Episode 45: Research Shows Cannabidiol Is Effective Treatment For Lyme Disease

http://cannabishealthradio.com/2016/12/episode-45-research-shows-cannabidiol-is-effective-treatment-for-lyme-disease/

Ernie Murakami

He recommends the paste, 10 mmol per cc hemp cannabidiol oil which is actually not the marijuana cannabidiol (with THC I assume) but Ernie implies that the cannabis oil with THC would be doubly effective.

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Blake Graham used to be the other half of Theda Myint and I am mainly friends with Theda's mother in Perth these days. That was so sad. Blake will be working with Dr Ty soon; good luck Blake. This is what Blake wrote yesterday:

Yesterday at 12:47pm · 

Finding my symptoms so hard to cope with lately and life such a struggle. 😕 I have four main symptoms which combined leave me in bed 20 hours/day and extremely limited in what I can do.

Talking for more than 40 minutes causes all the following symptoms. Tinnitus, dizziness, shakiness, weak, clumsy, body over-heating, exhaustion, cognitive problems, more sound sensitive, POTS worse, feel revved up and sleep disturbed. Five days ago I talked for one hour and am still getting all these symptoms and have been feeling very sorry for myself.

Light/noise sensitivity. Prolonged noise or looking at screens causes the same symptoms as above. I can watch TV or look at a computer screen for one hour max. I can't be in a noisy environment with people talking for more than 30 minutes. If I really push things it can be several days to recover.

Severe POTS. Being upright -> chest pain, tachycardia, dizziness, exhaustion, shakiness, cold/blue/painful feet, cognitive problems, etc. Unable to sit up more than one hour at a time. If I sit up one minute longer my nervous system gets fried with tinnitus, body over-heating, insomnia, shakiness, etc. which lasts days.

Severe weakness. Minimal physical activity even while lying down -> chest pain, tachycardia, dizziness and shakiness. If I go over my tiny limit I get two days of chest pain/tachy, tinnitus, body over-heating, insomnia, shakiness, etc. I haven't been able to wash my own hair or shave for over a year. I can but it takes two days each to recover from. I shower with a hand held outlet while lying in an empty bath and even that leaves me collapsed into bed for 50 minutes with chest pain/tachy and then shaky, clumsy, weak for one day. Walking to the kitchen and back is my walking limit and takes 10 minutes to recover from. Brushing my teeth takes 20 minutes to recover from.

These four combined are just awful. Plus after each meal my body copes with the above even worse for the following 50 minutes. I get chest pain, tachy, weakness after meals and if I sit up after a meal POTS symptoms come on way quicker and I get severe nausea. I'm in bed recovering after each meal. Arrgh.😔 

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I've been much livelier because the eye migraine is under control

I have been much livelier for the past 3 days, going out each day but unfortunately mostly for medical purposes.  I have had a sinus CT scan, a plain xray, thyroid ultrasound, and a blood test for my ACE levels but I have no results yet.  It is now the weekend.  I went to 2 different doctors so it is going to end up a mess when my doctor on record finds out and gets her nose out of joint but at this point I don't care.  It was actually Dr Craig who OK'd me having the ACE level check.  Dr Raylea did not want to at this stage.  And everyone who reads this should ask for a thyroid guard when they have just about any imaging done including dental x-rays because you won't get one unless you ask for one.



