FEATURE In acute Lyme disease, the patient sees the tick, the bull’s-eye rash (also re-ferred to as erythema migrans, which is always pathognomonic of Lyme disease) and is treated with doxycycline (the antibiotic of choice for spiro-chetes) for four to six weeks. If this protocol is followed, the patient will make a full recovery. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about chronic Lyme disease, where the patient doesn’t realize they have been bitten by an infected tick. Research out of Mount Allison University in New Brunswick suggests that only 10-15 per cent of individuals who encounter a tick bite actually see the tick and the bull’s-eye rash. So that leaves many patients with Lyme disease who don’t know they have it. That’s where we come in as chiropractors. Not necessarily so we can diagnose chronic Lyme disease, but so that we can listen to the list of symptoms the patient presents with and think: “Hmmm, is this possibly Lyme disease?” If and when that may be the case, we can begin to help them find the answers. PATIENT CARE Lyme crime A chiropractor’s perspective on Lyme disease THE TICK LIFELINE I Photo: Courtesy of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation BY SUSANNE LANGDON t was never my intention to learn everything I could about Lyme disease, but a tick no bigger than a poppy seed made that a neces-sity for me. My Lyme disease journey began with a trip to a retreat centre set in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts in 2011. At the time, I didn’t know that Massachusetts was a hotbed of tick activity. I didn’t connect the dots that a tick carrying Lyme disease had bitten me. I just felt increasingly ill, with bi-zarre symptoms that didn’t fit any clinical picture I knew of. Eventually, I had to leave my practice for 18 months. It wasn’t just the Lyme disease illness that took me out, it was the two auto-immune disorders it caused, including Lupus. Little has changed since then except for the fact that I can now practise part-time for 12 hours per week, instead of my usual 70. (I had a busy human practice as well as my animal practice adjusting horses and small animals). But I’m grateful for those 12 hours. I’ve had a round or two with cancer in my lifetime, and I can honestly say that my dance with cancer was “easier.” Not that I’d do that again, but with cancer, there is a beginning (diagnosis), a middle, (treatment) and an end (hopefully a cure, or remission). With Lyme dis-ease, it doesn’t seem to follow that pattern, unless you have acute Lyme disease instead of chronic (also re-ferred to as persistent) Lyme disease. DR. SUSANNE LANGDON is a 1986 graduate of CMCC, and became certified in Animal Chiropractic through the Options for Animals Program in 1991. Her life took a dramatic turn in 2011, when she was infected with the Lyme disease bacteria. Dr. Langdon continues to practice part-time, as well as lecturing and writing about the importance of diagnosing and treating chronic Lyme disease. www.canadianchiropractor.ca Ticks are not born with Lyme disease. Their first meal, as a larva, is usually the culprit. White-footed mice are their preference, and often the carrier. Once nourished, the larvae transform into a nymph, and eventually an adult who then lays eggs. On average, the tick life cycle is two years. Most young ticks are too small for us to see, which compli-cates the situation. If you don’t see it, you may not know it has latched on and is feeding on you, your dog or your cat. A tick that has been feeding on its host looks almost like a swollen raisin be-cause they are engorged with blood. To see the proper way to remove a tick, visit the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation website (canlyme.com). The most important thing to note here is that not all ticks (brown-or black-leg-ged) carry Lyme disease, but all Lyme disease seems to have one source – ticks. Four main Borrelia bacteria cause Lyme disease: Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii in North America, and Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii in Europe and Asia. In North America, the Lyme spirochete first made an appearance in Old Lyme Connecticut July/August 2019 Canadian Chiropractor 25
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor JulyAugust 2019: Page 25
