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Montreal Gazette
3 days ago
- Health
- Montreal Gazette
What is it like to have Lyme disease? Some say it makes life hell
By Halifax Chronicle Herald This report has been shared from the Halifax Chronicle Herald. Tap here to read the original. Before she became a writer, producer and mental health consultant, Janice Landry spent 12 years in television newsrooms, covering everything from disasters to elections. Like all reporters, she always wanted to get to the bottom of things. Finding the answer to one very personal riddle, though, perplexed her: What was causing the nausea, headaches, chills and fever that began to hit her in 2023? It wasn't COVID. Even though her symptoms first arose while the pandemic was in full swing, she tested negative twice for the virus. When a maroon rash spread across one-third of her body — and other symptoms worsened — Landry's worry deepened. It took nearly two months before her doctor told her she had Stage 2 Lyme disease. 'I was shocked; floored, actually,' she told me. What are the different stages of Lyme disease? Early localized Stage 1 of the disease, which usually lasts from a few days to a month, is characterized by the classic bull's-eye rash and limited to flu-like symptoms. At this point, the disease can usually be straightforwardly treated with antibiotics like doxycycline. A diagnosis of Stage 2, or disseminated Lyme disease, means it has spread beyond the site of the initial infected tick bite. At this point, according to the Mayo Clinic, it 'may create more rashes, neck stiffness, facial muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat, pain or numbness in limbs, and eye swelling.' If still untreated months to years after infection, Stage 3 Lyme can cause long-lingering effects, including arthritis, enduring fatigue, brain fog and even heart issues. By the time of her diagnosis, Landry was so weak that her husband had to drive her to the lab for blood tests. The antibiotics she was prescribed destroyed her gut biome. 'Joint pain, headaches,' said Landry. 'The fatigue was the worst for me and, at its worst, was completely debilitating.' In her recently published book, Every Little Thing, Landry recounts that at the disease's worst point, in August 2023, she texted a close friend: 'I think I'm in trouble.' Is anybody safe? In time, she made a full recovery. But Lyme disease, as you can see, is a great equalizer. It strikes ordinary people, particularly in Nova Scotia, which has the highest tick-to-person ratio of any Canadian province and also, consequently, more cases of Lyme disease passed on by those tiny insects than anywhere in the land. When I posted a Facebook request last week for Lyme sufferers, I learned that they were all around me. That makes sense. In 2017, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, Robert Strang, said that if Lyme disease was spreading as rapidly in some less-developed nation as it was here, the international public health community would have declared it a pandemic. This year the tick population, already at worrisome levels on the province's South Shore, has been climbing in the Annapolis Valley, Cape Breton and the New Glasgow area. Fame and fortune is no protection from Lyme. Avril Lavigne's experience with the disease, a decade ago, was so debilitating that at one point she feared for her life, inspiring her to write a song about it, Head Above Water, as well as to start a foundation that supports those with Lyme and other illnesses. Three years ago, Shania Twain revealed that she had contracted Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick while horseback riding in the early 2000s. The disease caused dizziness, loss of balance and blackouts and affected her voice to such a degree that she had to undergo vocal cord surgery to return to performing. Back in 2020, another high-flying Canadian singer, Justin Bieber, took to social media to tell the world that he had been suffering from depression and other symptoms because of an undiagnosed case of the ailment. Who can get Lyme disease? Everyone is at risk for Lyme, but a scouring of online research shows some groups are more at risk than others. Studies show that seniors, with their weakened immune systems and other health concerns, can experience more worrisome impacts and complications. But young children, who spend more time outside, may be more likely to be bitten by Lyme-carrying ticks and, according to the Canadian Pediatric Society, are more susceptible to Lyme-related arthritis than older patients. For pregnant mothers, studies show that untreated Lyme disease can result in fetal complications. People with compromised immune systems who get Lyme may have more lingering effects than healthy folks. Likewise, anyone with existing heart problems can also be in more danger of adverse impacts from the disease. Why is Lyme disease so hard to diagnose? The primary transmitter of Lyme disease is the poppy seed-sized black-legged tick, or deer tick. Mary Coyle, the Nova Scotia senator, isn't precisely sure of the origins of the one she found feasting on her leg this June. Just that within days a fiery rash covered the inside of her leg and that when she went to the emergency department at St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish the doctor took one look and said she had Lyme disease. 