03/13/10 10:40 - 36ºF - ID#51181
On my way home from Charlotte
Her flight was most unfortunately canceled to DC to see her doctor. She got as far as Atlanta before finding out she had to go all the way back home. Now instead of seeing the doctor she has to pay $350 out of pocket to talk to him over the phone. There aren't many doctors who treat chronic Lyme. It is very complicated but her doctor lost his ability to practice in NC because he does treat Lyme patients. People travel from all over to see him and it is a shame he can't practice in Charlotte anymore. There are some in the medical field who think Lyme is all in the head, that the people who suffer it are just hypochondriacs. That is what happened to my Aunt and why she wasn't treated soon enough. When you don't get treated early enough it becomes very very difficult to get it out of your system.
If my Aunt becomes this sick again this year she fears she will be forced on to disability. It has been 13 years she has lived with this. Everyday she is sick but when she has a flare up it is like having the flu but worse. My grandparents will be there to help her in two weeks. They are going to stay for two weeks with her which is good. My Aunt's best friend and roommate died 6 years ago. Despite everything she really doesn't ever complain.
While I was there there was a news release about how researchers have found that papaya leaf extract may be able to reverse cancer and tumors because of the affect it has on the immune system. She might ask her MD about it. Interestingly, papaya leaf extract is also used to fight malaria and my Aunt is taking anit-malaria drugs as part of her treatment for Lyme.
The South has this fast food chain called Chick-fill-a. It is so funny because it isn't pronounced with a soft A but like fillet as in chicken fillet. I cooked every night and froze the left overs so she has plenty to eat until my grandparents get there. She just doesn't have the energy to do much by the time she gets home from work. It kind of perpetuates the illness because then she isn't eating healthy and it is harder for her to get better.
Permalink: On_my_way_home_from_Charlotte.html
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03/03/10 10:33 - 31ºF - ID#51105
Lyme Disease
Permalink: Lyme_Disease.html
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02/24/10 10:32 - 26ºF - ID#51072
4 years with e:mike
Thanks for coming over to "see my Cuba pictures". It has been 4 years that we have been together (minus a short hiatus) but even longer since we first met at Coffee &. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. We have both come such a long way.
Tonight (e:mike) surprised me and came to my house to cook me dinner and clean my dirty kitchen and give some loving to my rabbit! I left the house at 8am and didn't return until 9pm so it was so nice to have Cinderella come and spread her magic while I was away. I was so tired and thinking about my dirty dishes and how I didn't want to cook myself any food. I love (e:mike)!
Permalink: 4_years_with_e_mike.html
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02/03/10 07:58 - 28ºF - ID#50963
Libertad and his neice
Permalink: Libertad_and_his_neice.html
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01/27/10 05:01 - 24ºF - ID#50918
You should listen to e:tinypliny
tinypliny writes at 09:34:26 10/11/08 - Comment #40098tinyplinyThanks for sharing, ((e:dragonlady)). I will keep that in mind and might switch when the guilt becomes unbearable.
Blood is not revolting or even disturbing to me at all.
As for ear candles. PLEASE RETURN THEM!!! They are clinically not efficacious, and in fact injurious.
link I was so grossed out by the sponges that I totally missed that you bought them!!
If you want to get earwax out, try and get eardrops/oil and drop them into your ear for a week or so (a few drops daily). This will soften the wax up. Then get a syringing appointment at the ENT clinic. Syringing is a process by which a fine spray of sterile water is pointed into the ear and pushes out the softened wax.
More tips for ear-health:
PLEASE get rid of all your earbuds. They are the NUMBER #1 reason for impacted wax and do more harm and no good at all. They push ear wax deeper into the ear. The ear has a natural conveyor belt like assembly whereby ear wax is naturally circulated outward from the tympanic membrane into the external ear canal. The best way to clean your ears is by swishing your finger gently around your external ear while you are showering. Poking and using earbuds are the reason 50K Americans report to the ENT clinic with impacted wax every year. I cannot reiterate this enough. Get rid of the ear candles and the earbuds. Both are evil little implements of ear ruin. :(
Permalink: You_should_listen_to_e_tinypliny.html
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01/25/10 02:01 - 35ºF - ID#50904
Peace on Your Plate Bridge?!
"Changing the bridge's name to the 'Peace on Your Plate Bridge' is a win-win situation," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The name change would help keep this vital link in Western New York's economy up and running, and people crossing the bridge would be reminded that we really can have world peace -- starting with one meal at a time."
I would rather them close the bridge than name it something so ridiculous! PETA is seriously deranged.
Permalink: Peace_on_Your_Plate_Bridge_.html
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01/23/10 06:44 - 36ºF - ID#50893
Peanut oil?
