Ontario petition for Lyme Disease

May 15, 2013 35d Comments

 Lyme

Most outdoorsmen have heard of Lyme Disease, and some of them might even understand the life cycle of the deer tick involved in spreading this much misunderstood ailment.

Back in the early 1990’s, my hunting pal Jim returned home from the deer hunt with a large ‘bull’s eye’ like red welt on his forearm. Luckily for Jim, the Doctor knew right away he had been bitten by an infected female deer tick.

Jim was treated right away and suffered no ill-effects from his brush with the dreaded Lyme Disease.

I also have another friend, her name is Kelly, and I’ve worked with her for 15 years. Kelly, her husband and their two kids love the outdoors and camping is an activity they all share. About 2 years ago, Kelly and her family made the mistake of spending time at a campground on Big Rideau Lake. Evidently, there were signs indicating the presence of deer ticks, but they never noticed them.

Poor Kelly returned home from that trip with more than just memories, and unlike my pal Jim, there was no telltale bull’s eye rash to indicate anything was wrong.

Somehow she was bitten by an effected, blood engorged deer tick and contracted Lyme disease without even knowing it. Over the next few months strange things began happening to her – memories loss, lack of energy, general confusion.

The local Doctors were baffled. At one point, they felt very strongly that she had developed MS, but it was Lyme Disease all the time and it had been left untreated for nearly a year before they could finally pinpoint a diagnosis.

Kelly is a beautiful person inside and out and one of the nicest girls I ever met, and in no way deserves the horrors that go along with this terrible disease. She has been on disability from her government job for more than a year now, with regular visits to the United States and 10’s of thousands of dollars spent on meds to help control the disease.

It is felt that eventually she will be rid of this terrible condition but what will it take? With two young children at home and her husband struggling to keep up with the exorbitant costs of meds not currently covered by OHIP.

Please, I urge you all to sign the Petition for Lyme Disease, for people like Kelly, and for the 20-30 others who will contract Lyme Disease in Ontario this year.

Get well soon, Kel..we all miss you and are praying for your full recovery…

 

A Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

WHEREAS, the tick-borne illness known as Chronic Lyme Disease, which mimics many catastrophic illnesses, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, arthritic diabetes, depression, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia is increasingly endemic in Canada, but scientifically validated diagnostic tests and treatment choices are currently not available in Ontario, forcing patients to seek these in the U.S.A. and Europe; and


WHEREAS, the Canadian Medical Association informed the public, governments, and the medical profession in the May 30, 2000 edition of their professional journal that Lyme Disease is endemic throughout Canada, particularly in Southern Ontario; and


WHEREAS, the Ontario Public Health system and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan currently do not fund those specific tests that accurately serve the process for establishing a clinical diagnosis, but only recognize testing procedures known in the medical literature to provide false negatives 45 to 95% of the time;


WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to request the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to direct the Ontario Public Health system and OHIP to include all currently available and scientifically verified tests for Acute and Chronic Lyme Disease in Ontario, and to have everything necessary to create public awareness of Lyme Disease in Ontario, and to have internationally developed diagnostic and successful treatment protocols available to patients and physicians.

Sign here: http://www.randyhilliermpp.com/lyme_disease?recruiter_id=15406 

 

35 thoughts on “Ontario petition for Lyme Disease”

  2. Good on you Jeff! Just signed it myself. Just pulled out a tick buried in my chest on sunday past.

  4. Ticks carrying Lyme disease are likely breeding in Ottawa, leading to an increase in reported cases, according to a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

  5. Personally, I hadn’t heard of anyone I know with an encounter with deer ticks… Until…
    Last summer I took a quick walk past an irrigation pond with high grass/weeds around it… Wasn’t there anymore than maybe 5 or 10 minutes…
    That evening, I noticed this tiny little nibit on my groin… Sure enough, after taking a magnifiying glass to it, a deer tick. Man are they ever small.
    I didn’t get any rash or red spot nor ill effects (I don’t think)
    Did a bunch of internet research…
    What I found was that not all deer ticks are actually infected with Lyme Disease, for you to get it, they need to have it.
    Second, it said they need to be attached for 24 hours.
    Third, watch out for the red rash, spot, ring… get to a doctor…
    Lots of Lyme Disease is misdiagnosed by uninformed doctors. If something is amiss suggest to your doctor Lyme Disease.
    I don’t know if all of this is scientific fact. I thought I’d throw it in for the benefit of all.
    People should be aware of these little beasties and how easy it is to be affected by them…
    I signed the petition, I think everyone should…

