Pat's Treatment for Lyme Disease
Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my page! Please bear with me as I share my story and why I need your help. A lot of people have been asking me lately why I'm not training, why I'm not racing, and basically... where am I? The answer: Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The story goes like this:
I was feeling on top of the world as I capped off the 2015 triathlon season with an attempt to qualify for my professional license. I missed qualifying by a few places, but I decided to make that my goal for 2016. As I started training for the 2016 season in November / December (2015), I started getting stiff knees. I attributed the pain to training too aggressively and a minor fall I had skiing. Eventually in late February 2016 the pain moved into my elbows and eventually hands and feet. I had an appointment with my doctor and ran many tests. All negative.
A rash developed in April which is known as an erythema migrans; the rash that signifies you have been infected with the bacteria borellia burgdorferi aka Lyme Disease (usually transmitted by the bite of a tick). Unfortunately I was mis-diagnosed as the rash being cellulitis. I was given antibiotics, but only 15 days. This made me feel a little better, but after I was finished with the antibiotics I declined rapidly. I requested a Lyme blood test, which came back negative (The standard lyme test (ELISA) is only 30-50% accurate). This threw me off the trail for a few days. At this point I had visited the emergency room twice, called 911 three times, seen an infectious disease doctor, a rheumatologist, and blown through thousands of dollars trying to find answers. I turned to my best friend Doctor Google and the doctor kept leading me back to Lyme Disease. In late May I sought out a Lyme Specialist and requested more specific testing.
At this point I was not in good shape. My symptoms included: arthritis, joint popping, joint grinding, burning extremities, chest pain, heart palpitations, muscle twitching, muscle pain, cracking neck, brain fog, and light-headedness. At my worst, I was so sick that I could not walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like I was going to pass out and my heart was going to give out.
I received my positive test and got on high dose triple antibiotic therapy, specialized antimicrobial herbs, and supplements. I have been on antibiotics for 9 months now including high dose intramuscular penicillin shots. I have improved a great deal, but still suffer from the same symptoms that I started with, just at a lesser extent.
My goal is to enter remission from this disease, end my pain, end the constant barrage of harmful antibiotics, and hopefully be able to train and race once again. This is where I need your help:
I have found a clinic located in Reno, Nevada called Sierra Integrative Medical Center. They boast a 85-95% remission rate for Lyme Disease and I have heard many success stories myself. It is unlike any other facility or doctor in the US, because they use a natural treatment derived from an algae, which induces chills, body shakes, and a strong fever to kill the bacteria. I will be staying there to receive treatment for 6 weeks starting on March 13th. The treatment is roughly $23000. The money you donate will go towards treatment at SIMC. If the doctors were able to catch the infection earlier I wouldn't have spent many thousands (Between $10 - 15k) on testing, MRIs, X-rays, emergency room visits, doctor visits, ultrasounds, EKGs, medications, and supplements; and I would be able to afford most of the treatment myself. Not to mention Lyme specialist doctors do not take insurance.
To all my friends reading this:
Any donation you can give would mean so much to me. I sincerely will appreciate your help with my treatment. A person's health is the best gift they could ever receive. Thank you and God bless you!
-Patrick
Link to Sierra:
http://www.sierraintegrative.com/
Lyme Disease Facts:
https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-basics/lyme-disease/chronic-lyme/
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society:
