Lyme Disease Sexually Transmitted?

[arthunter]

I had late stage lyme disease and it was devastating ... I fought it for five years, at a time when very little was known about it, and got past it, but it wasn't easy ... I always thought that it was strange that my husband came down with it at the very same time ... what were the chances of that? ... this article might shed some light ...

https://www.wtfdailynews.co.uk/the-g...t-you-to-know/

[Shandi]

I'm curious about how you fought it. Many people could benefit from your experience.

I had late stage lyme disease and it was devastating ... I fought it for five years, at a time when very little was known about it, and got past it, but it wasn't easy ... I always thought that it was strange that my husband came down with it at the very same time ... what were the chances of that? ... this article might shed some light ...

https://www.wtfdailynews.co.uk/the-g...t-you-to-know/

[arthunter]

hmm ... the original link is no longer working ... here's another one ...

https://www.collective-evolution.com...t-you-to-know/

[Ronaldo]

A common transmitter of Lyme's disease is the tick. Two who live together, and walk in the same areas, should not be surprised if they both contract the disease. Regarding Sexual transmission a CDC posting states: "There is no credible scientific evidence that Lyme disease can be spread from person-to-person through sexual contact."Link: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/faq/

PS: Your link leads to a bogus site that wants you to believe that information is being covered up.

I had late stage lyme disease and it was devastating ... I fought it for five years, at a time when very little was known about it, and got past it, but it wasn't easy ... I always thought that it was strange that my husband came down with it at the very same time ... what were the chances of that? ... this article might shed some light ...

https://www.wtfdailynews.co.uk/the-g...t-you-to-know/

[arthunter]

I fought it by doing my own research ... I found the work of Dr. Burrascano to be most helpful .. he believed in very long term antibiotic treatment, which was not popular theory at the time ... I was on antibiotics off and on for five years ... I was lucky to have a close friend who was a surgeon who helped me ... I used large doses of amoxicillan because it was safe and recommended .. it was a struggle though .. I was constantly falling asleep and in great pain a lot of the time and at one point I thought that I was dying because I literally could only crawl to the bathroom ... at that point my cat wouldn't get off of my chest ... it was touching ... and my husband forced me to get dressed, put me in the car, and took me to see my best friends and our favorite restaurant ... I and my friends thought that he was crazy but it worked and I recovered ...

When I met Dr. Prehn he treated me with anti fungal medication because I had serious candida overgrowth from all of the antibiotics ... this is difficult to avoid .. for years after the antibiotics I stayed on Candex and avoided carbs and sugars to keep from reinfection with candida yeast ... another difficult challenge ... today I swim for forty minutes at a time and I'm quite healthy, so don't give up out there ...

What really hurt during this time was the fact that I was paying $400 a month to Kaiser for health insurance and they wouldn't treat it so all costs were out of pocket ... also Burrascano was under attack constantly ... it was insane ...

I'm curious about how you fought it. Many people could benefit from your experience.

[Ronaldo]

I'm glad to hear of your recovery from Lyme's Disease, and apparently that of your husband since you stated in the previous email that you both got Lyme's disease at the same time.
Did the CDC posting convince you that you did not contract the disease sexually as you questioned in your posting? And what's the story of the bogus UK link you provided about some supposed
coverup?

I fought it by doing my own research ... I found the work of Dr. Burrascano to be most helpful .. he believed in very long term antibiotic treatment, which was not popular theory at the time ... I was on antibiotics off and on for five years ...

[arthunter]

Actually, my husband ended up with heart problems and now uses a pace maker ... regarding the "bogus" link, that is your opinion sir ... you'll find the exact same info in the second link that I posted .. I suggest that you read it before you swallow whole all that the CDC states ... the CDC does not even recognize chronic lyme disease ... can I have a show of hands from those who have eliminated this disease in 30 days?

I'm glad to hear of your recovery from Lyme's Disease, ...

[Alex]

Actually, my husband ended up with heart problems and now uses a pace maker ... regarding the "bogus" link, that is your opinion sir ... you'll find the exact same info in the second link that I posted .. I suggest that you read it before you swallow whole all that the CDC states ... the CDC does not even recognize chronic lyme disease ... can I have a show of hands from those who have eliminated this disease in 30 days?

I have a friend who is a doctor and has a 24 year old daughter with a nightmarish extreme case of this and says he's tried everything traditional and alternative. I'm a bit confused about the subject since there seems be so many ranges of severity and symptoms between different people, other names for it like Creutzfeldt-Jacobs and that it's frequently called incurable, though I think I've heard of exceptions.

