Monday, December 20, 2010

Combatting Lyme Disease

Recently my dear friend was tested for Lyme Disease at the urging of several of her doctors.  I took a bit of my spare time and learned a bit about what Lyme Disease is and how it can be dealt with.  I thought I'd share it here since it didn't seem that my internet searches turned up as much as I had hoped it would.  Maybe this will be helpful for someone, somewhere, someday.  :)
Adult Deer Tick

Lyme Disease is caused by a bacteria that is introduced to the body through a deer tick bite.  If the bacterial infection isn't defeated quickly it will continue to multiply in the body and begin to affect various parts of the body with an array of symptoms ranging from:

Stage 1: Circular rash and flu-like symptoms

Stage 2: Muscle and joint pains, heart palpitations and dizzyness, neurological problems and head aches.

Stage 3: Chronic symptoms affecting nearly every part of the body that can even lead to motor sensory impairment in the lower parts of the body (think paralysis).

The short of the story is that this bacterial infection has been found in the tissues of the skin, muscle, joint, heart and nervous systems.  It has the potential to make a big mess of a person's life!

It's a recent 'discovery' (the 1970's) which  makes me wonder why, in years gone by, it wasn't recognized as a disease.  That got me thinking quite a bit!   Why would a bacterial infection be-all-of-the-sudden newly discovered in recent years?  I'm inclined to think that it has more to do with the lifestyles and health of people today than it does with the bacteria or the tick.


I'm thinking that in years gone by, humans had stronger immune systems and were more aware of their general health than we are today.  Years ago, our food was healthier because it wasn't grown in nutrient depleted soil and fed hormones to make them grow nice and pretty.  We didn't have genetically-modified plants (or animals) and we ate what was local and in season while we dehydrated and even canned our harvest to get us through to the next harvest season.  We didn't harvest our foods before they were ripe and ship them around the world inducing the ripening by throwing bleach on the bottom of the shipping container as our food was traveling.  What we put in was better for us, even if we didn't have near the abundance we do today.

So while I was thinking about the quality of the nutrients we consume, I also began to consider other things we are regularly exposed to now that we weren't before:  toxins.  Our cleaning products, exhaust fumes, chemicals we put in our various products to make them look nicer or smell nicer or whatever.  I read the other day that today we consume hundreds times more food dyes than we did even 30 years ago.  What do we need food dyes for anyway?  We are surrounding ourselves, inside and out, with all sorts of chemicals and toxins that don't do our bodies any good.

If Lyme Disease truly has been around for a long time and only recently it has become a serious problem, it has got to be that our immune systems simply cannot handle the bacterial onslaught and that we have lost the know-how to treat ourselves when necessary.  If it hasn't been around for a long time and it is indeed a recent development, our immune systems need to be strengthened so our bodies can fight the invasion.  Our bodies are created to fight infection, heal injuries and to repair from damage.  We need to learn how to take charge of our own treatment plans, to pay attention to our bodies and know what it is that our bodies are needing.

Dealing with the immune system is the primary key but the sufferer from Lyme must also combat inflammation.  The Lyme Disease stages begin with inflammation and at the end, inflammation is still a major source of trouble.  We've heard a lot recently about how inflammation is thought to be the root source of all disease.  Think about it:  We only have so much room on our insides.  If something is swollen, it presses on blood vessels, nerves, other organs, etc.  One inflamed part affects all the surrounding parts simply because it's bigger than it should be.  But why is it swollen?  The body is rushing nutrients and fighter cells to that area to combat some sort of attack, or perceived attack.  Most, if not all, of the symptoms that Lyme Disease brings into a person's life begins with inflammation.  If we can work with the immune system and fight the inflammation, we can treat the symptoms individually while considering the body a as a whole system and it seems that people are finding tremendously positive results!

People can become chronic Lyme Disease sufferers, but it seems that many are able to live perfectly normal lives even though the bacteria might still be laying dormant in their bodies.  If the bacteria cannot be eliminated, dormant is always better than chronic!  What can one do to continue to live life and not be controlled by this ugly little bacteria?

Traditionally Lyme Disease sufferers are prescribed a course of antibiotics to fight the bacterial infection.  For some people, this treatment works wonders while for others it is one more failed treatment.  Whether you or your loved one has met with success or failure with traditional medical treatment, I am positive complimentary treatments can bring much help and maybe even relief.  Take a look at two stories from two different women, nearly a decade apart from one another:

From Lynne A
During the past several years, after realizing that a debilitating arthritic ankle was due to Lyme disease, I changed strategies from focusing on controlling inflammation to fighting an infection and started to see immediate improvement. Without using "conventional" antibiotic protocols for advanced Lyme, I increased my Nutriferon to 4 per day, added d-Lenolate Olive Leaf extract, colloidal silver, Quantum biofeedback therapy and of course too many Shaklee supplements to mention.

At my worst, I needed a brace and could barely climb stairs. The pain wasn't responding to any over the counter NSAIDS or Pain Relief. Over the course of a year I had improved dramatically, but still had some evening pain after a full day on my feet, and still needed to be very careful on the stairs.

