2012. One of a series of diatribes regarding my recent (a few months ago) experience with Lyme Disease.
Be patient- there's older diatribes of mine regarding Lyme that I will integrate here.
===============
Last fall I contracted Lyme disease.
One of its lesser-known symptoms (it occurs in 5%-10% of "victims") is a condition known as Lyme Carditis, which manifests itself in extreme bradycardia (slowing of pulse rate)
The various doctors that diagnosed me were unfamiliar with this, and soon decided that if I didn't quickly get a pacemaker, I had a good chance of dying. My pulse was down to 28-35 beats per minute.
So they shipped me off by Ambulance to the Jewish General Cardiac ICU in Montreal, where I got the same "You need a pacemaker ASAP!" opinion. Once I had figured out that this condition was almost certainly due to Lyme Carditis, which most of the Medical establishment here dismissed, it was too late- the pacemaker had been installed.
Oh yeah- during the "installation", my lung was accidentally punctured, resulting in Pneumothorax, and a FURTHER two day stay in the hospital, hooked up to an in-house vacuum cleaner.
BAH! I am not a Happy Camper.
If I had stayed home another week, and not worried too much about this bradycardia, it would have cleared up on its own accord. It really didn't bother me much- just a sort of fainting sensation when I ran up stairs, and which I quickly recovered from.
But then, I never would have known I had Lyme disease - until several months later Rheumatoid Arthritis (another Lyme disease symptom) was setting in, and my doctor would presumably then have said "Gee, Tony- You're getting old! You have to expect these sort of problems at your age!"
Well, no. I do not!.
BAH again! Guess I'm fucked, either way.
Lyme disease is becoming a serious problem in much of our rural Canadian society here- it is vastly under-reported (again in my humble estimation) due to its being masked by symptoms created by other common diseases.
Think you have Lyme? Consult your local physician. But be aware: In Montreal, the two-stage blood test takes 6 to 8 weeks for the results to be received!
Ormstown? I'm STILL waiting for my follow-up test results. It's been more than two months. I'm betting that the 23 day regimen of Doxycycline didn't cure my Lyme, as I had contracted it at least 2 months before my prescription was given.
But then, I'm not the unnamed (as yet) doctor in Montreal that prescribed my Doxycycline.
The local veterinarians in our area routinely test dogs and horses as well as other domestic and farm animals for Lyme.
And? Quite a few animals have it.
And here's the kicker: Apparently they can provide you with a diagnosis in less than one day. That is, if you're a dog. Or a horse. I asked a local vet if she could test me for Lyme, but she just laughed. Ha-ha. Funny, huh?
Ah, but there's a hospital much closer to me than Montreal or even Ormstown, that can provide me with a Lyme disease diagnosis.
This local hospital is, of course, in the US (in "small-town" of Malone, NY) and apparently can provide a diagnosis for Lyme disease (including the "Western Blot" test) within two days!
Alas, this will apparently cost me $200- $300.
It's expensive, but I may just go this route.
And- this damn pacemaker is UNCOMFORTABLE! If I can get it removed, I just might put it on E-Bay.
Hey, Medtronics? What's the going price for a 2nd-hand pacemaker?
Update (2022)
The week before, I had experienced a slight shortness of breath and eventually got around to checking my pulse. It was anywhere from 30 to 40 bpm. This puzzled me, but was not particularly upsetting. But the next day, I went to my local hospital just out of curiosity.
After the usual few hours wait in the Emergency dept., they got around to checking my pulse, and then, after an ECG was taken, their concerns quickly rose.
They sort of panicked and told me I was DYING. Hmmm...
"No,no... my heart is just a bit slow.. it's usually around 65 anyhow!"
But the doctors insisted I needed a pacemaker ASAP, and so after a night in the local Emergency ward, I was quickly shipped to the big city JGH (above), where their Cardiac experts ALSO became alarmed after seeing the ECGs.
Several hours later, an off-duty heart specialist showed up,and AT THE LAST MOMENT opined as how it just MIGHT be Lyme. Perhaps she had seen the erythema migrans somewhere on my body, but I doubt it- I'd already had Lyme (by my estimation) for 4 or 5 weeks.
The moment I heard heard her say the word "LYME" I had to TELL THEM that I wanted a test for it! I had already had several weird symptoms at least a month earlier, and thought it might be Lyme. But until then, I never thought seriously about this possibility.
I would have gotten up and walked out of the ICU, but my pants were left behind when the ambulance transported me there.
A fitful night was then spent in the midst of several elderly fellow patients at death's door. My alarms weregoing off every time I fell sleep, so the ICU nurse kept lowering the BPM monitor in the ECG - my heart dropped below 50 - so he set it to 40. Still too high. OK, let's set it to 35. It still beeped when I dozed off.
Finally he turned off the damn alarm completely to give me some sleep after I vocifously complained about it.
In the morning he told me that several times during the night, my BPM dropped to 26 or 27 in my sleep, but if I had flatlined, the alert nurses were ready with the paddles (already glued to me). Thanx, guys!
Be patient- there's older diatribes of mine regarding Lyme that I will integrate here.
===============
Last fall I contracted Lyme disease.
One of its lesser-known symptoms (it occurs in 5%-10% of "victims") is a condition known as Lyme Carditis, which manifests itself in extreme bradycardia (slowing of pulse rate)
The various doctors that diagnosed me were unfamiliar with this, and soon decided that if I didn't quickly get a pacemaker, I had a good chance of dying. My pulse was down to 28-35 beats per minute.