Right now I suspect I have sarcoidosis after reading about it and the eye problems,  my unknown lung nodule and sigmoid colon granuloma fit right in with it.  I also had a biopsy of something that looks like a keratosis but it has grown since the skin check before Christmas even though I passed the skin check.  It has been both itchy and sore at the same time.  Like my eyes but my eyes have been bad for a long time that is why I had my last eye appointment for glasses earlier than when I was actually due.  And that was around my birthday and my eyes had been sore, blurry and photophobic for some time before that. On and off at first but now it is constantly there even though I have started taking the rhinocort that the optician O'Neil suggested, every time it got very, very bad and then bingo, it works towards a significant reduction of pain. I may have even blogged about it back when I first tried it.  I ran out of rhinocort around Christmas and I was not doing very well then.  I missed out on Christmas.  My eye was so sore that it felt like a migraine on one side of my head plus I had trigeminal neuralgia and still have.  If I stop taking the Rhinocort, I know it will be like hell again. A very strange way to treat a migraine. Other pain in the area could possibly be caused by my right jaw joint that went clunk one day and has been sore ever since....but I have had TMJ problems before so it is not new, except the clunking itself out of place was very obvious this time.  But you know me I can put something out by just bending over or looking upward or leaning to the position that I was forced to adopt when tutoring behind students at their computer workstations.  My elbows are still out of place or something too so much so that I cannot pull on the other end of a toy or rag with Milo because she shakes my her head back and forth sideways trying to yank it from me and she is strong for a little dog, so much so that my "tennis elbows" come right back and they are not insignificant pains either.  All that stuff reminds me of EDS rather than sarcoidosis so I will get back on track.

I did tell Dr Jo that what the optician recommended had worked.  She seemed to be pleased for me and she certainly did not tell me to stop using it which I had expected  just that because Rhinocort is a steroid.  The well-respected optician David O'Neil had suggested that the kind of pain I had and duration of it sounded more like a chronic sinus infection (and I thought to myself, "Like Lyme Disease.") and that it would not go away on it's own.  Like I said it reduced the pain within days but there is always a residual pain deep in my skull at about temple level and the photophobia is not eliminated by Rhinocort either but it helps a lot. I'm spraying once a day. I haven't found anything to deal with the blurs and swimmy patterns and floaters that are starting to make me feel like I have a flash of seeing something that is not there which is a bit disconcerting.  I have been sitting in too dim a light or else my eyes are going dim.  I can hardly see the keyboard after looking at the screen but I cannot put my main interest in life aside so I plod along at the computer anyway.  I don't want to go blind because life without being able to read on-screen or off would be intolerable to me. My mother at 87 is also worried about her eye sight but because of cataracts and glaucoma.  Glaucoma is common in Sarcoidosis too and it seems this Sarcoidosis can come in many different levels of severity. My sisters sarcoid lump went away.  Others have long-term chronic sarcoidosis and when you think about it, although Dad was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma I would question that too.  The most common cause of death in sarcoidosis is cardiopulmonary. Sarcoids themselves are not malignant although they can lead to non-Hodgkins Lymphoma I read .

I'm the only one who used it this Christmas Just passed.

I have symbicort for my COPD that I was recently diagnosed with but those symptoms are the same as lung sarcoidosis so I don't know that it should be called COPD yet.  And Lyme disease has all the symptoms I have mentioned so far as well.  Lyme is well-known among the patient community as causing sarcoidosis too. Anyway it is too early to jump to conclusions but even the swollen belly symptom of gastrointestinal sarcoids is very familiar to me as you know.

15 years old, before glandular fever too

And I thought that was huge! 2001?

It is probably better that I leave you with something to read rather than me rave on about something I may not have, but it sure sounds like it with a deepening voice being added to the symptom list as I continue to research.  If I had my life over again, I would study to become a doctor even if I did not practice just so that I could have the perks like access to online databases.  Abstracts from research papers are often enough to learn a great deal in any case.  I was a research assistant and I was studying my Masters Degree so let's just say I already know how to report in an unbiased way but I am NOT attempting that in this blog because I have found that personal experience of your own body is a pretty good determiner of gut instinct too.  This is the first time I have felt that everything would fall into place with this diagnosis.  It is just a gut feeling more so than worrying about something that might not happen.  I'm not scared........yet.

But first before I get into the more official publications, one final co-incidence after finding out I had gg grandmother who was Creole.  The bit about sarcoidosis occurring more frequently and being more severe in African-Jamaicans (other African populations and the Finnish populations too but not Asians or Australian Aborigines. To me that means that everyone in my family needs to get their ACE levels checked to rule out sarcoidosis because it seems like it can cause just about any symptom depending upon where the sarcoids are and how many there are.  I wonder how Brett's pulmonary Langerhan's Cell Histiocytosis fits in.  He has not had any problems for ages though but do you remember that unexplained rash he had?

