Hammer Factor – Episode 63, ‘Helmet Technology, Little White Race And IR = High N Dry’

Hammer Factor

Special thanks to The Oh-Be-Joyful Race for sponsoring the show!

In this episode, we bring Tom Sherburne from Shred Ready Helmets on the show to discuss helmet technology. In particular to answer why MIPS technology is not used in whitewater helmets? From there we, unfortunately, had to dig into a little paddle offset and feather talk. Finally we expose IR as the manufacturer of High N Dry. Enjoy and thanks for listening!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Hammer Factor Subscription Options:

Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2

Stitcher:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr

RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor

Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?

Dane Cobra Flip off Spirit Falls: https://www.facebook.com/TheAdrenalineRush/videos/2364806570236092/

Email On Lymes Disease:

From: Amos Ludwig
Subject: Lyme and Dr. Rocco

Message Body:
Dear John,

I listened to the Lyme Disease episode that you did last year with Dr.
Rocco and was just going to keep my thoughts to myself, until Dr. Rocco
responded to the dissenting email by hiding behind the title of scientist
to support his position. I am by trade a scientist and have performed and
published research. The research that has been performed that suggests that
Lyme cannot persist long term is very limited in scope, and his argument
about symptoms being general and vague is the epitome of anecdotal and
hardly scientific. I’m going to provide you my personal experience with
Lyme not because you asked for it, but because I’m grumpy about the whole
thing. My experience is also anecdotal, but I’m not ruining people’s lives
with my anecdotal experience. Refusing to perform proper scientific
research on lyme persistence is leaving a lot of people suffering and in
some cases ruining their lives. It also dawned on me that Weld may have
even been referring to me as the paddler he knew that had a long battle
with Lyme. So maybe I am also defending myself and experiences. I could
write a book from my experience, but I’ll do my best to be as succinct as
possible. Here goes…

I picked up Lyme disease backpacking on the Appalachian Trail and at the
time knew little to nothing about it. I was diagnosed with several other
ailments before a doctor finally tested me for Lyme Disease. I tested
positive and was given two weeks of doxycycline. I initially felt better
but after the treatment course concluded my symptoms came roaring back. I
returned to the same dr. who prescribed the same dose and duration of
antibiotics. This time my symptoms resolved enough that I was able to
finish the Appalachian Trail. Unfortunately after I returned home the
symptoms returned. This time oral doxycycline was not effective and I was
referred by a friend to a Dr. that treats persistent lyme with prolonged
antibiotic therapy and I was given an IV Rocephin. Improvement was slow but
I could tell over time that it was making a difference. I was then taken
off of the IV and returned to oral treatment with antibiotics. My
improvements were slow but marked and I remained on antibiotics for the
next year and a half. I was feeling well enough that my dr. and I agreed to
end antibiotic therapy. Unfortunately, after a couple weeks without
antibiotics my symptoms came back stronger than ever. Each of these
relapses proved to be more and more difficult to recover from. So here I am
now 7 years later and have been on some form and dose of antibiotics ever
since. I take an incredibly small “maintenance” dose at this point which
seems to be enough to keep the Lyme from thriving in my blood stream.

So here are some of the things that I’ve learned from this terrible
experience:

1. The Infectious Disease Society of America has claimed that Lyme
   infection cannot become chronic and that long term antibiotic use is
   ineffective and dangerous.
2. The research that they have cited has been conducted over a short time
   span and with a very small sample size.
3. More complete research is being conducted through the International
   Lyme and Associated Disease Society
   https://www.ilads.org/research-literature/leading-research/, as well as
   https://www.lymedisease.org/. This research is being conducted with data
   from thousands of patients over a period of years instead of days or
   months.
4. Research from these organizations and others indicates that where
   treatment failures exist, bacteria have migrated out of the bloodstream and
   deep into tissues, muscles, joints, and even the brain and spinal fluid.
   Areas that most antibiotics cannot reach.
5. Research also indicates that when Lyme is exposed to a short and
   insufficient dose of antibiotics that the bacteria are able to form
   colonies which are fully encased in a protective biofilm which antibiotics
   cannot penetrate.
6. For my personal experience with Lyme, long term antibiotics were the
   only significant factor in my recovery.
7. There are countless people who have shared my same experience of early
   treatment failures from short and/or delayed initial antibiotic therapy.
8. The earlier the treatment and the longer the dose, the higher the
   treatment success. All of the people that I know with chronic symptoms
   including myself either did not receive treatment right away or were given
   3 weeks or less of doxycycline after symptoms occurred. In my case I
   experienced the double whammy.
9. It takes a while for Lyme to show up on a blood test. If you’ve been
   bitten by a tick and have flu like symptoms don’t wait for a positive test
   result before you seek treatment.

I would like to note that I do not take discounting Dr. Rocco lightly. As
a conservation biologist I take science and research very seriously. My
stance on this matter has come not only from my own experiences and others
that I have met, but by hundreds of hours of reading and compiling as many
research studies as I could find.

From this experience I have come up with a Lyme plan for my family,
friends and anyone else who cares to listen.

1. First line of defense is prevention. Deet will melt the paint off of
   your windowsill but it will also keep the ticks off of you. You can also
   buy permethrin treated clothing. When you are done recreating it’s time for
   a good old fashioned tick check, which can also make for a fun co-ed
   activity. Remember, ticks seek out warm/moist places. Sounds like Grace
   found that out the hard way.
2. Secondly if you have an embedded tick, remove it carefully with
   tweezers by the head and put it in a sealed zip-lock baggy. At this point,
   to be thorough and have piece of mind, mail the tick to a lab to be tested
   for Lyme. We use a lab in PA through https://www.tickcheck.com/. Once
   they receive the tick they will provide email results within 48 hours. For
   my two small children we send off every single tick to be tested. The test
   is a PCR DNA test which is 99.9% accurate. This test is far more accurate
   than waiting to test for your own immune response after symptoms have
   already presented. (This lab will also test the tick for a wide array of
   other vector borne diseases but you pay extra).
3. If the tick results come back negative, go have a beer, or eight and
   celebrate. If the tick test results are positive, our plan is to treat
   prophylactically. This is where your dr. comes in. I’m lucky enough to have
   found a doctor who will treat aggressively with prophylaxis. Everyone
   around the Yough knows Dr. Nori Onishi. His approach to Lyme is spot on and
   he is a way better dr. than a paddler. At this point the treatment is
   typically 3 weeks of doxycycline for adults and 3 weeks amoxicillin for
   small children. We would treat 4-6 weeks if symptoms began before treatment
   starts, but this has yet to happen.

Well that’s my extensive unsolicited story and I’m sticking to it. But
since I’m here I’d like to say how much I appreciate the contributions from
Geltman on this show. It’s frustrating to hear people complain about having
to listen to the conservation and land policy issues that ultimately
determine how and where they get to recreate. I’m assuming that they want
other people to do the dirty work for them so that they can get back to
life in their bubble.

I’d also like to rave about IR’s No Rubbie’s Boxer Briefs. I don’t always
wear underwear, but when I do, they’re John Weld’s.

IR Exposed as High N Dry Manufacturer