I added VIVIX to my routine sporadically, and started to notice the lessening of pain. However, in January I started to take Vivix every day faithfully. Sometime in mid-January I had the urge to start “Spring” housecleaning and rearranging! I was sleeping much better and waking at 5:30 all set to begin my day! Lately, I've been able to come down the stairs in the morning carrying things in both hands without rails or leaning on the wall. I notice I am bordering on obnoxiously PERKY, compared to folks around me. I was even dancing vigorously with my 5 year old grandson last Saturday night after a big day at the shop. How FUN and pain free is that! I am so excited about VIVIX, I've been sharing my delight on a daily basis with friends and customers from my women’s retail store. Thank you Shaklee!

Lynne A

PS: My last biofeedback treatment was clear for all Lyme factors and my "cell vitality" was 10/10! My Quantum biofeedback therapist had never seen this before and ordered Vivix yesterday for herself and her dearest friend!

And this amazing one from several years ago by Mary:

I contracted lyme in 1990 in Arkansas, a state as many are told does not have lyme disease. I found the tick so therefore I knew I had lyme. I developed everyone of the lyme symptoms, but could not get a Dr to believe it was lyme. In 1992 we moved to upstate NY and in 1994 when things really got bad for me I finally  found a Dr to diagnosis me and basically couldn't believe with my symptoms that no one else would treat me for this. I received at that time 4 weeks of doxy which temporily helped with things like the black outs, but nothing else. As time went on I got really scared. I actually thought I had Ms because the symptoms were so bad. Well it continued to get worse to the point I was now bedridden. Test showed I was "Full of Arthritis". They put me in physical therapy for 3x weekly and told me to get use to it.

To give you a little background on myself, prior to contracted lyme in 1990, I was an extremely active person. Did century rides on my bike, ran 3 miles daily, swam, lifted weights, you name it. Nothing in this world would ever slow me down. Little did I know how severe this disease could be. In fact when I found the tick on me, after collapsing in a store totally paralyzed, my husband was more upset then I because he knew more about lyme. No little tick was going to get me down.  When you are lying in bed it gives you lots  of time to think and read which is exactly what I did. Prior to contracting lyme I had used supplements, but nothing major. In fact I want to  clear the air right now this is not about selling anything, it is about what  worked for me and why I use a certain brand - Shaklee. I had used the Shaklee multi and that was it, but had seen this product do wonderful things for others in my family, including my son who was so sick from  birth.

So I thought it was time to test this stuff on me. Through my research I discovered a lot about the immune system and how critical it is to any disease to keep it running correctly. I learned a lot about environmental toxins, the foods we eat and what is in them and on and on. So  I watched what I ate, MEGA-dosed on supplements, drank lots of water to  flush my system and hydrate me, and learned to listen to my body. So began my recovery. I was up and walking again in a short period of time and a lot of the other symptoms started to disappear. The longer I did what I did the better I got. Below is a list of what I take and why. Please understand I am not into these so called miracle cures. I believe if the body is fed what it needs it will take care of itself. After all we are made of nothing but  protein, vitamins, minerals, water, fats, carbos. The problem being is so much of our food is depleted of these things and heavily saturated with chemicals it suppressed the immune function.

This is what I  take:

Soy Protein (kosher) - You can not build a cell without protein as well it  needed to repair tissue cells

Vita Lea (kosher) - Best all round multi-vitamin

Vita C (kosher) - This is probably my favorite and I mega-dose on this. So good  for the immune system and fighting infections.

B-complex (kosher) - Converts food  to energy, builds red blood cells, and helped with my neuro damage.

Nutriferon (kosher) - This is designed specifically for the immune system.

Garlic (kosher) - Again great for the immune system as well as the heart. I had developed heart complications.

Lecithin - It is a fat emulsifier for the heart problems. As well it got my liver enzymes back to  normal.

Alfalfa (kosher) - Great for arthritis as well as allergy problems which I developed after the lyme. Also great for fighting infections.

Fiber (kosher) - For  the obvious reasons, digestion. It is so critical to have a properly running digestive tract to rid the body of toxins. If the body does not flush the toxins out it will reinfest itself. Americans are the most constipated people in the world.

Herb Lax (kosher) - Again for the obvious reason, but as well this product cleanses lymph glands and blood stream.

OsteoMatrix (kosher) - This  stopped the muscle spasms

Optiflora - For intestinal bacteria

Vita E (kosher) - For  heart and immune function

Beta Carotene - Immune Function

As you can see from the list I take alot of supplements. But these supplements, along  with some diet changes, have brought my life back to normal.  I look at it like this, instead of eating a bag of M&M's I eat supplements. One thing  I must stress also was I avoid sugar. This is the quickest way I can bring my  arthritis pain back. I have learned that it is because sugar dehydrates you and then causes digestion problems. As Imentioned earlier listen to your  body. Each of use is different.

Also my husband had candida problems and it wasn't from antibiotic use.  We get more antibiotics in the food we eat then we consume. And if the body is stressed with any disease, infection, healing a wound, etc. this will cause the immune system not to keep the yeast under control.

I will continue to stress to use Shaklee supplements. I know no  other company with a better product. I have researched these as well have tried other brands and there is no comparison.

God Bless, Mary

There are several complimentary treatments that one can implement into their life to find relief and restoration from diseases and injuries.  If you are interested in learning more about the Shaklee products mentioned above, visit my Shaklee website.

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