Saturday, November 1, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
About Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease is a very difficult disease to diagnose and treat. Many patients go years and years consulting many physicians only to be diagnosed with the "catch all" disease such as MS, MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities), CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Fibromyalgia and some, like myself go from doctor to doctor receiving no diagnosis for such unusual and hindering symptoms. The test for Lyme Disease is a test that measure the antibodies that your body has developed as a result of it invading your system. However, the test can produce many false positives and false negatives and has a low percentage of accuracy allowing most physicians to ignore the results and dismiss the patients inquiry. That is why if Lyme Disease is suspected (either you were bit by a tick and got a bulls-eye rash or your symptoms match up) it is best to visit a LLMD or otherwise known as a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor. These doctors are experts in their field in diagnosing and treating Lyme Disease patients.
Another reason to be seen by a LLMD is most often they do not follow the rigid diagnosis and treatment guidelines of IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America). These guidelines state that "chronic Lyme" does not exist and if you do have Lyme according to CDC standards (positive ELISA and Western Blot) then a short 28 day treatment with antibiotics should suffice. This short treatment leaves many Lyme Disease patients extremely ill and allows the bacteria to stay in their body reaping havoc on all body systems.
Most often Lyme Disease takes root in the brain and nervous system causing the patients extreme pain, seizures, cognitive issues, heart arrhythmia's and the list goes on and on. Lyme Disease can also take root in your joints causing what is known as "Lyme Arthritis". LLMD's are skilled in identifying the symptoms and developing a long-term treatment plan that most often consists of drugs to calm the brain and nervous system and to help control pain, high doses of antibiotics (IV or Oral or both) and supplements. Once a patient starts their treatment program, especially the large doses of antibiotics, a Lyme Disease patient will most likely experience a reaction called a Herx as a result of the Lyme bacteria releasing endotoxins. This reaction can cause extreme pain (muscle/joint/bone/nerve), horrible headaches, chills, fever, reduced cognitive function and an increase in overall Lyme symptoms. Although the treatment is difficult, a "Herx-like" reaction is a good sign the medication is working!
The documentary "Under our Skin", the video I have posted below, gives you a taste of what is going on in our society with the Lyme Disease controversy. Insurances refuse to cover the long-term treatment because of the cost. Meanwhile, thousands of Lyme Disease patients are suffering and are not able to get treatment or having to pay close to 25,000 out of their own pocket to get well. The IDSA set-up a protocol on how to treat Lyme when diagnosed, which has been repeatedly study by Lyme physicians and has shown to be very ineffective, often leaving the Lyme patient seriously ill. However, politics and money have invaded this disease and therefore insurances refuse to pay for treatment. Doctors are afraid to say they treat Lyme disease for fear that insurances won't cover their claims and most physicians just plain refuse to treat long-term out of fear of losing their license.
Note: To watch these videos, you will need to scroll down to the bottom of this blog post and push pause on the music player so they don't play at the same time. :)
Also, I wanted to re-post the video that I added to my other post as it is an awesome picture of what Lyme Disease patients must endure and what their treating physicians must confront. This is a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor), Dr. Joseph Jemsek, at a Lyme Disease Gala this past spring. He talks about the disease, the impact it has on society and patients and our current failing health system.
Finally, here are some incredible links about Lyme Disease if you would like more information.
ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Disease Society)
National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association
California Lyme Disease Association
Lyme Information
Under Our Skin Documentary Blog
Public Health Alert: Investigating Lyme Disease and Chronic Illnesses in the U.S.
Dr. Joseph J. Burrascano Jr. Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines
Dr. Joseph Jemsek-My LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor)!
Another reason to be seen by a LLMD is most often they do not follow the rigid diagnosis and treatment guidelines of IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America). These guidelines state that "chronic Lyme" does not exist and if you do have Lyme according to CDC standards (positive ELISA and Western Blot) then a short 28 day treatment with antibiotics should suffice. This short treatment leaves many Lyme Disease patients extremely ill and allows the bacteria to stay in their body reaping havoc on all body systems.
Most often Lyme Disease takes root in the brain and nervous system causing the patients extreme pain, seizures, cognitive issues, heart arrhythmia's and the list goes on and on. Lyme Disease can also take root in your joints causing what is known as "Lyme Arthritis". LLMD's are skilled in identifying the symptoms and developing a long-term treatment plan that most often consists of drugs to calm the brain and nervous system and to help control pain, high doses of antibiotics (IV or Oral or both) and supplements. Once a patient starts their treatment program, especially the large doses of antibiotics, a Lyme Disease patient will most likely experience a reaction called a Herx as a result of the Lyme bacteria releasing endotoxins. This reaction can cause extreme pain (muscle/joint/bone/nerve), horrible headaches, chills, fever, reduced cognitive function and an increase in overall Lyme symptoms. Although the treatment is difficult, a "Herx-like" reaction is a good sign the medication is working!
The documentary "Under our Skin", the video I have posted below, gives you a taste of what is going on in our society with the Lyme Disease controversy. Insurances refuse to cover the long-term treatment because of the cost. Meanwhile, thousands of Lyme Disease patients are suffering and are not able to get treatment or having to pay close to 25,000 out of their own pocket to get well. The IDSA set-up a protocol on how to treat Lyme when diagnosed, which has been repeatedly study by Lyme physicians and has shown to be very ineffective, often leaving the Lyme patient seriously ill. However, politics and money have invaded this disease and therefore insurances refuse to pay for treatment. Doctors are afraid to say they treat Lyme disease for fear that insurances won't cover their claims and most physicians just plain refuse to treat long-term out of fear of losing their license.
Note: To watch these videos, you will need to scroll down to the bottom of this blog post and push pause on the music player so they don't play at the same time. :)
Also, I wanted to re-post the video that I added to my other post as it is an awesome picture of what Lyme Disease patients must endure and what their treating physicians must confront. This is a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor), Dr. Joseph Jemsek, at a Lyme Disease Gala this past spring. He talks about the disease, the impact it has on society and patients and our current failing health system.
Finally, here are some incredible links about Lyme Disease if you would like more information.
ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Disease Society)
National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association
California Lyme Disease Association
Lyme Information
Under Our Skin Documentary Blog
Public Health Alert: Investigating Lyme Disease and Chronic Illnesses in the U.S.
Dr. Joseph J. Burrascano Jr. Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines
Dr. Joseph Jemsek-My LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor)!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
One crazy week! A Blessing yet another opportunity to trust!
The last two weeks in April were quite a blur. As you know from our post before, we were going to start looking for a rental house at the beginning of April. We had a specific area in mind, outside of the city limits about 10miles in a small newer area called Oro Valley on the Northwest side in Tucson. We were looking for a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house and it had to have some very specific qualities because of my health. We needed it to have never have had a cat lived in it, not had recent re-modeling/construction because of my allergies, and be less than 10 years old but not newer than 3 years etc. That is just the start and you can see the needs were pretty specific. Of course, we had our wants too, in fact, the development that we really wanted to live in was Black Horse Ranch, however that was just a wish not a need.Well, on the third week in April, I (Dawn) was checking the MLS list and saw that there was a house for rent in the Black Horse Development, 4 years old and had not been lived in for 2 years. We called to inquire and sure enough, no previous cat owner either. We went and looked at the house and it was beautiful, 1955 square feet and the views are breathtaking. We put our application in and just left the house in the Lord's hands. We had heard there was another applicant too, so they would be choosing who would best be suited as renters. Something we had against us was that we are getting that puppy. Apparently the idea of a puppy in a newer house is not so appealing to landlords. The reaction I got when I informed them of the coming member of our family was less than enthusiastic.
So we waited and just prayed that the Lord would allow us to get the house if it was His will. As a side note, with how sensitive I am allergy-wise, it's always a step of faith as to if a new environment will bother me. In fact, even going into a house is a bit scary because there are so many what-if's because of the new environment. When we looked in the house
I was fine, however we were only in there for about 20 minutes. It's hard to make a judgement so that is why we gave it to God and asked him to clearly show us if this house was His will. On Friday, we received a call letting us know that they indeed had chosen us and asked us for a commitment. We were a bit gun-shy just with our previous past history, however God certainly made it clear that it was our house to have. The other applicant wanted the house so bad they offered to pay the owner $100.00 more a month than us. However, the owner still chose our application. It was evidently clear that God wanted us in that house. We were excited!!
I was fine, however we were only in there for about 20 minutes. It's hard to make a judgement so that is why we gave it to God and asked him to clearly show us if this house was His will. On Friday, we received a call letting us know that they indeed had chosen us and asked us for a commitment. We were a bit gun-shy just with our previous past history, however God certainly made it clear that it was our house to have. The other applicant wanted the house so bad they offered to pay the owner $100.00 more a month than us. However, the owner still chose our application. It was evidently clear that God wanted us in that house. We were excited!!Then comes the trusting part. Once we signed the lease, we went out to our new house and spent some time looking around and enjoying God's blessing. I started getting quite a bit of asthma when I was in the kitchen and our master bathroom. Crazy, crazy! We racked our brains to try to figure out what could be causing it and realized that all the cabinetry in the house is made out of particle board which has a very strong odor/chemical off-gas. In fact, particle board is known for causing allergic reactions because of the high levels of formaldehyde. Obviously from my reaction, I am very allergic to that stuff. So, once again we had a pretty large bump in the road. There were a lot of tears and prayers as to what we could do because there was no way we could get of the lease. Plus, we love this house and besides the cabinetry, it meets all of our needs and then some.
So, we do what we have learned to do best over the last 3 years. Pray, pray and pray and then start moving forward. Brian has taken all the shelving and drawers out of the cabinetry and is airing them out. We bought some plants (we found a article that NASA did on how spider plants actually soak up formaldehyde) and also have been airing out the house. We are going to try a couple other things we found on the internet on how to lessen the off-gas of the cabinetry in the next couple of weeks. However, every step will take hours of work and unfortunately because I react to it so easily, I can't help lighten the load. It once again, all falls on Brian. To be honest, he was pretty overwhelmed at having to tackle this all at the same time as trying to finish college classes, and work two jobs. We were just praying that God would move in some way. Then, today we 
got a call from my parents and they said they are going to come down to AZ this Saturday and do all of the cleaning etc. for us. We were SO overwhelmed by that gift. It was the blessing we needed and it came at the perfect time! Thanks so much Mom and Dad!!!
got a call from my parents and they said they are going to come down to AZ this Saturday and do all of the cleaning etc. for us. We were SO overwhelmed by that gift. It was the blessing we needed and it came at the perfect time! Thanks so much Mom and Dad!!!So, that is our crazy week. It has been filled with ups and downs/highs and lows which we are slowly beginning to see that this might be our life. lol! God never said the christian life would be a smooth road, however we do have the guarantee that He will be with us in every step we take. The last 3 years have been very challenging spiritually if we have to be quite honest. We wrestle with how much time we have spent asking God for physical healing and it seems we are still having to wait for that answer. We struggle with not being able to attend church and have christian fellowship while wondering how long and if permanently God will leave us in this situation that is so restricted and lonely. However, at the end of asking all those questions, we come to the same conclusion and that is what we reside on. God is God and He is sovereign. We have to trust that His perfect will includes this continuing trial. Even though we are so ready to be done and hope that the end will come soon, we would rather be in the center of God's will walking a difficult road than be estranged from our Heavenly Father.
So once again, we are on the race of endurance. We are fixing our eyes on Jesus and asking Him to sustain us knowing that even if our life continues down the path we are right now, we have the promise of Heaven and it's perfectness as Isaiah 35 so wonderfully describes it. Praise Jesus this is not our home.
Please be praying that the cleaning method will work on this house and that God would do a miracle and that I would not react any longer. We have no way out except for God to work, but there is no other place we would rather be. Blessings to you all!
P.S. Here are some pics of our new house. It is beautiful and every time we are in it, even with the asthma, we are thankful for God's gifts.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
About Us
On June 7, 2003, we had a beautiful wedding. Before our friends and family, we committed our lives that day to serve Jesus, each other and others in sickness and in health until death do us part. Hebrews 12:1 & 2 was what our wedding message was based on.
We had to add a couple of pictures of another member of our family who was born July 14th, 2008. No, he is not a child, but definitely acts like one. lol His name is TobyMac (yes we did name him after the Christian artist) and he is a Cavachon which is part Bichon Frize and part Cavalier Spaniel (kind of like a Cocker Spaniel). He certainly keeps us entertained as he thinks he can talk and has a hyper mode we call the "White Bullet" (that is where he zooms around our apartment at top speed for a couple of minutes). He has brought a lot of joy and laughter to our house even though we seem to be missing socks quite often.
Above is a picture of Toby when he was 3 months old. To the right is a picture of Toby at about 9 months. This is pretty much what he looks like today except when we decide he needs a haircut and in error make his head look flat on top. LOL As you can see from the picture, he is definitely a happy puppy!
(Left) This was a picture of our wedding party! It was SO wonderful to be with our friends and family on that special day!
(Right) This was my favorite picture of the day. I think I was telling him I was going to smear cake all over his face. :0)
We knew our life would be a race to that finish line, but as is evidenced by our last five years, the "in sickness" has brought our journey on roads that we could have never imagined. However, through it all, we have grown in areas that we never thought possible. We are so thankful for the Lord's provision and believe with all of our hearts that his plan is for our good. We are ready and willing to go wherever He will take us. May our hearts be prepared to accept his glorious plan!
Here is a video about our journey of my Lyme Disease diagnosis and also the journey of so many of my friends. I did this project as a graduate project and also to help raise awareness. It is a devestating disease that impacts people on so many levels. Knowledge is the key to prevention! You will have to push pause on my music player on the bottom of this page since this video is set to music.
We had to add a couple of pictures of another member of our family who was born July 14th, 2008. No, he is not a child, but definitely acts like one. lol His name is TobyMac (yes we did name him after the Christian artist) and he is a Cavachon which is part Bichon Frize and part Cavalier Spaniel (kind of like a Cocker Spaniel). He certainly keeps us entertained as he thinks he can talk and has a hyper mode we call the "White Bullet" (that is where he zooms around our apartment at top speed for a couple of minutes). He has brought a lot of joy and laughter to our house even though we seem to be missing socks quite often.
Above is a picture of Toby when he was 3 months old. To the right is a picture of Toby at about 9 months. This is pretty much what he looks like today except when we decide he needs a haircut and in error make his head look flat on top. LOL As you can see from the picture, he is definitely a happy puppy!
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