Life After Lyme Disease

Not all ticks carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, and if you live in, or intend to travel through an area with a risk of Lyme disease it is important you understand which species of ticks are potentially harmful so that if you do get bitten you can take the appropriate action. 

Ixodes scapularis - The Deer Tick

Deer Ticks

Those ticks that primarily carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium are blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), also known as deer or bear ticks, and these are very small when they are not engorged (around the size of a pinhead), and when they have fed they swell to around the size of the tip of a pen.  The female is slightly larger and reddish brown and the male darker brown in color, and they are very difficult to spot on household pets.  Deer ticks live in the woodland and forest in dense, cool underground, leaf litter and brush and feed mainly on mammals such as rodents and deer, and because they predominantly live on the woodland edges and in densely landscaped residential areas they can regularly come into contact with humans.  Deer ticks wait near ground level for passing prey, and can latch onto your feet, legs and ankles as you brush past, crawling upwards until they find a spot to bite you.  Lyme disease can be treated with oral or injected antibiotics, and early diagnosis and treatment is essential as this disease can cause serious complications such as Lyme arthritis and problems with the heart and nervous system.

Western blacklegged Ticks

Western blacklegged ticks (Ixodes Pacificus) are physically very similar to the blacklegged deer tick, and are also known to carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium that causes Lyme disease and are found in the same kinds of habitats and also throughout more open grasslands.

Rhipicephalus Sanguineus - The Brown Dog Tick

Brown Dog Ticks

Brown Dog ticks (Rhipicephalus Sanguineus) are a slightly larger species and are much easier to spot, and when they are engorged they form a visible, grey/green color blob, about the size of a fingernail.  They are not known for carrying the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, but they can transmit Ehrlichiosis to both pets and humans, which can cause fever, fatigue and lameness. Ehrlichiosis can be treated with antibiotics, and it is important to diagnose the condition early as it can cause serious blood related problems in vulnerable people such as young children and older adults.  Brown dog ticks can be found in grassy and wooded areas and anywhere dogs are kept including kennels and barns.

Dermacentor variabilis - The American Dog Tick

American Dog Ticks

American Dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) do not carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, but they can transmit other diseases to both pets and humans such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), which is caused by the Rickettsia rickettsii bacterium, and symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, and severe headaches, and this can be treated effectively with antibiotics. American dog ticks can be found in grassy areas, meadows and woodland.

Amblyomma Americanum - The Lone Star Tick

Lone Star Ticks

Lone Star ticks (Amblyomma Americanum)  are also known as seed ticks, and are similar in size to dog ticks but they have a distinctive white blob on their backs.  There is some debate over whether or not Lone star ticks carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, but they have been confirmed as carriers for Ehrlichiosis and RMSF.  Lone star ticks live mostly in wooded areas with ground cover and brush, and are also found along creeks and rivers

Cheers to Dr. Mehmet Oz for bringing more badly needed attention to Lyme disease on the “Oprah & Friends Radio Show” on Wed. November 26th.

The acclaimed Dr. Oz who often appears on “Oprah” conducted an interview with filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson who made the film “Under Our Skin:  The Untold Story of Lyme Disease” and reporter Kathy Fowler.

Unfortunately Lyme Disease is still very misunderstood and often not diagnosed early which is very critical for effective treatment. It is amazing how many Doctors don’t know anything about Lyme Disease with many Doctors actually claiming that chronic Lyme Disease does not exist.

Most people who are infected with Lyme Disease also have one or more co-infections. If you have been diagnosed with Lyme Disease it is very important that you are tested for other co-infections that can often tag along with the Lyme. These co-infections are other bacterium, viruses and protozoan parasites such as Babesiosis, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Mycoplasma, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado Tick Fever, Tularemia , Powassan encephalitis and others. It is very important to test for these as treatment will often be different depending on what type of co-infection one has.

Current consensus is that co-infections need to be treated first in order to successfully treat Lyme Disease as treatment of Lyme Disease becomes more complicated when there are co-infections present. Often treatment of Lyme is more successful when co-infections are first eliminated. Many Lyme Disease researchers now believe that co-infections are one of the reasons why some people do not respond to Lyme Disease treatment.

