February's Support Group Meeting is the first Tuesday of the month
Tuesday February 2, 2010
All support group meetings will now
be held at the new Sherman Hospital, Elgin IL
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Lyme Disease is thriving
in Chicagoland and
across our country!
Education and awareness is NOT!
Over the last three years, we have met many many people in the Chicagoland
area and around the country that have, or know someone that has
Lyme Disease/Chronic Lyme. Researchers believe that there are tens of 1,000's more that are misdiagnosed with MS, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigure, Adrenal Fatigue, Thyroid issues, Lupus, Autism, Parkinson's Disease, ALS, Alzheimers,
sudden onset of allergies, ADD....the list is long.
In no way are we claiming to being medical experts. God has brought so
many people into our lives with Lyme that we wanted to create a place to share information we've learned and are learning on our journeys. We have all been dealing with Chronic Lyme Disease and co-infections for several years after being
misdiagnosed for many years beforehand. Many of us were first diagnosed with
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Boarderline Asthma, Chronic Fatigue, Adrenal Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Epstein Barr Virus, Allergies, Candida, stress, you name it. We've seen many Dr.'s and "specialists" and have spent tens of thousands of dollars, which is a very similar story with most Lyme patients.
Most people in Chicagoland have to travel out of state to see Lyme Literate Dr.'s because most of the Dr.'s here are NOT up to date on current Lyme Disease information. We believe that God is and will continue to change that.
Visit www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/lyme_slides.html to see information on
the historic hearing July 30th, 2009 on
Lyme Disease Treatment Guidelines in Washington D.C.
Also visit underourskin.com/blog/?p=250 for a summary of the
IDSA Lyme Evidence hearing
Everyone should see the film, Under Our Skin!
This is a great award winning documentary on Lyme Disease that is helping to change the world regarding education and awareness on the truth of Lyme.
Check out www.underourskin.com to view a trailer on this film.
Here is some information from their site:
“Under Our Skin, an infectious film about microbes,
money and medicine.
“One of the most controversial illnesses in the history of medicine, Lyme disease may be the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States. Yet each year thousands are misdiagnosed - many of them told that their symptoms are "all in their head." This upcoming documentary investigates the shocking human, medical, and political dimensions of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic destroying countless numbers of lives. A case study of the dangers of the confluence of money and medicine, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of our healthcare system and its inability to cope with a biological terror under our skin.” http://www.underourskin.com
Clips of Under Our Skin were shown at a U.S. Senate briefing in
Washington DC 9/24/08. It was then shown in its entirety a few days later
in a theater to over 400 people!!!! Praise God!!
See more info at http://underourskin.com/blog/?p=23
We believe there is hope and some people do get significantly better. Don't let a
Dr. diagnose you only on Elisha test results. There is currently no test that is
100% for Lyme. The CDC even admits that Lyme needs to be diagnosed on symptoms, not just test results. The Western Blot (reading bands and not just
the results) is the first screening test to do. Most LLMD's that I know of will not
run an Elisha test without a Western Blot. Igenex Lab and Clongen Lab, (www.igenex.com, and www.clongen.com), are trusted labs.
If you have symptoms for Lyme or have been diagnosed with one of
the above conditions, we believe that it may be beneficial for you to contact a
Lyme Literate Dr., or have your Dr. call a Lyme Literate Dr. to learn more,
(contact us for names and numbers). There is a link below with treatment
guidelines by Dr. J. Burrascano. Take these to your Dr.. Unfortuntately we
know several people that the "BIG" hospitals missed. The treatment for Lyme Disease typically includes antibiotics and health supplements (as well as exercise and diet). Typically antibiotics and health supplements
are a big part of Lyme Disease treatment. There are other alternative treatments
for people looking at that road also.
These sites have been very helpful to us:
Medical Sites
Updated 2008 DIAGNOSTIC HINTS AND TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR
LYME AND OTHER TICK BORNE ILLNESSES,
by Dr. J. Burrascano
***Print these out and take them to your Dr. ***
www.lymediseaseresource.com/BurrGuide2008.pdf
Presentation of Dr. Burrascano's slides
from Dr. J. Burrascano, 9/20/2008.
www.lymepa.org/html/dr__j__burrascano_september_20_0.html
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, (ILADS)
Great site also has information on their Physician Training Program
www.ilads.org
Columbia University Lyme and Tick Borne Disease Research Center,
Dr. Brian Fallon
www.columbia-lyme.org
When to Suspect Lyme Disease
by Dr. John Bleiweiss.
