posted
My fiance's mother passed away several years ago. She was not that old, but was diabetic and had heart and kidney failure. His father was diagnosed with MS probably 20 years ago or so and lives in some kind of veteran's home because he requires such extensive care.
Our nephew (my fiance's brother's son) has just been diagnosed with Autism. My fiance has, on his arm, what could possibly be a pseudolymphoma (borrelial?). He saw a doctor about it last year and the doctor called it a "failed mole" (which Google and I have never heard of) from across the room. My fiance has had what I also think was an erythema migrans rash (I'm no doctor, but I DID manage to diagnose and cure my own "arthritis" with Flagyl and doxycycline).
Congenital borreliosis exists, even according to the early work of the biggest lyme disease deniers. Borreliosis has been isolated in seminal fluid. There is reason to believe that a "false positive" test for Bb isn't actually a false positive at all, but an asymptomatic infestation of Bb. Borrelia can change forms and evade the immune system in order to wait for the perfect storm of conditions in order to proliferate and attack the host.
Is it too ridiculous to speculate that my fiance's entire family (even his nephew) may be afflicted with some kind of borrelia? If borrelia is sexually transmitted and results in asymptomatic infestation (rather than acute or chronic symptomatic infection) is it plausible that, if the asymptomatic infested person were bitten by an ixodes tick and contracted an active Bb infection, that the dormant Bb could spring back into action as well?
I'm just trying to hypothesize why so many people around me seem to be ill with "cause/cure unknown" diseases, and why ALL of those diseases seem to somehow be linked to Bb infection in some way or another in the medical literature...I have an aunt who was just diagnosed with MS (at approximately the same time that my "arthritis" episode began) and a grandfather who had a bullseye rash from a tick bite years ago and is now having CFIDS-like symptoms that I believe are related to his untreated infection.
So, if I'm counting correctly that is potentially 10 cases of borreliosis that are clustered around me in an endemic area where the incidence of borreliosis is known to be skyrocketing.
Am I looking at life through lyme colored glasses or what?
Posts: 156 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2011
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posted
I think your logic makes total sense.
Posts: 749 | From State full of ticks | Registered: Dec 2008
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merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12041
posted
well its easy to blame lyme for everything it seems. but i think its important to look at everything with an open mind with lyme in the back of your mind. just based on the little info on your fiances mom- diabetes alone can kill someone that doesnt scream lyme to me, but the rest might very well be lyme related. good luck
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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philly78
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 31069
posted
I asked the same thing when I was concerned about a family member. I did mention it and some of her sisters though I was nuts! They all said no way.
Well, looks like I was right! I finally got her to go and see someone and I went with her. You know what I found out while at the office visit? That she did have a positive lyme test about 15 years ago and was NEVER treated for it. So I was 1 for 1 in my thinking that someone else had lyme.
After being diagnosed with my own lyme, and reading up on things I started to wonder about my son. He has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. He had some problems when he was younger and I worked very hard for him to get where he is today. But I noticed he started having more problems this past year.
I decided to bring him to my LLMD on suspicions that he may have lyme as well. I go in tomorrow at 0845 to see what his test results were. I'll let you know what I find out.
A coworker of mine just tested positive as well. She heard me explaining my symptoms and decided to ask her doc. She was started on abx last week.
I live in an endemic area as well and know many people who have tested positive for and treated for or are currently treating their lyme.
Merrygirl is right, and I don't disagree with what she said. But like I said...I really do think that things are much worse with people being infected than I even thought at first. Jmo.
-------------------- When faced with pain you have two choices....either quit and accept the circumstances, OR make the decision to fight with all the resources you have at your disposal. Posts: 1000 | From PA | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
The mother in law thing may be a bit of a stretch, I agree, but AFAIK she was diagnosed with diabetes pretty late in life (in her 40's, I think) and her decline was pretty rapid. I don't think she ever had a Bb infection, but if it is sexually transmitted then she could have been infested and passed it on congenitally to my fiance and his brother (who then passed it sexually to my sister in law and myself, and so on).
Anyway, this is all purely speculative based on a wide array of research i have read regarding maternal/fetal and sexual transmission of borrelia.