Are you saying you had a confirmed diagnosis of the specific Lyme bacteria... Wikipedia says "In North America, the only bacterium involved is Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto..." and a confirmed diagnosis of this bacteria subsequently being completely eliminated?

If not that bacteria, may I ask exactly what constituted your confirmed diagnosis and if it was symptoms only or what specific bug under a microscope led to the diagnosis? I think a lot of diagnosed people have tried amoxicillan/fungal treatment without success and I'm curious what the differences in your situation to my friend's might be.

Thank you.

[arthunter]

My husband was diagnosed by Palm Drive emergency room after he went in with Bell's Palsy or half of his face paralyzed ... an astute doctor there knew that Bell's Palsy was often associated with Lyme disease and tested him and it came back positive ... this was when we realized that we were dealing with Lyme disease after many, many years of recurring illness and progressively worsening health ... after two weeks of aggressive antibiotics his Bell's Palsy was gone ....

My diagnosis came from Dr. Prehn who explained to me that Rocky Mountain Labs was the only laboratory in the country who could diagnose this accurately ... I was quite ill at the time and I do not remember the criteria that they use but if you contact them they can probably tell you ... my test came back positive and Dr. Prehn agreed to accept me as a lyme patient ... Dr. Burrascano also recommended this laboratory ...

Lyme disease is a complex disease and I don't pretend to know everything about it ... I have heard that many co-infections can be present in addition to the lyme spirochete and perhaps this would explain various levels of severity ... my husband and I had the exact same symptoms and responded to treatment in exactly the same way ...

I have a friend who is a doctor ...

[Glia]

Just 'cuz the CDC says so, does not mean it is true... their track record is not exactly sterling. The CDC has been rightly described as "a cesspool of corruption."

Lyme's disease is caused by a spirochete, the same group of bacteria that includes the syphilis bacteria. Lyme's being an STD is a *possibility* as it is a blood-borne disease, and absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Along those lines... a few months ago an American doctor who contracted Ebola and survived was considered "cured" when the virus was not detectable in his blood. However, it was later found to be present in his eyes (causing serious damage) and body fluids other than blood, raising concerns about transmission as an STD.

I'm glad to hear of your recovery from Lyme's Disease, and apparently that of your husband since you stated in the previous email that you both got Lyme's disease at the same time.Did the CDC posting convince you that you did not contract the disease sexually as you questioned in your posting? And what's the story of the bogus UK link you provided about some supposed coverup?

[Ronaldo]

hmm ... the original link is no longer working ... here's another one ...

https://www.collective-evolution.com...t-you-to-know/

RationalWiki.org classifies Collective Evolution as a "clickbait" site. Their definition of clickbait:

"Clickbait refers to any sort of underhanded, style over substance tactic used by webpages to garner more page visits, often on social media websites. This can be accomplished a number of different ways, from posting emotionally pleasing but intellectually vacuous material, presenting an incomplete news article or video with a possibly deceptive title, …^"

[arthunter]

and there are plenty of people trying to discredit RationalWiki ....

This same story has been published on at least 12 different sites ... here take your pick ...

https://www.google.com/search?client...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Instead of trying to discredit my sources, perhaps you could do a bit of research on the content? ... perhaps that would be more helpful to the people suffering from this awful disease ...

RationalWiki.org classifies Collective Evolution as a "clickbait" site...

[Ronaldo]

I "swallowed" nothing from the CDC, I only quoted their statement regarding the sexual transmission of Lyme's disease. That it is not transmitted in the manner you suggest. I am not attempting to refute or contradict your experiences or other opinions about the disease. I simply answered the question that is the title of your post.

Actually, my husband ended up with heart problems and now uses a pace maker ... regarding the "bogus" link, that is your opinion sir ... you'll find the exact same info in the second link that I posted .. I suggest that you read it before you swallow whole all that the CDC states ... the CDC does not even recognize chronic lyme disease ... can I have a show of hands from those who have eliminated this disease in 30 days?

