Lemon or Lyme? Part 2

The tiny creatures lurking in your backyard could change your life forever. Shira Haid knows this reality all too well, having battled severe tick-borne illnesses that left her unable to walk or speak. Today, she's turning that painful experience into purpose through her educational platform, Lemon or Lime.

What began as a website has blossomed into a YouTube channel and growing social media presence dedicated to demystifying tick-borne diseases like Lyme, Babesia, and Bartonella. Shira's mission is clear: provide the resource she desperately needed during her own diagnostic journey that took three years and left her disabled.

Throughout our conversation, Shira shatters dangerous myths about tick-borne diseases. The CDC's claim that ticks must be attached for 36-48 hours to transmit disease? False – some infections can transfer in just 15 minutes. That famous bullseye rash everyone associates with Lyme? Only 20-30% of patients ever develop it. And the notion that ticks only exist in wooded areas of the Northeast? Wrong again – they're virtually everywhere except Antarctica, including desert states at higher elevations.

Perhaps most alarming is Shira's discussion of co-infections and emerging threats like Alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-transmitted condition causing potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to mammalian products – including medications. With 70% of pharmaceuticals containing mammalian ingredients, this presents a frightening challenge for affected patients.

For those concerned about prevention, Shira offers practical advice: treat clothing with permethrin, use Picaridin lotion on exposed skin, perform regular tick checks, and maintain shorter lawn heights. Hunters and hikers should consider specialized clothing with elastic cuffs that prevent ticks from accessing skin.

Connect with Shira on YouTube and Instagram @LemonorLime (remember, that's Lyme with a Y!) and join her mission to raise awareness about these devastating but preventable diseases.

Are you living with a chronic illness and want to make your voice heard? Rare Patient Voice connects patients and caregivers with research opportunities—so you can share your experiences and get paid for your time! Your insights help drive real change in healthcare.

Let's Get Started - Rare Patient Voice

Chapters

• 0:16 Welcome to Lemon or Lime
• 3:38 The Mission Behind Lemon or Lime
• 8:08 Tick Facts and Prevention Myths
• 13:48 Protecting Yourself from Ticks
• 22:00 Finding Community in Chronic Illness
• 25:34 Serious Impact of Tick-Borne Illnesses
• 31:40 Co-infections and Hidden Dangers
• 34:54 Future Goals and Opera Singing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Welcome back to my Spoonie Sisters, and today oh, I'm excited about this we are bringing Shira Haid back with Lemon or Lime for part two. Hello, Shira, Jen hi, Hi. And Linnea, the co-host, is back as well. We have so much great stuff to talk about, so I'm just going to dive right in Now. Recently, you launched Lemon or Lime, which I love the name, and when people get to see the video version of this, they get to see your backdrop, which is amazing. I love it.

Speaker 1: 0:40

It's so cute, it's so cute, thank you, Can you tell us what inspired you to start this vlog and what has the response been like since launching in January?

Speaker 2: 0:54

Yeah. So once I was finally diagnosed which took three years to get diagnosed, I would you know. Whenever I went to a doctor's office or my parents had to get together, I would start telling people like this is what I have and this is what I'm being treated for. And what I kept finding over and over again was that people were really curious and they had a lot of questions and generally everyone was pretty interested in the topic. So when I would be talking to a nurse or I'd be talking to one of my parents' friends or something, whenever the conversation ended I always felt like there was more. I wish that I had more time to tell them everything that I thought they should know. And I kept thinking if only I had like a website or something that I could say here if you want to learn more, go to my website.

Speaker 2: 1:44

So Lemon or Lime started as a website and I was working on it for two years and then finally, a friend of mine was like what are you doing with a website? Just put yourself up on YouTube and you're done. And I was like, yeah, that would be easier. So that's how Lemon or Lime ended up a YouTube thing. I'm just launching the Instagram account. Now there's been a lot of that and I'm really glad because this isn't just for people with tick-borne illnesses, this is for everyone. I've had a couple people say to me you know, I would love to share your video, but I don't know anyone with Lyme disease. I always say it's better to learn some of these things before you get sick and to prevent getting sick, because understanding about ticks, understanding their habits, where you can find them, those sorts of things that will keep you and your family safe from getting one of these awful diseases. So this, the channel and everything is really for everyone.

