Lyme disease can affect people in several ways, symptoms groups include:

·          central nervous system damage, nerves becoming numb, especially in the face

·           meningitis symptoms

·           a rash around the bite site, growing larger

Lyme arthritis, with inflammation and pain in joints, most commonly knee, shoulder, elbow, foot and hip.  However it is the fourth group of symptoms which will be most familiar to those of us with ME and FMS:

flu-like symptoms, drowsiness, headaches, mild fever, joint and muscle pains, and swollen

lymph glands.

Dr Gow, from Glasgow, who is developing a genetic test for ME, found that a significant

percentage of his trial subjects were actually suffering from Lyme disease and not M.E. 

have been exposed to tick bites, This is something we should be aware of and we should consider the possibility, especially if we have been exposed to tick bites.

 

 

 

 

An enlarged tick

after its blood meal        

The local press has recently been reporting on the increased risk

of Lyme Disease in our region. 

The illness is triggered by a bite from an infected tick.  Cases in our region have been rising along with the number of ticks.

Although still relatively rare, a study by Dr Gordon Baird, a GP from

Sandhead of farmers, forestry workers, and gamekeepers in

Wigtownshire found 11% had evidence of the Lyme disease bacterium.

 

Lyme Disease Warning

Eating small amounts of dark chocolate every day can help combat a chronic illness, it has emerged.  The specially formulated chocolate helped reduce the symptoms of ME.   Researchers at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust found.  People who took part in the study

reported feeling significantly less fatigue after eating 1.5oz (45g) of the chocolate every day for eight weeks.  They also reported feeling more fatigue when they stopped eating the chocolate and were  receiving a placebo instead.

 

Professor Steve Atkin, who conducted the study, said: "No-one has examined the effects of chocolate on CFS before and so this is a very exciting and interesting result for us.

"The participants in this study were taking 45g of specially formulated chocolate for eight weeks then having a two-week period of rest before then taking a simulated dark chocolate,

low in polyphenols, for another eight weeks.

"In the test period they reported feeling less fatigue and once they moved on to the placebo chocolate they began feeling more fatigue again.

"Interestingly they didn't experience any significant weight gain either, which is an extra

positive."  The formulated chocolate contained 85 per cent cocoa solids and was rich in

polyphenol flavonoids, which have been reported to reduce the risk of death from coronary heart disease, cancer and strokes.  Chocolate is also known to increase neurotransmitters like serotonin, which is associated with regulating mood and sleep.                                                    

                                                                                                             [From The Mail on Line]

 

                  Chocolate Helps ME Symptoms