I recently began watching the presentation Dr Joseph Burrascano gave to an audience of Lyme Disease patients and their families on how to recover from Lyme Disease. In this next series of posts, I will include my notes and take-aways from his presentation.
Dr Burrascano opened the talk with a very astute observation. He found that the patients that had a positive attitude and mind set, and who took the time to learn more about their illness and become an active partner in their treatment had the best outcomes and recovered fully. Whereas the patients who slumped into his office and complaining of their illness had the worst attitudes recovered much more slowly.
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme Disease is the illness that results from the bit of an infected deer tick. The classical definition of Lyme requires that the infection is caused by the bacteria, Borrelia burgdoferi. However, we know that ticks contain many different germs, not just Borrelia. Lyme is actually a mixed infection of many different germs, which is why its so difficult for patients to get well.
Early Lyme Disease – Stage I
- At or before the onset of symptoms
- Can be cured if treated properly
Disseminated Lyme Disease – Stage II
- Germs have circulated throughout the body
- Multiple major body systems affected
- More difficult to treat
Chronic Lyme Disease – Stage III
- Illness for at least one or more years
- Infection causes immune system breakdown and its consequences
- Co-infections become more virulent
- Serologic tests become less reliable; it seems the sicker you are, the less reliable testing becomes
- Treatment must be more aggressive and longer in duration
Overall, the longer the infection is with the person, the longer it takes to recover from and the sicker they will be.
