One would think that freezing weather would cause ticks to hibernate or die, but you would have to think again. States that stay below freezing for most of the winter will not have a high risk but it is not impossible. Keep this in mind when raking the leaves and snow close to the ground.
The key is to know ticks are active and how to prevent tick bites. It’s easy to fend off these beasts by making a few changes. If you are walking in high grass, or have tree limbs brushing the trail, even dead leaves can be a host for ticks. Before you head out, spray exposed areas with DEET* making sure to spray the foot to above your ankles.
Put pant legs in socks so the tick can’t climb in. Wear a hikers hat with a trail that covers the back of the neck. No more falling off a tree limb right down the back of your shirt. They look for every chance they can get to attach to you, the host. The most critical step is to check your body, complete body, once home. Wash your clothes right away, don’t put them in the washing bin and let them move around your other clothes.
As someone who lives with Chronic Lyme Disease, I can say that preventing a tick bite is a hell of a lot better than getting Lyme.
Tick Expert with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station says:
If you’re enjoying the warmer-than-usual winter, so are ticks. The insects do not have to go into their usual hibernation on days when the temperature exceeds 40 degrees. It used to be the people who study ticks in Connecticut got pretty bored in the winter months. Not anymore.
“We used to call it tick activity season,” explained Dr. Goudarz Molaei, a tick expert with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. “We can no longer call it tick activity season as ticks are active year-round.”
When people get bit, they send their ticks to the Agricultural Experiment Station. It used to be they would get about 50 all winter long. Now they are getting around 800.
“We receive ticks daily, and some days we receive over ten tick specimens from the public,” Molaei said.
If Connecticut no longer has a non-active tick season, chances are the surrounding states are also seeing an increase in ticks during the winter. Be safe by preparing on the front end.
DEET* or no DEET, is based on your preference. There is plenty of information for your searches.
Dr Jemsek is an Infectious Disease Doctor who played a pivotal role identifying AIDS in N. Carolina. He is my hero and Lyme Doctor.
There are several treatment methods, every doctor is different. I’m on Antibiotic IV Therapy 5 days a week, and a Lactose Ringer when not on IV Therapy, close to 30 supplements, a Morphine Patch, two horrible liquid Rx’s, and close to 35-40 prescriptions.
YouTube is an awesome source for Lyme information.
Four months ago I wrote the last Lyme Journal Entry. I thought my strength would allow me to blog through the illness. Then the 5-6 month point turned my life upside down and it’s been hell. I fired my Lyme doctor and not taking meds at this time. I know many are wondering why the hair photo? I was losing hair by the handful and showering was nearly impossible with longer hair. When you can’t stand, lift your arms or sit down without falling, showering is a problem. I planned a nice Army shave but David would not help. I grabbed the scissors and cut eight inches off. Feels great, looks like crap. Who cares?
I’m sure people have noticed my positive attitude is quickly sliding. The mounting problems are not all Lyme-related. My cat Truffles is dying, lack of communication from my doctor, getting so sick, and walking some days is extremely painful. Our bed was too hard so I moved to a couch months ago. I live on the couch now. Not bad for sleeping except all the animals want to go out, poke me in the back, and the cat wants to attack me. Even attempting to get enough sleep is impossible. With Chronic Lyme Disease sleep is your best friend and a key to survival.
Let me share some Lyme politics for newbies.
Most of the expert Lyme Literate Doctors, are not practicing. Several years ago doctors were watching people die using CDC standards, which state patients can only receive 2-4 weeks of antibiotics at most. The Lyme doctors who understood how the viruses worked knew 4 weeks was a joke. The doctors worked together helping each out calling in antibiotics for the other patients. I have Chronic Lyme, and it can take 1-3 years to get well. Medication is one of the many ways to heal. Getting enough sleep is number one after the meds., take supplements, gluten-free diet and eat foods to help your body heal. No Coffee and drink only electrolyte water.
There was a huge division among Lyme doctors when the CDC allowed several doctors to patent the virus. Makes no sense to me. For years patients were clueless of the division. Both sides fought hard with the CDC to prove their data, from the videos on YouTube it looks like the battle was lost before the presentations started. The expert Lyme Literate doctors were quite vocal and a witch hunt is what followed the meeting. Doctors appeared before the Medical Board and were not able to practice, some for up to a year. Several doctors lost their clinic and everything they owned trying to keep their patients alive. It is a complete mess the CDC let happen, needless to say, I’m pissed. Just a little more background info to burn into your brain.
Many Chronic Lyme patients become so sick they are not able to work. The first reality is you no longer have insurance and can not afford new insurance if you could buy. I’ve watched video after video on YouTube of people with good-paying jobs, racking up several thousand dollars in doctor bills and many having to file bankruptcy, losing everything. One video told of a couple who owed their parents $500,000. Lyme affects everyone in your family, friends, your health, and financial security.
It’s going on Spring in some parts but summer will be here quickly. I don’t want any of you or your family members to struggle with a virus that looks like a worm. The viruses travel through the blood until they can find a way to your major organs. Lyme likes to get cozy in the liver, kidney, heart, and brain. I have three tick-borne illnesses and Epstein Bar Virus. I have cognitive issues, my eyes constantly see things moving by my peripheral vision and balance are fleeting. I was in the bathroom two days ago about to reach for the medicine cabinet. I slammed into a wall hurting my writs and several fingers. If that wasn’t enough I slid down the wall falling on the toilet and hurt my leg. The doctors don’t know how much of your ability will come back if any. You have to keep fighting.
Why I fired my doctor. My husband and I formed an impression at the first appointment, not so good. I was desperate to start treatment and had no other options.
