Lyme disease
Last week I started treatment for Lyme disease.
Over two weeks ago I pulled a tick off my back while at a client’s house. Normally I would have freaked out about it, I’m well aware of Lyme disease, however this client assured me you couldn’t get Lyme in this country and so I brushed it off. Also, the tick wasn’t engorged and there is no way it could have been on me for more than an hour or two. Well exactly 10 days after bite I developed a textbook bullseye rash that proceeded to radiate out (as pictured), get itchy, & painful. I still didn’t even make the connection. I insisted it was a spider bite or a random rash. Not until my nearest lymph node swelled up did all the pieces connect for me and came crashing down…this was Lyme. However whenever I went to Google and searched “can you get Lyme disease in Costa Rica?” nearly ALL the websites said you couldn’t. That there was one case of Lyme disease in the country in 2012 and it was eventually determined that the infected person had been infected in another country prior to arriving to Costa Rica. I’m beyond thankful that my circle of holistic health practitioners were quick to respond when I reached out in a panic. Practitioners from Spain and the United States advised me that you can in fact get Lyme disease anywhere in the world, and equipped me with a fast acting protocol. Lyme disease typically will start localized (at the area where the bite is) and eventually go systemic, which is when it typically goes chronic. Therefore time was of the essence for me.
While the CDC website reports that between 60-80% of people infected with Lyme will develop a bullseye rash, some estimates are as low as 27% (which I believe is way more accurate). If you never develop a bullseye rash then you can imagine how hard it is to trace back the origin of when you might have been infected. Not to mention on 60-80% of typical Lyme disease tests it won’t even show that you are infected, this is especially dependent on when you were infected. Most people won’t even be diagnosed until it has become a chronic illness and typically naturopathic doctors will simply go off sign and symptoms. Signs and symptoms include: fatigue, unexplained fever and chills, numbness and tingling, headaches or migraines, muscle aches, arthritis like joint pain (commonly in the neck), swollen lymph nodes, and so many more. I have found for my clients that the most accurate test that can pick up Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, and it’s co-infections Babesia and Bartonella, are found in 40-60% of cases with Lyme disease. Other co-infections are Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Brucella.
Luckily I was able to find a doctor here in Costa Rica that despite not seeing a single case of Lyme disease in 12 years, didn’t question my concerns or doubt me. She humbly admitted my rash and symptoms were textbook, and prescribed me the antibiotics I requested (along with the Cellcore IS herbal protocol that I ordered from the states).
Your best way to arm yourself is with knowledge and understanding symptoms. If Lyme goes undetected it can turn into a debilitating chronic illness. I caught it early, I’ve already started treatment and I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been (my body is ready to fight). I’ll continue to try to share what I’ve learned because you can get Lyme from any biting insect ANYWHERE in the world and that information is not talked about nearly enough. For me this is the best case scenario of a worst case situation. I’m relieved that despite never really having any health issues I still stayed diligent with my diet, always keeping inflammation down, doing parasite cleanses, and daily detox. Optimal health is like a savings account, I would be in debt without it right now. I’m proof you never know when you’ll have to fight something. Is your body ready to fight whatever life brings you?