Full article: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Doctors+misdiagnose+Lyme+disease+researcher/2908675/story.html

Excerpt:

A Manitoba researcher says some patients deemed by doctors to suffer from multiple sclerosis may be misdiagnosed.

In a recent thesis, Winnipeg researcher Kathleen Crang found that some Manitobans diagnosed with MS and other chronic conditions may actually be suffering from the borrelia bacteria, a tick-borne “biological evil genius” that causes Lyme disease.

“If I knew someone with MS, I’d be saying, ‘Let’s look at those questions,’ ” said Crang. “If their MS is coupled with heart problems, or skin rashes, or rheumatological involvement, there might be some question as to why.”

After all, the bug is dubbed “the second great imitator” — syphilis is the first.

Tests for Lyme disease can be unreliable; many of the disease’s 75 known symptoms are shared by a host of neurological conditions. Case studies have even found that Lyme can produce lesions on the brain like those seen in MS.

That in itself isn’t breaking news. Crang’s thesis, titled Knowledge and Perception of Lyme disease in Manitoba: Implications for Risk Assessment, found numerous reports in Europe and the United States of Lyme disease being initially misdiagnosed as everything from MS to ALS and fibromyalgia.

But in Manitoba, where Lyme is thought to be almost non-existent, Crang found that doctors may not be on the lookout for the disease.

Could that lack of concern lead to lasting misdiagnoses?

“There’s a bit of a disconnect there,” said Crang. “It’s an information-flow problem. The fact that individuals are hearing such low numbers of Lyme leads to a perception that Lyme isn’t there.”

In a series of interviews for the thesis, Crang found that many Manitoba public health decision-makers and clinicians didn’t perceive Lyme as a threat to Manitobans, and “did not expect they would see patients with the disease.”

Crang, 44, is living proof that the mistake can be made.

In 1999, doctors told the Fort Richmond Collegiate science teacher that she had MS; an MRI appeared to confirm the diagnosis.

Linda’s comment:  The FIGHT program is a perfect example of how you can fight Lyme disease.  As Dr Patricia Gerbarg, MD has found out.  She has not experienced the FIGHT program to my knowledge, but the protocols she mentioned are all part of the FIGHT program.  It is a must that we reduce the total body burden of toxins and pathogens to fight the Lyme critters.  Lyme loves heavy metals.  We are slammed every time we walk out our front doors with 500 to 600 environmental toxins.  It is a daily battle, but I found the FIGHT program made this all very easy.  I only wish I had  the knowledge of the FIGHT program with the first Lyme infection.

I have never taken any antibiotics and don’t intend to, but I focused on the lifelong daily detox program FIGHT and cleaned up my lifestyle, home and diet.  I got rid of all the GMO foods, gluten, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and my body shakes if I pass a fast-food restaurant….the smell turns my stomach.  Once you clean  up your diet and clean up your homestead, you begin to feel better….Lifestyle is probably one of the hardest things I have ever done….Yes, I cheat, but at least now I have learned to cheat. and can neutralize a toxic food if I eat it.  Once you begin to feel better it makes the journey of cleaning up much easier. Just give the FIGHT program 90 days and you too will feel the difference.

Regards, Linda

Chronic Lyme Disease: Myth or Reality?

By Mehmet Oz, MD

Mehmet Oz, MD, host of The Dr. Oz Show, sorts out the truth. Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transmitted by the bite of a deer tick, can cause a variety of flu-like symptoms-achy joints, fatigue, fever, headache. But chronic Lyme disease is a different beast. Experts can’t agree on a case definition-or if the condition exists at all. What’s clear is that some Lyme patients, even after taking the standard treatment of antibiotics, continue to suffer long-term and often serious health problems, including poor mental function, migratory joint pain, and sleep disturbances. Whether the condition is an autoimmune or nervous system response triggered by the now-eradicated infection (sometimes called post-Lyme disease syndrome), or a chronic case of the disease directly attributable to an ongoing infection depends on whom you ask-as does the treatment.

The Case for Diagnosing CLD

“There is absolutely no doubt chronic Lyme disease [CLD] exists,” says Richard Horowitz, MD, president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation. What’s more, he adds, many of those who contract Lyme disease can also have tick-borne coinfections like babesiosis, caused by parasites, and their symptoms can easily be mistaken for those of other ailments such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. “Like syphilis, chronic Lyme disease is a great imitator,” Horowitz notes. He has seen more than 11,000 patients whose CLD he has helped to pinpoint using his own broad differential diagnosis, which looks at all possible causes of symptoms. Along with specific treatments for any overlapping conditions, he often prescribes a combination of targeted antibiotics to beat the infection, and says he has seen dramatic recoveries.

The Case Against Diagnosing CLD

“There’s simply no scientific evidence that these symptoms are caused by an ongoing infection of Lyme disease,” says John Halperin, MD, chair of the department of neurosciences at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, and professor of neurology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Halperin agrees that some Lyme disease patients can experience real, ongoing health issues. However, he says, “The best guess is that it has to do with how our nervous systems respond to different stressors. It’s probably due to a fundamental neurobiological trait of some people.” Halperin believes the way to treat the problem is symptomatically. That means everything from therapy for depression to surgery for severe arthritis-but not months of antibiotics, which can result in serious side effects, according to National Institutes of Health-funded studies.

Dr. Oz Says…

Let’s get past the fundamental argument over whether this is a chronic condition or an autoimmune response by acknowledging that it could be both. Someday we might discover that ticks aren’t giving people just a bacterial infection but also a virus or a hybrid bug. Patricia Gerbarg, MD, is the coauthor of How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care as well as a former Lyme patient. What she found, and what I support, is that certain supplements strengthen the body’s ability to repair itself from the long-term problems associated with CLD. Taking vitamin B12, coenzyme Q10, chromium, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, and herbs such as Rhodiola rosea can improve energy and help with cellular repair-all key in recovering from conditions that can be as resistant as Lyme disease. Dr. Oz – Treating Lyme Disease – Oprah.com