Speaker 3: 2:48

You know I love that. That. It is for everybody, because so many of us chronic illness people like to be out hiking and it's so important even for us to be aware of the tick-borne diseases because it could make our already current chronic illnesses worse. So I love that you're getting that information out there.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Yes, and I agree with that, because even if we don't see the ticks, it doesn't mean they're not there. Oh my God. Yeah, I mean, I grew up in Idaho. I now live in Washington. They're there. Just because I have had the luck of not actually seeing one doesn't mean they're not there, it doesn't mean I don't need to put in precautions. So that's something we all need to be educated on.

Speaker 3: 3:31

Even in Arizona. When we say we're in Arizona, you think desert, right, we are campers, we are hunters, we are in the forest, there are ticks. We are doing checks all the time because it doesn't matter Wherever they can breed, they will breed, and Arizona included. People don't realize that.

Speaker 2: 3:52

Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned that. I actually have a couple of friends in Arizona and one of them always says to me you got to come, you got to come, move to Arizona. There's no ticks here, but there are.

Speaker 3: 4:05

There are. Maybe not in Phoenix, where it's 150 degrees in the summer. Right, there are ticks here in the higher elevations. It's not yeah I get annoyed with people you might have to do with thinking arizona is just desert, because we actually have different climates and so we do have ticks, flagstaff, sedona so yeah, what are? What are your goals for lemon or lime and how do you hope it will impact the chronic illness community?

Speaker 2: 4:35

Really hope to be a place where people can go to get answers, to get complex concepts explained and broken down, because there's a lot of, a lot of different topics within the tick-borne disease umbrella. You know, if I imagine how I was when I was first researching all of this stuff, if you Google what is Lyme disease or what is Babesia or what is Ehrlichiosis, you're going to get millions and millions of answers and it's going to be difficult to weed out what is accurate and what is not. And there's a lot of information that's out there that even from agencies like the CDC and the NIH that are outdated. You know CDC is still saying that a tick needs to be attached 36 to 48 hours for you to get sick and that's not true. That's not true at all. It can be a couple hours. Something like Powassan virus can be transmitted in 15 minutes. So the fact that the CDC says, oh, it has to be attached for 36 to 48 hours, that's not true. It really the clock starts ticking once the tick attaches and the tick can attach pretty quickly if it wants.

Speaker 2: 6:00

Let's say you are hiking or something. A lot of times they say stay in the middle of the trail, don't rub up against the grass and the foliage on the side, that's true. But even if you're in your backyard or your front yard gardening, they can be there too. One of the main vectors for or, I'm sorry, hosts for Lyme disease and a lot of these other illnesses are white-footed mice, and mice tend to be around our house because they're attracted to garbage and food and things like that. Even if you're not in a wooded area and you're in a subdivision or something, there can still be ticks in your yard. I know it's creepy, it's super creepy.

Speaker 2: 6:47

Even after all this time, ticks still gross me out. They do. But we have intentionally left our backyard kind of blank. I would love a beautiful garden, but it's just. I always think about my dog off leash and running about and she may put her face in a bush trying to find a ball or something like that. So we have left our backyard blank, just so that ticks don't have a place to hang out and wait for either me or my dog to brush by, because that's what they do. They can wait, you know, and they do this thing called questing Like. Think of a little kid who is putting their arms up asking to be picked up like that Ticks do that on the very tip of a blade of grass, like that's all it takes wood just to de-stress. And I said to him I said you better watch it, because ticks like to hang out in wood piles, it's good shelter for them, and he kind of like, eh, whatever. But these are things that are important to know so that you can avoid these areas.

Speaker 1: 8:10

Just by listening to you, I have now given myself more and more permission to no longer mow my yard. There we go. Yep, this has been my task for I don't know how many years. Ever since Linnea met me, I've always been the one to mow the lawn. My husband sometimes works long hours. I thought it was exercise. He's now doing it. I think I'm going to leave it that way Because I've got enough health concerns. I think I'm going to leave it that way Because you know I've got enough health concerns. I don't need to add to the list.

Speaker 2: 8:37

Yeah Well you know what Cutting your lawn regularly actually helps to keep your property clear of ticks?

Speaker 1: 8:46

Okay Well, we do one twice a week.

