MEETING TIME AND LOCATION
We will have a presentation from 1 pm to 1:45 pm and our regular meeting will be from 2 pm until 4 pm.
Coffee and tea are provided free of charge. Snacks to share are always 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
PRESENTATION - 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm
Emma Wilson-Pease, a student at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, will give a presentation on an interesting report she wrote last year, An Exploratory Study: Examining the Economic Cost of Lyme Disease in New Brunswick, and will tell the group about her thesis (she begins grad studies in September) which will be about Lyme disease and the forest industry. Please give her a warm welcome.
INTRODUCTIONS & SUPPORT FOR NEW MEMBERS - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Welcome message to new members. This part of our meetings is for members to introduce themselves, to share their concerns and ask questions.
NEW ITEMS and UPDATES- 3:15 pm to 4:00 pm
New Items
1. Complex Chronic Diseases Program - the program has a temporary director, Dr Hyams, and they are continuing to see patients, however, there has been no change to their policy of not prescribing antibiotics to people with Chronic Lyme.
2. Charges for tick tests at the BC CDC from veterinarians. $30 to identify a tick, and and additional $35 for testing (up to five ticks). Alternatively, you can send ticks from animals to Janet Sperling for free (see below). You are welcome to take a few of Janet's tick kits in to your vet.
3. T-shirts - our Let's Talk About Lyme t-shirts are in demand - an additional 42 were ordered and delivered to people on the mainland. Many of them will be given to supportive MLAs. We'll have more t-shirts for sale for our group in August.
4. Meeting with Your MLA - please make an effort to set up an appointment with your MLA to share your experiences with Lyme disease, and to ask for a commitment from them to address the issues that we face. If you're unable to meet, please consider sending them an email. (See our previous email dated July 11)
5. Information table at outdoor markets - we rented a table at the Oaklands Sunset Market on July 16 and distributed about 60 brochures. There was a lot of interest. The rental was only $20 so this is an economical and personal way to reach people. We will book another one in August at a different venue.
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. Book 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. Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Dr. Horowitz (2 copies)
15. Ticked Off: The Mystery of Lyme Disease (DVD)
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 live ticks. She is doing research on ticks in Canada and would be happy to receive live ticks that you find on your dog, in the environment, or crawling on you (ticks cannot be feeding on you - those must go to the BC CDC). 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, August 24th, 2014
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INFORMATION
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