# Hopeful development for the memory challenged



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

This is a little off topic, but with so many of us being older, I wanted to share this good development. Kris Kristoferson, the singer, was deteriorating rapidly into memory loss and had been diagnosed with Alzheimers. Turns out they misdiagnosed him and he actually had Lyme disease. They are treating that and he has bounced back! This disease is transmitted by deer ticks and is often missed as a diagnosis. So if you are worried about memory loss, have some tests done for Lyme. Among the doctors I work with, there are many who believe Lyme is misdiagnosed all the time. If you are in an HMO, you will have to be a squeeky wheel to get them to order a test, or pay for it yourself. If you live where there are deer, this could be the source of your malaise and memory lapses. Check it out.


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

DesertRatTom said:


> This is a little off topic, but with so many of us being older, I wanted to share this good development. Kris Kristoferson, the singer, was deteriorating rapidly into memory loss and had been diagnosed with Alzheimers. Turns out they misdiagnosed him and he actually had Lyme disease. They are treating that and he has bounced back! This disease is transmitted by deer ticks and is often missed as a diagnosis. So if you are worried about memory loss, have some tests done for Lyme. Among the doctors I work with, there are many who believe Lyme is misdiagnosed all the time. If you are in an HMO, you will have to be a squeeky wheel to get them to order a test, or pay for it yourself. If you live where there are deer, this could be the source of your malaise and memory lapses. Check it out.


Great info, Tom. I think that all too often doctors just order basic blood panels and jump at the first obvious diagnosis. Lyme Disease is a nasty and difficult malaise to recognize as the symptoms mimic so many other things.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Wow who would have thought . That disease has caused a lot of people a great amount of grief .


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Tom, this is great information! I will request this test because there are numerous white-tailed deer in our backwoods and whenever I go back into said woods, there will be one or more ticks clinging to my hairy legs. Interestingly, I've just changed to a new doctor. I've had a couple of doctors who were good, but had terrible office personnel, but my last one was going downhill fast - but had a good office staff. Due to some chronic problems and a few other things I have to be on several prescriptions. My last doctor prescribed all of my medication, but each time I visited the pharmacy (who fills everything for me) a pharmacist would walk-up to the counter and tell me to double-check with my doctor because two of my prescriptions should not have been prescribed together in combination with my other regimen. I asked the doctor and he said, "Tell your pharmacist to go to medical school".

I got a new doctor and without me saying anything he said he could not believe that "with my numbers and other prescriptions" I was being prescribed those same two drugs together. He told me to stop immediately. I did, and within a week; I felt 50 years younger. My pharmacist was correct! My previous doctor is no longer my doctor. He had a great staff, but would not listen to reason - even coming from other doctors or pharmacists!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Otis; you're likely one of the lucky ones, you have a knowledgeable Pharmacist...probably saved your bacon!
One wonders how many mistakes that Dr. _buried_?


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Arrogance must be one of the courses taught in medical school because quite a few doctors I've been to have had an over abundance of it. From my own personal experiences, the advice I've gotten from nurses and pharmacists has been much better than some I've gotten from doctors but the doctors are king of the roost so to speak and often ignore advice from them and from their patients.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Those in other medically oriented fields think that MDs belive those initials stand for Medical Diety.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

It's been several years ago but a pharmacist told me to stop taking a pill because they found out it was bad to take it all the time.


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Odd but all of my Doctors have no problem explaining why they prescribe a particular drug. Just questioned my heart Dr. about one last week on the dosage and he gave me a thorough explanation that made perfect sense. One should never try to be their own doctor but it is in your best interest to keep your self informed about your body and always question anything you do not understand. If your doctor has a problem with that it is definitely time for a change. After all it is you who decides who deserves your business. Medical offices are a business and can't survive without patients and most business is generated through word of mouth. Staying quite about a bad doctor is a disservice to your friends & neighbors so speak up.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

OPG3, the AMA has gone on record that medical mistakes account for about 100K deaths a year. Kind of makes you wonder, huh?

My father had the same thing by taking multiple medications. He spent a month in a VA hospital in Palm Harbor, Florida, getting everything balanced so medications were not working against each other or avoiding unfavorable reactions to the meds. BTW, my mother went to see him every day and said he got excellent care by the doctors and staff.