Speaker 2: 8:48

So that's good to know, that's amazing. Then that's amazing. Then, like I don't know about you, but my dog, she's always rolling in the grass and stuff, but if the grass hasn't been mowed in a while, you know, freak out Like don't roll, don't roll.

Speaker 1: 9:03

Well, and that's why we don't let our cats outside. We have indoor cats, because he's just like you know what. There are way too many things these cats can get, you know. Let's just keep them healthy. They're staying inside the house. Right, right, and it was enough for our dogs.

Speaker 3: 9:17

We have right, yeah, because we, we, where we live, is just rock so we have so we but we have pine trees still. We still have to be careful of the trees and on the pines, even though our backyard is safe, we still have pine trees in the area. Yep, yep, we have one pine tree too.

Speaker 2: 9:35

Yeah, yeah, the ticks will kind of grab onto just about anything. So, and when they are baby ticks, which, if to give you a frame of reference, it's like one poppy seed or a half a poppy seed, that's the size of them. So you really, when you if you think, oh, I'll see it, I'll see it if it ever gets on me, you probably won't. And another thing that I really should mention is a lot of people have heard if you get bit by a tick you're going to get a bullseye rash. It's important for everyone to realize that only 20 to 30% of people with Lyme get one of these rashes. So that means 70 to 80% of people never got one, never get a rash. And that's one of the reasons why it takes a while to diagnose, because if the rash doesn't show up on somebody, you're kind of guessing.

Speaker 1: 10:36

Yeah, and my guess is that you never noticed anything.

Speaker 2: 10:39

There was never a rash for me, and that was both times. And, by the way, both times cats were involved and when it comes to some diseases other than Lyme disease, there are other blood sucking vectors like fleas or lice that can transmit many of these diseases.

Speaker 1: 11:00

I'm giving you the creeps. I just hate bugs in general, and so the more we talk about this, I'm just like, oh, this is why I hate them, I just do.

Speaker 2: 11:10

I know, and if any of your listeners I'm over here going yep, yep, I'm good, I know, and if any of your listeners enjoy caviar, I would suggest to not Google what tick eggs look like. If you like caviar, don't do it, because they look like caviar.

Speaker 1: 11:28

Yeah, I'm so grossed out right now, yeah.

Speaker 3: 11:31

I know I wasn't eating caviar anyways, I'm really not eating caviar now. Yeah, I know I wasn't eating caviar anyways, I'm really not eating caviar now. There's my real excuse for never touching it.

Speaker 1: 11:38

Well, I don't go out of my way for it, but there have been events where they sprinkle it on on some kind of thing that they're walking around with. You know, they're walking around and they're giving you all these things and you're like, oh, I'm one of those people, all these things. And you're like, oh, I'm one of those people. I'm like I'll try everything once.

Speaker 2: 11:53

I guess Not me, and now, I just ruined it for you.

Speaker 3: 11:56

Close my eyes, it's not there, right, my husband struggles to get me to try things.

Speaker 2: 12:05

That's going to be one of the things I will never try, never try, yeah, yeah, right. So a couple other things about tics, though, because I think it is important for everyone to know a little bit about ticks, because the more you know about them, the better you can protect yourself from them. One thing that I think everyone experiences now is less harsh winters. Certainly, in the Midwest here, we haven't had winters kind of like the ones that we had when I was a kid Like I remember it being freezing for weeks and weeks and weeks on end, but it doesn't do that anymore, and one of the consequences of that is that when the temperature goes above freezing, ticks come out and they're active again. So they're still around. They're still around from previous seasons.

Speaker 1: 12:53

And now I'm thinking of all the people out there hunting linea.

Speaker 3: 12:56

Yep, sorry, okay so I will have. I will tell you are. We have a very certain way we dress when we hunt and how do you? Dress reasons. Well, other than it being camel and really heavy, warm, my overalls have elastic that go around my boot so nothing can come up into my pant leg.

Speaker 2: 13:19

Okay.

