Lyme disease-- Problem in the Okanagan?

[whirlwind]

I am just wondering if anyone has any information on Lyme Disease. It is caused by wood ticks and i know many people who are having a very difficult time getting treatment. I understand that the government and mainstream science do not recognize this disease in Canada. I also have a friend in Germany who is fighting this disease and in Germany there is much more information.
Anybody with info to share?

[Liquidnails]

It is completely false to say that mainstream science and government do not recognize lyme disease. In fact, Canada has a 3 year action plan on Lyme disease that began in March.

Here is some information on Lyme Disease from Canada's public heath agency.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/lyme-eng.php

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/phn-asp/2013 ... 30-eng.php

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/lyme-plan-eng.php

For additional information, I would suggest typing "Lyme Disease" in the search box at http://www.google.com

[JLives]

My partner's aunt was long believed to have MS. Something wasn't adding up and after test after test if was discovered to be Lyme disease. It is a horrible disease.

[WeatherWoman]

I know some one on the Island who finally had to head to the States for treatment because Dr's didn't want to recognize that her 8 year old daughter had Lyme disease.

[StraitTalk]

I know some one on the Island who finally had to head to the States for treatment because Dr's didn't want to recognize that her 8 year old daughter had Lyme disease.

A friend of mine had the same problem. She deals with a doctor out of California primarily now, and can only be admitted to one hospital because the others refuse to accept and accordingly treat her symptoms. (She is not in this province.)

[Lizard]

I am just wondering if anyone has any information on Lyme Disease. It is caused by wood ticks and i know many people who are having a very difficult time getting treatment. I understand that the government and mainstream science do not recognize this disease in Canada. I also have a friend in Germany who is fighting this disease and in Germany there is much more information.
Anybody with info to share?

First, Lyme disease is not caused by the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, it is transmitted by the Black Legged Tick, commonly known as a Deer Tick, and yes it is known to occur in BC, mainly on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and along the mainland coast.

Second, Lyme disease is recognized in Canada, however depending on the stage of the disease, diagnosis is often complicated and can be mis-diagnosed as MS, or other nervous system disorders.

Third, the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, which is very prevalent in the Okanagan, can carry and transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and tularemia, both rare in Canada, however in BC they do cause a disease called Tick Paralysis in humans and animals.

Chances of infection from a tick bite are diminished if the tick is found and removed within the first 24 hours.

[whirlwind]

It is completely false to say that mainstream science and government do not recognize lyme disease. In fact, Canada has a 3 year action plan on Lyme disease that began in March.

Here is some information on Lyme Disease from Canada's public heath agency.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/lyme-eng.php

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/phn-asp/2013 ... 30-eng.php

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/lyme-plan-eng.php

For additional information, I would suggest typing "Lyme Disease" in the search box at http://www.google.com

My friend has been sick for 3 years and was finally diagnosed via California. She could not find help in Canada. She has found a doctor in Vernon that stated that he has treated many people from the West Kelowna area. I did read in one of the articles that they believe climate change is a factor in the spread of these ticks.
The Government has just begun this three year action plan and if you read it they are very unsure as to how to treat it. Germany has been dealing with it for a long time and has far more knowledge about this disease than here in Canada. The question is how many patients have been misdiagnosed in Canada? How long will it take our medical system to acknowledge this debilitating disease and be able to diagnose and treat it? I know far too many that have it and I know of one young woman that died from it.

[Sallysnaps]

I am just wondering if anyone has any information on Lyme Disease. It is caused by wood ticks and i know many people who are having a very difficult time getting treatment. I understand that the government and mainstream science do not recognize this disease in Canada. I also have a friend in Germany who is fighting this disease and in Germany there is much more information.
Anybody with info to share?

I'd like to contribute. I was bit on the head by a tick at age 7 (1987), this was hiking in the hills around Kelowna. Years of odd symptoms passed undiagnosed. All of my symptoms were passed off as other common ailments. Bless my parents, they watched for Rocky mountain spotted fever but Lyme? Didn't exist there. Fast forward 25 years, I was lucky enough to be put in touch with an open minded doctor in Calgary where I now live, and thank goodness he was aware of Lyme. I tested positive through IGeneX in California which is thought to be the most reliable. They don't just test for antibodies but for the bacterial DNA itself. For the record I tested negative twice in Canada through the federal lab. After 4 months of strong antibiotics my brain is starting to clear, but the instant fatigue and joint pains remain prominent. The problem with Lyme is that the treatment causes a surge in symptoms and can make the person worse. I know I am improving but that it took 25 years to get this sick then it will take awhile to get better.

I went through many doctors in both Kelowna and Calgary, and was prescribed pills for depression and anxiety for my severe mood swings, was told my muscle pains were growing pains, was told my joint pain was caused by depression, was told my migraines were normal, that my muscle cramps were normal, my stinging nerves were normal, my excessive sweating was normal, my quick exhaustion normal, my dizziness normal, my slurred speech, gastro-intestinal problems, attention difficulty, bladder problems, back pain, ear aches, sore throats, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, eye floaters, blurry vision, tinnitis, photosensitivity, tremors, numbness in limbs... then they're thinking I'm a hypochondriac and they are upset that I'm I'm refusing psychiatric drugs. No offense but they didn't work the first 10 times. Now here I find myself struggling to get better, thousands out pocket for a disease they have a vaccine for in Europe. My own family doctor refused to assist in my treatment because after consulting with an infectious disease Doctor here he was told the treatment I was on was not authorized, aka antibiotics longer than 2 weeks for an infection I've had for 25 years. Because of this I had to travel much farther to get treatment several times a week for 3 months, not to mention losing faith in my family doctor. Did I mention my sister also has Lyme? Lucky for her she lives in the eastern US where she was diagnosed. She too has been sick for many years since before she left Kelowna.