I had a punch biopsy yesterday as well and this was what a bit of, was sent to the lab.  I just happened to have the pleasure of allowing a medical student to perform it. It was his first and he did well. Not that I have ever had one before.  I asked Craig to do the injection though because that is the worst part.

I keep adding to this entry because I keep forgetting things.

This photo was, taken on a day I was puffy with fluid or something, shows another mark that I asked about but Dr Craig was not worried about it. I've got a few bruises at the moment too but so has Flora which I know worries her just like they did Ninnie.

This is what it looks like today.  I can finally have a shower and wash off what is stuck there today about lunch time.

Evidence of Lyme Disease in Australia was discovered in 1992 but "they" still debate it?

#UNCOVERED - Lyme disease found in Australia 25 years ago! The LDAA are fortunate to have been provided with this video and further supporting evidence of 1992 research.
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"We knew we had a break through as recently as about a week ago [1992] when we discovered that the microbe that we have been characterising is actually structurally very similar if not identical to the 'classical Lyme' disease [Borrelia burgdorferi] causing agent".
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In 1992 ABC's The 7.30 Report aired a story highlighting how scientist Michelle Wills with little funding and tentative support discovered Borrelia sp. in Australian ticks.
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The Department of Health’s specialist medical adviser, Dr Gary Lum,has continually argued that there is NO EVIDENCE of 'classical Lyme' ever being found in Australia. As a result nothing has been done to help the thousands of Australians that have become sick after tick bites.
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Michelle's discovery of Borrelia was confirmed by US Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Alan Barbour who had worked with Wihelm Burgdorfer who discovered Lyme disease.
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So... WHY wasn't this research from the 90's ever followed up? More on that story later.
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Click on the picture link below to watch this ground breaking report. It will blow you away how in 1992 locally acquired Lyme was known, yet ignored.

https://www.facebook.com/LymeDiseaseAustralia/posts/1370426006331225

Free children's book about Ticks

Kaitlyn had been an elementary music teacher, working with children every day. When she got too sick to work, she stayed at home and wrote her first novel called “Elements.” Now, because of her struggle with Lyme disease, Kaitlyn has written a children’s book called “Once Upon a Lyme” to bring Lyme awareness to children across the world, and has created a blog space that helps other sufferers stay positive and hopeful for curative treatment. 

 Reference article: Huffington Post


Once Upon a Lyme - the book itself online

Living With Lyme Disease Documentary by David Pembroke

It looks like a Project worthy of backing.  Looking forward to the finished movie.  Still cannot decide if ME/CFS and/or fibromyalgia are caused by Lyme-like illnesses or if they make you vulnerable to Lyme-like illnesses which would ordinarily be handled quite nicely by your immune system. Comments welcome!

Senate Inquiry into Lyme-like Diseases in Australia Interim Report

The Interim Report presented before the double dissolution of the Senate

I honour these people  today by reading the submissions from those who have already died but got their story written down in time:

• Pam Carmichael with help from Maree Kratzer and others
• Scott Chant

Lyme in Australia will not be called Lyme or even Lyme-like yet Government finally agrees people are sick

First day this year without watery runs, yippee!

I didn't go to the doctor because I don't like to go.  Not sure what this was though so for my records I am just recording what it was like.  It is not usual for me to get watery diarrhea in the absence of complete bowel attack that finally ends with this.  I had a lot of random mostly stomach pains but other places too in the gut and I lost my appetite or else avoided food on purpose to minimise the problem but I usually ate something by tea time and as usual finished off with something sweet.  It all seemed to start with plum pudding in which I find they include prune puree these days.  That was well before Christmas.  At that time I eventually came to the conclusion it was the sorbitol in the prunes/plums and the humectant (420).  I already knew about  sugar alcohols and my horrid reaction to them gutwise and have found that I tolerate erythritol the best at least in small amounts - eg chocolate drink mix.  Maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol are not for me which excludes most sugar-free foods/bars.  I get pain as well as diarrhea and I'd rather have glycoprep or golytely or whatever it is called if I need emptying (for a colonoscopy).

I cut out the plum pudding and fared better with light fruit cake but not dark which has more fruit.  I made sure there was no plum puree.  I wondered about fructose intolerance but it is the first year I have not been able to eat mixed fruit safely since I have overindulged on fruit mince pies leading up to Christmas for many years but I figured they had too much sugar for a diabetic with all the pastry.  Not really sure why I thought fruit cake would be better except to say that I have not really had a blood sugar problem for a long time despite me eating icecream daily too.  But I went off the desire for icecream despite it being liquid enough to help not aggravate my usual bowel problems.  I also found myself cutting cream out of my coffee which is another major source of calories for me.  I need more calories not less because my body goes into starvation mode making it impossible to lose weight. Anyway, it felt like I may have had a gut bug so cutting out dairy made sense.  I seemed to fare best on rice crackers but I did not check my blood sugar to see what they were doing to me because I had to eat something and even my totally plain beef patties were causing symptoms.  Even all the flavoring on the rice crackers (cheese) did not seem to be an upset.

I tried activated MMS to kill the bug and I did find it useful for after eating because it seemed to quell the bloating and gurgling that built up quickly.  I think the shooting pains were the thing that stood out as being "different" from other gut problems I have.  I did not get to more than 2 drops of activated MMS in a glass but I was worried about taking it and when the diarrhea didn't stop, I stopped taking it after a week.  But I have a feeling it may have helped shorten the lifespan of the bug.  I just don't know.  I wondered if I had food poisoning from the Christmas ham and soon stopped eating it so it went to waste (except for the dog who loved it and the bone).

All I can say is that this gastric bout stopped after I had started taking Silymarin and Tumeric capsules several times a day for a few days with the addition of the probiotic Saccharomyces Boulardii +MOS (expired) for the last 2 days.  Crumbed or battered fish was a meal I tolerated the best at night with a bit of lettuce when I had to start eating again.  And I was back on the mince beef patties for breakfast yesterday and today. I'd run out of eggs so I had no egg yolks as I usually do. Hmm, maybe the eggs were contaminated?  They hadn't expired though.

I did consider gastroparesis but it did not seem anything like the troubles I have with that except the perceived need to cut out cream during those times.  I mean food was going through fast from tea time to morning not slowly and I was not nauseous in the normal sense of the word - just "erky".

I still have not been able to put my back into place so that I am still getting daily migraines cracking and flashing and have doped myself up for those when I couldn't shift them.  It has been going on since before Christmas when I impulsively bought a PainMate to help treat it which has subsequently died on me a day after putting in a new battery.  I needed new sets of sticky pads for it but was putting up with its lack of stickiness due to "insufficient funds".  If I had the money I would not only have bought them but I would try a chiropractor or better still, an osteopath.

I am just shifting things around enough to ease my head by rolling on a tennis ball but basically I have been disabled by these problems so that I've done nothing more than small bits of housework and grocery shopping.  It is a real shame because I actually have more energy than I have had in a long time but using it usually means moving my arms and if you have spent quality time trying to stretch your back (I really should get a proper back stretcher), and received a lot of relief after the initial pain of the stretch, you don't really want to have it all come back just because your brought the wheelie bins in or hung out the washing but it is hard to stop me making the most of the energy I have to catch up on housework.  Milo does not help with my migraines because it is not just moving my arms but bending too and people wonder why I cannot teach her to jump through the doggy door when the flap is not hinged up.  It gives me a migraine trying to show her what to do that's why.  One day I even had my head out the flap.  She remains scared of the flap and totally clueless about the idea of pushing with her body.  And I also have the best liver treats you can get!

Then there is the flea problem, washing bedding and frequent doggy baths.  All migraine material.

Anyhoo, 11 days into the new year I am only nursing one majorly disabling problem instead of two so I've got to be happy with that!  It is time to sling a tennis ball over my shoulder and roll around on the wall.  Have a nice evening - I restored my ipad so I can watch Presto on it tonight.

This was on TV tonight about the state of Tick-borne Disease in Australia - http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4386727.htm

I'd better get a wriggle on and make my submission to the Senate Inquiry.

Overnight with Mike Williams Sunday July 19, 2015

Sharon Whiteman - President of the Lyme Disease Association of Australia