[Ronaldo]

The CDC said was that there is no credible scientific evidence that Lyme's disease is transmitted sexually. Further they said:

"The following are some of the false arguments put forth to suggest sexual transmission: Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum (the cause of syphilis) are both spirochetes (cork screw shaped bacteria). Therefore, B. burgdorferi can be transmitted like syphilis. Not true. Although B. burgdorferi and T. pallidum are both spirochetes, they are not closely related. More importantly, they behave very differently within humans in ways that affect their potential for sexual transmission. T. pallidum spirochetes produce moist, superficial skin lesions (e.g., chancres on the genital, anal or oral mucosa) that contain enormous numbers of living spirochetes and are crucial to transmission by sexual contact. In contrast, B. burgdorferi spirochetes cannot survive on the surface of the skin or genital mucosa. They are present only in sparse numbers and only in the deep inner layers of the skin. Whereas syphilis spirochetes can penetrate the skin directly, Lyme disease spirochetes require a highly ordered metabolic process associated with feeding by certain species of ticks."

Just 'cuz the CDC says so, does not mean it is true...

[arthunter]

Thank you ...

Here is the scientific research about this ... https://f1000research.com/articles/3-309/v1

The CDC said was that there is no credible scientific evidence that Lyme's disease is transmitted sexually. ...

[occihoff]

Question: how soon after the initial symptoms did you get diagnosed, and when did treatment start? Immediate treatment is said to be very effective, but once the bacteria have had time to migrate into low oxygen areas like connective tissue and nerve tissue, treatment is much less likely to be effective.

I got the first symptoms of what turned out to be Lyme disease (not "Lyme's," Ronoldo) 36 years ago: hugely swollen knee that subsided within a week or so, then similar symptoms with other joints. That turned out to be the same year that Burgdorfer discovered the pathogen, and neither I nor the rheumatologist that my doctor sent me to had even heard of Lyme disease. It was only about five years later that I was tested and came out somewhat positive.

The standard two week antibiotic treatment proved ineffective. Later, at Kaiser, I was given months of antibiotic treatment without results. Doubt was shed as to whether I really had Lyme disease. Only years later fluid from a hugely swollen knee that had appeared during treatment for Hep C (thankfully effective!) was submitted to the polymerase chain reaction test, and DNA from Borrelia was indeed detected.

I'm glad to hear that some people who were diagnosed and treated late seem to have been cured. Sadly, I am not one of them, but my symptoms are not so severe that I am unable to pursue an active life.

[Ronaldo]

Saying "could be transmitted" is very different than the CDC statement published later stating unequivocally: "there is no credible evidence that Lyme Disease is transmitted sexually." Note that The CDC quote above is from Oct.7, 2015

Your link is from Dec. 18, 2014 and a later publication of the same material published on April 27, 2015 has been amended with: " Further studies are needed to evaluate this hypothesis."

FYI: Hypothesis: a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

I suggest hold your horses, and if your really worried, refrain from sexual activities in areas where ticks abound!

Here is the scientific research about this ... https://f1000research.com/articles/3-309/v1

[arthunter]

I experienced my first symptoms when I was 28 years old and I was finally diagnosed at age 35 ... the progression of the disease was very slow at first with only minor nervous system abnormalities which were puzzling but not crippling ... as time went on things got much worse until both my husband and I could barely function ...

I was the first to notice something wrong with swelling knees, slight tremors, anxiety, sensitivity to touch, irritability, and insomnia ... his symptoms didn't develop right away but when they did, with a few exceptions, they mirrored mine ... we both had recurring flu like systems in regular monthly cycles ... it was strange, to say the least ... we were both falling asleep at 4pm most days .... the fatigue was overwhelming and I had a business at the time with eight workers and seventy regular customers to take care of ... I was having awful nightmares and my husband was turning into a skeleton ... we were going around our neighborhood asking neighbors if they were sick, we thought that it was the water ... one of my customers was very religious and promised to pray for me when she took a good look at me ... I lost it and cried all the way home ....

We both responded very quickly to antibiotics but it didn't last very long ... we'd feel better, get off antibiotics, and then go down again ... I spent most of my time doing research on the internet, which was new to me since I had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the computer revolution ( believe it or not ) ... health concerns took over and I was like a sponge absorbing information ... it was a frightening time ...

Burrascano thought that the lyme spirochete was able to shield itself against antibiotics by forming a cyst around itself and lying dormant for a time ... it was also theorized that it could bury itself into deep tissue and joints, thus evading eradication ... this would explain a lot ...

I just made up my mind that the bug was not going to win and it didn't in my case ... five years on antibiotics is a very long time, but it worked ... btw, candida overgrowth has a lot of the same symptoms so do some research on this ...

I wish you the best ... do your own research and stay positive ....

Question: how soon after the initial symptoms did you get diagnosed, and when did treatment start? ...

