About the Owner of this little piece of cyberspace
About the owner of LymeClinics.com, your fellow Lyme disease warrior, and your friend.
About the owner, also living with chronic Lyme disease, but refusing to give up: My name is Dave Cottrell. Like many visiting this site, I was a very healthy, very active outdoors type.
I hiked, fished, camped, hunted, and spent a great deal of time outdoors, especially in the wilderness.
I grew up in a wilderness area, and spent a lot of time “in the bush.” As a husband and dad, I took my family with me into this great space. We spent many long hours enjoying it together.
I spent much of my career as a self employed marine mechanic. I worked on the water, looking after all manner of boats from dinghies to yachts. But an opportunity arose some years ago to get away from the hectic pace of public service. It was great to enter the much less stressful life of the logging industry, keeping the heavy equipment running.
What a great life that was! I was still self-employed, but no longer had employees or stressed out customers to deal with. I did what I most enjoyed, solving puzzles and keeping things running the way they should. I even got paid for all that fun! I was working outdoors most of the time in a coastal wilderness setting. Forest covered mountains were at my back, while the ocean and islands were in front. What could be better than that?
About the owner – an unexpected change
Late in 2007, God called me to be a preacher, an experience so vivid and plain that there was no question of my doing it. I planned to step in as pastor of our church as our pastor moved on, and planned to continue my career to support the ministry and us. However, that was soon to end.
At the end of 2007, I began to have strange flu-like symptoms. I got progressively sicker, but continued to push myself to keep working. What a battle! Every time I got up, I felt SO sick! I was sick to my stomach, sweating, achy; it was getting harder to sleep, but I would push myself to get up and get going, telling myself I would soon get over it. The fatigue almost overwhelmed me!
Soon, it became too painful to wear a hat. Whenever I put a hat on, it felt like I had a terrible sunburn on my forehead and someone was pressing a wire brush into it after bathing it in acid. I began to get tireder all the time, and it was hard to be civil with the people around me. People at work began to notice that I was very irritable. It became increasingly difficult to get along with folks.
Finally, on our way back from visiting our first grandson in Oklahoma City in June of 2008, I told my wife I thought maybe I should stop working where I was. After all, I was a pastor, and the job kept me away at least twelve hours a day, six days a week. I thought I was overdoing it.
About the owner – a change is as good as a holiday – right?
Shortly after I got back, my a former business partner asked me to accept a position at his company as his service manager. The job was eight hours a day, five days a week. That seemed like an answer from heaven, so I took it. I started at the beginning of July, 2008.
But the symptoms I was experiencing did not diminish. I began seeing doctors, but they simply put it off to stress, or some vague, unnamed virus that just happened to be going around and that lasted for six weeks to a couple of months. Basically they were trying to get rid of me!
As time went on, the symptoms got worse. The sweats became soaking sweats every night. After a shower and breakfast, another soaking sweat would hit.
Every morning, I felt sick to the stomach. Eating would make me feel a bit better, but I would feel awful until about ten o’clock in the morning, every day. Then things would calm down to a “dull roar.” I still felt sick all day, every day. It was getting harder and harder time to think. Even light stress was too hard to handle. Any kind of difficulty would bring on a soaking, prickling sweat. It was not a pleasant time!
A career ending illness
Finally, about mid October 2008, I worked my last full day. I felt particularly awful that morning, but in the afternoon, I had a shocking experience that scared me enough to admit something was terribly wrong. That was the end of my career. I couldn’t comprehend simple instructions in a manual I was reading! I tried and tried, but I could not follow it, even though it was familiar.
That day marked the end of my career and the beginning of a long, seemingly futile quest for a diagnosis and, hopefully, a cure. I went through several doctors, looking for one who would actually LISTEN to all my symptoms. They bounced me from one specialist to another, many lab tests, a CAT scan, an MRI, and other tests. No one could come up with an answer.
The pain continued to increase. My brain fog increased. All the psychiatric problems were my constant companions. They included panic attacks, inability to deal with stress and a real battle to avoid depression.
At this point, I was practically bedridden. It was only by the grace of God that I was able to continue as a pastor, although with more difficulty than anyone ever realized. Most people who saw me thought I looked super healthy! That is one of the great ironies of Lyme disease!
About the owner’s mother! Doing some research
My mother, Jean, is well-known for her excellent research. She urged me to ask about Lyme disease. I was told by every doctor that it impossible, because “it didn’t exist in our area.” I’ve since learned that’s a common mantra, just about anywhere you go in the civilized world.
By this time, I was on a pain medication that took the edge off enough for me to just barely function. I was finally able to sleep, which made a great difference in my cognitive abilities. I was able to do some digging of my own, via the internet.
What I discovered was that Lyme disease is endemic to our area. Since 2006, the BC Centre for Disease Control has published warnings in our local paper about Lyme disease. So I went back to the doctors with this information. They ordered the Elisa test, which I have since found is practically useless, and of course, it came back negative. They declared that I did not have Lyme disease.
I have since discovered that if a positive Elisa test comes back, here, they will say it’s a false positive. Sometimes they will order the Western Blot if a positive Elisa comes back. The irony is, even if it comes back positive, they will say it’s a false positive – because “you can’t get Lyme disease here!”