Hard to classify doctors. We have one doctor in town that is a known genius but he has lousy bedside and office manners. My PCP retired and I'm a bit skeptical about this new one I'll be seeing in a couple of weeks.

Now for the second cup of joe for the day!


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## Oakwerks (May 9, 2013)

Here's my story.....
My doc ordered an MRI for a very bad pain just below my neck.....
He looked at the results, and told me there wasn't much wrong....
Gave me a pain shot, and sent me home..... 
When it wouldn't get better, I went to a new doc armed with the MRI, who diagnosed it
as a herniated disk, and that it was worse than his.... He showed me
the scar left from an operation he had for it, and described the procedure....
And also said he was still having "discomfort" ....
Scared the crap out of me.....
A man at work suggested his chiropractor.... So after an X-ray she suggested 
deep massage therapy... (Very painful)....
After 7 weeks of that, 2 times a week, the pain went away, and has never come back...
Don't be in a hurry to go under the knife.....


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

These ticks are nasty lil fellows!!! A good friend of mine from HS days had a very promising career in banking... She was moving up quickly and the sky was the limit for her. Suddenly she came down ill... they did not realize it was tick related until it was too late. She's functional now, but no where near where she was...but the higher functions required for her to do her job are all gone.. 

5-6 years ago, my at the time 5 yr old grandson and I went for a winters hike in the woods. He had on a t-shirt, a shirt, a hooded sweat shirt, a jacket and a tossel. cap. We were gone for maybe 2 hrs, just hiking through the woods, nothing special. Came back to my place, and then his mom took him home. That night, went to give him a shower and damn'd if there wasn't a tick attached to the small of his back. The thing was pretty well dug in, had to go to a Med Express to have it removed properly...

A timely post Tom... thanks


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

A cousin out here was posting today that he has been sick for a while, is always tired, and has trouble keeping things down and docs haven't been able to find a cause. Someone else here suggested that he get checked for Lyme, that they knew someone else with with the same symptoms and that what it was for them. It may be far more prevalent than we think.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

because of this locale ticks are a very real threat...
everyone is checked as a matter of routine...


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## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

I was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2008. Being familiar with what that disease does to people's families, I decided to slow my life way down so I could spend time with mine and remember them as long as I could. My life was busy...I ran bass fishing tournaments (sometimes two in a weekend), worked full time, and fished all I could, so there was a lot of "trimming" that I could do. I cut down on the hours I worked, stopped running tournaments, spent more quality time with my wife and kids, ate better, and took the medicine. Several months later I realized my memory was actually returning! The medicine could not cure the disease, so I knew I could not have Alzheimers. 
I decided to test that by returning to school, so at the age of 60 I signed up for a degree program at the local college and took a course, which I did well in. I took more and more, finally graduating with high honors in 2013.
I never had Alzheimers... I had a memory loss problem brought on by stress, overwork, too little sleep and poor nutrition. Doctors don't always know what the real problem is. It's easy for me to believe that Kristopherson's memory loss was caused by Lyme.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

In Australia, the official response seems to be to deny that Lmye disease actually exists.

People that want to be tested/treated have to go to USA....

Apparently, we don't have ticks in Australia, if some reports are to be believed....And the ones we do, do not spread Lyme disease......


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

James, is it a mandate that the ticks cannot carry the Lyme disease?


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> In Australia, the official response seems to be to deny that Lmye disease actually exists.
> 
> People that want to be tested/treated have to go to USA....
> 
> Apparently, we don't have ticks in Australia, if some reports are to be believed....And the ones we do, do not spread Lyme disease......


The deer tick that carries Lyme is quit small, not like an ordinary tick that is a quarter inch (7mm) across. Animals are shipped all over the planet, so it would be strange for deer ticks NOT to be present. And one of the carriers would be infected humans traveling, and then getting bitten by Aussie bugs. Global spread of disease via traveling human hosts is a fairly common occurrence. 

I just got back from a nice hotel in Pennsylvania, where black ants inflicted some nasty bites while I slept. When I travel to the East, I stay out of woods and grasses, including lawns.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

The reports I have seen show people who have not been outside Australia and have suffered from native tick bite...

