ticks Archives - Page 2 of 10 - Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Toxic Load: Healing from Tick-borne Disease, Long Covid, Mold, & Bad Food

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Jill Carnahan, MD

Jill Carnahan, MD, is a functional medicine doctor with a huge media presence, board-certified in Family Medicine and Integrative Holistic Medicine. She is the Medical Director of Flatiron Functional Medicine, a sought-after practice with a broad range of clinical services. As a survivor of breast cancer, Crohn’s disease, and toxic mold illness she brings a unique perspective to treating patients in the midst of complex and chronic illness. Her clinic specializes in searching for the underlying triggers that contribute to illness through cutting-edge lab testing and tailoring the intervention to specific needs.

Featured in People magazine, Shape, Parade, Forbes, MindBodyGreen, First for Women, Townsend Newsletter, and The Huffington Post as well as seen on NBC News and Health segments with Joan Lunden, Dr. Jill is a media must-have. Her YouTube channel and podcast features live interviews with the healthcare world’s most respected names.

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Keeping Frontline Workers Safe: New Program Will Educate Firefighters At Risk for Lyme Disease

Functional Medicine for First Responders

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

BAL Leading the Way Series

Sunjya Schweig, MD, founder of the California Center for Functional Medicine, discusses a new program he is developing with funding from Bay Area Lyme to provide education and awareness about Lyme disease and the risks of tick-borne infections for firefighters. Firefighters have a profile of unique occupational exposures, including tick bites, and there is a significant lack of education on this topic. This new program aims to create professional, engaging videos featuring firefighters sharing their experiences and providing information on tick bite prevention, checking for ticks, and what to do if bitten. The goal is to roll out the program in California first, targeting professional firefighter and first responder organizations and eventually expanding nationwide. The exact number of firefighters living with Lyme disease is unknown, but it is acknowledged that they have both occupational and recreational exposures. This new program is seen as a way to bring awareness and education to this population and beyond.

“Lyme is not really on the radar for many firefighters. They may have had tick bites either in the line of duty or out mountain biking or hiking when they’re off duty, but many don’t know that tick-borne disease is a big problem.”

– Sunjya Schweig, MD

Ticktective with Dana Parish: Brain Bugs: A Neurologist Discusses Lyme, PANS, & PANDAS

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Elena Frid, MD

Dr. Elena Frid is a Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist specializing in Infection Induced Autoimmune Disorders. With clinical interests in Autoimmune Neurology, she sees patients with complex cases of Lyme disease + co-infections, PANS/PANDAS, and Autoimmune conditions resulting in various neurological complaints. Using cutting-edge diagnostic tools and clinical expertise, she differentiates between idiopathic and organic causes of various neurological disorders. Her knowledge has been sought by patients from all over the United States, as well as Canada and Europe. Dr. Frid attended a coveted BA/MD program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) and went on to North Shore-LIJ Health Care Systems (currently Northwell) where she completed a residency in Neurology and a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology.

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Mother’s Against Lyme: Congenital Lyme Disease

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Ticktective Podcast Transcript

Isabel Rose, writer, performer, and activist is interviewed by Ticktective host, Dana Parish. Rose is working on a memoir chronicling her lifelong battle against Lyme disease, which she passed on in utero to both of her children. They discuss Isabel’s experience with Lyme disease and its impact on her and her children. Isabel highlights the lack of awareness and understanding of Lyme disease among medical professionals, leading to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. She also discusses the connection between Lyme disease and other health issues, such as depression, autism, and gender dysphoria. She champions support for congenital Lyme disease and transgender children and their families. She emphasizes the need for improved diagnostic tools, better treatment options, and increased public awareness of Lyme. Isabel also calls for further research into the connection between Lyme disease and negative health outcomes. She is on the executive board of Project Lyme and co-chair of Mothers against Lyme. Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.

“I was misdiagnosed for a horrifyingly long period of time—as were both my children.”

– Isabel Rose

Lyme Patient, Shellie Krick, Discusses a Better, Calmer Way to Get Through the Day

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

BAL Spotlights Series

In her book, The Art of Living With Chronic Illness, Pain, and Disability: A Practical and Spiritual Approach Inspired by the 12-Step Recovery Model, author, and former social worker Shellie Krick, explores how she used the 12-step Al-Anon program as a template to cope with her Lyme disease. Shellie has experienced over 30 years of chronic health problems stemming from Lyme and Bartonella infections, misdiagnosis, and dangerous, unproven treatments—some of which caused serious harm. Her book stems from her personal journey, offering a step-by-step guide to developing a different way of handling daily life with a chronic illness or chronic pain.

“I definitely wasn’t the type of person who liked sitting around doing nothing—Lyme has been really hard on me in that way. But through my book, if I can help just one person cope with their situation better, then I will feel I have accomplished a lot.”