    1. Herman, some years are worse than others for deer ticks and some regions are worse than others too!

      There was a time about 20-25 years ago in our deer woods in QC, that deer ticks were everywhere!!! I got them on me about 5 years in a row and not just one or two ticks…I had literally HUNDREDS on me!! Didn’t even know what they were the first time, until I did some research. Then I stopped wearing wool outer clothing since they stick to it like glue!

      I remember one time getting so many friggin ticks on my shirt that I tore it off me and left it in bush!!

      Although I have never seen an infected, or blood engorged female deer tick out of the thousands I’ve had on my body, apparently their size isn’t hard to miss!
      They are much much larger than the regular ones.

      I really hope the government takes a long hard look at this situation and realizes we need help.

      Outdoorsguy

  6. In my business as a taxidermist I encounter deer tics on a regular basis. I average 20+ bites a year, So far I have been lucky as I have been aware of Lyme disease and keep a sharp eye open for tics.

    It is interesting 20 years ago I did not have this problem as deer tics were very rare. Now most local deer carry them.

    Deer tics are not the only carrier. Black Legged tics are more likely carriers and are increasing.

  7. i contracted Lyme while hunting in Mattawa in ’93
    at the time the gov’t line was, no Lyme in Ontario (except Point Peelee), had to be on you for a long time, left a bulls-eye rash
    i was bitten by nymphs, these look like little red spiders about the size of a head of a pin
    they got inside my gloves and i had at least 1/2 doz bites on each hand
    i didn’t realize they were ticks, but knew they weren’t mosquitoes or black flies
    about 5 months later i had strange pain in my finger joints
    i went to a doctor and mentioned the strange bites – he just laughed it off, saying there couldn’t be any connection
    did the normal blood & x-rays – nothing – with his attitude i scratched hi, off my list
    i did not get the ‘normal’ symptoms for quite a while
    10 years later i would get pain in a joint, say a knee, it would be excruciating, last for 6-8 weeks and disappear overnight as if it had never occurred
    with these i went to the sports medicine clinic, by the time i got an appt, got x-rays, the pain was gone & they had no interest in following up
    spin forward another 10 years, now i have fatigue, can barely walk, constant pain which normal pain killers barely touch, brain fog – what i’ll call the classic symptoms of Lyme
    after 2 years of waiting for it go away, which it didn’t, i finally decided to give the medical profession another try
    1st doctor said i couldn’t possibly have Lyme and refused the sign the form to send my blood to the US for the Western Blot test (which i paid for) – i fired him
    found another doctor who signed the form, the report came back with ‘NOT LYME’ as defined by the CDC, but i had 2 proteins unique to Lyme (you need 5 for the CDC to declare Lyme – a whole other story), my doctor said i had Lyme
    started antibiotics – symptoms disappeared in 3 days and i had my life back (for 3 months)
    symptoms slowly returned over the next 3 months
    finally got an appt with a doc in the US (nothing against my new doc here, he just didn’t know how to treat chronic Lyme) and started her Lyme treatment regimen
    6 months later, i am human again, feel like superman, no fatigue, almost unlimited energy, still brain fog tho
    this lasted for 6 months and again some of the symptoms crept back over the next 6 months
    tried regimen again that gave the great 6 months, but it didn’t have the same affect
    so, here i am 6 months later, just got back from a week canoe-camping in Algonquin, i still have minor pain, slight fatigue & brain fog, but i am able to function
    i will start another drug in a couple of weeks for Babesia – we think we have licked Lyme & Bartonella
    it is a long hard road, with gains & set backs
    without some gains from the 2 years on antibiotics, i think suicide would have been the only option, as the pain was becoming unbearable
    the medical profession here just refuses to diagnose or treat acute Lyme, so it will almost always become chronic
    be your own medical practitioner and get the correct diagnosis & treatment

    …

  8. i contracted Lyme while hunting in Mattawa in ’93
    at the time the gov’t line was, no Lyme in Ontario (except Point Peelee), had to be on you for a long time, left a bulls-eye rash -all lies!
    i was bitten by nymphs, these look like little red spiders about the size of a head of a pin
    they got inside my gloves and i had at least 1/2 doz bites on each hand
    i didn’t realize they were ticks, but knew they weren’t mosquitoes or black flies
    about 5 months later i had strange pain in my finger joints
    i went to a doctor and mentioned the strange bites – he just laughed it off, saying there couldn’t be any connection
    did the normal blood & x-rays – nothing – with his attitude i scratched hi, off my list
    i did not get the ‘normal’ symptoms for quite a while
    10 years later i would get pain in a joint, say a knee, it would be excruciating, last for 6-8 weeks and disappear overnight as if it had never occurred
    with these i went to the sports medicine clinic, by the time i got an appt, got x-rays, the pain was gone & they had no interest in following up
    spin forward another 10 years, now i have fatigue, can barely walk, constant pain which normal pain killers barely touch, brain fog – what i’ll call the classic symptoms of Lyme
    after 2 years of waiting for it go away, which it didn’t, i finally decided to give the medical profession another try
    1st doctor said i couldn’t possibly have Lyme and refused the sign the form to send my blood to the US for the Western Blot test (which i paid for) – i fired him
    found another doctor who signed the form, the report came back with ‘NOT LYME’ as defined by the CDC, but i had 2 proteins unique to Lyme (you need 5 for the CDC to declare Lyme – a whole other story), my doctor said i had Lyme
    started antibiotics – symptoms disappeared in 3 days and i had my life back (for 3 months)
    symptoms slowly returned over the next 3 months
    finally got an appt with a doc in the US (nothing against my new doc here, he just didn’t know how to treat chronic Lyme) and started her Lyme treatment regimen
    6 months later, i am human again, feel like superman, no fatigue, almost unlimited energy, still brain fog tho
    this lasted for 6 months and again some of the symptoms crept back over the next 6 months
    tried regimen again that gave the great 6 months, but it didn’t have the same affect
    so, here i am 6 months later, just got back from a week canoe-camping in Algonquin, i still have minor pain, slight fatigue & brain fog, but i am able to function
    i will start another drug in a couple of weeks for Babesia – we think we have licked Lyme & Bartonella
    it is a long hard road, with gains & set backs
    without some gains from the 2 years on antibiotics, i think suicide would have been the only option, as the pain was becoming unbearable
    the medical profession here just refuses to diagnose or treat acute Lyme, so it will almost always become chronic
    be your own medical practitioner and get the correct diagnosis &…

    1. Mark Kaye, thank you so much for sharing your story..Im sure Kelly would feel a bit better knowing there are others out there in same boat as her.

      You have included some great advice too..thank you for that!

      Outdoorsguy

  9. wow great column jeff, I got bit last week while turkey hunting although the tick was on me less than 24 hours it still warranted a trip to the Dr. i found two fully engorged ticks on my dog last week as well we kept the ticks so we can get them tested for lyme they are definitley scary little buggers..

    1. Hey matt…that’s scary and reminds me to get our dog to the Vet asap for another round of Revolution. Keeps them tick/flea free for the entire summer/fall season. Also prevents heart-worm disease.

      This stuff isnt cheap but for the $150 it costs each year, it is well worth it for peace of mind.

      Outdoorsguy

  10. Jeff in your article you mention there was signs that deer ticks were present that they didn’t notice…can you elaborate on what the signs were.
    Thanks

    1. Hi Will, I’m sorry I see that part was a bit erroneous, I should have expanded more…

      It was my understanding that one, or more, of the campgrounds around the Big Rideau have signs posted warning of the high number of deer ticks present.