Many of our native animals , and cattle, suffer from tick bite...

The part I find hard to understand, is why some in the medical profession, refuse to acknowledge Lyme Disease and will not treat patients...


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> The reports I have seen show people who have not been outside Australia and have suffered from native tick bite...
> 
> Many of our native animals , and cattle, suffer from tick bite...
> 
> The part I find hard to understand, is why some in the medical profession, refuse to acknowledge Lyme Disease and will not treat patients...


I consult in a very specialized branch of optometry, and it has been attacked for decades by ophthalmologists as "voodoo." Over the past decade or so, the science has proven the optometrists' approach is deeply rooted in brain science and yet, the attacks persist. Why? Two things, I think. First is that optometrists have expended their care into medical care, long the realm of opthalmologists and that has reduced average opthalmologist average earnings from near $700,000 down to about $350,000 today. 

The other factor is just ego. Many physicians (not all thank goodness) think that only another MD knows enough to be considered a real doctor. And many more MDs have complete disdain for "popular" diagnoses, and Lyme is considered by many physicians to be a joke. But it is no joke to those who are being misdiagnosed and their conditions ignored. 

Strong letter to follow.


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## paduke (Mar 28, 2010)

Listen to the ad disclaimers following a drug commercial on TV. The side effects scare the crap out of me. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? First of all do no harm.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

OPG3 said:


> Tom, this is great information! I will request this test because there are numerous white-tailed deer in our backwoods and whenever I go back into said woods, there will be one or more ticks clinging to my hairy legs. Interestingly, I've just changed to a new doctor. I've had a couple of doctors who were good, but had terrible office personnel, but my last one was going downhill fast - but had a good office staff. Due to some chronic problems and a few other things I have to be on several prescriptions. My last doctor prescribed all of my medication, but each time I visited the pharmacy (who fills everything for me) a pharmacist would walk-up to the counter and tell me to double-check with my doctor because two of my prescriptions should not have been prescribed together in combination with my other regimen. I asked the doctor and he said, "Tell your pharmacist to go to medical school".
> 
> I got a new doctor and without me saying anything he said he could not believe that "with my numbers and other prescriptions" I was being prescribed those same two drugs together. He told me to stop immediately. I did, and within a week; I felt 50 years younger. My pharmacist was correct! My previous doctor is no longer my doctor. He had a great staff, but would not listen to reason - even coming from other doctors or pharmacists!
> 
> Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia



I too have had too many experiences with Dr. God. One prescribed a change in medication that had he read my chart would have known did not work for me. My protests were basically met with "Me Dr. God You ignorant patient. Shut Up; How dare you question my judgement". Never mind I am a Ph.D. with interests in microbiology, antibiotics, etc. He even set it up so that the remaining refills on the med that was working were cancelled. I spent a miserable day so far out of it I had to miss a scheduled dose to finally be able to think to look at the patient info. After checking off 5 of the "if any of the following seek immediate medical attention". Ambulance, ER, 10 day in hospital.
Fortunately the practice of which Dr. God was a member allowed me to switch to another physician.

Dr. God is now my answer to what do you call the person who graduated last in their med school class.

(I mean no offense to anyone who might believe I am being blasphemous in use of the term Dr.God)


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Garyk said:


> Odd but all of my Doctors have no problem explaining why they prescribe a particular drug. Just questioned my heart Dr. about one last week on the dosage and he gave me a thorough explanation that made perfect sense. One should never try to be their own doctor but it is in your best interest to keep your self informed about your body and always question anything you do not understand. If your doctor has a problem with that it is definitely time for a change. After all it is you who decides who deserves your business. Medical offices are a business and can't survive without patients and most business is generated through word of mouth. Staying quite about a bad doctor is a disservice to your friends & neighbors so speak up.


By far most of the physicians with which I have dealt are very much like your heart Dr. I can count the number who are like the one I described in my response to Otis without using a thumb.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

jw2170 said:


> The reports I have seen show people who have not been outside Australia and have suffered from native tick bite...
> 
> Many of our native animals , and cattle, suffer from tick bite...
> 
> The part I find hard to understand, is why some in the medical profession, refuse to acknowledge Lyme Disease and will not treat patients...