'My advice is don't hesitate,' said Coyle, whose subsequent symptoms were relatively mild. 'If you have a good sense that a deer tick may have been on you for a while, you should seek medical attention and let a doctor decide.' The issue, according to Harvard University's Wellness Initiative, is that 30-50 per cent of patients don't show the hallmark bull's-eye, the one sure sign of infection. As well, many of the symptoms — chills, muscle ache, fever, and fatigue — are vague, resembling the flu or other common ailments. Why is early diagnosis so important? Consequently, as a study published in a Swiss journal in the late 2010s pointed out, more than half of Lyme sufferers surveyed had to wait more than three years for a diagnosis, and roughly the same percentage saw five or more doctors before getting definitive word. That is worrisome, study after study shows, because delayed treatment increases the risk of chronic symptoms; according to another Swiss study of American patients, a month's delay in treatment more than doubles the chance of developing persistent, harder-to-treat symptoms. Shelly Scott, who makes her home in Broad Cove, Lunenburg County, knows a thing or two about how hard it is to get Lyme disease correctly diagnosed. A year ago, after a day of gardening, she had some pain in her lower back that she thought was probably a pulled muscle. It worsened enough that she headed for the Liverpool ER. Since Lunenburg County is the province's Lyme disease plague zone, they tested her for the infection. When that came back negative, Scott was prescribed some muscle relaxants and went home. But the pain only got worse. So, she headed to the Bridgewater emergency room. This time the doctors said she had shingles and prescribed some new drugs meant to bring relief. 'Zero effect on the pain,' said Scott, who twice called ambulances to take her back to the ER, where they ran new batteries of tests. It was a month before she finally got to see her family doctor, who concluded that the back pain was caused by Lyme-induced inflammation. 'Fun times I don't want to repeat,' said Scott, now symptom-free, who has returned to the garden, where she keeps an eye perpetually out for something small, black-legged and nasty among the blossoms.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Carly Pearce's ‘Hummingbird' tour lands in Bossier City this summer
BOSSIER CITY, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – She's snagged a Grammy, a CMA award, and a whole shelf full of Academy of Country Music wins, and now she is headed to you this summer. Country music artist Carly Pearce is set to put on a show at the Horseshoe Casino this July. Known for hits like 'Every Little Thing' and 'I Hope You're Happy Now,' Pearce has been a prominent figure in the country music scene since her breakthrough in 2017. You also may have seen her at the recent 60th Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards as a presenter alongside other notable artists such as Blake Shelton and Lionel Richie. Full Interview: Sal Vulcano from Impractical Jokers sits down with KTAL NEWS NOW She has also collaborated with iHeartMedia, performing at events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival and the iHeartCountry Festival. You can catch her at the Riverdome at Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City on Friday, June 20, 2025, as part of her 'Hummingbird' tour. The concert is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM. You can learn more and purchase tickets online at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Age
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Don't know what to call it? Just say ‘thing'. Everyone else does
