Saturday, July 30, 2011

Books I like

I am often asked what books I have read about Lyme or found helpful. Here are some of my favorites.Insights in Lyme Disease Treatment 13 Lyme-Literate Health Care Practitioners Share Their Healing Strategies by Connie Strasheim, Maureen Mcshane M.D. and Thirteen Lyme-Literate Doctors


Cure Unkknown Inside the Lyme Epidemic by Pamela Weintraub


Beating Lyme Understanding and Treating This Complex and Often Misdiagnosed Disease


Everything you need to know about Lyme Disease and other tick Bourne Diseases

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Hyperthyroid / Graves disease

I was just thinking this evening how little I have spoken about Hyperthyroidism / Graves disease. This too was a symptom of Lyme. It is more common to have a Hypothyroid but either way your thyroid can be affected. I had the typical symptoms
Palpitations
Heat intolerance
Nervousness
Insomnia
Breathlessness
Fatigue
Fast heart rate
Trembling hands
Weight loss
Muscle weakness
Warm moist skin
Hair loss
..then when I went to the doctor her first response was that I should have my thyroid killed - which is permanent. I remembered what my cousin once said to me (who also had a thyroid problem -don't ever let them kill your thyroid if you can help it- since it was so difficult for them to regulate her and she still has problems) in any case I said no I wanted to try the medication first. In many cases a Hyperthyroid can go into remission and that is exactly what mine did. I was on the lowest dose possible and within a matter of weeks it was normal. They kept me on Tapozole for quite awhile even though I didn't think I needed it any longer but they wanted to be sure.

Before I tested positive for Lyme I remember speaking to Dr. Harris and asking him if my Hyperthyroid could be a symptom of Lyme and his response was that Lyme systematically goes through your body effecting your immune system and turning things off and saw no reason why it couldn't.

"This usually starts with the adrenal glands. No, I don't mean the thyroid, I mean the ADRENALS. Many physicians and patients start on the wrong end of things by first giving the body thyroid hormone, but this isn't usually how it should be done.

Why? In Lyme disease and chronic illness, the thyroid often malfunctions as a result of the adrenal glands, which are pooped from having to deal with so many bugs, toxins and stress. Treating the thyroid first puts greater stress on the adrenal glands, which then exacerbates the whole endocrine problem. Not treating the thyroid, however, can also stress the adrenals, but if you sense you have adrenal fatigue, it's best to deal with this problem first. "

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