Speaker 3: 13:20

Okay, we wear layers of socks, then we have layers of other stuff under, but our main pants that go over all have elastic where it goes around our ankles, around our boots, because our boots come up over our ankles. That way nothing can get up in there. It's like our sleeves are elastic around here and then they velcro. That's not only to keep our gloves in our sleeves for warmth, it also protects anything from crawling, because I sat in a blind last year for my elk hunt. So I'm sitting in woods covered by wood and leaves and everything, and I'm sitting on the ground on a heated thing. It heats up when you sit on it. It's a hunting thing. It's really cool. I really should show it for chronic illness people because it heats up as you're sitting on it. So in the forest, that's what I said.

Speaker 3: 14:15

But there's still chances of tick, because there was a few days of. It was really nice, it was in the 70s, guess what. Everybody's out, everybody's riding. Those ticks are now really, really moving and they're on the deer, they're on the elk. So we're very careful. I will tell you, none of our elk have had ticks on them when we Okay, I would recommend we're very cautious, we spray, but I don't think hunters and hikers understand the importance of how they dress when they go do that kind of stuff.

Speaker 2: 14:50

Yes, I mean, I know that you're in camel, but is it if you're in darker colors you're less likely to see something if it does crawl on you?

Speaker 3: 14:59

and you know, even if you're you want to shake up, we will shake off like okay normally it's like 30 below. It feels like up there, so it's cold. This year it was warm, so we were more cautious about the bugs and the snakes and all the fun critters that come out when it's warm. So normally in hunting season, it's cold.

Speaker 1: 15:44

And hopefully you're helping each other. You know, checking each other, brushing each other off and stuff.

Speaker 3: 15:48

Yes, yeah.

Speaker 1: 15:49

Yes.

Speaker 2: 15:51

It's just important. Yeah, definitely, tick checks for other people, tick checking your dog, if you have a hunting dog with you. One thing that I like to use during the summer last summer I went to a couple concerts where I was going to be outside with a picnic blanket and all of the clothes that I plan on wearing in something called permethrin, so it is a tick repellent. So I treat all of the clothes socks, jeans, sweater, everything in this permethrin. And then I get there's this. It's almost kind of like a lotion called Picardin and that's safe to put on your skin. So those are things that I use and those are specific to ticks of actual tick repellents.

Speaker 2: 16:44

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And I also recommend you absolutely you can drench it. Yes, it is unscented and it does last for more than one wear. So if you, if you do your hunting gear, you know, soak it in permethrin, it'll be good for you know a few uses, it'll be safe for that. Like, yeah, and like you, yeah, and like you said, long shirt, pants, closed toed shoes, tucking your sock, your pants into your socks, socks, those are all.

Speaker 1: 17:18

Those are all good preventative measures that you can take now you're starting to connect with more groups as your health has been improving. How has that sense of community helped you in your journey?

Speaker 2: 17:30

it has helped a great deal. At first, again, when you're in that deep dark place, you think I don't need anybody I'm fine of. When you're in that deep, dark place, you think I don't need anybody, I'm fine, of course, you're anything but fine. So the community that I found is online, because a lot of people with tick-borne diseases are homebound or bedbound, so we're really not out and about. On top of that, the fact that there aren't really a lot of in-person support groups that are easily accessible, like something like breast cancer or Parkinson's things that you may be able to find in your community. The online community is where I have found people. The one that I frequent the most is, of all places, on Reddit.

Speaker 2: 18:17

I've kind of become a Reddit head since then and if you're not familiar with Reddit, reddit is literally anything that you can think of, whether it's you like funny cat videos or you like politics, or I love the show Friends, so I'm on a Friends subreddit. There is a subreddit for everyone, and so I found people with Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and it's really nice. I think. For the most part, everyone is pretty supportive and helpful. Of course, there's going to be a bad apple here and there, like every community, every online community, but people, you know people go on there and they vent. People say you know I don't want to be here anymore, or this is too hard, or you know I have to ingest a disgusting drink. How do you guys do it? You know asking for advice, and so it's. It's really nice to be able to talk to other people who are going through the same thing as you.

Speaker 1: 19:17

I could not agree more. And that's actually how the podcast started. We started out as a community and then, next thing you know, it's a podcast and it's a blog and now we're on YouTube. I mean, that's just how it grows, because there's a need out there and we need to fill it and people need that support To go with that. We don't always want a place where it's only complaining Sometimes. We want a place where, yeah, we can vent about things, but we want to hear tips, tricks, support and guidance, and to me that sounds like what you're doing and that's great.

