Know the facts about Lyme Disease

By Brandy Wilmot
Published: May 2, 2018

We live in an endemic region for Lyme disease according to Health Canada. The International Lyme and Associated Disease Society says that Endemic areas have closer to 50% of ticks carrying the disease. This differs substantially from the 1% that the suggested by the Center for Disease Control.

Ticks in the nymph stage can be as small as a period on this page. They also emit a chemical that numbs the area when they break the skin. According to the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation (Canlyme), current testing in Canada misses 62% of Lyme.

An Erythema Migans rash will show up in less than 50% of people. If you do get the rash, it is a guarantee you have Lyme disease. Lyme Disease should be a clinical diagnosis and it is commonly misdiagnosed as many other disease without known causes including MS, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Arthritis, Anxiety, and Lupus. There are over 100 symptoms of Lyme.

As time passes both treatment and diagnosis become more difficult. Symptoms worsen during each stage of infection, ranging from flu-like symptoms to neurological illnesses, including paralysis. The disease can stay dormant for months to years and surface after significant stress or major event to the body. This is important for people who were bitten and showed no initial symptoms.

The lack of appropriate testing has been acknowledged by Health Canada.  The Canadian Lyme Disease Association website recommends other labs that are all certified and accredited, run by PH.D’s who simply refuse to follow flawed testing protocol. Testing may include labs outside of Canada like Igenix (California) and Armin Labs (Germany) which need to be privately paid for and can be co-ordinated ideally by a Lyme Literate Doctor.

Canadians and tourists are at a significant disadvantage if they are infected in Canada or return infected from outside Canada. In our situation, we returned from South America where we were initially infected. We were referred to an Infectious Disease doctor who we assumed would help, but were shocked at the horrible treatment we received. I now sadly realize how common this is in Canada.

When I took my daughter to BC Children’s hospital, she tested CDC positive for Lyme and anaplasmosis. She was also symptomatic with chronic headaches, severe muscle pain in her legs, insomnia and Bowel issues. The Infectious Disease doctor told us that she doesn’t have Lyme, that it was a false positive and was refused treatment. She has repeatedly tested positive for Lyme in Canada, the United States and Germany. I begged them to help but they turned me away.

My daughter is dealing with symptoms which fluctuate and migrate regularly. She is now in active care with a Lyme Literate Naturalpath in BC and a Lyme Doctor in the U.S. The horrible fact for us is my entire family has Lyme which has already cost us over $90,000 to treat so far and we have a long road to putting it in remission. The public needs to know that many people with Lyme are not going to walk away from any GP or ID doctor with a Lyme diagnosis or appropriate medication. They don’t share concern of Lyme prevalence, continue to defend the current testing model, and support the status quo CDC treatment for Lyme.

The Canlyme and ILAD’s website details how important it is for people bitten by ticks to get immediate antibiotic treatment for Lyme without waiting for symptoms to develop. Once you wait for the symptoms, Lyme has already disseminated into the body making it much harder to treat.