be able to knock out the rest of it in the next few weeks. I was on a roll.

Yesterday morning, I packed up my laptop and left Starbucks for my three-month post DVT (blood clot) check up with my vascular surgeon. I fully expected him to say, “All is well.” Yeah, not quite.

I have GSV Superficial Thrombophlebitis which evidently is a precursor condition that creates a perfect storm condition for blood clots and strokes. All in all, it’s not a big deal. I will have a procedure done in his office where they make an incision in the groin and go in and laser shut the vein, thus preventing any possibility of another DVT. Today, I am going in to get the right leg checked to make sure it’s just one vein we are talking about.

How does this relate to Lyme, Bartonella, or Protozoa? Lyme, Bartonella, and Protozoa cause a chronic inflammatory condition in the patient’s body. Everything is inflamed. Wherever the immune system is the weakest is where the disease will tend to attack first.

So when people ask if this is Lyme related, I answer yes because if I didn’t have the chronic inflammation, this probably would not have happened.

And this leads me to my second point.

Yesterday, a very dear friend of ours, Bambi Albert, suffered a major stroke and is in the hospital. Bambi is a primary component in the war against Lyme Disease. She is outspoken, hilarious, blunt, compassionate, and willing to help others at any time of day or night.

Someone asked, “Was the stroke caused by her Lyme?” and I answered yes. Again, Bambi suffers from a chronic inflammatory condition — primed for a blood clot, stroke, or heart attack. Bambi suffered her first stroke in 2008 while in treatment for Lyme. She swore off those meds and chose another route to heal her disease. She was just recently re-infected and was feeling the pain.

The Lyme community knows well the risks we run for additional complications from our disease. But I think the general community has no idea of the possibilities and frequency of such traumas.

That’s why I am talking about these two events today. I want the non-Lymies to “GET IT,” to understand we are not simply fighting a tick bite or a cat scratch. We are fighting for our lives. This is not an unassuming disease that takes a few weeks of antibiotics and we go on our way.

My procedure is simple and curative.

Bambi’s recovery will be long, arduous, and complex.

For now, Bambi is silent, in a medically induced coma allowing her body and brain to rest and heal.

For now, I am one of many (I hope) who will speak in Bambi’s stead.

I will continue raising awareness of the complexities of our disease.

I will continue to demand that the general medical community take notice of us, to treat our diseases as they should be instead of recommending counseling.

I will continue to protest the persecution of our Lyme Literate Medical Doctors (LLMDs).

I will continue to offer the hope of healing for those still stuck in the trenches of this horrible disease.

I will continue to speak out at events, in my writing, with my friends, my coworkers, and even the grocery store clerk.

I will not stop even once Bambi is fully recovered. If Bambi can do all this outreach work after a stroke, I can do it after a DVT.

 

I am praying for Bambi’s recovery and full healing and I ask that you do as well.

#Lyme #Bartonella #Babesia #Protomyxzoa rheumatica

Bambi Albert

#PrayforBambi

Aunt Betty

Why do I talk about Lyme so much?

Am I obsessed with it?

Do I think everyone I meet could have it?

“What is the deal with Sharon and Lyme?”

I talk about Lyme because it took me decades to get properly diagnosed and it could have been diagnosed with one test from the right lab.

I don’t want others to go through what I went through.

I don’t think everyone has it, but I bet 30% of the people I know have at least one DNA band that would test positive for Lyme or a co-infection of Lyme.

More importantly . . .

I know how easy it is to MISS Lyme Disease.

In 2002, in the midst of my symptoms intensifying, my aunt Betty DIED of Lyme Disease. In the midst of her intensifying symptoms, in the midst of her fight to even be tested, I had no idea that my symptoms were similar to hers.

Aunt Betty died at the age of 57. Two years before, she was a completely healthy, radiant, psychology professor teaching at Auburn University.

A family member, someone I was close to, died of Lyme Disease. . . and I didn’t make the connection.

Everything I had kept being explained as something else. So, I never connected it.

If I missed Lyme Disease when a family member died of the disease, I worry about everyone else out there who has some of the same symptoms but doesn’t have someone staring them in the face saying, ‘Get Tested for Lyme Disease.’

Imagine my face in front of you.

Get tested for Lyme Disease.

And when you get tested, demand complete testing from a specialty lab (NOT LabCorp or Quest). Do not settle for just an Elisa test. Do not settle.

Sharon’s Symptom History

The simplest way to present my own history to you is to show you how many different types of physicians I saw, some of the major medical events that occurred, and of course, the various diagnoses I was assigned. I know many patients can probably relate to this snapshot.

Physicians I saw for symptoms

Often, I saw more than one each of the following: Cardiologist, Chiropractor, Dentist, Dermatologist, Endocrinologist, Gastroenterologist, Internist, Neurologist, Gynecologist, Neurosurgeon, Ophthalmologist, Optometrist, Oral Surgeon, Orthopedist, Osteopath, Otolaryngologist (ENT), Physical Therapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Rheumatologist, Surgeon, Urologist

Sharon’s Symptom History

1981: viral meningitis, unexplained fatigue and exhaustion

1984: diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, mouth ulcers, grinding teeth/jaw pain

1988: elevated gastrin levels

1993: depression and anxiety

1995: migraines

1996: h.pylori infection

1999: shattered right foot

2001: recurrent sinus infections, night sweats, hot flashes, dry skin, itchy ears

2002: falling easily, pain in knees and thighs, muscle weakness, sensitivity to sunlight, memory loss

2003: clumsiness, repeated falls, muscle weakness, thigh pain, swollen joints, tooth dies

2004: gallstones, abdominal pain, fatigue, hair loss, noise sensitivity

2005: gastrin level elevated, depression, forgetfulness, trouble focusing, sticky blood

2006: diarrhea, headaches, daytime sleepiness and insomnia, elevated heart rate, word and name search, phasing out of conversations

2008: persistent, dry cough, numbness in hands and feet, chest pains, muscle twitching

2009: back pain, hip pain, occasional blurry vision, incontinence, unexplained rashes, positive Lupus test (positive ANA with speckled pattern)

Other General Symptoms

Allergies: seasonal allergies, chronic sinus infections

Cardiovascular: low blood pressure, perspire easily, dizzy upon standing

Constitutional: migraines, weight gain, fatigue, cold extremities, afternoon drowsiness, night sweats, sensitivity to chemicals

Ears, Nose, Mouth & Throat: sensitivity to sounds, ringing in the ears, sinusitis, mercury/silver fillings in teeth, mouth ulcers, jaw pain/teeth grinding, dental problems, unexplained face pain

Endocrine: heat intolerant, cold intolerant, thyroid disorder, low body temperature
Eyes & Vision: dry eyes, blurred vision, floating spots, light sensitive, peripheral waves

Digestive System: bloating, trouble digesting fats, hemorrhoids, ulcers, irritable bowel, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea/upset stomach

Genito-Urinary System: incontinences, cramps, heavy flow, PMS, menstrual irregularity, menstrual pain, pelvic pain, health fluctuates with cycles, hot flashes

Hematological: Anemia, leg pain with walking

Immunological: auto-immune disease (Lupus)

Integumentary: acne, dermatitis, yellow tone, brittle nails, dry/brittle hair, crawling sensation in skin, various rashes, on/off rashes, skin sensitivity, sensitivity to sunlight, hair loss

Muscular-Skeletal: back pain, intolerance to exercise, disc problems, joint pain and swelling, joint stiffness, bone pain, muscle weakness, muscle twitching/spasm, muscle pain/cramping, sore soles in the morning, neck stiffness/pain, tremors

Neurological: clumsy, trouble balancing, numbness/tingling, forgetting simple tasks, disorientation/getting lost, difficulty with reading and concentration, speech difficulty, word and name search, memory problems

Psychological-Behavioral: vivid dreams, fearful/worrier, depression, narcolepsy, insomnia, emotional/crying easily, season affective disorder, feeling as though you are losing your mind

Respiratory: shortness of breath, chronic cough, air hungry, snoring, sleep apnea

Other diagnoses given:

Anxiety, Bursitis, Depression, Dry Eye, Epstein-Barr, Eczema, Gallstones, H.Pylori, Hashimoto, Herpes Simplex I, Hypo-Thyroidism, Idiopathic Hypersomnia, Idiopathic Intermittent Right Temporal Waves, Incontinence, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Lipoma, Migraines, Peri-menopause, Peripheral Neuropathy, Shingles, Sinusitis, Stomach Antrim Atrophy, Vitamin D Deficiency, Viral Meningitis, Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome possibility

Again, imagine my face in front of you.

Get tested for Lyme Disease.

When you get tested, demand complete testing from a specialty lab (NOT LabCorp or Quest). Do not settle for just an Elisa test. Do not settle.

It’s probably the English teacher in me, but it drives me crazy when people call it “Lymes” instead of the proper name, Lyme.  If you are so inclined, feel free to copy and paste these graphics for your own use.

I gave my version of the manuscript to my co-author last week and he is now reading it!  I am excited beyond words!  He is happy with about 90% of the work done which is most excellent since he has only seen it twice.  We are working on graphics while he is working on edits.  I am VERY excited that we are close to the finish line!  Just wanted to keep everyone updated!

This story was written i think back in 2005, but i found it most helpful.

Dear Readers,

I have advanced neurological Lyme disease. It affects the way I think, move, write, read, eat—every aspect of my life.

During the same time in 1998-1999 that my novels, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Little Altars Everywhere introduced the Ya-Yas to millions of readers, I was becoming very sick and did not know it.

At first I thought I just had a recurring case of bronchitis. I didn’t foresee the difficult journey that lay ahead of me. Things went from one weird symptom to the next, then a whole cocktail of symptoms kept developing. I stopped saying, “Things can’t get any worse than this.” Because they did, again and again.

Years went by in which I did not know what was wrong with me. I was told maybe I had a brain tumor, perhaps epilepsy; maybe I had dystonia, maybe if I took the latest miracle anti-depressant all my symptoms would magically disappear. (Pause very carefully if ANYone tells you that.)

In the last seven years, my symptoms have included respiratory infections, intense muscular skeletal pain, severe fatigue, Multi-Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), hunger for air, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, seizure-like events, and freezing hands and feet (probably due to peripheral neuropathy). Weakness in my lower limbs has been one of the most dangerous symptoms because it can—and does—lead to falling down.

At times I was so deeply fatigued while writing Ya-Yas in Bloom that I could not lift my hands. I often had to use a wheelchair to get to the door of my writing room, then be lifted by my husband into my writing chair because the door was not wide enough for the wheelchair to get through. To finish Ya-Yas in Bloom I had to accept the situation I was in and find ways to work that respected my limitations. I realized that I was being given small packets of energy to be used wisely. Once I accepted this, I was able to complete the book. Like any act of creation, whether baking a pie or chopping wood, creativity can dispel the dark. Ya-Yas in Bloom reminds me that miracles are possible for me, right here, right now.

I was so sick for so long—and did not know why—that I grew ashamed of my illness. This meant that my own sisterhood and brotherhood was left uncultivated. I lost a sense of community. With the exception of my sweet, steadfast husband and a few dear friends (most of whom live far away), I became painfully isolated. I had bought into the unhealthy belief that many of us do: that we should be able to control everything. That we must keep up with our increasingly fast-paced culture, no matter the expense to our bodies. My illness has taught me differently.

Even after seeing twelve different doctors, I was not correctly diagnosed until my wonderful environmental health doctor, Dr. B, who treated me for chemical sensitivity (MCS), thought to test me for Lyme Disease. I received the results of the lab tests on Election Day, 2004. I tested positive. Now that was a day for news. Whew, boy.

I immediately went online to learn more at . Lyme Disease is the most widespread disease that is carried by ticks and other insects in the United States. It is crucial that all of us become educated about its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Particularly in its advanced stage, Lyme Disease can be very difficult to diagnose. People are suffering, and sometimes dying, unnecessarily. This cannot stand.

It is especially important that primary care doctors become Lyme-literate so that this disease can be caught in its early stages. While Lyme is better known on the East Coast, it has been reported in every state except Montana. The Center for Disease Control estimates the actual numbers of those infected each year is at least tenfold of what is documented as cases. Some Lyme specialists believe the numbers are even much higher than that.

Now that I’ve been diagnosed, I have begun to reach out to people, tell them the truth about my life and ask them for support. I know more deeply than ever that friends are everything. I need support from every corner of the universe to make it through this. I am aware that my late diagnosis means I am in this for the long haul, perhaps even for life.

Unfortunately for most people, insurance covers very little of the cost of Lyme-related doctor visits and treatment. My out-of-pocket medical expenses are staggering. I am now part of a club of people with a stigmatized disease that many doctors refuse to touch. While I am lucky enough to have a doctor who is willing to provide open-ended treatment, many of my fellow Lyme patients have gone without appropriate care. As a consequence, they have lost their health, their jobs, their homes, their marriages, and even their lives. I am blessed beyond measure for so many reasons, one of which is being able to afford good medical care. I only wish this were true for everyone.

I’m trying to take everything one day at a time. To wake up every day and play the hand I’ve been dealt as best I can. I’m discovering what we all have to learn eventually: that attitude, not external circumstances, is what determines happiness. Happiness does not depend on having a healthy body. It has to do with taming the mind, with learning to accept each moment. Prayer, meditation, healing imagery, and kindness sustain me. The ever-constant love of my husband holds me up, as well as the knowledge that there is a divine presence much larger than myself who loves me unconditionally.