      I do not believe my friend noticed the signs at the time, and really, how do you take precautions with something very few people even know about..

      Thanks Will for the question….

      Outdoorsguy

  11. Ticks are most likely to transmit infection after being attached for more than 24 hours of feeding because the bacteria requires time to migrate from the tick’s gut to its salivary glands. Because of this delay, prompt detection and removal of ticks is one of the key methods of preventing Lyme disease.

    1. Thanks Johnathan for the great info. I did not realize that.

      Outdoorsguy

  12. hey jeff will be heading up to the big rideau on monday the 27th for lakers will let you know how we do

  13. Hey Jeff, thanks for the really nice prizes for being the 1,000,000,000 poster on here, and thanks for dropping off those two cook books I bought, they look great and can’t wait to try some of the recipies.
    Have a nice weekend, running in the Ottawa Race Weekend 10k tomorrow

    1. Thank you Iggy…I hope you enjoy the books!

      You’ll notice some neat little stories, photos, tips (& follies too) included with each recipe.. I actually did an interview this week with Susan Greer of the Canadian Press for a feature she’s running on Monday (across the country) on the release of the Canadian Fishing Cookbook Suppose to hit bookstores in June.

      Good luck in the race, Iggs, looks like you’ll have some nice weather for running. No rain and nice and cool!

      Outdoorsguy

  14. ran the 10k in 59.59, just under my goal of 60 minutes
    now back to work
    and back to turkey hunting

  15. I had a buddy die from Lymes disease RIP Randy Flynn. He went through hell and back until he eventually passed. He spent thousands of dollars travelling to the states for testing and treatment but it was too late. The one lesson we learned is to never treat Lymes disease with Prednisone….Apparently it makes it worse but is often prescribed for similar ailments so be cautious if your doctor suggests it.

  16. After reading Mark’s post I think i’m going to make a doctor’s appointment.

    We see all kinds of ticks and other creatures as we process fur. About 3 years ago I had a terrible rash on my shin that would not go away. I chalked it up to acute poison ivy. After all the traditional treatments it continued to return, I even threw out a pair of boots that I considered was re-contaminating me. Eventually is decided to self medicate my self. I had a left over prescription of Cipro (the strongest antibiotic you can get, we get these every time we travel to a third world country in case of hepatitis contact) Well it worked and the rash went away. However to this day I still have reoccurring symptoms like Mark describes.

    1. Well trapper, it does seem very difficult to diagnose, but Id suspect if you were carrying Lyme Disease those symptoms would have become much more debilitating over the years…just thinking positive I guess, but I don’t believe fur-bearers are the normal host for ‘deer ticks. I can remember seeing a lot of red mites on them and probably wood ticks, but haven’t heard of deer ticks hanging out in fur bearers.

      Rick, can you shed any light on this?

      I remember you mentioning your friends passing, but I had forgotten it was from Lyme Disease…isn’t Prednisone a corticosteroid prescribed for sinus and lung infections? I read that it will suppress the immune system too.

      Outdoorsguy

  17. Ticks are most likely to transmit infection after being attached for more than 24 hours of feeding (see attached figure) because the bacteria requires time to migrate from the tick’s gut to its salivary glands. Because of this delay, prompt detection and removal of ticks is one of the key methods of preventing Lyme disease.

  18. 1) The U.S. is also lousy at diagnosing Lyme’s, for a number of reasons:
    a) Since symptoms include dementia, over-use of antibiotics as a ‘Hail Mary’ cure for genuine dementia patients become a pain for insurance companies, so insurance companies demand adherence to 1994 CDC rules (3+ positive bands on Western Blot tests).
    2) The nature of the Lyme’ spirochetes EVADES the immune system, burrowing into immune-system-free zones: cartilage (esp knees), brain tissue, ligaments, gut integuments (esp. small intestine.
    3) After about 18 months of infection, the immune system backs-off, so that a Western Blot test WILL NOT detect enough reaction to trigger the CDC guideline.
    4) What U.S. doctor’s do? Explore EVERY symptom until they come up with a symptom they will call a ‘disease’ that they can’t really cure (there are 50 to choose from!)
    5) Just WHAT is a late-stage patient to do that remains undiagnosed?
    Simple: use an antibiotic treatment as a diagnostic. Two to three weeks BEFORE doing a Western Blot, take oral antibiotics – ANY antibiotics will do – which will kick-loose enough spirochetes to rekindle the immune system and present the Western Blot analysis with enough to read ‘positive’… IF you have Lymes.
    6) Lastly, Prediction: ‘wild’ Turkeys are the spreading the disease all over the U.S. and Canada. Soon, Kalifornia will be very very hard it, as State introduced turkeys (not just elected Turkeys) have spread into dense urban areas.