* I start a couple of drugs until the Lab work is back. At the follow-up appointment, the first words out of his mouth are you are in a great deal of pain. REALLY? His communication and organization skills are lacking. No pain meds were prescribed. He has to call someone in to bring him something several times during the appointment.
*I’m loaded down with over 50 pills to take a day plus 15-20 supplements and sleep all I can. The equation doesn’t work. I have gastro issues and the high-powered antibiotics made me nauseous all the time. I asked to have a PICC line in my arm to give my stomach a break. He did not plan to use a PICC line? Almost every patient gets a PICC line so they can fill you full of drugs and bypass your stomach. My wheels are turning. He had lab work for me to do, but I didn’t do it. He never asked about the Labs. He said my Lead levels were three times higher than normal, in the dangerous range. No follow-up test was ordered, it was like “So you know”. I’m scared, my brain is on overload, the test said current and ongoing exposure. I spent about two weeks looking for an answer. I looked at the top of the report one day, it wasn’t my report. Admin acted like no big deal. HIPPA laws are not new.
With the list of experts I start going down the list, ONE of the leading Lyme Literate Doctors still practices. The doctors called before the Medical Board and CDC. Now are full-time advocates/researchers. I phoned his office in DC and they are taking patients. When you have cognitive issues filling out 50 pages is crazy. I stayed up last night to get everything I could without waking my household. With God’s help, I will finish the paperwork tomorrow and get an appointment in the next month.
ILADS is the professional organization Lyme Literate doctors belong to. I saw the tab on site for ILADS Protocol on Lyme. I jumped for joy. Let’s hit them with our best shot. We have boxing gloves on and the truth will come out. The document was extensive for the different stages of Lyme or other tick-borne illnesses. I felt so happy that others may not have to suffer shortly. The document was well-researched by leading scientists, leading hospitals, and large populations of people. I cheered when I read research that outlined how the current system is incorrect, and they went all out. On the issues of insurance, extensive research with real patients exposed what the CDC is keeping from the public. If you want to learn more about Lyme, YouTube has so many videos, you might not have to go anywhere else. If you like the medical jargon go to the ILADS site.
A shout out to others who suffer from Lyme or tick-borne illness. I think of you, pray for you, and send good karma your way.
Being diaognosed with Chronic Lyme Disorder in 2014/2015 changed my life and my husbands forever. After 18 months of IV Antibiotic Treatments, I survived, and in remission at this time. Since the spirokettes remain in your body, your body can continue to decline whether in remission or not.
Over a 12 months of testing, my Neurologist has performed every test in her arsenal except a spinal. Every test she ran came back abnormal yet not able to pin down a diagnosis. She refered me to a Rheumatologist to start on the tread mill again. I started researching illnesses which included brain wave abnormalities to weed out my more common symptoms. There were the ones I expected, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis or other autoimmune disorder. I didn’t think the answer would come from the crazy searches by using the abnormal test results and symptoms in every combination possible, I thought I had the answer and I did.
More reasearch and what I found was alarming, not the illness alone, the politics and witch hunt taking place. The illness is Lyme or other tick borne illnesses. The CDC rates Texas as med-high concentration. The east coast is at epidemic levels with some articles stating we are facing epidemic levels across the country. I had a different idea for this post yet feel it’s critical to get this information out ASAP. When I learned of the divide in the medical community over Lyme, I shook my head. What is the controversy? The CDC establishes treatment standards for doctors and the standard Lyme test is based on 30-year-old information. What happens is you go to doctor for a Lyme test, it comes back negative. You then find out the test is 30% +/- correct. The CDC acknowledges the test has false positives yet the standard for testing hasn’t changed.
With a lack of confidence in the test, I wanted to see a Lyme Literate Doctor. This blew my mind, a current day Salem Witch Hunt is happening. On one side of the controversy are doctors who specialize in Lyme and tick borne illness. If a tick bite is not caught right away it grows in your system. Lyme looks like a long skinny curly worm. It bores thru your body damaging your organs or brain depending where it lands. The symptoms can move around your body as the virus spreads. Lyme is hard to kill, it can encapsulate itself in an invisible cocoon and is near impossible to see under microscope. The Lyme doctors take the approach, attack the virus aggressively for long periods of time to prevent a relapse. People who are very ill from Lyme can require years of antibiotics. Not only to kill the virus more importantly to save your life. Heres the rub, the CDC states 2 weeks of antibiotics will cure Lyme and doctors can prescribe an extra 2 weeks if needed.
Medical insurance companies only pay what the CDC approves and the CDC doen’t recognized Chronic Lyme Dieases nor in IV treatments. Some Lyme doctors are getting called before the Medical Review Board having their license taken away for a year. Insurance companies are cancelling people’s policy and they are left with 150k+ in out-of-pocket expenses. There are many patients who have to lose their house or get their loved one treatment.
There are two main thoughst on Lyme Dieases, doctors that do not believe in Chronic Lyme Dieases and the others that do and are treating patients. The CDC hasn’t changed their rules on insuring Lyme treatments but I don’t think doctors are not under as big of a microscope.
When I decided to see a Lyme Literate doctor it was a process. I called the association, they took info on where I lived and would call back. The next morning I received a call with a doctor’s name and phone number. I later found out the doctor I’m seeing was the first to lose his licenses for a year. I didn’t know if I should jump for joy or not.
I’m battling over 50 symptoms on any given day from a tick that is smaller than a sesame seed. When you’re doing tick checks on you and the kids, ticks are hard to see. Around 30% to 50% of people get a bull’s-eye rash. If you get the rash go to the doctor right away and ask for a Lyme panel test.
Please remember to check your scalp, they can hang out in your hair. A flashlight might help with this task. I’ll keep you up to date on how my appointment goes. I’m not worried about what, I need an answer to move on to the next hurdle. I will do a f/u post including more information about treatments.
lookingforthelight.blog 