A breakthrough
It was at this time that I was introduced via email to Dr. Ernie Murakami. I thank God for that fact! Dr. M listened to all my symptoms and told me that I had more than enough symptoms to be treated for Lyme disease. He said the only two diseases that have such a long list of symptoms are Syphilis (which is simple to rule out!!) and Lyme disease. (both are spirochetes)
I presented all the information I had to a neurologist I had an appointment with. She would not say I had Lyme disease, due to her requirements for a diagnosis (She has to protect herself). She said that based on my research, which she said was very good, I should try to get my MD to treat me for Lyme disease.
My MD did begin treatment, and after a month on antibiotics, I began to notice a marked improvement in my energy levels. My wife noticed I was doing more things and rising earlier. I was starting to get up before my family and I was starting to cook breakfast for everyone, again!
After six months of treatment, my energy levels were up to about fifty percent, although the pain had not decreased nearly as much. But if I have to choose, I will take energy over comfort, every time! At least with energy it’s possible to do something!
The setback
I saw another specialist at this time. He would not listen to all my symptoms, and declared that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He said I simply had to slow down. When I told him if I slowed down I would be stopped, he told me he understood what I was saying (yeah, right), but that I had to slow down. That doctor did not understand what I was saying. He didn’t even listen to what I was saying!
Unfortunately, that specialist contacted my MD and warned him that if he continued the antibiotic treatment, he could lose his license. Basically, he threatened to report him to the COPAS (College of Physicians and Surgeons). My doctor stopped treatment at six months.
After that, I could no longer get further help other than pain medication from any doctor. I was told that I definitely had CFS, that there was no treatment for it, and they didn’t know what caused it. When I told my doctor that they were all giving up on me, he admitted it was true. I want you to let that sink in… The medical profession gave up on me and admitted it freely!
This began a long and very frustrating quest to find a doctor who would treat me. After about two months off the antibiotics, my health began to deteriorate, again. I got SO sick. The only reason I did not end up practically confined to bed like I was earlier was the pain medication, which allowed me to sleep.
About the owner – a huge breakthrough
Finally, in spring of 2011, I found out about Dr. Chan. It is a day trip to see him, as I have to take a ferry to Horseshoe Bay, BC, then travel out to Richmond, but it is certainly worth it! Dr. Chan is a rare Lyme Literate Naturopathic Doctor (ND) who is licensed to prescribe antibiotics. He’s in close contact with Dr. M, and he stays up to date on all the latest information on Lyme disease. He also keeps good records and writes on what he learns.
Dr. Chan started me on antibiotic therapy immediately, due to my previous history of success on antibiotics. He also drew blood for the Western Blot, which, indeed, came back positive to one chance in 40,000 of being a false positive.
I am now regularly seeing Dr. Chan (monthly or bimonthly) and am getting good, personalized treatment, including antibiotics, natural medicines, supplements to support my immune system and detoxify, and tips on what to do to aid in recovery at home, including regular time in the sauna.
I am improving. It is a slow process, and sometimes hits setbacks, but progress continues to be positive. Will I ever be as healthy as I was before this all started? That, I cannot answer. Time will tell. But I have hope, and every little step is a big step in the right direction for me.
Because of the struggle, I created two websites in the hope that they will help other people suffering from Lyme disease and their families. They are The Lyme Files, and LymeClinics.com
About the owner – update to original page
It is now 2019. I’ve been off antibiotics for more than two years. So far, I haven’t crashed. I’m still sick, but am able to stay fairly active.
To date, no one knows for sure if long term, or chronic, Lyme disease can be completely cured. I have not met anyone who has been cured, unless it was caught early. I’ve heard lots of claims about people who have been cured, but everyone one of them has turned out to be false. Most often, it’s someone trying to be a hero or someone trying to sell some “snake oil.”
Every person I personally know who has claimed to be cured has ended up sick again, usually in less than a year, but sometimes longer.
With Lyme disease, if it’s going to work, you and your doctor become a team. This is all research, like it or not. I hope everyone keeps good records!
Right now, we are trying an old drug for a new purpose. It has been used to help alcoholics get off alcohol. But there is some evidence that it is effective in getting rid of what are known as “persistor cells.” These are bacteria that have become resistant to all known regular antibiotics. Normal treatment knocks them down, but after the treatment stops, they flair up, again.
We are hoping this will help, but we don’t know. Right now, I don’t know if it’s the new drug, the disease, or a flu bug that’s kicking the lights out of me. What I do know, is that unless we can get my immune system to start working properly, again, I will probably get every “bug” that comes along.
Sigh.
In the words of Winston Churchill, “Never give up.”
2024 Update
It is almost the last day of February, 2024. I am now living in Dease Lake, a tiny community of about 400 in northern BC, close to the Yukon border. The average year-round temperature here is about 1 degree Celsius cooler than Whitehorse, YT.
There is virtually no air pollution in Dease Lake. We are even a little north of any of the air pollution that crosses the Pacific from China and all its coal-fired power plants.
We moved here the summer of 2022. The change to my health was almost immediate. Within days, I was off all pain medication for good, and much of my energy had returned.
While my energy levels are not perfect, nor the pain completely gone, I am able to live an almost normal life and to thrive, even in the seasonally harsh climate of the north. Getting away from all the air pollution of the south seems to be the magic bullet I’ve been looking for!
Owner’s Background: Although my energy levels are not flawless and the pain is not completely eliminated, I have managed to lead an almost ordinary life and flourish, even in the challenging climate of the northern region. Escaping the air pollution prevalent in the southern areas appears to be the ultimate solution I have long sought after!
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