Lyme Disease: How The Lymphatic System, Humoral Immunity, Collagen, and Decorin Binding are Interconnected.

I started researching Tick-Borne Diseases in 2012 after my daughter came down with a mysterious illness and went a year before we received a diagnosis Ehrlichia Chaffeensis, Lyme and Co-infections  (her story here). I read on average 1-5 peer reviewed studies and/or Journal articles per week. Why? Because my daughter did not get better after 4 weeks on Doxycyline; the Medical Field is largely ignoring the 10-20% of patients with lingering symptoms following standard treatment for Lyme; and because I, like so many others, have fallen into the Search Engine Rabbit Hole while looking for a cure.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease - Chronic Fatigue Immune DeficiencySyndrome

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons people seek consultation with health care providers. 

Recently the Institute of Medicine released a report suggesting that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)  and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) be reclassified as Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID).  This has raised many questions and concerns about the new classification being too broad, as pointed out here. There is no known single etiology for ME/CFS, but current research coming out of the Stanford ME/CFS Initiative is pointing towards immune system disruption. Because of this I actually prefer the term Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS). Honestly, at this point, I don't really care what they call it, as long as it is recognized by the Medical/Scientific Community and we start looking for a cure.

North American Tick-borne Diseases: Including Lyme Disease andCo-Infections

Ticks are capable of transmitting many illnesses to humans.

As Lyme disease is spreading so are other tick-borne infections. I created this page to help identify the different species of North American ticks by region and catalog the major tick borne diseases they carry. While my maps focus on the continental U.S. it is a known fact that migrating birds who carry ticks do not stop on borders. Many of the species listed thrive in parts of Mexico and Canada as well. The reality is tick-borne illnesses are not limited to the East Coast or deer ticks.

Note: One tick is capable of transmitting more than one infection.

A Discussion about Lyme and Emerging Tick Related Illnesses via Twitter

The Amazing Benefits of Networking on Twitter

About a year ago I discovered Twitter. Initially, I was following the Stars on the VOICE & attempting to keep up with politics. However, in order to maintain my sanity, I have since abandoned politics.  Almost by accident I discovered a huge number of my favorite medical writers and contributors to Magazines, Journals and News Papers were all on twitter. It didn't take long for me to build a network of other interesting and intelligent individuals from all over the World who I enjoy following.

Below is a perfect example of the amazing benefits of networking on twitter.  Last year I met Dr. Judy Stone, an infectious disease doctor and accomplished writer who has helped educate me on infectious diseases, and connect me into the twitter-sphere.

Thoughts on Living With a Disability

Other than the few weeks following my C-section, I've never been disabled. My perspective on disability comes from my best friend becoming a paraplegic when we were in High School, living with a child with a chronic illness, providing physical therapy to many patients with varied diagnoses, and one special lady that changed my perspective on life many years ago. 

Over the years, I've treated 1000's of patients, and one thing seems to stand out in those who do better-It's a sense of optimism. One of the biggest frustrations with Chronic Fatigue, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Fibromyalgia is not knowing the cause. I do believe we are on the verge of discovering biomarkers for these illnesses, but currently there is no definitive blood test or imaging technique to tell us the cause of your illness. Many CFS/ME patients go years without help but it's important never to give up hope. This feeling, that things will get better, seems to be the driving force in so many of my patients. 

10 Tips for Managing Chronic Pain at Home

10 Tips for Managing Chronic Pain at Home: 

(Advice from a Physical Therapist and Mother of Child with Lyme, ME/CFS & POTS)

Defining Pain
Most Chronic pain suffers hate rating their pain, but health care providers need to know. Sometimes we refer to the "Pain Assessment" as the 5th Vital Sign (after Temperature, Pulse, Respiratory rate, and Blood pressure). When we're treating you for pain, your rating is the only way we can gage whether a patient is making progress or not. It's more difficult when trying to quantify how much pain a child is in. I find the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) works better than telling someone to "rate your pain on a scale of 0-10."