Lyme Disease - The Great Mimicker
Lyme disease is the true American health epidemic that unfortunately is not receiving mass media exposure and research funding it deserves. Lyme is so difficult for doctors to diagnose because the symptoms are so vast and mimic many other conditions. People who contract Lyme may experience symptoms that are completely different than the next person with chronic Lyme, due to differences in their immune system function, lifestyle, internal terrain, etc.
Root Cause of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is caused by a corkscrew (spirochete) shaped bacteria called Borrelia. This spirochete is known to be transmitted by tick bite but according to Lyme research expert Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt as well as the Michigan Lyme Associate (1) it can be transmitted by fleas, lice, mosquitos, possibly spiders, other mammals, and even sexually or congenitally (in the womb)!
This may be why many people with Lyme never remember being bitten by a tick. Ticks can carry the Lyme causing bacteria at different life stages, thus many ticks are so small that people did not even realize they were bitten, and because the initial symptoms are so similar to the flu, most people never seek medical attention.
The hall-mark of Lyme disease is the bulls-eye rash that appears in a moderate percentage of individuals after they have been bitten by a tick. If this happened to everyone, it would make Lyme a lot easier to recognize, but only happens to an average of 40% (range 27-80%) of people (2). Many people may not even know what they are looking at, thinking it is just a weird rash or bug bite, until they are researching their symptoms online years later!
Symptoms:
Flu-like
Fatigue
Body Aches
Fever
Headache
Joint Pain
Unfortunately for some people, symptoms may not even appear until several weeks after being bitten, as the incubation period is 3 to 30 days according to the CDC (3).
When Lyme is not caught and addressed in its early stages, it may lead to many severe symptoms, as the spirochetes have been allowed to multiply over a longer period of time.
Symptoms of chronic Lyme:
Moody
Chronic pain
Memory loss
Debilitating fatigue
Neurological damage
Dizziness
Poor Condition
Seizures
Severe joint pain
Stiff neck
Swollen lymph nodes
Chronic Lyme Disease symptoms are more serious, as it starts to break down the body and people may begin having issues with autoimmune and inflammatory issues, and even drooping of the facial muscles known as Bell’s Palsy. Symptoms of ALS, MS, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune conditions, etc. often parallel symptoms of chronic Lyme.
It is inevitable that you will be bitten and re-bitten by infected insects, but this is no reason to be worried. According to another Lyme expert, Dr. Cowden, there are many healthy people walking around with detectable levels of Lyme and other co-infection pathogens in their body, who are not experiencing any symptoms. Their immune system is able to react to and keep the amount of these bugs in check, so they cannot overwhelm the body. People are bitten all the time, if their immune system can mount a strong enough response, they will not experience chronic Lyme.
Who is Affected?
In my clinical experience, it is mostly only in people who have lowered immune function from nutritional deficiencies, chemical or mold exposure, heavy metals, parasites, and even overexposure to EMFs, who experience the awful symptoms of chronic Lyme. Thus, it is important to use a holistic approach that not only reduces the pathogen load, but also strengthens the body’s inherent capacity to cope with invaders!
There are between 300,000 to 375,000 new cases of Lyme every year in the US alone (4). When you look around on the internet that is very believable, considering how many individuals are posting in forums looking for answers because they have every symptom of chronic Lyme, yet their test results come back negative or their doctor does not even believe chronic Lyme is a real thing! The CDC has just recently recognized Lyme as a condition, so this gives us hope that many people who are suffering will finally be able to find some answers.
Testing For Lyme Disease
Currently, there is no testing available that is extremely accurate. Traditional Lyme testing looking for the presence of certain antibodies, which may not have been produced if the Borrelia is hiding in biofilms the body. It is a very stealthy pathogen! If you do opt for testing, there are labs called DNA Connexions, Vibrant Labs, and IGenex that I utilize in my clinic. For the most part, I look at symptom history and go from there. This way, my clients are able to put most of those funds toward the herbal killers, binders, detox therapies, etc. that can help them become functional again.
One thing that makes Lyme so dangerous is the possible presence of co-inections such as Babesia, Bartonella, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, etc. that may be simultaneously transmitted with the Borrelia from an insect. For example, up to 40% of Lyme patients have a co-infection of the parasite Babesia (5). These co-infections are often very stealthy as well, and the presence of multiple organisms can put much more strain on the immune system.
Working With Lyme
Treatment options vary depending on what kind of practitioner you go to. Most doctors recommend antibiotics such as doxycycline, however, these are only successful in a handful of cases, as Borrelia can hide inside protective biofilms of the body, where antibiotics cannot reach. Antibiotics also negatively impact the entire microbiome of the body, making it weaker and more susceptible overall.
For addressing Lyme in my clinic, I like to utilize different herbal killers such as IS-Borr from CellCore. Herbs in this preparation include Artemesia, Astragalus, Black/Green Walnut Hull, Cat’s Claw, Eleuthero, Buckthorn, and many more. This is a remedy I personally used during my recovery from Lyme disease. It is also critical to make sure the drainage and detox pathways are open before using herbal killers, as the die-off symptoms can be overwhelming otherwise. Binders like BioToxin Binder can be very helpful in this situation as well.
Great resources for learning more about Lyme include Dr. Jay Davidson, Dr. Cowden, and Dr. Klinghardt.
(1) https://www.mlda.org/LymeCoInfections/Lyme/FactSheet.aspx
(3) https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/travel-related-infectious-diseases/lyme-disease
(4) https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/humancases.html
(5) https://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0515/p1969.html#afp20010515p1969-t1