Speaker 2: 19:49

I'm definitely going to be trying to cover a lot of the nitty-gritty stuff, like you know, what is Lyme at a microscopic level, or what is good prevention, like we were just talking about but also talking about mental health, which I think gets pushed down to the bottom of the priority list when it comes to tick-borne diseases, you know, because we're dealing with all of this physical stuff that a lot of people don't understand, so mental health does kind of get a backseat in the conversation, but all of it is so important because all of it makes up our healing journey?

Speaker 1: 20:22

Absolutely, and it all blends together. We need to take care of every aspect of ourselves, not just one or the other. Yes, now, do you prefer to see Lemon or Lime becoming a profession or keep it more as like a passion project?

Speaker 2: 20:37

I mean it would be nice to have it become a profession and earn a living doing this, because I don't. I'm on disability. I've been on disability for several years, so that's the only income I have, and so it would be nice for this to turn into something bigger and to be the place to go to get information and to connect with other communities. Like you guys. That's what I'm hoping for, but right now it is a passion project and so I'm fine with that.

Speaker 1: 21:10

Absolutely. I think passion projects are needed. I don't know about you, but I can tell that you glow and your excitement when you're talking about it, and I always worry once we move out of it being a passion and to more of a job, are we going to lose that same excitement and vibrancy that we have?

Speaker 2: 21:30

Yeah, I did think about that and I even told when I did launch, I did tell my treating practitioner that you know, oh, my YouTube channel is up. And she was like, can I be honest with you about something? And I said, of course. And she said I'm worried that by doing this vlog, by doing this channel and having this you know brand or whatever, that it's going to become your identity. And she said, and I don't want this to be your whole life. So I said to her I hear what you're saying and I understand where you're coming from, but the way that I see it is, I'm helping people, I'm being what I needed when I first got sick and there is a need for someone to be out there explaining these things and someone who's been there and is still there.

Speaker 2: 22:23

But I did tell her. I said I promise you, if it does become too much I'll let it go, but the way that it is right now, there are so many things to cover. I mean, I have endless lists of these are all the things that I want to do on Instagram and these are all the things I want to do on YouTube. It's like I made sure the years before I actually launched that there was going to be enough for you know to talk about, because I wasn't sure Like what if I you know I've run out of things to talk about Turns out it's endless the amount of things, because there's also continuing research and things like that, so there's always news, absolutely I agree, and, like you said, it's ever-changing.

Speaker 1: 23:05

There's more information coming out, and sometimes it's okay to even bring back the same material and bring it up again, because sometimes we need to drill it in our own brains and in others, and so they might need to see it in the same material in multiple ways. If that makes sense, yes, oh no, it totally does. Now. What does a successful day look like for you in the now?

Speaker 2: 23:27

So I still deal with more bad days than good, like the way that I look right now probably don't look sick. Whatever sick is A lot of people you guys get this. Oh, you don't look sick all the time, right, all the time so, especially when I have my makeup on. I got my contacts in, I got my hair done, but it is still a struggle. I haven't really found a good schedule yet where I'm able to work every single day. I actually got off of several weeks it was about a month.

Speaker 2: 24:01

All of March was a flare-up, so I couldn't get anything done and a good day for me is filming or researching or writing. I've also been trying to complete. There are these two conferences One is a Lyme and Associated Disease Summit and another one is a conference just about alpha-gal syndrome, which is a kind of a meat allergy that's emerging. That's one of the co-infections that is gaining a lot of traction lately because it's spreading, so I wanted to learn more about that. There's always something to do, but I'm still at a place, health wise, where I'm just not able to work every day, so I just work when I can that right?

Speaker 1: 24:44

there is a great segue, because now what I want to ask you is what's one thing you wish people understood about living with tick-borne illnesses and chronic conditions in general, and I want to bring up co-infections, yes, things that I wish people understood was that these diseases are serious.

Speaker 2: 25:04

This is not like a cold, this is not the flu. These are life-altering diseases. These diseases handicap people, make them disabled. I couldn't speak, I couldn't walk, I couldn't walk. I still have trouble being on my feet for more than 10 minutes, and that's in contrast to the way I used to be, which was I was on my feet all day as a clinical massage therapist, all day and I never thought anything of it. And it's not until you lose the ability to do something that you start to realize how much you miss it. But these diseases are serious.

