Reaching Every Germ And Every Germ Type
SOT for Lyme needs to target each type of infection that is part of the persons Lyme disease. This presents two problems. First, an SOT therapy should target Lyme germs and other infections if present like Bartonella and Babesia. Second, regarding Lyme, the germ hides away
- inside cells,
- in tissues with poor blood flow like tendons and scar tissue, and
- deep within biofilm communities.
So it is very doubtful one infusion of SOT will reach all germs where they hide.
Lyme and Bartonella germs can exist in non-growing persister forms. SOT is designed to block growth and replication. By definition, persisters are not growing – they are hibernating. So it is very unlikely SOT could kill persister forms. For more information about Lyme persisters and persister treatments see How to Treat Persister Lyme. What Works?
Hunting For Alternative Drug
Frustrated by the lack of treatment options for Lyme disease patients with lingering symptoms, Rajadas and his team began hunting for a better alternative in 2011. In 2016, they published a study in Drug Design, Development and Therapy that listed 20 chemical compounds, from about 4,000, that were most effective at killing the infection in mice. All 20 had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for various uses. One, for instance, is used to treat alcohol abuse disorder.
Jayakumar Rajadas
In this most recent study, azlocillin, one of the top-20 contenders, was shown to eclipse a total of 7,450 compounds because it is more effective in killing B. burgdorferi and causes fewer side effects. Lyme disease affects more than 300,000 people annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can affect various organs, including the brain, skin, heart, joints and nervous system, and cause heart problems and arthritis if untreated. Symptoms include fever, headaches, chills, and muscle and joint pain.
Traditional antibiotics, such as doxycycline, are effective as an early course of treatment for the infection in the majority of patients, but it remains unclear why these drugs fail to treat 10% to 20% of patients, Rajadas said.
Rgcc Sot Clinics And Regulation
I suspect the FDA will eventually shut down centers providing Lyme SOT that is not FDA approved. My interpretation of FDA regulation suggests SOT oligonucleotides qualify as a drug. Drugs are subject to FDA regulation – the FDA only allows for the sale and use of approved drugs. Lyme SOT provided by RGCC is not an FDA approved drug. For more information read the FDA guidance.
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Are Llmds Infectious Disease Specialists
No. While it is possible for a LLMD to be an infectious disease specialist, LLMDs can come from any field or background. Many LLMDs are general practitioners or family doctors, while others may specialize in a specific type of medicine, such as naturopathic medicine.
For more information on finding a LLMD, read IGeneXs blog How to Find Doctors Who Can Help with Your Tick-Borne Disease.
Call Ahead And Ask Questions
Even if you find a doctor who specializes in treating tick-borne diseases, you will want to ask some questions before making an appointment and committing your time and money. A few basic questions to consider asking upfront include the following:
- What is your experience in treating patients with tick-borne diseases?
- How do you diagnose diseases? Do you use any specific labs or lab tests to confirm diagnosis?
- Do you test for coinfections?
- Do you use traditional antibiotics and/or herbals?
- Do you have any patient success stories you can share?
- Do you strictly adhere to CDC test interpretation criteria or are you open to alternative criteria?
If youd like to find a LLMD and want to know more about how to vet them, read the Tick Talk blog, What Makes a Doctor Lyme Literate?
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Need Doctors Who Treat Lyme Disease Learn About Our Protocol
If youre skeptical about our program, thats okay. Many first time patients have lived through multiple failed treatment attempts. We encourage everyone who suffers from Lyme disease and the loved ones of Lyme disease sufferers to watch our video testimonials and engage in personal research online. Most of the literature on this complex disease describes symptoms and epidemiology, but fails to provide concrete information about proper wellness protocols. Lyme disease affects many different systems of the body, which makes addressing it completely a complex goal. At Lyme Laser Centers, we have founded a program for many sufferers. Trust Lyme disease doctors to help you on your way to overcoming this serious disease.
Whether youre an individual looking for answers or a health care professional searching for a better offering, remember our North Andover location. For more information about doctors who treat Lyme disease, call our office at 725-5963.
How Long Does It Take To Show Signs Of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is characterized by various symptoms. The discomforts are very varied and affect many organs. If a person becomes infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium by means of a tick bite, a reddish and annular lesion on the skin may appear after several days or weeks this would be the first manifestation.
In the first month of exposure to the tick, which in most cases the patient does not remember, early localized infection occurs, which is usually manifested by nonspecific flu-like symptoms and the appearance of migratory erythema, which is a papule or macula that extends painlessly to take the form of a target with the clearer center. Since a quarter of patients do not have migratory erythema, it is not uncommon for this first stage to go unnoticed and doctors receive a patient with symptoms of an early disseminated infection , after weeks or months of exposure. This stage could be initiated, for example, as a general condition with intense discomfort, diffuse pains, headache, asthenia or new cutaneous symptoms: annular lesions smaller than migratory erythema, or the rare presence of lymphocytoma cutis .
Considering the inconstancy and clinical variability of borreliosis in this phase, it has been called the great imitator.
In any case, and if we exclude the almost constant fatigue/lethargy, it seems that the most relevant and frequent presentation symptoms are neurological, followed by the musculoskeletal and dermatological signs.
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Can Lyme Disease Be Sexually Transmitted
First of all, if you have been treated for Lyme disease, even if your Western blot is positive, it is very unlikely that there are any spirochetes still circulating in your bodily fluids. Second, there is no good documentation that Lyme disease can be contracted by sexual contact. Given the number of cases of Lyme disease that have been diagnosed over the last 20 years and the fact that there are have been instances where people with active infection are having sexual intercourse but have not yet been treated, one would expect there to be many well documented cases of suspect partner to partner transmission this is not the case. Therefore, for all these reasons, it is highly unlikely that a person could acquire Lyme disease through unprotected intercourse or other sexual contact.