So they shipped me off by Ambulance to the Jewish General Cardiac ICU in Montreal, where I got the same "You need a pacemaker ASAP!" opinion. Once I had figured out that this condition was almost certainly due to Lyme Carditis, which most of the Medical establishment here dismissed, it was too late- the pacemaker had been installed.
Oh yeah- during the "installation", my lung was accidentally punctured, resulting in Pneumothorax, and a FURTHER two day stay in the hospital, hooked up to an in-house vacuum cleaner.
BAH! I am not a Happy Camper.
If I had stayed home another week, and not worried too much about this bradycardia, it would have cleared up on its own accord. It really didn't bother me much- just a sort of fainting sensation when I ran up stairs, and which I quickly recovered from.
But then, I never would have known I had Lyme disease - until several months later Rheumatoid Arthritis (another Lyme disease symptom) was setting in, and my doctor would presumably then have said "Gee, Tony- You're getting old! You have to expect these sort of problems at your age!"
Well, no. I do not!.
BAH again! Guess I'm fucked, either way.
Lyme disease is becoming a serious problem in much of our rural Canadian society here- it is vastly under-reported (again in my humble estimation) due to its being masked by symptoms created by other common diseases.
Think you have Lyme? Consult your local physician. But be aware: In Montreal, the two-stage blood test takes 6 to 8 weeks for the results to be received!
Ormstown? I'm STILL waiting for my follow-up test results. It's been more than two months. I'm betting that the 23 day regimen of Doxycycline didn't cure my Lyme, as I had contracted it at least 2 months before my prescription was given.
But then, I'm not the unnamed (as yet) doctor in Montreal that prescribed my Doxycycline.
The local veterinarians in our area routinely test dogs and horses as well as other domestic and farm animals for Lyme.
And? Quite a few animals have it.
And here's the kicker: Apparently they can provide you with a diagnosis in less than one day. That is, if you're a dog. Or a horse. I asked a local vet if she could test me for Lyme, but she just laughed. Ha-ha. Funny, huh?
Ah, but there's a hospital much closer to me than Montreal or even Ormstown, that can provide me with a Lyme disease diagnosis.
This local hospital is, of course, in the US (in "small-town" of Malone, NY) and apparently can provide a diagnosis for Lyme disease (including the "Western Blot" test) within two days!
Alas, this will apparently cost me $200- $300.
It's expensive, but I may just go this route.
And- this damn pacemaker is UNCOMFORTABLE! If I can get it removed, I just might put it on E-Bay.
Hey, Medtronics? What's the going price for a 2nd-hand pacemaker?
Update (2022)
MORE DETAILS ON MY ABOVE 2013 EXPERIENCE:
I already had Lyme for a couple of months, and the only way it was finally determined my heart problem was caused by Lyme, was at the Jewish General Hospital CARDIAC ICU .. BY ME! , where I was being prepped to have a pacemaker installed for reasons unknown.The week before, I had experienced a slight shortness of breath and eventually got around to checking my pulse. It was anywhere from 30 to 40 bpm. This puzzled me, but was not particularly upsetting. But the next day, I went to my local hospital just out of curiosity.
After the usual few hours wait in the Emergency dept., they got around to checking my pulse, and then, after an ECG was taken, their concerns quickly rose.
They sort of panicked and told me I was DYING. Hmmm...
"No,no... my heart is just a bit slow.. it's usually around 65 anyhow!"
But the doctors insisted I needed a pacemaker ASAP, and so after a night in the local Emergency ward, I was quickly shipped to the big city JGH (above), where their Cardiac experts ALSO became alarmed after seeing the ECGs.
Several hours later, an off-duty heart specialist showed up,and AT THE LAST MOMENT opined as how it just MIGHT be Lyme. Perhaps she had seen the erythema migrans somewhere on my body, but I doubt it- I'd already had Lyme (by my estimation) for 4 or 5 weeks.
The moment I heard heard her say the word "LYME" I had to TELL THEM that I wanted a test for it! I had already had several weird symptoms at least a month earlier, and thought it might be Lyme. But until then, I never thought seriously about this possibility.
I would have gotten up and walked out of the ICU, but my pants were left behind when the ambulance transported me there.
A fitful night was then spent in the midst of several elderly fellow patients at death's door. My alarms weregoing off every time I fell sleep, so the ICU nurse kept lowering the BPM monitor in the ECG - my heart dropped below 50 - so he set it to 40. Still too high. OK, let's set it to 35. It still beeped when I dozed off.
Finally he turned off the damn alarm completely to give me some sleep after I vocifously complained about it.
In the morning he told me that several times during the night, my BPM dropped to 26 or 27 in my sleep, but if I had flatlined, the alert nurses were ready with the paddles (already glued to me). Thanx, guys!
The ICU staff (including doctors) STILL pooh-poohed the idea that I had Lyme. Some of them had never even heard of it! And I admit I didn't realize that Lyme caused Bradicardia in about 5-10% of cases until I read the report gleaned off of UPTODATE.COM. See Wikipedia- ....
Too bad- a prescription of doxycycline may have given him another 5-10 years
Anyhow. They fitted me with a pacemaker, and in the process- "Umm... Sorry, but we accidentally punctured your lung".
So I spent ANOTHER two days in the JGH hooked up to a vacuum cleaner, until the pneumothorax finally cleared up!
Once home, I noticed about three days later a certain change in my chest - it felt different. Consider this somewhat subjective but I think it must have been the pacemaker finally shutting down, as the Lyme Carditis had run its course. (It usually lasts about two weeks)
I tried to get them to take the pacemaker out, but the doctor wouldn't listen to me. Best he could do was detune it, so it would only cut in if my bpm dropped below 50.
UPDATE#1! 2015 - Another rant against the Lyme kooks.
coming soon! See comment below!