Speaker 2: 25:42

Tics are everywhere. I mean, unless you're on a vacation in Antarctica, there's going to be tics near you, you know. And there's people who go overseas thinking, oh, there's no tics here, it's just in Connecticut. They're over there too. And I don't tell people this to scare them. I tell people this to inform them that all of these ticks carry different diseases. And when you look at a tick, you can't tell what it has, and it's not until it starts feeding that it starts to inject the contents of its belly into you. So I kind of call it tick roulette, because you never know what the tick has. It's kind of a gambling situation. And another thing I mentioned earlier is a rash doesn't happen to everybody. Not everybody gets that classic bullseye rash and a lot of people don't get a rash at all. Some people also sometimes get a rash and it looks like something else, like hives or an allergic reaction, kind of spotty. So if you go to a doctor, they'll say, oh, that's not Lyme, because that's not an erythema migrans rash, that's not a bullseye rash, so you must have something else. What I also wish that I knew earlier was that the average doctor doesn't really know anything about tick-borne diseases. I wish they did, and that is one thing that needs to change and I hope I can change it by bringing it to everyone's attention over and over.

Speaker 2: 27:11

Yes, yes, co-infections are a big part of what makes people with tick-borne diseases or Lyme disease have persistent and chronic symptoms. It's a big part of the picture that is very misunderstood. And co-infections are two or more pathogens in one patient. That's what a co-infection is. And so, let's say, you get Lyme disease from a tick. You also, like me maybe, started playing with feral cats just because they're cute, you know, and you don't notice any ticks. You don't notice any fleas or lice, you know, because all of those bugs are very, very tiny. Or you pick up the cats and I literally have a picture of my 2014 infection and of course, I didn't know at the time, but I have pictures with the cats. I was visiting a barn and these two cats were following me around and I'm an animal lover. So towards the end of my little tour of this barn, I knelt down and started petting the cats that had been following me and weaving in and out of my legs, and I picked one up. I don't know how many weeks or a few months later that I started getting symptoms, but that's all it takes and it's really crazy that you know, I got three things. I got what's called the three Bs Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the Lyme disease, bartonella and Babesia.

Speaker 2: 28:43

Babesia is considered a parasite. Some of these co-infections don't just come from ticks Ticks. Usually, the Lyme disease is pretty much always going to come from the ticks. That we know because, apparently, ticks' bodies are better equipped just the way that they're structured. They're better equipped at transmitting Lyme disease as opposed to like a mosquito Mosquitoes, for instance, have been found to have Lyme disease in them but because of their body structure and the way that they suck blood, as opposed to ticks. They're not transmitting the Lyme disease like the ticks do, but something like Babesia, or, yeah, babesia, for instance.

Speaker 2: 29:31

This is a big co-infection and a big issue. That isn't just from ticks. People are getting Babesia from blood transfusions. They're getting Babesia from organ transplants. So it's not just ticks. Even mother to baby congenital transmission is happening with Babesia. Now the government knows they are aware that blood is in their blood banks and some of it has Babesia, some of this blood. So imagine for a second you are sick, you are on a transplant list. You finally, finally get the call that you have an organ waiting for you. You get the organ transplant and then you start to get sick. Imagine that. I mean how awful, is that?

Speaker 1: 30:17

Yeah. And then I'm over here thinking, weighing the cost right Is it worth getting this organ or this blood because it's going to help X, Y and Z? Is it worth the risk of getting this and then trying to heal from it? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 30:36

I mean, you know, and a lot of these blood transfusions and these organ transplantations, these are life-saving procedures that are happening, right, and I think that it's different by state. Some states are more vigilant with their testing of the blood in their bank or the organs that are, you know, waiting to be transplanted or whatever, but it's in the literature and they know that people are getting Babesia this way. Yeah, and most people are not aware of this.

Speaker 1: 31:06

Okay, you had mentioned earlier about meat. Is that one of the ones that is found in meat too, or is it another one?