In terms of a prognosis, there is every good reason to believe that in time, with continued treatment, I will get much better. I take hope from colleagues and friends like Amy Tan and Jordan Fischer-Smith, who have been in treatment longer than I, and who have generously given me support and counsel. I also participate with a wider Lyme community online where I find information and solace. I am so lucky to have a girlfriend here on the island, darling Mei-Mei, with whom I share a similar diagnosis. Our frequent conversations and visits are a touchstone for me. Without my new Lyme friends, I would be one lonely Ya-Ya.

I urge you all to learn more about Lyme Disease and become involved. Ask your doctor about it and educate yourselves, your children, your friends and family. If you are bitten by a tick and suspect you have been infected, go see a Lyme-literate physician. Get treated early and adequately. Don’t wait, as I did, and let a treatable disease turn into a chronic one. For more information or to make a donation, go to:

Take sweet care. Keep laughing, no matter how dark things may seem, and count your blessings one by one by one.

Many prayers and all good wishes,  Rebecca Wells

Note from Sharon: I don’t personally care for the Mayo Clinic’s way of diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, but I do think the following link has some good information and an interesting way of presenting the information. Thank you to Carol Pearson for sending this to me!

From the Mayo Clinic:

Here are mine; feel free to send me yours!

A – Alcoholics Anonymous – a program that saved my life and my sanity from the age of 25 and forward.

B – Bartonella – the co-infection of Lyme disease that controlled my life for too many years.

C – Cavalier King Charles dogs – We have four of them. With the puppies that Lola had, we were housing 10 dogs in our house this year for about 5 months. CRAZY.

D – Depression; a disease I suffered from for too many years.

E – Email; it’s the best way to communicate with me.

F – Facebook; my newest way to connect with people. Yes, it can be a timewaster, but it has given me so many new friendships, insights, connections.

G – Glasses since I was three I think. Tried contacts and scratched my cornea three times. Glasses it is. Colorful glasses. I like them in pink, turquoise, and purple.

H – Hair – long because that’s how my husband loves it. Blonde to cover the gray and always with a surprise color underneath. Today’s color: raspberry pink!

I – Introverted. In a big way. I could be very happy living in the southwest, seeing no one and just staying connected via email.

J – Jeffrey; my best friend, my husband, my lover – married 24.5 years.

K – Knitting and counted cross stitch and needlepoint – hobbies that keep me focused and calm.

L – Lyme disease – a disease that killed my aunt and sickened too many members of my family.

M – myNeighborsNetwork.com – my creation, my business, my way of connecting with my Neighbors without having to dress up every day..

N – North – an area I am not too familiar with and don’t feel a need to be. Just keep me in the southwest with deserts and open vistas. Better yet, just take me to White Sands again.

O – Organic food; I used to think it was a scam for consumers; now I try to eat only organic food. It has helped me heal.

P – Pearls – my favorite jewelry and I wrote a book titled, “Making a Pearl from the Grit of Life.”

Q – I am a collector of Quotes that I like. I keep a database of them.

R – Research that my Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) has done is what has helped me heal. I wouldn’t be here without his tenacity and brilliance.

S – Stepchildren and Stephen; Heather and Joey came to me when they were 8 and 10. Stephen is the one I gave birth to.

T – Texas – my place of birth (El Paso)

U – Underwire bra – a necessary evil that comes off when I walk in the door at the end of the day.

V – Vyvanse and Provigil – the only way I can wake up each morning.

W – Williams, my maiden name. Raised by two amazing parents.

X – Solving for X, but not necessarily in Algebra – just trying to learn God’s lessons for me and doing His will.

Y – Years on this earth: 52 – and I never mind people knowing my age. I like to CELEBRATE life!

Z – Zoos – can’t stand them since I went to one in Okinawa Japan that was nothing but cement slabs surrounded by iron bars. The animals were despondent and it showed.

***In Virginia, up to 50% of ticks can carry Lyme disease or other infections.

ADVICE ON TREATING TICK BITES (from Dr. Joseph Burrascano, the longest treating physician for Lyme in the U.S.):

“…The physician cannot rely on a laboratory test or clinical finding at the time of the bite to definitely rule in or rule out Lyme Disease infection, so must use clinical judgment as to whether to use antibiotic prophylaxis. Testing the tick itself for the presence of the spirochete, even with PCR technology, is helpful but not 100% reliable.