I, too, think that the Bb problem is much larger than anyone is letting on, mainly because if people knew there was an antibiotic resistant bacteria that is VECTOR BORNE, sexually transmitted, congenital, and causes a vast array of virtually undiagnosable, chronic syndromes people would be (rightfully) FREAKED THE EFF OUT!
It's a major, major health crisis and our broken health care system can't do a darn thing to stop it.
Posts: 156 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2011
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
And nothing will change unless and until the powers that be stop living in denial and start opening their eyes to the reality that Lyme in a chronic/persistant active (or dormant/latent) form does exist and in fact does contribute to a large number of "incureable" diseases (it is estimated that Lyme can mimic the symptoms of over 300 diseases).
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
I think I have those same "glasses"! I have not even been officially DX'd with LD or started any treatment yet, but I'm 99.9% sure that is what I have.In the meantime (while trying to find a LLMD) I am looking at everybody around me with suspicion:
Hubby-in the last year had some weird blood test results, been complaining of being "tired", in pain, fevers and a few more that I can't remember at the moment.
P.S. I tend to put "tired" in quotes because I cannot stand that word. Tired just doesn't explain how I feel and I hate it when people say "oh, are you tired today?", "NO! I'm not freaking tired, I'm sick!" 14 yo daughter-cyclical migraines, fevers, "tired", mood swings, tendonitis in elbows, noise sensitive (since birth), photo sensitive, weird rashes (not EM) and hives and also more I can't think of. I have pulled several embedded ticks off her in the past, but docs said not to worry, you don't need to treat. And yes I also think most of her SX look like typical "raging hormone" stuff...
13 yo son- "tired", DX'd with Sensory Integration Dysfunction at 7 yo which is on the Autism Spectrum, but not Autistic, legs hurt, back hurts, chest pains, breathing probs, headaches, fevers, heavy sweater that smells like vinegar, and more I can't think of. Had EM 3 years ago, 10 days of amoxycilin (I think that's what they gave him), had the EM in the same spot almost a year later and docs told me it was impossible, no need to treat.
Dad-DX'd with Alzheimer's at 63 yo, but has many Lyme & Co SX, same with Mom, but not DX'd with Alzheimer's yet, she also has rage issues
There are so many others, but I feel I have already gone on long enough. If it is passed on through generations, somebody, somewhere needs to figure it out and the government needs to step up and stop looking at the money aspect of it all and backing those Dr.s/researchers that are doing the same.
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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posted
might be lyme or it might not, but if you live in an endemic lyme area it is foolish not to look into it
-------------------- LSG Scott Posts: 513 | From Boston, Cape Cod, Mass | Registered: Aug 2009
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payne
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 26248
posted
since i have been dx'd with lyme... family and many others now seem to be blooming out with all kinds of health issues that their doctors can't diagnose... the uncurables..
try to think of just one person that don't have some kind of health issue..
bloodpressure, and knees, gallbladder and gerd with vision problems or diabetes are all around me... are doctors getting anything other than take this pill for years and we'll see... who's got years to give towards the wait and see game... pretty sad.
-------------------- TULAREMIA/rabbit fever ? Posts: 1931 | From mid-michigan | Registered: Jun 2010
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quote:Originally posted by mom2kids: Had EM 3 years ago, 10 days of amoxycilin (I think that's what they gave him), had the EM in the same spot almost a year later and docs told me it was impossible, no need to treat.
- we've had patients here whose EM rashes showed up years later during treatment .. in some cases for the first time ever .. in some cases it re-emerged.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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payne
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 26248
posted
mom2kids.. prayers and strenght to you and your family.
-------------------- TULAREMIA/rabbit fever ? Posts: 1931 | From mid-michigan | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
mom2kids, that is all very suspect if you ask me (wearing my lyme colored glasses, of course!). I think the lyme "epidemic" has a further reach than any of us will ever know. This is probably the reason "they" don't recommend being tested for Lyme if you don't have symptoms, particularly in endemic areas, because I think many, if not most, of the people would test positive for exposure to Bb (not necessarily "infection", but "infestation"). Same concept as the staph carriers. They're colonized with the bacteria but it doesn't make them sick, for whatever reason.
When I talk about my "arthritis", I use quotation marks, too. "Arthritis", my butt! How many people have arthritis and cure it with antibiotics, I wonder? LOL
Posts: 156 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2011
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