[arthunter]

I agree with your points here ... there is a suspicion that this disease is sexually transmitted but the argument has not been resolved ... still, there's enough supporting data to justify further studies .... I am against blanket statements by the CDC which state that this couldn't possibly be true ... why aren't they the first ones to be doing more research?

When I had lyme disease there were a few doctors commenting publicly on the number of couples who were coming in infected ... one doesn't hear those stories anymore ... I do wonder why ....

Saying "could be transmitted" is very different than the CDC statement published later stating unequivocally: "there is no credible evidence that Lyme Disease is transmitted sexually."...

[pamelaL]

Having so-called "Lyme" myself for decades (and being an RN) I can vouch for the importance of getting to someone who does muscle testing WELL (like Dr. Rowen in Santa Rosa, or some biological dentist that does that) and making SURE you do not have a problem with a tooth. Root canals notoriously drag down the immune system and yet often do not give any local symptom.

For me, once my totally asymptomatic, very well done root canal was out, within six months I was stronger and could feel it. I have also seen people walked down the path to cancer because of toxic teeth. YET, our insurance corporations separate dental insurance from health insurance! Why? Our mouth and dental health are central to our general health.

Pamela

[arthunter]

I found this on the internet today ... I have NOT researched this treatment protocol so please do your own research before buying this ... I will say that a friend of mine who has lyme has recommended glutathione as being helpful ... strangely enough she is also one of the main protesters in the county against smart meters and suffers from em sensitivity ...

One question that I didn't answer ... how did I know that I was cured of lyme? ... twenty years without symptoms ...

https://www.resultsrna.com/ultimate-...upport-system/

[arthunter]

a bit of lyme progress for those suffering ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...rventions.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/h...a-mayonii.html

[arthunter]

more lyme news ...

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...-tick-science/

[Ronaldo]

Below is a private response I received regarding the National Geographic article.

"The Lyme article is a mixed bag. Lots of accurate info but some not so well presented half truths too. A small percentage of individuals who have Lyme Disease have symptoms that persist more than six months after what is known to be successful therapy. This runs about 5% or less. The symptoms they describe are often fatigue, fogginess, trouble finding words. There is absolutely no evidence that these folks have persistent infection = no evidence they still have living bacteria somewhere in their bodies. We have good studies showing that these folks do not benefit from more or prolonged antibiotic therapy. However, a giant industry has developed around treatment of these folks or others who never had Lyme Disease but who have unexplained symptoms and are told they have Lyme Disease. There are unscrupulous doctors and laboratories that prey on these folks. I can tell you a lot of stories. (my highlighting, Ronaldo)
It is of some interest that the Lyme bacteria has been found in semen and vaginal secretions, but there really is no evidence of sexual transmission of this disease, at least not yet."

[occihoff]

A small percentage of individuals who have Lyme Disease have symptoms that persist more than six months after what is known to be successful therapy.

My problem with that statement is the word "known." How does anyone know that therapy has been successful? Becoming symptom free for 20 years like Arthunter is great evidence, but if symptoms persist how can you know that therapy has nonetheless been "successful?" As far as I know the polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) is the only definitive one, because it alone can detect the actual DNA of the borrelia spirochetes. But this test requires a good tissue sample. My first test, under the care of Dr. Prehn, was declared "equivocal." It was only years later that I got a clear positive, when the sample tested was fluid from my hugely swollen knee, which had flared up during chemotherapy for hepatitis C. The temporary collapse of my immune system caused by the chemotherapy had evidently led to a dramatic recrudescence of borrelia activity, which could then show up clearly on the test. Until then I had encountered frequent doubt from doctors who administered unsuccessful antibiotic treatment, and who believed that if I really had Lyme disease I would have been cured. This in spite of the fact that my initial symptoms--acute and extreme flareup of joint swellings, starting in that knee--were classic.

It must be remembered too that antibiotic treatment is decreasingly effective the longer it is administered after initial infection. Since my initial symptoms occurred about 36 years ago, before my doctors and I had even heard of Lyme disease, I was not diagnosed and treated until five years later. Too late! Now I anxiously await new developments in the treatment of chronic Lyme disease...

Below is a private response I received regarding the National Geographic article...."

[arthunter]

To those still suffering from Lyme, I keep seeing this article ... Don't know if it's true so do your own research ...

Study shows Stevia Kills Lyme Disease Pathogen Better Than Antibiotics

Also, I'm wondering if anyone knows the whereabouts of Dr. Prehn. I need my medical records for a lawsuit coming up ( not against Prehn or other local entities ). Thanks!