Permalink: Peanut_oil_.html
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01/19/10 09:43 - 27ºF - ID#50856
My new bed!
It still has that new smell which is the biggest downfall. The top layer of the mattress is organic cotton but that does little to protect me from all the flame retardant chemicals they douse the bed in because some people can't refrain from smoking in bed and passing out with a lit cigarette! I took the down comforter (e:mike) got me last year for Xmas out of storage and am using that with the window cracked open because my apt gets so hot. I leave the humidifier running all night otherwise I get completely dried out from the inside out.
Now that I can sleep well I think my lungs will recover. I should go to the gym today rather than the clinic.
Permalink: My_new_bed_.html
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01/18/10 10:06 - 28ºF - ID#50854
Libertad and his bro
Permalink: Libertad_and_his_bro.html
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01/18/10 02:00 - 30ºF - ID#50850
bronchitis? asthma? allergies?
Tomorrow I plan on going to the afterhours clinic since it doesn't seem to be going away on its own. I hope they won't have to give me antibiotics or put me on an inhaler but if it will make me better, I'll take it. It is so weird that it only happens at night and I am almost completely fine during the day. When I got sick over Xmas it was different than I normally feel when sick. I had so much more mucuss than normal. There was one time I almost chocked on it.
Permalink: bronchitis_asthma_allergies_.html
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I'm really not so sure about her MD. Definitely would advocate a second, third, fourth or fifth opinion but obviously she can't afford going here and there paying all their fees. He is helping a population that the medical profession is afraid to take on because the problem is that science hasn't been able to provide an answer, YET.
The other problem is that diagnosis (even according to CDC) is best mainly on clinical observation since the blood tests are not accurate. They are going to crucify my aunt's doctor for misdiagnosing somebody when admittedly the symptoms of Lyme can go along with any number of other illnesses? My Aunt was misdiagnosed but that doctor has not had his license revoked even though as of a result of that misdiagnosis my aunt is concerned that she will be forced onto disability. That doctor gave my aunt a prescription for antidepressants and sleeping pills when she complained of her symptoms (even the classic bulls eye rash). When she asked what they were for he gave her a pamphlet about the importance of trusting your doctor.
Anyways, I'm still doing research to find out more. It seems even more frustrating the more you read about how there are no definitive answers. Again, I appreciate your comments so much, because I really value your opinion and because you do care about others, and you do understand the value of science. I'll probably have more to say about this later. I'm interested to read more specifics regarding the death of his patient(s). The people he sees are very sick.
I would argue that none of it can stand on its own and yet, each component is a very essential and important part of the scientific process. I am fairly certain that all the questions you asked have at least an oblique/tangential/obscure or even a well-known answer to them. Each study adds to this body of evidence in each field. The very fact that you recognize that there is a lot more to Lyme disease - is an indirect evidence of science working in the background to change attitudes and practices over time. Confidence in science is not like faith in religion. It's hard-won and backed up by the logical thought processes that humans are capable of.
I understand your frustration in the progress of medicine for this particular disease - especially in the context of what your aunt and several other fellow-patients are going through.
Maybe this doc is doing the right thing - and making decisions based on his experience in treating Lyme patients (that have not been documented in published studies). But, there is an atrociously low margin for error in medicine, and he has had a few of these errors on the way. I think where patients will be forgiving about errors when it doesn't happen in their case, others in the field will be obligated to push for re-evaluation - just because more patient lives are at stake.
Hmm... I have rambled on, possibly because I am conflicted with ALL of my backgrounds - being in a lab, in the clinic and with the patients observing them. Its tough for me to take sides here and I am not sure I want to...
Evidence-based-medicine is the way to go, but some personal judgement about the strength of evidence is important - especially if the treatment is so radical and has a high chance of messing with the immune system or inducing multi-drug resistance for other concomitant/future infections in the patient.
Have there been any long-term survival studies on the usage of such high-dose iv antibiotics? What is the mechanism of their action? Does the pathophysiology of the disease strongly support such an option? I don't know the answers to any of these questions (and I am feeling lazy so I am not finding out today). However, anyone with some level of ethics and common sense would find out before considering the iv long-term high-dose antibiotic option.
Then of course, there is the whole informed-consent violation... Are you sure your aunt trusts this bloke and has no alternative options?
He does have a valid MD, correct? Why can't he get some CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits, training certifications and take some licensing examinations to get accredited? It would be unusual for docs to be scared of school or exams, considering they are almost married to them for a major portion of their lives.
Sorry she couldn't get where she was going, but that there is even an option to have a phone consult? I wish her the best with this doctor!