Comments on: 410 – Lyme & ALS

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:57:17 +0000

M,
I am not familiar with the dietary constraints of ALS, but if it is LD, he should try to:

• Exercise often. It is believed that the spirochetes don’t like oxygen, so oxygenating the body might help.

• Eat plenty of natural antibiotics like garlic. But if he does, remember to replenish the good bacteria (e.g. acidophilus).

• Eat anti-inflammatory foods like blueberries. It might relieve some joint pains.

• Likewise, avoid inflammatory foods like breads, pastas, etc.

• He might try the Vit C and Sea Salt regimen, but be careful. Too much salt in the diet is dangerous.

If these ideas are succeeding, he might experience some severe Herxing. Though torturous, it should be a good sign; the spirochetes are dying.

All the best,
Rob

By: Megyn

Megyn — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:29:14 +0000

My uncle was recently diagnosed with ALS, he’s 45 years old and has always been somewhat active, though his eating habits leave much to be desired… His symptoms started with numbness of the tongue and then quite a large amount of weight lose and loss of most feeling in his hand. He’s had these issues now for 8 months before telling our family, and before the doctors finally diagnosed him with ALS… I’m holding out hope that it could be something else, and would like to get him tested with a recommended LL Dr in Michigan if you have any suggestions. I’m also trying to change his dietary habits (pizza and mountain dew should not be the main diet of an adult male of his age) and anything I can think of to get him and my family through this trial. Hope is pretty much all we have right now.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:49:27 +0000

D,
You are absolutely correct in challenging the doctor’s prognosis. Your husband is much too young to be experiencing a disease that generally afflicts a much older age group.

Since he loves the outdoors, I assume he was not a complainer about pains and health problems. Well, at least until this nightmare became intolerable. If true, this is very common with Tick-borne infections (TBI). I have talked to a number of very athletic people who rarely complained and now have advanced LD. I believe this is because without early treatment, the disease festers until eventually it causes neurological damage. At this Stage-3 LD, the patient will most likely require long-term treatment,

LD research and understanding is still in its infancy. This implies that the average doctor knows quite little about it. Of course, nearly all doctors will claim differently. Also, most Lyme Tests are inconclusive, so they will only add to the confusion. If your husband reacts positively to antibiotics, this can be a tell-tale sign of TBI. But please, if you do go on these powerful drugs, hit them hard otherwise the surviving pathogens will mutate and become resistant to the antibiotic causing greater problems later on.

As for his breathing problems, Babesiosis, also a TBI, is like malaria and generally affects one’s respiratory system. For more info, you can read http://lymehandbook.com/2010/07/26/malaria-like-disease-appearing-in-new-york/

Keep pushing and remain assertive,
Rob

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:37:29 +0000

My husband was diagnosed by two different drs with having ALS. The first diagnosis was made in April of 2011 and the second in September. His symptoms acually started in mid 2010. Just a little shoulder soreness in one shoulder. It came and went over the next few months. By December of 2010, he was having difficulty lifting his arms over his head. Know the muscles in his arms have shriveled drasticly with the exception of his triceps, which have only shrunk a little. He has lost all muscle tone to the shoulder and a lot to the back and chest. His legs have started getting weaker and shrinking and he is also starting to have some problems breathing. His swallowing however is fine, though his voice has gotten weaker. He has been tested for a veriety of things including LD. He was acually tested twice for LD. The first test was done April 2011, and was a Lyme Sero REF and was negative. The second was done October 2011 and was a Lyme IgG/IgM AB wich was negative at <0.91.

We do not beleive that it is acually ALS. My husband is only 28 years old. Ticks, fleas, mosquitos, and practicly any thing that crawls, flies or bites absolutely loves him. He has always worked outdoors and been into hunting and fishing all of his life. Where we live, in central Georgia, we are surounded by wooded areas and are constently in contact with areas brone to ticks and fleas. Where he used to work, they would be constently cutting back bushes and trees on the side of the road. Always outdoors.

Just in your opinion, given the time-delay between the onset of symptoms to first diagnosis, do you think that the test could have been wrong? If so, what would be the best way to find a good LLD to try and dig a little deeper?

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:28:44 +0000

Birds, not deer, are the biggest cause for spreading the disease so rapidly.

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:25:00 +0000

Susan,
Lyme is such a random disease that it may be causing kidney problems. But, I would suspect that the meds are more the culprit. I know that more liquids can only excacerbate your torture, but do you drink cranberry juice regularly? It might help.
Rob

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:29:31 +0000

My kidneys now seem to be failing. Does Lyme very often cause kidney failure in people? I know it does in dogs.

Also, I was around lots of wild birds such as geese: Do they carry Lyme/have many ticks?

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:27:29 +0000

I have advanced Lyme and now my kidneys seem to be failing. Does Lyme very often attack the kidneys?

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:07:11 +0000

Laura,
It certainly resembles neurological Lyme. Even though 3 years have passed, if it is LD and you defer treatment, curing it with antibiotics becomes more difficult and he faces the possibility of it becoming chronic. I strongly suggest seeking out a Lyme Literate doctor. A proper Lyme test and clinical diagnosis are essential before dismissing LD altogether. And please be careful, most all doctors claim to be Lyme Literate even though today’s medical journals are just beginning to learn about the disease.
Good luck,
Rob

By: Laura Mattson

Laura Mattson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:11:42 +0000

We were building our “Retirement House” in Thousand Oaks, California and about 3 (Could be 4) years ago my husband found a tick burrowing into his side, he removed it and as far as I know he was fine. Last January he was diagnosed with a inner ear problem, then he started having difficulties in swallowing and was diagnosis with a paralyzed vocal cord. Then they found a massive goiter pressing against his vocal cords so a total thyroidectomy was performed. Now he has been diagnosed with Motor Neron Disease, I might be grasping for straws here but do you think it may be possible that he has Lyme disease? I don’t even know if I am asking this question at the right website, if not could someone lead me in the right direction I would be forever grateful.

Thanks,
Laura