Lyme Disease Research Database
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LYME DISEASE RESEARCH DATABASE
LYME DISEASE SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT, DIAGNOSIS, PREVENTION AND RESEARCH.
LYME DISEASE RESEARCH DATABASE
LYME DISEASE SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT, DIAGNOSIS, PREVENTION AND RESEARCH.
We started the LDRD to help educate people about Lyme disease. New
developments in the quest to understand and defeat Lyme are
continually replacing old news and attitudes.
Here you will find an ongoing collection of the . Listen to audio
interviews with Lyme doctors, hear about specific protocols followed
by healthy survivors of Lyme, and discover lifestyle support
resources. Add to TwitterAdd to Facebook
LDRD members receive immediate access to all the free resources, plus
additional, unique resources, including the Lyme expert interview
audio series, the Lyme success stories interview audio series,
pro-active health and lifestyle resources to help beat Lyme.
Benefits of becoming a memberHello and welcome to the LDRD
Hear doctors who represent a broad range of medical perspectives -
from conventional to integrative therapies - talk about Lyme disease
symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
If you are struggling with Lyme, reliable resources will greatly
assist you in your quest to recover.
All of us who struggle with Lyme Disease can empathize. We see pieces
of our own stories in other people's experiences. We've walked through
many of the same doors, and been in some of the very same situations.
Although each of our stories are unique, together they can help us
understand the common threads that can, eventually, lead us back to
vibrant health.
Interviews with Experts
Introduction to Lyme Disease
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a multi-system inflammatory disease that affects all
the systems of the body, including the brain. Although every case is
different, left untreated, Lyme disease can be devastating. Read
articles on .
Causes and Risk Factors
The specific bacteria that causes Lyme is a spirochete called
Borrelia Burgdorferi, and it is believed to be primarily spread
through the bite of a deer tick. Those who live near, or visit,
densely forested areas are believed to be at higher risk of exposure
to ticks, yet increasing medical evidence suggests that the bacteria
can spread through other means.
Lyme Disease Symptoms
Lyme can cause fever, headaches, body aches and crushing fatigue.
Some patients develop a characteristic bull's eye skin rash at the
location of the tick bite. Lyme can also affect the cardiac system and
the brain, causing arrhythmia, vertigo, speech impairments such as
stammering, and poor concentration. Palsy and facial paralysis are
also symptoms of Lyme. It is not uncommon for patients to suffer mood
swings, depression, and psychotic episodes such as hallucinations.
However, some people who have the disease do not develop symptoms
immediately after being infected. It may take years for some people to
become symptomatic. Some who have been exposed may never develop Lyme
disease symptoms, and further, is not yet known how long the bacteria
may lie dormant. Learn more about .
Tests and Diagnosis
Currently, the recommended diagnostic tests for detecting Lyme
disease are the Western Blot analysis, used to identify particular
antibodies, and the ELISA, a general antibody test. Tests for the
disease are unreliable. Negative clinical test results do not
necessarily mean that the patient is free of Lyme or its
co-infections. The bacteria appears to evade the body's immune system,
as it is capable of changing into two, three or more shapes as it
spreads throughout the body. Learn more about
Unfortunately, it is common for people with Lyme to receive a
misdiagnoses and thus remain untreated. The medical profession's
nickname for chronic Lyme disease is the Great Imitator, because
symptoms mimic hundreds of other conditions including Multiple
Sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein-Barr virus, and
rheumatoid arthritis. Learn more about .
Lyme Treatment
Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics. However, the strength and
length of prescription of antibiotics is at the core of controversy in
the medical community. Antibiotics given immediately after infection
seem to work for most Lyme patients. During later stages of the
disease, some patients have responded to extended courses of
antibiotics, but extended courses are not sanctioned by the Centers of
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Infectious Diseases
Society of America (IDSA). Current guidelines for treatment of Lyme
published by the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
(ILADS) state that it is reasonable to continue antibiotic therapy, in
some cases, beyond the arbitrary 30-day course recommended by the
IDSA. Learn more about protocols.
Experts familiar with the complicated nature of diagnosing Lyme
advise that if a person has had a tick bite, or exhibits symptoms
characteristic of Lyme, they consult a Lyme literate medical doctor
(LLMD) and begin treatment, even if test results are negative or
pending.
Alternative Medicine
Increasingly, LLMDs are treating patients successfully with
alternative protocols, such as pharmaceutical and herbal
antimicrobials combined, and other non-invasive methods, such as
hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Further, doctors are seeing fewer cases of
relapse in patients who are treated with some of these alternative
protocols. .
For Patients
People suffering the symptoms and stress of Lyme disease need
accessible information that helps them make sound decisions about the
course of their own treatment. The Lyme Disease Research Database aims
to be a resource for patients seeking education about prevention of
the disease, support for identifying and alleviating Lyme symptoms,
and news of current treatments, both conventional and alternative. .
For Health Professionals
The Lyme Disease Research Database (LDRD) helps provide a platform
for health professionals, LLMDs, researchers, patients, medical
experts and other licensed health care practitioners to speak directly
to others in the Lyme community. Health professionals share up-to-date
information about therapies that are effective for their patients with
Lyme disease. In addition, LDRD also showcases stories of patients who
are successfully overcoming Lyme disease.Patient Success Stories
the LDRD database and listen to audio interviews with Lyme
experts and people that have beat Lyme. Listen to interviewsLearn
about LymeSpread the word | If you have found this resource
useful, please help us spread the word by adding our link to your
favorite social website.
LDRD/ 2005-2009: By accessing and/or reading this document you agree
to the and .
DISCLAIMER: The material on this web site is provided for
educational purposes only. This material is not nor should it be
considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or
treatment; nor does it necessarily represent endorsement by or an
official position of lyme-disease-research-database.com or any of its
contributors. Advice on the testing, treatment or care of an
individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a
physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that
patient's medical history. Use the Lyme Disease Research Database at
your own risk. The Lyme Disease Research Database will not be liable
for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other
damages arising therefrom.