An established infection by B. burgdorferi can have serious, long-standing or permanent, and painful medical consequences, and be expensive to treat. Since the likelihood of harm arising from prophylactically applied anti-spirochetal antibiotics is low, and since treatment is inexpensive and painless, it follows that the risk benefit ratio favors tick bite prophylaxis.”

TREATMENT CATEGORIES

TICK BITES – Embedded Deer Tick With No Signs or Symptoms of Lyme. Decide to treat based on the type of tick, whether it came from an endemic area, how it was removed, and length of attachment (anecdotally, as little as four hours of attachment can transmit pathogens). The risk of transmission is greater if the tick is engorged, or of it was removed improperly allowing the tick’s contents to spill into the bite wound. High-risk bites are treated as follows (remember the possibility of co-infection!):

1) Adults: Oral therapy for 28 days.

2) Pregnancy: Amoxicillin 1000 mg q6h for 6 weeks. Test for Babesia, Bartonella and Ehrlichia. Alternative: Cefuroxime axetil 1000 mg q12h for 6 weeks.

3) Young Children: Oral therapy for 28 days.

Reference: ADVANCED TOPICS IN LYME DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC HINTS AND TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME AND OTHER TICK BORNE ILLNESSES, Sixteenth Edition, Copyright October, 2008, JOSEPH J. BURRASCANO JR., M.D.

TO REMOVE ATTACHED TICKS:

Use fine-tipped tweezers or shield your fingers with a tissue, paper towel, or rubber gloves, when removing the tick; otherwise infectious agents may enter through mucous membranes and breaks in the skin. DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products.
Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure.
DO NOT twist or jerk the tick; this may cause the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin.
DO NOT squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick because its fluids may contain infectious organisms.
After removing the tick, disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water.

Reference:

URGENT CARE AFTER TICK BITES:

If you find an embedded tick or suspect a Lyme rash and/or have flu-like symptoms after tick exposure (especially in summer months), SPEED is critical ***. Remove ticks immediately. Consider one of the following clinics for Lyme-specialized urgent care.

· Dr. Andrew Heyman, MD, All ages. 39070 John Mosby Highway Aldie, VA 20105 Telephone: 703-327-2434 (Will fit in within 1-2 days. $165. Specify recent tick-bite.) Dr. Stone usually sees the urgent care patients.

· Dr. John Hart, MD, All ages. 305 Harrison Street, SE, Suite 200A , Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-724-9694. Will fit patient with tick-bite in on same day on Mon., Wed., Fri. in Leesburg or Tu., Th. in Fredericksburg. ($200 for ½ hour)

· Jemsek Specialty Clinic, 202-955-0003, Tara Fox will see newborn to age 18 with a recent tick attachment quickly. (NO ADULTS seen for early tick-bite/rash). Specify that a tick attachment occurred within weeks and no prior symptoms. (It’s a 1 hour limited consult at $375. Evaluations of children under age 2, with or without tick attachment, or under age 5 with tick attachment within previous YEAR can be done also.)

· Dr. Carolyn Walsh , MD, Adults only. 821 South King Street, Suite D, Leesburg, VA 20175, 703-723-7713 (Fit in quickly unless out-of-town. $350 for new patient with recent tick-bite, rash or early symptoms.)

· Internal Medicine of NOVA. 16 and older. Special instructions, see website at New GMU test available ($500).

PREVENTION:

· Avoid direct contact with ticks. Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter and walk in the center of trails.

· Use a repellent containing DEET. Repellents with DEET can be applied to exposed skin to help repel ticks. Follow the label instructions. (**Consumer Reports has also identified or as acceptable repellents.)

· Wear long, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Tuck your pants into your socks and your shirt into your pants so ticks don’t have easy access to your skin. It’s easier to see ticks when they are crawling on light-colored clothes.

· Use permethrin on clothing. Permethrin kills ticks and there are formulations to treat your clothes sold at sporting goods stores. Follow the instructions on the label. (Pre-treated clothing is available and is effective through 70 washes. ) **NOTE: Permethrin treated clothing is far more effective than just repellents on skin.

· Check for ticks. While outside, take breaks to check yourself for ticks. Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you. Do a thorough check at the end of the day; use a mirror or have someone help you check the hard-to-see places on your body.

· Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine animals, coats and backpacks.

· More info:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Kathy Meyer

Governor’s Task Force on Lyme Disease in VA 2010-13

Parents of Children with Lyme Support Network for DC Metro Area