Do the med labs have the ability to test for Lyme disease? 

Only a few species of ticks can host _Borrelia burgdorferi_, the causative agent of Lyme disease. However, Australia does have _Ixodes holocyclus_, which is the same genus as the American deer tick. This tick is also known as the Australian paralysis tick,and is a serious problem for those injected by its neurotoxin. 
Several species of Ixodes in North America have been found to carry _Borrelia burgdorferi_ so I am skeptical of claims that Lyme disease is not in Australia.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

paduke said:


> Listen to the ad disclaimers following a drug commercial on TV. The side effects scare the crap out of me. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? First of all do no harm.


Those ad disclaimers are serious cya efforts. In almost all cases the possible ill effects affect only a very small fraction of people taking them, but it is essential to know what possible side effects can show up. 
Sometimes side effects show up that were not anticipated and never showed up in the extensive testing that is required to bring a new med onto the market. For example, Cipro, the widely heralded cure for the potential biowarfare Anthraxand a very effective broad spectrum antibiotic, was found to cause tendon ruptures in some people.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Lyme disease is not limited to people. My dog (the right most in my avatar, the last of the three) was found to have high levels of antibodies to Lyme disease. He had to take high levels of doxycycline for 30 days. In a nearby community the is a dog of similar size who was not diagnosed until he became so arthritic that he now crawls.


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## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

DaninVan said:


> Otis; you're likely one of the lucky ones, you have a knowledgeable Pharmacist...probably saved your bacon!
> One wonders how many mistakes that Dr. _buried_?


My daughter is a nurse, Her first job was with the VA, and one day the head nurse told her to give meds to one of the patients. My daughter, a brand new LPN recognized that two of the meds would interact and likely kill the guy. She refused to give him the meds. When she came to work the next day, the head nurse, the doctor and the pharmacist were waiting for her to tell her that she had likely saved that man's life! She got an award for it. 
Some time before that, my father was failing fast...to the point that I told my siblings they should visit him soon if they didn't want the next time they saw him to be at his funeral. It turned out that that also was drugs that should not have been taken together.
I think a whole lot of mistakes do get buried.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

kklowell said:


> My daughter, a brand new LPN recognized that two of the meds would interact and likely kill the guy. She refused to give him the meds. When she came to work the next day, the head nurse, the doctor and the pharmacist were waiting for her to tell her that she had likely saved that man's life! She got an award for it.


here your daughter would have been chastised or fired...
the VA doesn't want live patients or anyone to take care of.....


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Haven't seen this in awhile. Many of the complaints still apply.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Funny ,you know, when we were much younger, the big fear with tick bites was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It doesn't get the publicity it used to and that's just wrong!
Rickettsia rickettsii - Public Health Agency of Canada


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

DaninVan said:


> Funny ,you know, when we were much younger, the big fear with tick bites was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It doesn't get the publicity it used to and that's just wrong!
> Rickettsia rickettsii - Public Health Agency of Canada


Dan I fully agree


DaninVan said:


> *It doesn't get the publicity it used to and that's just wrong!*


. 

It has been a long time since I have heard about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I knew a kid a bit younger than me who got it and was hospitalized for days if not weeks. He did eventually recover but it was apparently touch and go for some time. he was not allowed out of bed. 

Although it is spread by a distinctly different group of ticks from Lyme disease, and the causative agent, _Rickettsia rickettsii_ is a distinctly different bacterium from the Lyme disease bacterium, we now know it can be treated by the same broad spectrum antibiotic, doxycycline (at least until it acquires resistance to it, and that will happen sooner or later, and the Lyme disease bacterium, _Borrelia burgdorferi._ will acquire resistance also). Let's just hope it is not anytime soon.


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

After reading all of the responses on this thread: A-ha the light just came on: now I know why the disciplines of medicine & law are referred to as "practicing medicine" or "practicing law". Wonder when they will have had enough "practice" and call it a definitive science ? I'm glad my eye surgeon had had enough "practice" and got it right the first time. Whew !!


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