Health Canada can take their guidelines and wipe their *bleep* with it for all the good it's done me. Not to mention it's based on biased information from the CDC and IDSA (look up: Lyme related patent holders and their affiliates). Why do we, as Canadians with a public health care system continue to rely on information from a for profit health care system (USA) that's designed to keep people sick! In Germany they rule out Lyme before diagnosing MS, that's how similar they are, some researchers are convinced that they are the same disease (also ALS, Parkinsons, Fibromyalgia, and Alzheimers). Lyme has been around for thousands of years (see: Otezi the iceman), and is on all continents but Antarctica. It is spread by black legged ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, biting flies, sex and in utero. Yup, you can pass it to your kids.

The best place to start educating yourself is either the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) or Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation (CanLyme) which just happens to be in Westbank (coincidence?!?). If you think you or someone you know has Lyme (or a coinfection), be your own advocate and educate yourself because you'll be educating a lot of closed minded people along the way.

[Silverstarqueen]

Just because someone is diagnosed, and receives treatment, does not necessarily mean that tests were definitive in other words the doctor would have to "guess" correctly that it is Lyme). It sounds like this is where the glitch is in the system. If tests are run, finally, or repeatedly, and yet the tests aren't very helpful, the doctor has to presume the person has lyme based on symptoms and after other possibilities (such as Ms), are eliminated. This would all take time, even years. I also wonder how it is that "many" people could have received the diagnosis in an area where most of the ticks don't seem to carry the disease. I'm saying at least some of these people might have lyme, but the doctors are trying to work with these complex cases, and may be gps, not experts in a complex disease. They are not supposed to just "guess" that it might be Lyme, and possibly miss a dianosis of MS or some other disease. If there was a cut and dried test for diagnosis, I'm pretty sure the docs would be happy to use it. Perhaps some smart person should be looking at pets, and see how many have Lyme disease, to get an idea of how prevalent the diagnosis really is. And the ticks, so we know it's a certain type of deer tick, what percentage of ticks are testing positive for this disease?

[Silverstarqueen]

Incidentally the confirmed diagnosis rate in nearby areas like Washington, oregan state (although there are other states where it is much more prevalent) is about 2 people per million. So it does seem unlikely that there would be "many" cases in the Okanagan or even in all of B.C. Or the diagnosis is not coming up on tests. Also according to the CDC, a longer term of antibiotics does not have a better result overall than a regular course of antibiotics. so I wonder what magical treatment is curing folks in these California clinics. B.C. reports a total of 5 to 7 cases per year. Doesn't seem like it's rampant at this time.

[whirlwind]

Thanks Sallysnaps for your information. It is exactly what my friend is going through. Two of her three children are also being tested via California which is costly and ridiculous. This is a very big problem here in the Kelowna area, not 3 out a million, it's huge. I personally know of many who have it and have had no help within Canada, The cost to the individual or family is overwhelming. Where is our government medical system? Why can't the same test done in California be available here?
How many people with MS or other diseases have been misdiagnosed? Maybe that is the problem, the fear of lawsuits. Maybe that is why this disease is being kept under the radar.

[Fancy]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/hea ... e18232442/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ly ... -1.2656200

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/8-lyme-di ... -1.2666536

Recent articles - awareness is also on the rise.

Get help here:

http://canlyme.com/

[whirlwind]

This is posted on Castanet news.

Quadruplets all have Lyme Disease

A family of 10-year-old quadruplets in Kamloops, is dealing with more devastating news about the health of their children.

Two of the boys were diagnosed with Lyme disease earlier this year and now tests show the other boy and girl also have the disease.

Their mother, Deborah Hrychiw, says ever since Isaac and Judah were diagnosed after a holiday in the Shuwap region she wanted to get the expensive testing procedure done for her other two children.

Now her suspicions have been confirmed. with both Rose and Eli testing positive for the disease, although she says Eli's immune system has been able to fight off many of the symptoms.

Hrychiw says Rose will have to start the same intensive treatments that Isaac and Judah are getting at a clinic in Palm Harbor, Fla.

She says the boys are halfway through the treatment, and it's already showing results.


Right here in the Okanagan, I know of a a mom and two children diagnosed with Lyme and they have also had to seek testing and treatment outside of Canada. Why is our medical system not able to diagnose and treat this disease?

[Glacier]

I had two ticks on me last month, and my son had one. This is scary stuff; I will never go hiking on that trail again in the Spring.

[okcitizen]

Have you heard of Dr.Murakami? He is a doctor who lived in Hope, BC who specialized in Lyme Disease, but the College of Physicians, etc did not like his approach because he was drawing too much attention to the disease in Canada, so "encouraged" him to retire his practice. This article explains. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... e-1.774679

He now runs a Not for Profit Society for Lyme Disease and is available to talk to and assist if you anyone needs help. Read all about him on his website. It tells about how people are now being forced to go to California, etc for the same treatment he was once giving patients. http://www.murakamicentreforlyme.org/Ab ... rakami.htm

He helped a friends son years ago. She thought her son was dying of a brain tumour and nobody could help him. then she heard of this doctor and basically diagnosed her son herself, and the test showed he was positive for Lyme.