SOME TIPS ON LYME DISEASE
May 2023 is Lyme Awareness month. A lot of conferences and webinars have recently taken place with Lyme as the main topic. There is a lot of ignorance and misinformation about Lyme. Most UK GPs are not Lyme literate and rely solely on a standard course of antibiotics to defeat this stubborn infection. This is unfortunate as more people have Lyme disease than is generally realised. It can mimic almost any other condition. As one experienced Lyme researcher and doctor said this week, Lyme is now the real pandemic.
Here are some tips on Lyme disease for Lyme Awareness Month which you may find helpful:
Although Lyme is known as a ‘tick-borne’ illness, the majority of Lyme cases have never been bitten by a tick. Lyme can be transmitted by any infected insect i.e. spider, horsefly, mosquito as well as ticks. It can also be transmitted by sexual contact or gestation. This has been published in the medical literature since the mid-80’s. To continue to call it a tick-borne disease gives a false impression. I have even heard one medical professional say their patient couldn’t possibly have Lyme because they didn’t live near any deer! Oh dear!
Successful treatment of Lyme needs a wholistic approach. It is no longer enough to pump a patient full of antibiotics and hope for the best.
There are different forms of Lyme - the spirochete form (so named because of its mobile corkscrew appearance) and the round body (or cyst) form. When spirochetes find themselves under attack from antibiotics, they mutate to the round body or cyst forms which are not destroyed. These are known as persister forms and contain the Lyme DNA which can survive deep in the tissues for decades and millennia. The mummified body of Otzi the Iceman, discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991, was found to be riddled with Lyme. Otzi was estimated to have lived between 3350 and 3105 BC.
Persister forms surround themselves in a protective matrix known as biofilm to aid their survival. Intelligent biofilm breakers are therefore a standard part of chronic Lyme treatment.
If you have lived an outdoors life with woodland walks, camping, getting close to Nature etc., and have symptoms you are concerned about, you are a potential candidate for Lyme. Don’t give up Nature, but if concerned about your health, get tested for Lyme and do something about it.
If Lyme is present, there will be other infections too. Sometimes a co-infection will be the dominant infection producing the most symptoms. Some of the most common co-infections include: Bartonella, Babesia, Epstein Barr Virus and other herpes viruses, Coxsackievirus, Parvovirus, Mycoplasma, Strep and more. Lyme and co-infections have a synergistic effect. Lyme and mould infections are a bad combination. Don’t guess - get tested.
Lyme has been found routinely in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. It is a driver of many conditions, including autism and neurodegenerative conditions.
The majority of lab tests for chronic Lyme in the UK are not that reliable. I use one of the most accurate and accessible tests for chronic Lyme - the Borrelia Elispot test from Armin Labs in Germany. Elispot tests are the gold standard for detecting infections in transplant clinics round the world. They look at how the white T-cell ‘soldiers’ of the immune army are reacting to a particular microbe. Elispots have a high level of sensitivity (i.e. false negatives are uncommon) and a high level of specificity (i.e. it is the microbe you are looking at and not another).
Alongside tests for Lyme and co-infections, it is important to test immune status. If your immune system is ‘stuck’ in a position that favours the flourishing of Lyme or mould or other infections, this is a first step to address. T cell and cytokine tests reveal the state of the immune system and enable me to put a foundation for recovery in place.
When faced with the possibility of Lyme and co-infections, the wrong thing to do is nothing. Some people carry Lyme very quietly with few symptoms; others become very ill. How your immune system responds to Lyme-and-co depends on what other factors are overloading your immune system.
A few years ago, there was a big breakthrough in Lyme treatment when experienced Lyme researcher Dr Dietrich Klinghardt highlighted the importance of addressing retroviruses alongside Lyme for best outcomes. From clinical and personal observation, I have observed a big improvement in Lyme symptom alleviation when addressing retroviruses and Lyme concurrently.
There is a wealth of information in the medical literature regarding the effectiveness of certain herbal compounds in the treatment of Lyme, retroviruses and co-infections. I owe a personal debt of gratitude to Lyme pioneers like Dr Dietrich Klinghardt, the late Harrod Buhner (master herbalist), and a number of other doctors and scientists who have given us the valuable tools to get our lives back from Lyme and co-infections.
It is important to get your anti-Lyme tools from the right sources - the right herbs grown in the right way, delivered in the right form. One of my most important tasks as a Lyme practitioner is to know which tools have the best track record in improving symptoms and which are likely to produce the best results. Fortunately, in the UK, we have some excellent tools to choose from.
If you would like to know more about Lyme and co-infections or are concerned about your health and would like to get infection tests, please contact the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment.