Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

bostonglobe.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 175 posts

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#111

Post by beaker52 »

badpun wrote: post #89
beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

> I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. If it's not severe, it may be simply getting older.

It's possible. If this is how it is supposed to be, I was thoroughly miss sold my ticket into this life thing. No refunds though, I guess :)

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#112

Post by kathysgeek »

beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

You owe it to yourself to learn about Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). It can be caused by lyme but is more often due to exposure to water damaged buildings.

It is treatable and the science is backed by peer-reviewed academic papers. https://www.survivingmold.com/legal-resources/publications/p...

Reasonably priced lab testing can be obtained without jumping through insurance hoops: https://www.moldco.com/

I have personally suffered from CIRS-wdb (water damaged building) for decades. By 2012 (age 44) I was so chronically sick with severe neurological, endocrine and digestive symptoms that I could not work and barely slept 3 hours a night for months. Brain fog, "ice pick" pains in the gut, muscular weakness and balance problems were among the many symptoms. It was so bad that I was preparing for the end within a year and was spending my limited time with my wife and young children. Years of medical tests and consults (Cleveland Clinic) found nothing.

Fortunately, lots of googling found medical articles by Dr Ritchie Shoemaker listing many of the same multi-system symptoms. From the late 1990s he identified cohorts of patients with such symptoms and developed effective treatments. I drove out to Maryland and was treated by him from 2012-2013 following the Shoemaker protocol. We spent a substantial amount remediating the water damage in our home. My health improved incrementally to the point where I now work productively and actively mountain bike daily at age 59. I am about 91% recovered and have no doubt that I would have died without treatment. I take maintanence doses of Welchol and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) and avoid water damaged buildings.

I have no financial interest in Moldco or Dr Shoemaker but feel compelled to share my experience with those who seem to be suffering similarly.

I almost did not write this post. Nearly every afflicted person I have shared CIRS info with has ignored it and continued their health decline. I hope that you or someone reading this will take the steps and improve their health.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#113

Post by escape_key »

wateralien wrote: post #69
beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

Re: hypothermia, watch this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwtPtlcNXEs

I think in that guys case its hypERthermia not hypOthermia since they elevate his temperature. Artificial fever basically.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#114

Post by mattbruv »

nchmy wrote: post #81
beaker52 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I've tried avoiding caffeine during my year off. When I don't (even after weeks of abstinence) I sleep 12-14 hours a night and still need a nap during the day, which is incompatible with having both a day job and something approaching a well-lived life involving laundry. So I drink caffeine, to be compatible with the labour market.

You need more than weeks of abstinence, friend. Ive generally noticed 1-2 months are necessary to recover from all of the awful side effects of caffeine (from drinking a tiny amount of coffee per day - my body is just very sensitive to it). I urge you to try it.

> all of the awful side effects of caffeine

If I may ask as a coffee addict, what were some of these that affected you specifically?

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#115

Post by phyzome »

hmmnxrye wrote: post #33

No, well the point was that noise, chorus, or feedback did not exist. There was no such thing. Therefore, the technical workaround was to place two amplifiers, face to face in order to "mimic" distortion. This is the way that "Loveless" (1991) was recorded, sans anesthesia.

Wrong thread?

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#116

Post by scotty79 »

nchmy wrote: post #82
scotty79 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you drink coffee?

This was my immediate thought. Very small amounts of daily coffee have caused me significant problems with fatigue etc... Takes 1-2 months to get back to feeling good. Strongly urge anyone who feels tired, lack of focus etc to stop all caffeine intake. As with any drug, you're just chasing the initial boost, and really only getting yourself back to baseline.

Yeah. I asked because I had my own heap of problems with caffeine and even with decaf coffee. This thing is a pile of random bioactive substances that are mostly fine for most people until they aren't.

