Chronic Lyme Disease Diagnosis Changes Life of Local Woman
By Martha Slater

When Angela Colson of Randolph first became sick last November with fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, and aches and pains, she didn’t realize that her life was in for a dramatic change.

What Colson didn’t know then was that she had contracted Lyme disease. Lyme disease is on the rise in Vermont, according to data from the Vermont Department of Health.

In 2006, 62 Vermonters contracted Lyme disease from exposure to ticks in Vermont, compared to only 29 in 2005.

When she didn’t get better, Colson went to Gifford Medical Center, where she was put through a battery of tests, including a Barium CAT scan, and an EGD (a scope through the mouth into the stomach) and an MRI. At that point, the diagnosis was fibromyalgia (an inflammation of the nerves). Doctors at Gifford also sent her to see a doctor at Fletcher Allen in Burlington, Dr. Chi Chi Lau, who confirmed that diagnosis, but said she believed the fibromyalgia was "a symptom of something else going on," Colson noted.

"My mother and I got on the Internet and searched for doctors who specialized in fibromyalgia," Colson explained. "We found a specialist in Lebanon, Dr. Rex Carr. I went to see him and he did a lot of blood work. He also did a Western Blot test that tests just for Lyme Disease, since he said he’d found that Lyme disease was one of the leading reasons patients develop fibromyalgia. He told me that if Lyme disease is not caught within the first 14 days, it could become chronic. He diagnosed me with Lyme disease and started me on two new antibiotics in early May."

At first, Colson said she didn’t feel better, in fact she felt worse, "but the doctor said that might happen." By the end of June, although she noted "I have my good days and my bad days," she was starting to see an overall improvement.

Colson and her husband, Stacey, who works for the Randolph Town Highway Dept. and also operates his own business, Colson’s Tree and Lawn Service, were married in 2005, and they would like to have a family. She was very upset to learn that the disease could possibly prevent her from having children.

Although Dr. Carr said he could not comment on Colson’s case specifically, he did explain that, "If you get Lyme disease while you are pregnant, you can pass the infection on to the fetus—all doctors agree on that.

"What not everyone agrees on, but there’s reason to suspect that it could happen, is that if you have had Lyme disease for a long time and then you get pregnant, there is a concern that you may be able to pass it along to the fetus. However, I don’t believe that has been proven or well established."

"One group of doctors believes that the test for Lyme disease is very good and if it’s not positive then you don’t have Lyme disease," Dr. Carr told The Herald. "Those same doctors believe that 2-4 weeks of antibiotics has killed off all of the infection and any symptoms that are left over are not related to a continued infection.

"The other group of doctors believes that the current Lyme test is not very sensitive or accurate and that patients often need months or years of antibiotics, especially for chronic conditions. When I talk to my patients, I tell them that they may have a Lyme or Lyme-like infection."

Colson, who was working as an LNA at Gifford Medical Center’s Bethel and Sharon clinics, has had to leave her job.

"Some mornings it’s hard to get out of bed because I’m very stiff," she said. "I have to sleep a lot, and also have other symptoms that make it necessary to be near a bathroom a lot of the time."

Colson faces a long and somewhat uncertain road ahead, but hopes to be well enough to be able to go back to work eventually.

"I just want people to know that Lyme disease is here in Vermont," said Colson, who also expressed her gratitude for the support of her family and friends.

Lyme Disease Facts

A recent report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that the number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States has doubled since 1991, when 10,000 cases were reported. There were 23,000 cases of Lyme disease reported in 2006.

Lyme disease was first recognized in the U.S. in 1975, after an unusual outbreak of arthritis near Lyme, Conn. Since then, reports of Lyme disease have increased dramatically, and the disease has become an important health problem in some parts of the country.

The Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, is spread through the bite of infected ticks. The black-legged tick (or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis) spreads the disease in the northeastern and north-central United States. In general, ticks need to be attached for 36-48 hours before they can transmit the bacterium.

The classic signs of Lyme Disease are a "bullseye" rash, headache and flu-like symptoms. However, Dr. Patsy Tassler, an epidemiologist with the Vermont Dept. of Health, noted that, "Only about 80% of the people who get Lyme disease develop a rash, and it only appears as a bullseye in about half of those cases. In the majority of human case of Lyme Disease, most people do not recall getting a tick bite."

Dr. Tassler added that, "Ticks are commonly found in the woods, but also in brushy grassy areas such as a field with high grass. In any type of habitat where there are small rodents as well as deer, it’s possible to find ticks. Of course that’s not the only place. Ticks will be found wherever there’s something for them to feed on."

The CDC cautions those who like to walk in the woods or through overgrown fields that they should always wear long pants and long sleeves and use a mosquito repellant that contains DEET. They should also do a full body search when they come out of the woods or field.

Although a vaccine for Lyme disease was developed, it is no longer available. The manufacturer discontinued production several years ago, citing "insufficient customer demand."

Despite the rise in cases, according to the state health department, the risk of contracting Lyme disease in Vermont is still much lower than in any other New England state.

"The increase in Vermont could be attributed to several factors, including an increase in infected tick populations, or more testing for Lyme disease by Vermont health care providers," said Dr. Tassler.

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