Speaker 2: 31:11

So the meat. One is called alpha-gal syndrome. Alpha-gal is you may have heard of a red meat allergy, but it's not technically just red meat, it's mammalian meat and mammalian products. So when people get, it's oftentimes the Lone Star tick that does it. There are many, many different species of ticks. There's over 900 species of hard and soft ticks. They come in two categories hard and soft 900 species and there's about 100 species of ticks in the United States. So the lone star is the one that they're finding is prominently transmitting this alpha-gal syndrome, transmitting this alpha-gal syndrome.

Speaker 2: 32:00

So what happens is they develop almost like an allergy, but it doesn't behave exactly like an allergy, like if you're allergic to nuts, for instance. The reaction comes almost immediately right. That's usually what a food allergy is. Alpha-gal. On the other hand, it can take hours for the reaction to happen and people are getting anaphylaxis. People are dying because they suddenly get this allergy and maybe they're not aware of what it is. So it's not just red meat, it's mammalian meat and also mammalian products. So collagen or gelatin think about how many medications and supplements have gelatin in the capsule. People who get alpha-gal syndrome cannot ingest those things anymore. Some people are saying that it's curable. Some people are saying they're not sure. So I think the jury is kind of out about alpha-gal right now. Okay, and then I have a note here 70% of medications have some form of mammal ingredient in it. So if you get alpha-gal, that limits what you can take.

Speaker 1: 33:16

This is crazy to me, but I'm not surprised. I mean, there's so many crazy things out there and none of them amaze me anymore.

Speaker 2: 33:23

Yeah, I know, I know there's just yeah, and it's, and it's. It's just truly incredible how much this teeny, tiny little bug messes up people's lives.

Speaker 1: 33:33

Wow, too bad, I can't do something good.

Speaker 2: 33:37

I know I know, Like, why can't it?

Speaker 1: 33:39

like you know, make it so that sandwiches make me lose weight, you know? Or chocolate. Or the cure to cancer, right, I know, yeah, yeah, that'd be great Looking ahead. What are you most excited about, personally or professionally?

Speaker 2: 33:57

Well, professionally, I'm hoping that this, like I said earlier, can become a career. I help bring awareness and make it so people can protect themselves, and it would be great if one day nobody gets Lyme disease again, again. And there are so many things that need fixing and I'm hoping that I can bring some change so that patients have better lives. Now one of the things that I would love to be able to do is influence maybe med schools or nursing schools to educate their students, educate med students, educate nurses, so that when someone comes into their office they know what to look for. If I had me and millions of other people, if we had been diagnosed early, we would have been fine. Diagnosed early, we would have been fine. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1: 35:02

And if we were taken seriously instead of being accused of doing drugs. Now, this is a whole side note, but I had this epiphany take it or leave it. You need to become the Lemon or Lime YouTube opera singer. That's what it needs to be. I'm picturing this whole, like these video clips of you singing opera, to teach people about Lyme disease.

Speaker 2: 35:26

Man, maybe I should start writing my tick-borne disease opera.

Speaker 1: 35:31

Yeah, I mean it could be some fun songs. I mean, I don't know if you're into singing other kinds of songs, but I'm just picturing these. These could be some really fun, different, because that's what we need more of is a fun way of educating people. I can make like a wrench, but with Lyme disease.

Speaker 2: 35:48

Yeah, instead of 525,600 minutes it could be these six medications I have to eat all day.

Speaker 1: 35:59

Yeah, I mean the opportunity that is there. The idea is endless.

Speaker 2: 36:04

Yes, yes, see, now you planted the seed. I'm going to do it. I will be the first one to watch.

Speaker 1: 36:10

Yeah, you'll be in the front row. Where can people connect with you and follow along?

Speaker 2: 36:15

So I am on YouTube Lemon or Lime, and I just started on Instagram as well. That's also Lemon or Lime and Lime with a Y.

Speaker 1: 36:24

Yes, that's very important. Remember it has a Y. Yes, it's not a lime you eat, it's L-Y-M-E. Well, thank you for your time today and all this extremely helpful education that you've brought to light. I really hope that everything that you've had to share really helps someone out there.

Speaker 2: 36:42

Me too Me too, Thank you so much for having me. It was really fun.

Speaker 1: 36:47

It's been my pleasure. I hope we stay in contact and have you back sometime I would be.

Speaker 2: 36:52

Yes, I would be totally willing to come back.

Speaker 1: 36:54

All right. Well, thank you again and listeners until next time. Don't forget your spoon.