Pell Lake woman spreading word on Lyme disease
PELL LAKE — Lisa Hilton suffered for 15 years before a doctor diagnosed her with Lyme disease.
Until three years ago, she didn't have a disease to point to for the growing list of symptoms that took over her life.
She got sick in 1991 after spending time at a family cabin up north. She never saw a tick and never got the rash associated with Lyme disease.
She did develop hives and had flu-like symptoms. Then she woke up one day with her heart "beating funny." Anxiety, joint problems and the feeling of vibrations in her body followed. Pretty soon she couldn't drive anymore because she'd get lost and confused.
"It ended up being 15 years worth of going doctor to doctor," she said. "I just kept getting worse and worse. Each year, new symptoms kept getting added on."
Lyme disease sometimes is misdiagnosed because symptoms look like many other conditions such as multiple sclerosis, and many doctors don't know enough about the disease, Hilton said.
That's why prevention and early detection are key, and Hilton, 41, is raising awareness through "lyme" green ribbons and fliers around Walworth County communities as part of "The Trish Project." She's also decked her home out with signs and information.
The project to spread awareness was started by a Massachusetts woman named Trish who has the disease, Hilton said. May also is Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
"So many people don't know about it—even doctors are unaware of the proper treatment," she said. "Once you get it and don't treat it properly, you'll be chronically sick."
After Hilton saw doctors for 15 years, one doctor finally asked her if she had ever been tested for Lyme disease. When she said no, she had the test done and results a week later in December 2006 showed she had the disease.
She takes antibiotics, which keep her stable, "but it's not really improving me because I've had it so long," she said.
"My goal is just to help spread awareness of the disease so we can prevent other people from getting it."
May 28, 2009 at 11:28 a.m.
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15 years and oh, The problem with stats is that Lyme is way underreported. The IDSA put such stringent guidelines for reporting that most Drs do NOT report it. To be CDC positive is almost impossible. The tests are inaccurate andit is way under diagnosed. So when and IF the real numbers are revealed, it may be the worst epidemic. If you don't know about this, do some google searches as to why they just found the IDSA panel biased and put all new people in to review lyme guidelines. There's a lot to it that people don't know about. It's a political disease.
May 27, 2009 at 10:53 a.m.
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Ohilwi: Much more accurate,thank you:) Your link even supports the article about misdiagnosed cases, wich seems to happen very often.
May 27, 2009 at 9:24 a.m.
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I don't know if it is right to say "Lyme Disease is the number one infectious disease..." but it does appear to be the "fastest growing infectious disease". That is supported by internet searches.
http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Ar...
May 27, 2009 at 1:31 a.m.
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"Lyme Disease is the number one infectious disease in the U.S., surpassing AIDS." Where do you people get your information from? I must be using a different internet or something.More false info posted as fact.
May 25, 2009 at 7:59 p.m.
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Lyme Disease is terrible. I've had it for 7 years and thought I was doomed. I came across this athlete's website. She has had Lyme Disease and her take on it is VERY interesting. I suggest everyone check her site out. http://www.beatlymedisease.com
May 25, 2009 at 7:52 p.m.
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Glad everyone is reading this. rr, I don't know how long they live in a wood pile but here's some sites to go to for more info, www.lymenet.org, lymediseaseassociation.org, or here's the Wisconsin Lyme online support group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Wis...
Also there is no simple cure to lyme unless caught right away and treated correctly. Don' tfall for false cures, and it doesn't take 72 hours to transmit lyme. The CDC says 24 or less hours. Many people say they noticed the tick right away and still got it. So if you have a tick bite or have symptoms it's best to treat right away!
May 25, 2009 at 2:27 p.m.
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the forest is lousy with ticks. now the city is lousy with ticks. blood sucking vermen.
May 25, 2009 at 12:26 p.m.
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Because you have about 72 hours to detect ticks on your skin before Lyme disease is transmitted, you should check your skin carefully and routinely after exiting any areas that you suspect ticks may be present. If you find a tick, remove it as soon as possible. The most common symptoms of Lyme disease are fatigue, a low-grade fever, muscle aches, headache, neck stiffness, joint pain, enlarged lymph nodes, and at times, a skin rash. If you exhibit any of these symptoms, you should call your health care provider and schedule an examination. If you already have lyme disease or showing symptoms of it, we found an effective product. Lyme Disease were treated with the use of the product called LymeCLR. http://www.lymeclr.com
May 25, 2009 at 7:32 a.m.
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I have a large wood pile in my garage for 2/3 years would the tick live that long in cut wood ?
May 25, 2009 at 12:21 a.m.
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Thank you for this article. This is a very important issue. Lyme disease is a silent epidemic. I hope that more articles will be posted on this disease. I have Lyme too, and it has been a living horror. Thank you for the article.
May 24, 2009 at 11:15 p.m.
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Gina Duwe, briliant article you wrote on Lisa on her lyme disease and the TRISH PROJECT, RIBBONS ACROSS AMERICA!
I've had chronic lyme for 39 years last christmas; 34.5 YEARS MISDIAGNOSED BY 40-50 DRS!! UNACCEPTABLE!
Later I discovered 300 OTHER illnesses/diseases MIMICK LYME disease since they overlap each other, and then I was more understanding then.
Please check out this link of CDC's LYME DISEASE STATISTICS:
1980 – Jan. 2008 …all 50 states broken down by years!
http://www.lyme.org/resources/1980-cumul...
I too never saw a tick embedded and had NO BULLS-EYE RASH at all!
Using my journal started as a teenager, I used that to help me pinpoint back as to what I was doing when I was so sick and bedridden for 2 weeks.
It was sub-zero Iowa winter weather. Roommates and I had NO PETS. Not time of year for gardening, and I wasn't one then.
So ALL normal ways of being bitten were eliminated.
The tick that bite me had to come off my folks' live christmas tree that they had yearly until the last of us 5 kids graduated 6 years later. Other people and 1 young family were all bitten by ticks the same way I was!!
Thank you for a well-written article, and Lisa, thank YOU for sharing your lyme story with all of us.
Another thing is that it's harder than heck to get SSDI, disability insurance, benefits!! It took me 5 years of hell to get it on my 2nd claim after my lawyer quit me 4 years into this all.
BettyG, Iowa lyme activist
May 24, 2009 at 10:23 p.m.
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Thanks for spreading the word. 3 of 7 of our local boy scouts came home sick from a camping trip. Their doctors couldn't figure it out. Then thankfully the bulls-eye rash showed up on my son so we figured out it was lyme. All 3 had lyme, but only one got the rash, and only one (not the one with the rash) tested positive.It was our doctor's first experience with lyme.
May 24, 2009 at 9:54 p.m.
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cog1st thanks for your input i will save this .
May 24, 2009 at 9 p.m.
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Lyme Disease is the number one infectious disease in the U.S., surpassing AIDS. It is the most sickening, hideous, life sucking disease there is and life as you knew it becomes a thing of the past. Md's need education. The testing for Lyme is worthless. These 2 serious hurdles to correct diagnosis cause most people to go months or years undiagnosed, giving opportunity to the bacteria to disseminate and basically become a chronic central nervous system infection. The bacteria, a cousin to syphilis is very hard to overcome. LD can cause up to 100 symptoms. Bravo Lisa for making so many aware, I hope they pay serious attention.
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