Imagine getting a full nightB次元官网网址檚 rest to wake up feeling like youB次元官网网址檝e only had two hours of sleep, joint pain that moves around to different parts of your body unexpectedly, or a flu that sidelines you for weeks. These are symptoms Chanelle Biggan has experienced for as long as she can remember.
Biggan was a competitive figure skater, skating for Disney on Ice and trained throughout summers, to which she attributed her chronic fatigue, because that was her normal.
Her memory was poor, something that concerned and confused her mother, Debbie, because memory loss isnB次元官网网址檛 typically something seen in young people. She was in and out of doctors visits trying to figure out what was wrong with her.
Biggan was clinically diagnosed with lyme disease in 2014, along with her brother Tanner. Biggan has no idea how old she was when she got it or how she got it, but Debbie said the kids used to play outside of their family home that borders Colwood and Metchosin and have pulled several ticks from their pets throughout the years.
Biggan said that ticks also carry co-infections and that she was also diagnosed with an airborne virus, microplasma. Co-infections can also damage the body over time if they arenB次元官网网址檛 treated properly.
Her father, Dale, was clinically diagnosed with lyme disease in 2009 through a blood test that was sent to the United States.
He was initially given a thermography test, that was also examined in the States. The results found his body was in complete inflammation and that it was probably caused by lyme disease. He was chronically ill, with muscle and joint pain and had bouts where he couldnB次元官网网址檛 walk and had seen 12 specialists that couldnB次元官网网址檛 identify the problem.
Muhammad Morshed, B.C. Centre for Disease Control (CDC) program head and UBC clinical professor, said Canadian blood tests are not able to diagnose the tick-borne disease accurately, therefore blood tests are sent to the U.S. or to Europe.
He also noted the CDC warns people not to do testing in private labs because they can provide false positives.
When the family got the diagnosis, they werenB次元官网网址檛 familiar with it, so Debbie did a lot of research. B次元官网网址淚 was researching 24/7, I drove the kids nuts with research,B次元官网网址� she said.
Dale went to a chronic illness clinic in Vancouver and was prescribed two months of antibiotics for the disease. The medication made him sick so he stopped taking them after two months because he thought that he was better, but the joint and muscle pain and fatigue continued to come and go.
BigganB次元官网网址檚 aunt, Mary Lynn Bellamy-Willms, opened a clinic in Victoria called Valentus, that deals with brain wave optimization and pain management, used to treat patients with concussions. The clinic was having a trial period so Biggan, her father and brother were willing to try anything to feel better.
The trial treatment used frequency healing, a half hour each day for one month. Biggan said this process was to kill the bacteria in their system and then they would detox with infrared saunas, colonics and hot yoga. They also utilized pulse electric magnetic therapy B次元官网网址� energy healing that helps rebuild your cells and immune system. Debbie noticed a change in the three of them. They were all brighter and their memories were sharper.
They found success with holistic methods, but Biggan said a year after the trial treatment her lyme flared up again, so she decided to enrol in the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition.
She was already very passionate about health and fitness and had previously attended Camosun College, receiving a diploma in sport performance, so she thought focusing on her diet was the next step.
Through the program she learned that there were in fact certain things she couldnB次元官网网址檛 eat because her organs had been affected from the disease and werenB次元官网网址檛 functioning properly. She started experimenting with food to see if cutting things out would affect how she felt. She said she has learned to stay away from anything with yeast or manufactured sugars like alcohol and bread and to eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
She said she still has lingering effects of the disease, and her memory comes and goes, but it is much more tolerable than it used to be.
Through education and support groups with the disease, her family found that physically, the disease affects everybody differently, but it affects peopleB次元官网网址檚 relationships the same.
Before the diagnosis, when Biggan was figure skating, and she suddenly couldnB次元官网网址檛 eat meat, Debbie worried that her daughter might have an eating disorder. Biggan found it hard to explain to her friends and have them understand that she didnB次元官网网址檛 feel well enough to go out or have her employers understand that she wasnB次元官网网址檛 feeling well or was having trouble focusing, so couldnB次元官网网址檛 come in to work.
Biggan and her family went to counselling after cutting ties with her dadB次元官网网址檚 side of the family after they were bullied online and accused of lying about chronically not feeling well. It was devastating for Biggan and her family, but this is quite common for people with lyme disease, she said.
B次元官网网址淭he horrible part is not having it, but having to deal with the part that comes along with it,B次元官网网址� Biggan said. B次元官网网址淚t was frustrating for myself more than anything.B次元官网网址�
Debbie is part of the Vancouver Island Lyme support group and attends meetings once a month and has also found helpful information through OHOH Canada Lyme support group. She said a lot of people share similar stories and find success in decreasing lyme disease symptoms with holistic methods.
Debbie said prevention is the best thing she can suggest because ticks can be so small, B次元官网网址渁fter a hike or playing outside throw your clothes in the dryer for a high heat for an hour B次元官网网址� check yourselves for ticks,B次元官网网址� she said.
Biggan said if a person suspects they have it or has a chance of getting it, living a healthy lifestyle will more easily help the body fight it off.
The road has been long for Biggan and her family, but now, at 25 years old, she has learned how to manage it. She will never be cured, but she said sheB次元官网网址檚 done a 360 in how she feels now compared to how she did just two years ago.
She is a registered holistic nutritionist and certified personal trainer and has worked out a flexible work schedule to suit her needs.
B次元官网网址淭he journey has been our life, without us knowing it,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be doing the work I am if I didnB次元官网网址檛 have to try to understand what I was dealing with.B次元官网网址�
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