Founder of Warrior Energy Raises Awareness in the Fight Against Lyme Disease

Young Beverage CEO Struggles with Chronic Lyme, Starts Lyme Warrior Campaign

Martinsburg, WV-  For Arthur Ebeling (27), the founder and CEO at Warrior Energy, Inc. (www.DrinkWarrior.com), it started with nagging symptoms of fatigue and general malaise.  Over the course of several years, the symptoms progressed in severity eventually spreading to Ebeling’s heart, central nervous system and eyes.  Ebeling did not know at the time that he was yet another victim of America’s fastest growing infectious disease.

“Doctors were not able to determine what was wrong with me.  In the beginning, all of my blood tests and scans were normal,” says Ebeling.  “I knew of course that something was wrong but the doctors were insistent otherwise.  For years, I had a range of symptoms that seemed disparate and unrelated at first.  I went from being an athlete to not being able to scale a flight of stairs because of the strain on my heart.  I noticed alarming cognitive deficits and began to experience motor skill dysfunction, visual symptoms and increased cardiac problems.”

After many inconclusive doctor’s visits, Ebeling discovered information online about Lyme disease, a bacterial infection (borrelia burgdorferi) transmitted most commonly by ticks.

“I knew I was a strong candidate for it,” he said. “I have an abiding love for nature and from the time I was very young into my adulthood, I was frequently outdoors.  I recognized my symptoms as congruent with late stage Lyme.  I felt a sense of relief in knowing what I had after so many years of discomfort and fear.”

Ebeling went to see a Lyme specialist, an LLMD, and his diagnosis was confirmed through proper testing and evaluation.  Ebeling admonishes that traditional tests are not effective in detecting Lyme.  The common blood test for Lyme, the ELISA, often results in a 50% false negative.  Other guidelines are dubious as well including the presence of the bull’s eye rash, erythema migrans.  It is believed that only 40% of Lyme sufferers report this rash as it can easily hide in the scalp or other concealed areas of the body.  Ebeling says he tested negative for Lyme the first time he received the ELISA and never saw the traditional EM rash.Challenging the testing efficacy for Lyme is the spirochete structure of borrelia burgdorferi.  Spirochetes can burrow into tissue and retreat from the blood stream.  This also makes it difficult to treat Lyme the longer it goes undiagnosed as the bacteria are adept at hiding in the body’s deep tissue.

Ebeling warns also that the CDC estimates account for only 10% of actual Lyme cases and because of a warm winter, 2012 is expected to be a record year for Lyme cases.  Because it can virtually go anywhere in the body and involve any body system, Lyme disease often imitates other illnesses.  Thus, the “great imitator” can be misdiagnosed as lupus, MS, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, chronic fatigue syndrome and other illnesses.  “There are tens of thousands of people living in unnecessary pain, fear and suffering who have either been undiagnosed or misdiagnosed,” says Ebeling.  Another danger with Lyme that further complicates diagnosis and treatment is the presence of co-infections.  Ebeling himself contracted babesia and bartonella in addition to Lyme.  The co-infections are transmitted along with the Lyme; these concurrent infections can overwhelm the body’s immune defenses.

Ebeling is now using his company, Warrior Energy, an all natural tea based energy drink, to promote awareness about the disease.  Warrior Energy has launched the Lyme  Warrior campaign, www.LymeWarrior.com.  Ebeling is joined by his friend and fellow Lyme warrior, Lonna Anderson who is currently researching the illness.  Through the sale of Lyme Warrior wristbands and t-shirts, Ebeling hopes to raise awareness and money to further preventive education and subsidize research.  Because of the prevalent misinformation that exists about the disease, Ebeling believes that education is paramount.

While May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Ebeling says that Lyme Warrior is a permanent campaign and will become a critical part of Warrior Energy’s social outreach programs.  In fighting his own illness, Ebeling believes that he had the disease for as long as 10 years before finally being diagnosed.  He also believes he may have been infected multiple times.  As with so many that have the disease unchecked for such a long period of time, it becomes very difficult to treat.  The traditional method is long term antibiotic protocol. Ebeling found this method ineffective and found his condition deteriorating further.

“Antibiotic therapy if administered early can be quite effective.  If you can detect Lyme early enough, 10-30 days of antibiotics will be sufficient.  I am now 2 years into treatment and am still struggling with the illness.  Though I am considerably better, I did not respond completely to antibiotic therapy.  I have had to use antibiotics intermittently along with herbal protocols and lifestyle changes.  The aggregate effect of these methods is providing some relief,” says Ebeling.

Ebeling recommends the Zhang Protocol for chronic Lyme sufferers, an endorsement shared by Dr. Andrew Weil.  The Zhang Protocol is an herbal protocol developed by Dr. Qingcai Zhang using the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Ebeling encourages patients and their doctors to keep an open mind when treating the disease.  Of concern is the lack of knowledge about Lyme in the medical community.  This was exposed by the controversial documentary, “Under Our Skin,” a movie Ebeling and his team highly recommend.

“Doctors know very little about the disease and the prevailing guidelines for diagnosis and treatment put out by the IDSA are tragically inadequate.  If you believe you might have Lyme, seek a specialist and educate yourself.”The best means of treating Lyme is of course prevention.  Basic prevention measures are outlined at the Lyme Warrior site and include wearing bright clothing so that ticks are more visible, tucking pants into socks and using tick repellent.  After a hike or outdoor activity, you should scan your body and comb through hair to identify ticks.

For More Information

Lyme Warrior Campaign www.LymeWarrior.com www.facebook.com/LymeWarrior
Lyme Disease Association www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.Org
Dr. Zhangwww SinoMedResearch.Org
Under Our Skin www.UnderOurSkin.com