What you could get away with in your twenties doesn't go unpunished once you're around thirty. And what you could get away with around thirty doesn't go unpunished once you're around forty.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#117

Post by com2kid »

beaker52 wrote: post #110
lukasm wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What were the side effects? High blood pressure, feeling like a "zombie", sleep getting worse? I'd try centanafadine and see a top ADHD specialist. There are a lot of variables: molecule, dose, release profile, melatonin timing. What is worth checking: * Comorbid anxiety or trauma symptoms (PTSD) * Hormone imbalance Just because your blood work is perfect, it doesn't mean all is good. I have hypomagnesemia - the test…

BP (manageable), tinnitus (BP related), prostate discharge (due to muscular tension), sleep getting worse as the week would go on until I'd have to stop. Sleep wasn't restful at all, which was the main problem. I'd feel like I'd closed my eyes and become unconscious, rather than actually asleep. I'd wake up in the morning like I'd been kept awake as some kind of torture all night, but with no recollection of it. I de…

For the stims, I've found that most doctors titrate up the dose way to fast.

For example for methylphenidate, I'd recommend starting on 2.5mg (1/2 the smallest pill) for a week or two, until side effects go away, and then up the dose to 5mg.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#118

Post by unsupp0rted »

perbu wrote: post #67
beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

fwiw; I had unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline as a post-COVID induced histamine intolerance with a few bonus attributes. High amounts of histamine would accumulate in my mast cells then get released in 3-5am, undermining sleep and also inhibiting serotonin. It took me about four years to fully understand my condition. Hope you figure out what is bothering you. The body is incredibly compl…

How did you figure this one out and how did you resolve it? Asking for ME!

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#119

Post by snarf21 »

hdndjsbbs wrote: post #93
beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

Did your 30s coincide with the COVID pandemic? I've had a similar experience the last 6 years, and it feels like a combination of aging (I'm 35) and Long COVID. I am trying to get out of the software industry altogether because sitting and looking at a screen all day makes me feel like shit now Unfortunately I haven't gotten a lot of answers about treatment but just putting it out there, if you don't have a character…

If you think you have long Covid, you should do some research about CIRS (Chronic Inflammation Response Syndrome). It is a condition caused by exposure to toxic mold from water damaged (inside or out) buildings. There is growing evidence that there isn't actually a separate condition for long Covid, but rather it is Covid-triggered CIRS. (Lyme can trigger it too). (Note: only about 25% of people are genetically susceptible to suffering from CIRS)

CIRS causes your body's call-and-response immune system to short circuit; meaning one part detects the problem and the part is supposed to fix it but the part that is supposed to fix it (remove the mycotoxins) doesn't see the problem and does nothing. CIRS causes a lot of side effects, including all the ones mentioned by the GP and many more. If you want to test for toxic mold, you need to test the dust in your space. Some amount of mold is naturally in the air at all times. The dust will show and accumulation of mold over time and show if there is a real problem.

Source: I thought I had long Covid for a long time, until I realized the real problem which was toxic white mold in my house. I threw everything in a dumpster and sold my house and am now on the long slow multi-year process of recovery. If you think you may have it, try pushing Mg, Zinc and Potassium really hard for a few weeks. Take things that naturally bind the bile in your gut (the mycotoxins attach to the bile which is recycled). There are heavier binders that bind everything but I wouldn't start there.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#120

Post by unsupp0rted »

jdswain wrote: post #70
beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

I've been through similar, don't give up trying to find a solution. I've recently found what mine is, and am doing much better now. Everyone is different, be careful with advice on the internet, but at the least it gives you ideas for further investigation. For me it was elevated homocysteine, with a genetic origin. I could get an analysis by uploading my genome to Genetic Genie, but ultimately the homocysteine test…

I had elevated homocysteine, treated it (MTHFR gene, therefore methylated B12 / folate, etc), and that had zero effect on my sleep quality, unfortunately.

Tried B6, every variation of magnesium (including threonate), all the typical sleep hygiene stuff.. nothing mattered.

Post reply on HN