treating lyme
After receiving a medical diagnosis of Lyme, there are a couple of things you should do while investigating what treatment plan you will follow. The following should be done as soon as possible:
1)
Find a functional doctor or ILADS doctor in your area. The ILADS doctors have additional certifications with tick-borne diseases and co-infections, and they specifically work with patients with these diseases and symptoms. You may still check-in with your conventional doctor but the combination of the two is most effective. Learn the difference in our HEAL section.
2)
Investigate your home and working area for mold, mildew, airborne contaminants and household chemicals. If you start treatment and your environment is invisibly toxic, there will be little if no healing experienced. We provide home testing kit ideas on our SHOP page but there are many options. Throw out household cleaners with harsh chemicals…even makeup and skin/hair care can include chemicals that your body is now rejecting. More info on our CLEAN LIVING-HOME page.
3)
Immediately begin boosting your immunity. This is something you can start today with little to no cost involved. Work on your immune system before trying intense therapies because if you are in an acute state, your body is already maxed out. It, and your nerves, need to settle down and improve over a couple of months before it might be able to handle infrared, laser, chiropractic, etc. Investigate with a functional doctor and decide between supplements, vitamin, IV vitamin and mineral treatments, herbs or essential oils. These are the least costly route and can almost completely heal your Lyme, if you want to go the natural route. It might take a bit longer, but it is possible. There are many anti-microbial herbs and supplements to attack the Lyme bacteria long-term. You can find the ones we like on our SHOP page or other great options at your local holistic drug store. You can get help from a functional doctor via blood work, but in the meantime, get started on your own (an integrative pharmacist can recommend natural immune-boosting remedies). We recommend once you reach a remission stage of Lyme to continue basic natural therapies daily as overseen by a functional doctor to keep the Lyme at bay. IV drop-in stores are popping up everywhere…google search IV drip treatments in your city (your functional doctor may also provide IV treatments). Those treatments usually last about 30 minutes and if you can add an immunity booster to it, that’s great. If you are in an acute state, go once a week for 4-6 weeks, then drop down to twice a month, then as needed when feeling like you are getting sick for IV’s. More info on our HEAL-FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE and CLEAN LIVING-BODY pages.
4)
Start incorporating a paleo, keto, plant-based, elimination, vegetarian or vegan diet. Clean out and dump most of your pantry. You may be asking WHY, but simply put, these diet plans exclude a ton of additives, preservatives, and foods that trigger symptoms. By eliminating most everything except the wholesome basics, you are giving your body a chance to stop reacting and reduce the inflammation. The foods you put into your body are extremely important, so do not resist this step. These diet plans don’t have to last forever if you don’t like them, just until your body has entered the healed, healing or remission stage of Lyme. The more your body is inflamed, it will be impossible to heal. More info on this on our CLEAN LIVING-FOOD page.
5)
Do one of the following: meditation, yoga, swimming, walking, stretching, body-rolling, pilates, breathwork, or any of the treatments we have on our HEAL-INTEGRATIVE page daily. If you already do one, do another. Start today with a commitment to healing your mind from negative emotions or thoughts. Place boundaries on toxic relationships. Your health is declining so make a move today. Take action and do not underestimate the power of the mind/body relationship. Your body needs your mind to be clear and have only positive intentions right now.
6)
Break a sweat once a day. Many Lyme friends go through a process that makes detoxing more difficult for them. Sweating properly can even be challenging. Break a sweat to get out the toxins. Find an app (we like 8Fit) to give you workouts or stretches based on your ability on any given day. If you are in an acute state, an infrared blanket can help your body sweat. Even if it is just a little layer of sweat, that is better than nothing at all. Do what you can and have hope. This is a FREE treatment! If you follow our protocol, your body will respond. This may take a while until your body adjusts to change. Be patient.
7)
If you are in an acute state, consider natural or prescription support for regulating your days and nights. While caffeine is excluded in many diets, in an acute state of Lyme, a cup of black coffee or coffee enema in the early morning can help. Then a natural or small dosage sleep aid at night. It is fine to take a short nap (or two!) during the day but it is vital that you do not start mixing days and nights. Some Lyme friends notice a sharp increase in insomnia, no matter how tired they are. It is perfectly fine to incorporate a mild stimulant in the early morning and a mild suppressant at night as long as you are monitored by your functional physician and anything prescription is not habit-forming if that is an issue. You may find all-natural remedies at your local natural pharmacy and on our SHOP page. Prescriptions will need to be obtained by your conventional or functional doctor (some have experienced success with Ambien or Gabapentin for nighttime). When you experience relief for a few days in a row which leads into a week or longer, continue your routine for another MONTH then wean off and only start again if the acute state returns. Remember, a functional doctor can treat you for both prescription-strength support as well as natural remedies your body needs and can be directed by them for you through blood work.
Treatment for Lyme is not straight forward. We have found there are three pathways typically followed and you may choose to move between the three throughout your healing process.
We have found there are three pathways typically followed and you may choose to move between the three throughout your healing process after the “first steps” are examined.
conventional medicine
On the east coast, traditional western medical doctors have more exposure to Lyme and sometimes treat it immediately without any testing done in order to get antibiotics to you sooner. Most of them know the early signs of Lyme. On the west coast, diagnosing can be hit or miss. In either case, traditional treatment of Lyme consists of longer-term antibiotic treatment, usually 3 weeks of Doxycycline. If caught early enough, most patients can fully recover unless the MTHFR gene mutation is present. If that gene mutation is present, patients can develop a more chronic state of Lyme. Your doctor can test for the MTHFR gene mutation as well as the company 23 and Me. If a few weeks or months (even years) have gone by without a proper test, your journey may not end with antibiotic treatment. In fact, many doctors will recommend antibiotics for months to eradicate the bacteria, switching antibiotics from time to time. Traditional medicine typically treats the disease or condition by making a diagnosis and then determining which drugs or surgery will best treat the condition.
The ILADS practitioners are Lyme-literate medical doctors, who use their expertise to prescribe heavy doses of multi-antibiotics that can be administered orally and/or through an IV port. They give you supplements to support your immune system as your body fights off the Lyme and co-factors. Lyme Literate Doctors (LLMD’s) have advanced training in tick-borne diseases. You can search LLMD’s on the website IGENEX as well as ILADS.
functional medicine
Functional medicine looks at the individual patient, their lifestyle, and also incorporates a system of finding the root cause of a disease or condition. These doctors look further into specific genetic testing, personal history, and biochemistry to ask why this person is ill. The patient care plan is specific, individualized, and treats the underlying genetic makeup of the individual rather than the disease. Common practices are stem cell therapy, IV treatments, biochemistry testing, food sensitivity testing, heavy metal detox, cortisol and gut health tests.
integrative medicine (alternative medicine)
Integrative medicine treats the patient as a whole by diving deeply into the mind, body and soul, instead of genetics or conventional medicine. The integrative doctor treats the lifestyle instead of just the disease or condition to ease symptoms. An integrative physician will treat nutritional and exercise habits of the patient and will focus more on daily habits and improving the choices an individual is making to improve their condition and mental health. Common practices include implementing yoga, massage, acupuncture, meditation, aromatherapy, and dietary supplements into the patient’s regular routine and eliminating triggers for stress