– Shellie Krick

Ticktective with Dana Parish: Mother’s Against Lyme: Congenital Lyme disease

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Isabel Rose

Isabel Rose is a writer, performer and activist. She has addressed audiences large and small urging understanding of, and support for, both congenital Lyme disease and rights for transgender children and their families. Rose is working on a memoir chronicling her lifelong battle against Lyme disease which she passed along, in utero, to both her children. Isabel is on the executive board of Project Lyme and co-chair of Mothers Against Lyme. She leads a bi-monthly support group for women coping with Lyme disease and its impact on their lives and on the lives of their children.

To read the podcast transcript, click here.

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The Chronic Illness Puzzle: Mold, Metals, Toxins, Infections

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Ticktective Podcast Transcript

In this conversation with Dana Parish, Todd Maderis, ND, talks about his extensive experience treating tick-borne infections, chronic viral infections, mold illness, and other conditions associated with complex chronic illness. He underscores the significance of identifying the root causes of symptoms and how tailoring individualized treatment approaches is key to healing. Dr. Maderis also delves into the role of trauma in chronic illnesses and emphasizes the importance of gut healing and inflammation reduction through dietary choices. Dr. Maderis acknowledges the challenges involved in addressing chronic diseases and stresses the importance of a personalized, patient-centric approach.

“I think a lot of times in conventional medicine, we don’t think beyond the room that we’re sitting in with a patient, we have to ask about the environment. We have to look at more than just the symptoms the person’s presenting with in the office.”

– Todd Maderis

Dana Parish: I am so excited today because I’m here with Dr. Todd Maderis. Thank you so much for being here today. I’m thrilled to talk to you. Let me tell you a little about Dr. Maderis. He’s the founder and medical director of Marin Natural Medicine Clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area. He specializes in treating tick-borne infections, chronic viral infections, mold illness, and other conditions associated with complex chronic illness such as Mast Cell Activation Disorder, and ME/CFS. His approach to treating chronic illness is to identify all underlying causes of symptoms to provide a clear direction for treatment. With over a decade of experience treating Lyme disease and complex chronic illness, he knows that every patient is unique and requires individualized treatment therapy. Welcome! It’s great to see you!

Todd Maderis: Thank you for having me. It’s great to be here.

Dana Parish: How’d you get into this mess?

Todd Maderis: Gosh, that’s always a great question. You start going down a rabbit hole and sometimes you wonder, but I wouldn’t change a thing. My first five years of practice, I was treating people with common complaints: digestive issues, fatigue issues, thyroid issues, etc. I’m a naturopathic doctor, so we tend to see people that come with common complaints that maybe they’re not getting resolved in conventional medicine. Then one visit, I had a patient that brought in a Lyme disease test result. It was an iGenex test, but back then the results were pretty hard to interpret.

Ticktective with Dana Parish: The Chronic Illness Puzzle: Mold, Metals, Toxins, Infections

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Todd Maderis, ND

Dr. Todd Maderis is the Founder and Medical Director of Marin Natural Medicine Clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area. He specializes in treating tickborne infections, chronic viral infections, mold illness, and other conditions associated with complex chronic illnesses such as mast cell activation disorder and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. His approach to treating chronic illness is to identify all underlying causes of symptoms to provide a clear direction for treatment. With over a decade of experience treating Lyme disease and complex chronic illnesses, he realizes each patient is unique and requires an individualized treatment strategy.

To read the podcast transcript, click here.

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Bay Area Lyme Foundation Now Accepting Applications for 2024 Emerging Leader Award and Grant

Emerging Leader Award Call for Entries 2023

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Now Accepting Applications for 2024 Emerging Leader Award and Grant

Annual grant seeks to attract innovative researchers with a new approach for diagnosing and treating tick-borne diseases

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., October 26, 2023—Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, is announcing a call for entries for their 2024 Emerging Leader Awards (ELA), which aim to recognize U.S. researchers from academia or the private sector who bring new approaches to the field of Lyme disease and embody the future of Lyme disease research leadership. This year, the Foundation ELA will present a $150,000 award for a researcher who is at the post-doctoral level through associate professor level.

While applicants must have a defined scientific approach to advancing diagnostics and/or therapeutics for Lyme disease, the grants are open to researchers from other therapeutic areas as well as those who have previously worked in Lyme disease research. Applications will be accepted through March 1, 2024 at 11:59pm, Pacific Time. The full criteria and application for this award can be found here.

“The world is seeing firsthand the damage that infections can cause – both in acute and chronic forms –and Lyme is no exception. Even today, it presents a significant hurdle for the scientific research community,” said Wendy Adams, research grant director Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “We intend for our Emerging Leader Award to encourage creative, driven scientists to embrace the challenge of developing accurate diagnostic tests and effective therapeutics for various stages of tick-borne diseases.”

Ticktective with Dana Parish: Stealth Invader: Unveiling Lyme’s Hidden Past

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Kris Newby

Kris Newby is an award-winning medical science writer and the senior producer of the Lyme disease documentary UNDER OUR SKIN, which was a 2010 Oscar semifinalist. Her book BITTEN: The Secret History of Biological Weapons and Lyme Disease has won three international book awards for journalism and narrative nonfiction. She has two engineering degrees and has worked as a science/technology writer for Stanford Medical School, Apple, and other Silicon Valley companies.

To read the podcast transcript, click here.

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