randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
well you know i've got three sisters. i only talk to the baby once a month or so. so i called last night.
the oldest sister (the one that caused all the problems at mom's funeral) has MS. I'M FLOORED....
so out of four of us, one has gout, one has MS, one has lyme, and i'm not sure about the other one since i don't talk to them really.
i tried to tell her to consider lyme but it's like butting your head against a wall.
oh well at least i've suggested it.
this one sister is 65, very very overweight, rigid and controlling....lives in a very very physically abusive relationships. man, this is a tough one.
so from what i'm reading MS can be lyme right?
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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steve1906
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16206
posted
Sorry to hear about your sister.
They found a lot of white matter in my brain MRI and at first they were thing MS.
I think this is very common to find white matter if you have lyme.
-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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cactus
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7347
posted
It's a common misdiagnosis. I was originally diagnosed with MS - but it's Lyme.
Sounds like you've all been exposed, doesn't it?
Sorry that it's impossible to talk to people sometimes when they have a diagnosis like that - it's almost like they become married to their diagnosis instead of continuing the search for the root cause of their illness.
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
I've read and heard that some cases of MS are lyme. The fact that you have lyme makes it more likely that she does in my opinion.
If you don't have the ability to have a dialogue with her, maybe someone else in the family can pass some info on to her. Just in case, here is some info that you might consider for her.
http://tinyurl.com/adzo4f Many patients are told that they have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) because of brain MRI findings or a spinal tap was positive for oligoclonal bands (OCB) or myelin basic protein (MBP).
The medical literature is quite emphatic that MRI does not reliably distinguish between MS an LD because there is too much overlap in their supposedly distinct appearance and location of plaques.
Plaques have been detected with both disorders in the brain and spinal cord. OCB's and MBP are non-specific markers for demyelination (loss of sheath around nerves) and do not signify a cause of the demyelination.
In Miklossy's study above, senile plaques stained avidly for Bb spirochetes. Vincent Marshall reviewed the MD literature in Medical Hypothesis (Vol 25: 89-92, 1988) and advances the notion that LD is causing MS!
His survey revealed that multiple studies prior to 1951 were able to demonstrate spirochetes in the spinal fluid of MS patients (by inoculation into animals and on silver stain of CNS tissues). Dr. Coyle has documented the presence of antibodies to Bb in MS patients (Neurology Vol. 39:760-763, 1989).
The encephalopathy attributed to MS is very reminiscent of LD. Both MS and LD are associated with sinusitis (Lancet, 1986). Dr. Leigner has reported a case of LD which fulfilled all criteria for MS. The epidemiology of MS and the geographic distribution parallels that of LD. The symptoms of both LD and MS can be aggravated if the patient takes a hot bath. Anecdotally, patients with LD, who previously had been identified as MS, responded to antibiotic therapy.
http://www.ilads.org/goldings.html on page 2 of the article III. THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND LYME DISEASE: THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS
posted
i was a "MS" diagnosis, neuro got oh so confused when typical MS testing was negative.
pcp and neuro thought i was slam dunk MS patient.
then the western blot was positive and spinal tap neg for oc bands...huge cross over in symptoms
hope your sis finds her way to the overlap!!
-------------------- i am not a Dr. any info is only for education, suggestion or to think/research. please do not mis-intuprest as diagnostic or prescriptive, only trying to help. **
dx in 08:lyme, rmsf, bart, babs, and m.pneumonia. Posts: 422 | From TX | Registered: Oct 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Terry, EXCELLENT links above. And yes, the replies you have about MS being first mis-diagnosed before lyme shows a very common pattern.
I think this may be too much for your sister to process right now in the atmosphere you describe. I think the first step is for someone close to her to help her find safe housing (or make her own home safe - whatever that takes).
Until the abuse stops - or until she takes back some power - it is doubtful she will be able to take anything else in. You say she is rigid and controlling, so that implies she is reacting to the abuse.
A gentle shift in a different direction might be enough to tip the scales in her favor. Does she have a best friend who may want to help - in a very safe manner?
It's very hard for family to be taken seriously and there are also so many other issues that can become barriers.
Still, if there is no best friend, I hope you can find a way to share this information with her. It is important that she at least have the chance to know about this.
I hope she finds what she needs. Good luck.
--------
While not about MS, per se, Lyme and Cpn (Chlamydia Pneumonia), both, are discussed at being at the root of major health problems.
The obesity can be a result of infection. Even if she may not have great health habits, I think reaching for fast energy and empty calories can be due to fatigue or brain fog.
But, even in some people who have splendid health habits, weight can be a huge fight unless (or until) underlying infections are addressed and treated. Treating infection, as the author illustrates, can have a dramatic improvement in weight.
You can read customer reviews and look inside the book at this link to its page at Amazon.
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
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