Jed Bartlett, the fictional US president played by Martin Sheen on The West Wing, spoke for all of us when asking, 'I'm sorry. Leaf-peeping – is that something we do now?' Yes, said his staff, convincing their chief that leaf-peeping was indeed a thing. From something to a thing: that's how things escalate. And escalate, with 'a thing' only soaring since Aaron Sorkin's 2000 script. It's hard to pinpoint the first citation, since thing is ubiquitous and invisible, dormant in something and nothing, anything and everything. An all-purpose placeholder, thing can enter speech without a ripple, deputising for another out of reach. Or maybe the speaker can't be bothered to elaborate. Rather than list nail-chewing and bad jokes, Kat will tell Patrick there are 10 Things I Hate About You. Just as Sting's heart swells due to Every Little Thing. In the zeitgeist context, thing means craze, or phenomenon, especially when escorted by either article: a thing (a trend), or the thing (the hottest of the hot). Vogue says tank tops and tulle wraps are the latest thing, or the latest things made cool again. Yet thing surpasses fashion. The noun is shorthand for a mode of behaviour, be that leaf-peeping or gender-reveal parties. When Kim Kardashian mentioned 'pregnancy lips', the TikTok chorus asked 'Are they even a thing?' Ditto for kale smoothies or reading parties. Are any of these real – or popular enough – to matter? Is this a fad to follow, or register at least? Fittingly, given The West Wing cameo, thing has political roots. Icelandic in fact, where the word denotes assembly. (Althing remains Reykjavik's parliament, or all-council.) The origins are glimpsed when candidates hit the hustings – or 'house assembly' – pledging things on their agendas. In a sense, the minutes of the meeting have seized the moment on the street, yielding such phrases as 'know a thing or two' or 'make a thing out of something'. Notice that? A thing. Not just thing, but a singular thing. Romeo and Juliet, say, were a thing. An item. An entity. Just as 'the thing' is the gist you need to grasp, the key to unlock the whole. 'Look, the thing with Shakespeare you need to know…' What outsiders might miss, or the ignoramus fail to recognise. But that's not the only thing that thing is doing. Word-lovers on Language Log, a forum popular among linguists, have spotted the 'dismissive thing', where a parent reports their child is doing their acting thing, say.
Sydney Morning Herald
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Don't know what to call it? Just say ‘thing'. Everyone else does
Jed Bartlett, the fictional US president played by Martin Sheen on The West Wing, spoke for all of us when asking, 'I'm sorry. Leaf-peeping – is that something we do now?' Yes, said his staff, convincing their chief that leaf-peeping was indeed a thing. From something to a thing: that's how things escalate. And escalate, with 'a thing' only soaring since Aaron Sorkin's 2000 script. It's hard to pinpoint the first citation, since thing is ubiquitous and invisible, dormant in something and nothing, anything and everything. An all-purpose placeholder, thing can enter speech without a ripple, deputising for another out of reach. Or maybe the speaker can't be bothered to elaborate. Rather than list nail-chewing and bad jokes, Kat will tell Patrick there are 10 Things I Hate About You. Just as Sting's heart swells due to Every Little Thing. In the zeitgeist context, thing means craze, or phenomenon, especially when escorted by either article: a thing (a trend), or the thing (the hottest of the hot). Vogue says tank tops and tulle wraps are the latest thing, or the latest things made cool again. Yet thing surpasses fashion. The noun is shorthand for a mode of behaviour, be that leaf-peeping or gender-reveal parties. When Kim Kardashian mentioned 'pregnancy lips', the TikTok chorus asked 'Are they even a thing?' Ditto for kale smoothies or reading parties. Are any of these real – or popular enough – to matter? Is this a fad to follow, or register at least? Fittingly, given The West Wing cameo, thing has political roots. Icelandic in fact, where the word denotes assembly. (Althing remains Reykjavik's parliament, or all-council.) The origins are glimpsed when candidates hit the hustings – or 'house assembly' – pledging things on their agendas. In a sense, the minutes of the meeting have seized the moment on the street, yielding such phrases as 'know a thing or two' or 'make a thing out of something'. Notice that? A thing. Not just thing, but a singular thing. Romeo and Juliet, say, were a thing. An item. An entity. Just as 'the thing' is the gist you need to grasp, the key to unlock the whole. 'Look, the thing with Shakespeare you need to know…' What outsiders might miss, or the ignoramus fail to recognise. But that's not the only thing that thing is doing. Word-lovers on Language Log, a forum popular among linguists, have spotted the 'dismissive thing', where a parent reports their child is doing their acting thing, say.