  19. 1) The U.S. is also lousy at diagnosing Lyme’s, for a number of reasons:
    a) Since symptoms include dementia, over-use of antibiotics as a ‘Hail Mary’ cure for genuine dementia patients become a pain for insurance companies, so insurance companies demand adherence to 1994 CDC rules (3+ positive bands on Western Blot tests).
    2) The nature of the Lyme’ spirochetes EVADES the immune system, burrowing into immune-system-free zones: cartilage (esp knees), brain tissue, ligaments, gut integuments (esp. small intestine.
    3) After about 18 months of infection, the immune system backs-off, so that a Western Blot test WILL NOT detect enough reaction to trigger the CDC guideline.
    4) What U.S. doctor’s do? Explore EVERY symptom until they come up with a symptom they will call a ‘disease’ that they can’t really cure (there are 50 to choose from!)
    5) Just WHAT is a late-stage patient to do that remains undiagnosed?
    Simple: use an antibiotic treatment as a diagnostic. Two to three weeks BEFORE doing a Western Blot, take oral antibiotics – ANY antibiotics will do – which will kick-loose enough spirochetes to rekindle the immune system and present the Western Blot analysis with enough to read ‘positive’… IF you have Lymes.
    Lastly,A Prediction: True wild and introduced Turkeys are spreading the ticks all over the U.S. and Canada. They are unique in being both brush intensive ,AND widely traveled. (The disease has nothing to do with ‘deer’ per se; ANY warm blooded animal will do). Soon, Kalifornia will be very very VERY hard it, as State F&G introduced turkeys (not just elected Turkeys) -and they have spread into dense urban areas around the SF bay area. The problem? California is very anti-gun; both turkeys and ferral hogs are dominating the Northern 2/3rds of the coast there.
    Lastly, it’s true that careful care/inspection upon leaving an area can preclude the ticks. But there are smaller stages: flea size, that are missed – particularly on the returning pets. It are the innocents that never went into the brush that pick-up the ticks (from their pets) that don’t even know they were exposed. I’ve seen a sickly eight year old; the only flag that it was lyme’s was the ‘creaking’ of every joint.
    Be careful what you bring home.

  20. Ticks are most likely to transmit infection after being attached for more than 24 hours of feeding (see attached figure) because the bacteria requires time to migrate from the tick’s gut to its salivary glands. Because of this delay, prompt detection and removal of ticks is one of the key methods of preventing Lyme disease.

  21. Were and how to sign on this site? My grandson is in Oshawa Hospital being treated for Lyme disease. Fortunately a great doctor there stepped up to the plate and is giving him the care needed. Why can not our government be proactive and help the people rather then spending time and effort debating the senseless things very few care about.

  22. I live in southern Ontario and have just been tested and confirmed positive for lymes! I have been living in this hell and been treated for mental disorders because no one could or was able to diagnose my condition until only a few weeks ago I was refered to a ndr who sent my bloodwork to the US and my fears were confirmed.
    Now were do I go and find treatment in the Kitchener waterloo area ? my family Dr has no idea
    any help or suggestions would be appreciate it
    Health Canada and service Ontario are absolutely no help as is the College of physians have no help or direction to offer

  23. David. Sorry to hear of your situation. Please contact someone like Dr. Angela Lee (naturopath) in Richmond Hills. You may find this a helpful start in getting better.

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