Lyme disease can have many varying symptoms. Today we dissect and break down the best practices for living with neurological Lyme Disease. Read below for more…
When you see or hear the word “neurological,” it refers to the nervous system or relating to your nerves. It also encompasses the brain and the spinal column and how these vital parts function together to send and receive messages from the rest of your body.
Neurological disorders refer to damage in some part of the nervous system, brain, or spinal column preventing proper functioning. Neurological disorders can be congenital, meaning you are born with them due to genetics.
Some examples of other factors that lead to neurological disorders include environmental toxins, injuries, infections, nutritional deficiencies, lack of oxygen, and metabolic disorders.
Lyme disease is a contributing factor to neurological disorders. Neurological Lyme Disease affects an estimated 15% of all people diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Know the Neurological Lyme Disease Symptoms
Neurological Lyme disease symptoms appear a month or longer after an initial contraction of Lyme disease. It is usually a result of the progression of Lyme disease and the spread of the Lyme bacteria in your bloodstream. If you have neurological symptoms, it means your Lyme disease has not been treated or has not been treated effectively.
Neuroborreliosis, another name for neurological Lyme disease, was studied in 68 patients to determine common symptoms. Researchers found that 50% had facial paralysis or Bells Palsy. Radiculitis, a problem with the root of a nerve, occurred in 25% of the patients. Radiculitis can develop as sciatica or cervical or thoracic radiculopathy. It is very painful.
Another symptom is encephalitis, which appeared in 12% of the 69 patients examined in the study. Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain caused by an infection. In this case, Lyme disease. You may experience sensitivity to light, headaches, fever, and feel like you have the flu.
Myelitis was found in 7% of the study participants. Myelitis, also known as transverse myelitis, is spinal cord inflammation. Inflammation occurs in the part of the spinal cord that creates patterns of sensations and sends impulses to the nerves. When damaged, myelitis produces pain and weakness.
Meningitis was found in 6% of the participants. Meningitis refers to inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It can lead to severe headaches or migraines and a stiff neck. Fever may occur in some instances. Some cases of meningitis will go away on their own. However, for others, it can be life-threatening.
Get the Right Diagnosis
Suppose you have neurological symptoms and your doctor has yet to find a way to relieve them. In that case, it is time to seek a second or third opinion, preferably from a Lyme-literate doctor or specialists in the field of Lyme disease. They have advanced testing methods, like analyzing your blood under a microscope to detect bacteria, that general practitioners do not perform.
If you do not get the correct diagnosis, you run the risk of the following:
- Advancing symptoms from mild to severe
- Increasing inability to perform daily functions
- Feeling like you are “crazy” by clinicians who aren’t diagnosing you correctly and implying it is all in your mind or that nothing is wrong with you
- Being misdiagnosed with other diseases that appear with similar symptoms, such as mental illness, multiple sclerosis, lupus, hepatitis, and fibromyalgia
Getting the correct diagnosis should include, at a minimum, general lab tests, specific blood examination, physical examination, and an extensive review of your reports (journals, doctor notes, etc.) regarding your symptoms. Keeping a journal about your symptoms can be very helpful to your doctor.
Seek Treatment for Neurological Lyme Disease
Fortunately, treatments for neurological Lyme disease are advancing, along with numerous other infectious disease therapies. The key to successful treatment is to receive it from a Lyme-literate doctor who has the modern equipment in their clinic. Treatment options are listed below.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are the first line of treatment, but with a Lyme-literate doctor, the antibiotics are given through infusions to avoid the medicine breaking down and losing effectiveness in the digestive system.
Detox and Diet
Unhealthy foods, heavy metals, and environmental toxins cause inflammation in the body. If you have Lyme disease, inflammation is the last thing you need. It can only make your symptoms worse. Your doctor will help you create an anti-inflammatory detox and diet.
A detox will be tailored to your needs and may include vitamin supplements if your blood tests show you are low in certain nutrients. Sugar is a significant contributor to inflammation. Reducing the amount of sugar you consume through foods and drinks is crucial.
Within a week, you will start noticing a difference in the amount of inflammation in your body and its effects. Some report having more energy, a clear mind, and a happier mood.
Therapeutic Apheresis
Lyme bacteria, or spirochetes, live in your bloodstream. They cannot survive outside of it. The most effective way of getting the spirochetes out is to remove your blood and replace it with clean, healthy, donated blood. The process is called therapeutic apheresis.
Biofilm Eradication
Lyme bacteria can build armor, or biofilms, that keep them from being detected and destroyed. This means some treatments, like apheresis, will not be able to eliminate all spirochetes. Therefore, your doctor will want to follow up one treatment with biofilm eradication, a process that binds a substance to the biofilms so they can be flushed from your system.
Hyperthermia
Your body naturally fights off bacterial infections. When bacteria are detected, the body produces a fever that triggers the immune system, kills the bacteria, and flushes it out of your system. For some people, fever doesn’t get high enough for the process to be effective.
Hyperthermia is a controlled process in which your doctor regulates your body temperature, making it as high as 104 to 106 degrees to kill Lyme bacteria effectively and then bringing your temperature back to normal through a safe and controlled technique.
If you don’t already have one, reach out to a Lyme-literate doctor today to create your personal best practices for living with neurological Lyme disease.
Wrapping Up Neurological Lyme Disease
If you don’t already have one, reach out to a Lyme-literate doctor today to create your personal best practices for living with neurological Lyme disease.