www.angelfire.com/biz/romarkaraoke/whento.htm
Late and Chronic Lyme
by Dr. Sam Donta
www.canlyme.com/donta.html
Interpreting Tests Results,
by Dr. Jones and Dr. Schaller
www.personalconsult.com/articles/drjonesapproach.html
Testing and Western Blot
by Dr. Charles Crist
www.drcharlescrist.com/testing.htm
Clongen Lab
Western Blot for lyme testing
www.clongen.com
Igenex Lab
Western Blot for lyme testing
www.igenex.com
Jarish Herxheimer Reaction
Info - "herxing"
www.angelfire.com/biz/romarkaraoke/Herx.html
Information on IDSA Lyme Evidence Hearing
www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/lyme_slides.html
Also visit underourskin.com/blog/?p=250
Great Lyme Organizations,
Support Groups and Important Sites
Turn the Corner Foundation
Great information!! Donate to Lyme disease research.
www.turnthecorner.org
Lyme Disease Association of Iowa
"Lyme Disease United Coalition"
www.lymeiniowa.org
Minnesota Lymefighter's Advocacy
an affiliate of the "Lyme Disease United Coalition"
www.lymefighters.org
a great link from this site also for
Patient Financial Resources
www.lymefighters.org/financial_resources_for_patients
Michigan Lyme Disease Association
www.mlda.org
Lyme Disease Association, (LDA)
www.lymediseaseassociation.org
LDA of Southeastern PA
www.lymepa.org/index.html
California Lyme Disease Association
(order Lymes Times here)
www.lymedisease.org
A Wisconsin Lyme Site
with information on local events
www.lymewisconsin.com
Wisconsin Support Group Sites
www.sewill.org
www.lymeleague.com
Public Health Alert
Great newspaper with articles on Lyme and other Chronic illnesses
www.publichealthalert.org
Better Health Guy Website
Great Site, so much wonderful information on health in general
www.betterhealthguy.com
Great site with links about the Attorney General of Connecticut's lawsuit
against the Infectious Disease Society Lyme Disease Treatment
Guideline Authors and the new panel they are forced by law to put together.
lymeactiongroup.blogspot.com/2009/01/ct-attorney-general-versus-idsa.html
Lyme Rights
This web site is devoted to advancing the rights of patients with
Lyme disease and other tick transmitted diseases.
www.lymerights.org
Encouraging Sites
Style by Heather Rose
An amazing teen with a dream for a cure...and a dear friend :)
www.stylebyheatherrose.com
Lisa Bevill
Christian musician, Listen to her new song,
"When the healing comes"
www.lisabevill.com
Lisa Buffaloe
Great encouraging site
www.lisabuffaloe.com
Some Books on Lyme
“Everything You Need to Know About Lyme Disease”
by Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner
www.amazon.com/Everything-About-Disease-Tick-Borne-Disorders/dp/047116061X
“Beating Lyme”
by Constance Bean and Dr. Lesley Fein
www.amazon.com/Beating-Lyme-Understanding-Treating-Misdiagnosed/dp/081440944X
“The Lyme Disease Solution”
by Dr. Kenneth Singleton
www.amazon.com/Lyme-Disease-Solution-Kenneth-Singleton/dp/1934812005/ref=pd_sim_b_1
Healing Lyme: Natural Healing And Prevention of
Lyme Borreliosis And Its Coinfections
by Stephen Harrod Buhner
www.amazon.com/Healing-Lyme-Prevention-Borreliosis-Coinfections/dp/0970869630/ref=pd_sim_b_2
The Top 10 Lyme Disesase Treatments
by Brian Rosner
www.lymebook.com/top10book
“The Bakers Dozen and the Lunatic Fringe”, and
“It’s All in Your Head” series
by, PJ Langhoff's
www.allegorypress.com
“Cure Unknown”
by Pamela Weintraub
www.cureunknown.com
"Nature Noir"
by Jordan Fisher Smith
Park Ranger featured in "Under Our Skin"
www.naturenoir.com
Please check out the links at the very top of the page also for links to
local support groups and events in the Chicagoland area. Also, radio interviews, symptoms checklist and movie showings of Under Our Skin.
Please pray for Andy Abrahams Wilson and the film, "Under Our Skin",
LLMD'S worldwide, as well as all the people suffering from Lyme Disease.
We have met so many amazing people with Lyme. Let's join together
and make a difference. If you know of any local theaters that would be
interested in showing the film "Under Our Skin"
please let us know. We need to get this in front of the
medical community as well as the general public.
For more information about Chicagolyme Support Group or
Lyme Disease please contact
Lauren at laurenegler@comcast.net, 815-546-6509, and
Judy at jkropsch@comcast.net, 847-528-0548.
"Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city"
- Chris Tomlin
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them;
for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you.
He will not leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
Disclaimer
This information and these links we believe are some of the most informed and informative web sites on the many issues surrounding Lyme disease. Information provided here is not a substitute for professional medical advice.