MEETING LOCATION: Contact victorialyme@gmail.com for directions and meeting location.
NEW START TIME: We have a guest speaker from 1 pm to 1:45 pm this month. Regular meeting will proceed at 2 pm until 4 pm.
Coffee and tea are provided free of charge. Snacks to share would be appreciated.
Please let us know if there is anything you would like us to add to the agenda (news, discussion topic, etc) by emailing us at victorialyme@gmail.com
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm GUEST SPEAKER - Vida Samimi, a tax consultant and CGA, has volunteered to answer our questions about medical tax deductions and disability tax deductions.
2:00 pm to 2:45 pm INTRODUCTIONS & SUPPORT FOR NEW MEMBERS -
Welcome message to new members. The first hour or so of our meetings is for members to introduce themselves, and for new members to share their concerns and ask questions. After a short break, we continue with updates, new discussion items, and informal discussion (information sharing, support, questions, ideas for upcoming meetings etc).
3:00 pm to 4 pm NEW ITEMS FOR SHARING AND DISCUSSION -
1. Awareness event in May - our committee will report on our plans
2. Fundraising
3. Elizabeth May's Bill C-442 is coming up for third reading in April - still time for you to mail petition signatures to your MP in Ottawa. Here is the petition for you to download and print: http://elizabethmaymp.ca/wp-content/uploads/bill-c-442-lyme-disease-petition.pdf Mail the petition to your MP in Ottawa (no postage necessary)to:
Ms. Jane Doe, MP, House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
INFORMATION – Recent studies, news, articles, upcoming events and useful websites
1. Lyme Disease Medical Literature Summaries: http://www.lymeinfo.net/lymefiles.html This site contains lists of studies describing persistence or relapse of Lyme despite antibiotic therapy, symptoms, how tests for Lyme can be falsely negative, how Borrelia is able to survive antibiotic therapy, the ability of Bb to change form, and photographs showing how spirochetes can transform to/from cystic form in response to adverse environmental conditions (explaining latency, persistent infection and seronegativity).
3. Milford Hospital Pathologist Identifies New Strain of Lyme Disease by DNA Sequencing: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140313005328/en/Milford-Hospital-Pathologist-Identifies-Strain-Lyme-Disease This research has implications for testing inadequacies.
4. Kevin Lamoureux on the National Lyme Disease Strategy Act (Bill C-442) (video and text): http://elizabethmaymp.ca/videos/kevin-lamoureux-on-the-national-lyme-disease-strategy-act-bill-c-442/
5. David Tilson on the National Lyme Disease Strategy Act (Bill C-442) (video and text) http://elizabethmaymp.ca/videos/david-tilson-on-the-national-lyme-disease-strategy-act-bill-c-442/
6. Murray Rankin on the National Lyme Disease Strategy Act (Bill C-442) (video and text) http://elizabethmaymp.ca/videos/murray-rankin-on-the-national-lyme-disease-strategy-act-bill-c-442/
7. Gerald Keddy on the National Lyme Disease Strategy Act (Bill C-442) (video and text) http://elizabethmaymp.ca/videos/gerald-keddy-on-the-national-lyme-disease-strategy-act-bill-c-442/
8. Red meat allergies likely result of lone star tick http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140220102727.htm
9. For those with friends or relatives in Australia, from Channel 7 TV in Perth, a March 5, 2014 article about Dr. Ladhams who has been banned from treating patients for Lyme disease: http://www.7perth.com.au/view/today-tonight-articles/today-tonight-lyme-disease_20140305182704/
Keep up with the latest Lyme news:
UPDATES
Lyme Support Library
Our group purchases and loans out books and DVDs on Lyme and co-infections. Cost to join our library is $10. Items can be borrowed for one month. Please be courteous and return borrowed books on time. Donations are always appreciated. Please let us know if there are any books/DVDs that you would like us to order. Currently, we have the following:
1. Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic (Revised Edition, 2013), by Pamela Weintraub
2. Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections – Bartonella & Mycoplasma, by Stephen Buhner
3. Checklists for Bartonella, Babesia & Lyme Disease, by Dr. James Schaller
4. Beyond Lyme Disease, by Connie Strasheim
5. Ending Denial: The Lyme Epidemic, by Helke Ferrie
6. Healing Lyme, by Stephen Buhner
7. It’s All in Your Head – Around the World in 80 Lyme Patient Stories, by PJ Langhoff
8. Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions (multiple authors)
9. The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments, by Bryan Rosner
10.Treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease, by Burton A. Waisbren
11.Under Our Skin (DVD)
12.Treating Lyme Disease Using Integrative Medicine (5 DVDs)
13. ILADS Review of Anti-Infective Therapy (pamphlet)
14. NEW!! Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Dr. Horowitz
15. NEW!! Ticked Off: The Mystery of Lyme Disease (DVD)
T-shirts
We have a few extra t-shirts for sale.
Facebook
Our Facebook group for people with Lyme disease on Vancouver Island is a great way to keep up to date on news and connect with others. Log into Facebook, search for the Victoria Lyme Group, and ask to join. The group is private – others can see who the members are, but only members can post and read posts, invite and approve new members.
Tick Survey
Dr Ernie Murakami asks that anyone who has removed a tick from a human send them to him. He wants them whether dead or alive along with a brief note on how the tick was removed, i.e. twisted out, tweezers with constant tension or by tension/relax method. These ticks will be checked by microscopy for missing mouth parts and research. Send your ticks, from anywhere at all, to him at: Box 1240, Hope BC V0X 1L0
Janet Sperling has sent us some tick collection vials, complete with prepaid envelopes to mail them. She is doing research on ticks in Canada and would be happy to receive ticks that you find on your dog, in the environment, or crawling on you (ticks cannot be feeding or engorged though). You will receive a list of the bacteria your tick is carrying, although it may take awhile as she does them in batches.
NEXT MEETING: Sunday, April 27th, 2014 (will include a presentation by Dr. Patrick Callas, ND)
