I have a paper due at school and would like to poll anyone who would agree. The topic is neuroborreolis. I am researching the cognitive and psychological affects of neurologic Lyme disease. Please anyone who wants to answer these privately maybe you can private message me the results. Otherwise I will use your aliases on lymenet as your name if neccesary in my documentation.
If you find this ok,I hope some of you will help me out. I will post the paper on here when I am dome with it tommorow. Nothing like some last minute polling huh?...
Ok, Here goes...
1. Do you have difficulty paying attention and/or keeping focused for an extended period of time? yes or no
2. Are you moody and/or irritable? yes or no
3. Do you have difficulty with verbal fluency, word block? yes or no
4. Conceptual problems? yes or no
5. Spatial difficulties? yes or no
6. Disorientation? yes or no
7. Alzhiemers like symptoms? yes or no
8. Memory problems? yes or no
9. Confusion? yes or no
10. Getting lost, going to the wrong places? yes or no
11. Difficulty paying attention to reading? yes or no
12. blurting out, uncontrolled outburts? yes or no
13. episodes of rage? yes or no
Thanks so much you guys I appreciate it so much!!!
peace and healing daniella
-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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Andie333
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Daniella, Yes for me for all of them except 12 and 13.
Good luck on your paper
Andie
Posts: 2549 | From never never land | Registered: May 2005
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-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Before treatment it was yes to all except 12 and 13 ... though I sometimes have trouble not interrupting people even now. I blame it on impulsiveness and because I feel the need to respond to someone before I forget what I wanted to say! So maybe a yes to #12 too!
I've never had uncontrolled outbursts or rage. It's not in my nature.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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lymeHerx001
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posted
yes to all,,
i take it you have suffered too?
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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-------------------- Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will ~ Gandhi Posts: 562 | From Wellsville, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Daniella I hope I'm not to late to help you. Yes to all before treatment. All are much better now but still have some can't remember the number but I still have concentration difficulties when I am tired. Good luck and you know last minute is sometimes better Posts: 343 | From usa | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
great reply guys THANKS!!! I am putting it together tonight so YES I still have room for more replys if anyone wants to leave more....
Thank you all again....
-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
lymeherx, yes I have suffered and suffer daily. I have had lyme undiagnosed for about 18 years before treatment. I was mistreated with steriods for 5 years and finally was diagnosed with lyme...
I am not an outsider doing this survey or writing about it ...
daniella
-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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I must first say that I no longer have these symptoms. However my husband and I both had all of these symptoms.
Hope this helps
Julia
-------------------- Please consult your LLMD before making any changes to your treatment regimen. Posts: 641 | From NJ, USA | Registered: Oct 2001
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Michelle M
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Member # 7200
posted
Good luck with your project!
Yes to all except #12 and #13.
Michelle
Posts: 3193 | From Northern California | Registered: Apr 2005
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trueblue
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Member # 7348
posted
Hi daniella,
Yes to all in varying degrees except 7 and 12.
(Ok, sometimes I do blurt like TuTu, because I'm afraid I'll forget but it's not uncontrolled.)
As for 13, the rage thing is new to me and fairly minor but it surprised the crap out of me, it's not in my nature either.
Heh, you forgot to ask: Do you tend to go on and on when asked a simple question?
Good Luck with the paper!
-------------------- more light, more love more truth and more innovation Posts: 3783 | From somewhere other than here | Registered: May 2005
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mlkeen
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posted
yes, to all except 6,7,12. I felt like I lost about 50 IQ points, just plain stupid.
NO to number 10 and yes to everything else. I thought I was crazy until I read about neuro lyme. Posts: 460 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I wrote this for a class and wanted to share it with you guys... daniella
An Assessment of Learning Disorders Associated with Lyme Disease
Abstract I am going to show how Lyme disease can be a learning disorder. There has not been substantial research done on the cognitive affects of school age children infected with Lyme disease. But there is enough data to compile an interesting assessment of the cognitive implications Lyme disease has on its school age victims. With that said it is important to know that Lyme disease is a new emerging infectious disease. Although data is limited, medical science is changing daily and new information is consistently available. With the data I have gathered through reading articles, talking with and polling patients. I will show the nuances of how learning disabilities might manifest themselves in young students that have been diagnosed with Lyme. Although antibiotic treatment does help with the some of cognitive symptoms allowances need to be made for the associated learning disabilities caused by the course of disease. Lyme's neurological ramifications liken that of Diffuse Brain Injury, and should be seriously considered as a major neurological block resulting in various learning disabilities in the affected student.
An Assessment of Learning Disorders Associated with Lyme Disease When most people hear the words Lyme disease they think of a primarily arthritic disease easily cured by 2 weeks of antibiotics. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Evident in these quotes from Lyme Disease Association President Pat Smith, `` Lyme disease can attack all the major systems in the body from musculo-skeletal to arthritic, neurologic, psychiatric, ophthalmologic to cardiac(Smith).'' ``Antibiotics appear to control, but do not necessarily eradicate infection(Smith).'' Pat Smith also goes on to inform us of the risk of developing long term disease shown in this quote, ``10-15% of individuals who acquire Lyme develop chronic disease,(Smith)''I am going to address not just these chronic cases with central nervous system involvement but also the infections that are solely neurologic or psychiatric in nature. Educators and children in our schools are dealing with this malady on a daily basis. Lyme disease is our newest learning disability. Children diagnosed with Neuroborreolis or a Lyme disease infection of the brain may show signs and symptoms common in other learning disorders. On the mildly affected end the diagnosed child could have poor decision-making, problem solving, and a slower processing speed. But with a severely affected child they might get lost, have mental confusion, seizures, ADD, dyslexia, emotional outbursts or depression(Smith).
Below is a Checklist of the common cognitive impairments associated with Lyme disease provided by Marian Rissenberg, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist of ILADS,
Losses in fields of attention/executive functions such as inability to maintain divided or sustained attention, auditory and mental tracking and scanning, and memory retrieval can affect: - Memory functions (lost items, missed appointments, retold stories) - Language functions (halting speech, disrupted participation in conversation) - Visual/Spatial Processing (Inability to find things, tendency to get lost, disorganization, difficulty reading, especially for enjoyment) - Abstract reasoning (Poor problem-solving/decision making) - Slowed processing speed (Familiar tasks take longer, can't follow conversations well.
Children are affected academically and socially when infected with Lyme disease. Results from a study done by the CDC strengthens this point, ``78% of parents stated that their children experienced a fall in grade point average during the time of illness, 79% experienced a decrease in the number of friends(Smith para2).'' `` School performances of nearly all children fell, sometimes drastically, and in several instances was said to interfere with selection by colleges and universities(Smith para4).''
Dr. Mariah Rissenberg and Dr. Susan Chambers have performed patient studies on cognitive characteristics of Lyme disease. In these studies ``a distinct pattern of cognitive impairment occurring in chronic Lyme disease can be described.'' ``These patients consistently demonstrate deficits in directed, sustained and divided attention, planning and organization of responses, temporal ordering, verbal fluency, abstract reasoning, speed of processing and motor programming. The overall pattern of intellectual impairment is not unlike that seen with diffuse brain injury, and it most often results in some degree of [school]-related disability (Sherr & Solomon)'' Both Dr's Chambers and Rissenberg administered a battery of tests to affected school age patients. The test given were but not limited to the WAIS-R, WMS-R, Beck Depression Test, test for attention, reasoning, visuospatial processing, language, and complex motor function. The results of these tests showed student impairment in the range of 22%being intact, 63% being moderately impaired, and 14% being severely impaired (this included severe cases with Alzheimer's or dementia like symptoms). ``Of the 38 subjects with cognitive impairment, deficits of attention were most common, occurring in 26 subjects (68%), Deficits in memory storage were least common occurring in 8 subjects (21%). Motor, Verbal Fluency, Visuospatial, Language and Reasoning deficits occurred in 24,26,29,36 and 36% of the subjects respectively (Rissenberg & Chambers).''
Method All of the studies showed cognitive disabilities due to Lyme disease. My objective is to show the percentage of each disability attributed to Lyme and the effects it has on patients diagnosed with the disease. I surveyed 16 people with Lyme to get an idea of their cognitive and emotional disabilities. The sample consists of anonymous members online in a Lyme informative chat room. All people in this study have been diagnosed with Lyme. My Questionnaire follows:
The Questionnaire
1. Do you have difficulty paying attention and/or keeping focused for an extended period of time? yes or no
2. Are you moody and/or irritable? yes or no
3. Do you have difficulty with verbal fluency, word block? yes or no
4. Conceptual problems? yes or no
2. 5. Spatial difficulties? yes or no
6. Disorientation? yes or no
7. Alzheimer's like symptoms? yes or no
8. Memory problems? yes or no
9. Confusion? yes or no
10. Do you get lost, or go to the wrong places? yes or no
11. Difficulty paying attention to reading? yes or no
12. Blurting out, uncontrolled outbursts? yes or no
13. Episodes of rage? yes or no
The results of my Questionnaire are 100% for #2 being moody and irritable, 93% for #'s 1,3,4,5,8,9, and 11(these were mainly disabilities pertaining to learning disabilities such as fluency, concentration, conceptual problems, and memory problems), 87% for # 6 which is disorientation, 81% for # 10 which is getting lost, 75% for #7 Alzheimer's like symptoms, 68% for # 13 which is episodes of rage, and finally 43% for # 12 which is blurting out or uncontrolled emotional responses.
Discussion After gathering all of my research and presenting it in this fashion the need to identify Lyme disease special needs children early and get them into a an education setting appropriate for their needs is clear. Many children diagnosed with Lyme will need special help such as speech pathology, occupational therapy, special education classes. Where they will receive specialized treatment for their deficiencies listed earlier. To fully identify their needs the battery of tests run by Dr. Rissenburg and Dr. Chambers would be advisable. There are special Lyme Psychologist and Psychiatrists who now specialize in these needs and can often offer medication options. Even though these disabilities both emotional and cognitive are a result of active Lyme infection, they do need to be treated as long term disabilities. Medications such as Ritalin, antidepressants, and vitamins can help the resulting cognitive difficulties. Learning that Lyme is a serious brain disorder is ultimatly important for the well being of the student diagnosed with Lyme disease. Lyme disease is not the 2-week yuppie flu it was once thought to be. We must remember Neurological Lyme disease or Neuroborreliosis mimics Diffuse Brain Injury in term of cognitive deficits, and should always be taken seriously.
References Burrascano, J., (2002) Symptom Checklist. Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines for Lyme and other Tick Borne Illnesses, 2. Retrieved October 24, 2005, from http://www.lymenet.org/DrB-GuidelinesNov2002.doc Chambers, S., Rissenberg, M., (1998) Distinct Pattern of Cognitive Impairment in Study of Lyme Patients. The Lyme Times, 2. retrieved October 24, 2005, from http://www.angelfire.com/biz/romarkaraoke/Lymetim1.html Smith, P., (2003) Rhode Island School Nurses Association. Lyme Disease Association, 2. Retrieved October 24, 2005, from http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/Rhode Island_School_Nurses_Association.html Sherr V., Solomon, J., What Psychiatrists should know about Lyme Disease. International Lyme and Associated Disease society 1-2.Retrieved October 24, 2005, from http://www.ilads.org Smith, P., (2003) Rhode Island School Nurses Association. Lyme Disease Association, 2. Retrieved October 24, 2005, from http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/Rhode Island_School_Nurses_Association.html
-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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Areneli
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At present some of 1 and 11 (mild problem). In the past before treatment also 9 and 8.
Posts: 1538 | From Planet Earth | Registered: Jan 2005
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results of poll, thank you all who helped out!...
be well daniella
-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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yes to all for my son...I think the connection to autism and lyme needs to also be addressed..All symptoms you listed for neurolyme can be seen in autism also....My son, it is believed has this since early childhood, going back to symptoms discussed with LLMD. He is an adult now and just dx with lyme...It is also strongly believed that this is sexually transmitted as discussed in other posts here. My son's LLMD and Neuro LLMD believe that it can be sexually transmitted. My husband is positive but I am negative...
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