Due to feeling extremely ill over the last several months I have neglected in updating this website. I am feeling a bit better now so I will be posting on a regular basis once more.

Basically my LLMD had me on a very strong dose Doxycycline antibiotics for 5 months. During this time I had gotten extremely sick because the antibiotics wrecked havoc in my body. I had to finally stop taking them because the Doxycycline had pretty much shut down my digestive system and made me horribly ill. For some time after I stopped the antibiotics I was feeling a bit better but then I got a lot worse fast.

I am now trying to deal with this by using natural methods that I found in my extensive research on Lyme Disease. I am taking 5 different natural antibiotics on a daily basis and many other supplements to strengthen my immune system and make my body inhospitable to the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium.

I have also changed my lifestyle quite a bit. No more coffee and alcohol. No processed foods. Trying to eat as much raw foods as possible, get more sleep and drinking lots more water to help detox.

As time and my health permits I will start posting detailed info about the supplements I am taking and how things are progressing. So far it has been about a month on the supplements and I am definately feeling better. Lets see how things progress from here.

An Ixodia tick is a very small tick which is much smaller than dog or cat ticks. The juvenile deer tick is about the size of a pinhead, the biggest adult deer tick can grow to about three-sixteenths of an inch.

A Lyme disease infection can happen after a deer tick is attached to a human or other host for twelve to twenty-four hours. An infected deer tick has Borrelia that lives in the tick’s midgut. Ticks are parasites that insert their mouthparts into their hots and drink blood for several days. When an infected tick attaches itself to a host and feeds, the Borrelia enters the salivary gland and proceeds into it’’s human hosts blood stream.

The tick larvae and nymphs usually become infected with Borrelia burgdorferi when they feed on infected small animals, in particular the white-footed mouse. The bacteria remain in the tick as it changes from larva to nymph or from nymph to adult. Infected nymphs and adult deer ticks then start feeding on other small rodents, other animals, and humans, and transmit the bacteria to them. Adult ticks preferentially feed on the white-tailed deer, which thereby becomes an significant source of Borrelia burgdorferi in regions of infestation. The tick’s life cycle takes two years to complete (see diagram below).

The deer tick’s life cycle is comprised of three distinguishing stages: larvae, nymphs, and adults and lasts aproxinately two years.

In the spring and summer of the first year, eggs hatch into larvae which feed once and molt into nymphs. Nymphs become dormant for the fall and winter.

In the second year, nymphs emerge to feed from May through July. At this time, the nymph may transmit bacteria to humans or to wild or domestic mammals.

In the fall, nymphs molt into adult ticks. The females feed on deer and various large mammals, mate, lay their eggs, and then die. If females don’t feed in the fall, they will try to find a large mammal host during the following spring. Male deer ticks attach to a host to wait for females, but do not take a blood meal.

Borrelia burgdorferi is the species of spirochete bacteria responsible for Lyme Disease. It is transmitted by Ixodes ticks (also known as deer ticks) and was recognized by the mid 1930s and at that time was called tick-borne meningoencephalitis.

In the United States, Lyme disease was not recognized until the early 1970s, as an outbreak of childhood arthritis took place in the Lyme, CT area. This was investigated by Allen Steere, MD, and others from Yale. The acknowledgment that the patients in the United States had ECM led to the realization that Lyme arthritis was one manifestation of the same tick-borne condition known in Europe. After Willy Burgdorfer, MD, discovered a borrelial organism in Ixodes ticks, it was found in patients with clinical Lyme disease, substantiating it as the responsible agent. This led to the development of antibody tests for the disease. Several different strains of Borrelia are recognized, which explains why the clinical manifestations of Lyme disease are varied in the United States and Europe.

Here are some pictures of Borrelia burgdorferi that I found at lymephotos.com. Take a look at their site as they have many more pictures.

Here is another great image which details the structure and morphology of Borrelia burgdorferi.