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The Different Types Of Doctors Who Can Test For Lyme Disease
Home » Tick Talk » The Different Types of Doctors Who Can Test for Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infectious disease caused by a group of spiral-shaped bacteria we now refer to as Lyme borreliae. This includes, but is not limited to, Borrelia burgdorferi. It is treatable with antibiotics, but in order to have the best chance at full recovery, its crucial to get your disease diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. That means finding the right doctor.
But what kind of doctor tests for Lyme disease? You may be wondering if you need to see a specific kind of physician to get the right test and treatment. The answer can depend on your particular situation.
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Later Signs And Symptom Of Lyme Disease
As the infection progresses, other symptoms such as joint pain, muscle weakness, numbness and tingling, vision problems and difficulty sleeping might begin. These symptoms last from several weeks to months. Some patients develop chronic Lyme disease, which means they continue to suffer for years without treatment. Chronic Lyme disease affects about 10 per cent of those who get the illness. Its possible to recover completely from Lyme disease, although some people never fully heal.
Who Is At Risk For Lyme Disease
Anyone can get a tick bite. But people who spend lots of time outdoors in wooded, grassy areas are at a higher risk. This includes campers, hikers, and people who work in gardens and parks.
Most tick bites happen in the summer months when ticks are most active and people spend more time outdoors. But you can get bitten in the warmer months of early fall, or even late winter if temperatures are unusually high. And if there is a mild winter, ticks may come out earlier than usual.
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For Memory Concentration And Focus
Improving memory is a challenge. In Lyme disease, short-term memory problems and word-retrieval problems are common. These often improve substantially with appropriate antibiotic therapy. Over time, most patients regain their cognitive function.
When memory is a problem, consider that this could due to a primary problem with attention or with mood. An individual who can’t focus won’t be able to remember because he/she didn’t “attend” to the item in the first place. This happens to all of us when we hear someone’s name at a party if we don’t focus on the name and perhaps make a mental association to the name to enhance memory storage, we will forget that name within minutes. Patients with depression often experience problems with memory and verbal fluency when the depression is resolved, the memory and verbal fluency typically resolve as well.
- Medications: Attention can be improved with certain medications, such as bupropion , atomoxetine , modafinil , or stimulants . Medications that temporarily slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease or memantine ) have not been studied in Lyme disease.
- There is some evidence that online brain training programs can enhance concentration or processing speed.
- Neurofeedback may be helpful in improving attention, as well as in improving sleep and reducing pain. This has been studied for migraines, fibromyalgia, and ADHD.
What Is The Best Antibiotic For Lyme Disease
The best anitbiotic for Lyme disease is Doxycycline. Doxycycline was the first to be found, and it works on both ticks and Lymecycline in ring form. Doxycycline combined with amoxicillin has proved to provide an even better results. The only downside of doxycyclines is that people under age 35 have higher chances of developing acne. And while others are being studied, so far there has not been a magic bullet against the bacterial family of Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease after an incubation period ranging from 3 days to months before any associated symptoms are experienced . It can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks for antibiotics or other treatments to kill all of the bacteria.
Doxycycline is an antibiotic used to treat infections such as Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, acne , rosacea, chlamydia , and others.
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How To Spot And Remove Ticks
If you find a tick attached to your body, carefully pull it out using tweezers. Dont squeeze too hard because this could hurt the animal. If theres any doubt about whether the tick has been removed completely, leave it where it was until someone else removes it.
You should check yourself regularly for ticks while walking through woodland, especially at dusk and dawn. Youll need to keep looking down so you dont miss any ticks.
Alternate Treatments Offer Relief
Freitas now takes Epsom salt baths on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and uses an infrared sauna for detoxification, saying it makes her body feel better.
And she now takes 30 pills each day, interspersing antibiotics with herbs and dietary supplements, which cost upwards of $1,200 a month.
For babesia Im taking liquid gold Mepron, said Freitas. Its really expensive. Its 50 bucks for 80 milliliters, which lasts two weeks.
She gave up dairy, gluten, and sugar to reduce inflammation.
And she meets with Shor monthly online from her house at a charge of $250 per visit, which insurance does not cover.
It was to me the money is well paid. Im having peace of mind, Freitas said. I feel like Im getting better.
Freitas said she started gaining back some weight in June. Her mind has become a bit clearer. Her long-term memory seems back a bit, too. Im getting out of the graveyard, she said.
Said Oppenheimer to his wife: What Im seeing is youre better relative to the beginning of , because youre still not good.
For Freitas, the struggle for recognition and relief from her symptoms continues. She and her husband remodeled their home over the summer, refurbishing their two-story house with a plan to rent out one level to pay for Freitas ongoing treatments.
And she still holds out a little flame of hope of one day becoming a doctor just like her dad.
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The Earlier In The Course Of Tick Borne Disease That The Treatment Is Started The Better For The Patient And The Worse For The Microbes
Early detection, however, can be difficult. Lyme IS the most prevalent tick borne disease in the states and it is increasing in incidence year to year. Yet the Center for Disease Control estimates only 10% of the cases of Lyme disease are reported annually. This is because only 50% to 68% of patients have a clear bulls-eye rash. Only 26% ever see the tick that gives them Lyme disease. Most people do not know that a flu in the late spring, summer or early fall can be a sign of Lyme disease. Most doctors do not know that Lyme exists anywhere but the northeast part of the United States. So early treatment is a challenge. I try during tick season in Northern California to have short appointments to check out a tick bite or erythema migrans rash, in order to effect early treatment.
Stage : Early Disseminated Lyme Disease
Early disseminated Lyme disease occurs several weeks to months after the tick bite.
Youll have a general feeling of being unwell, and a rash may appear in areas other than the tick bite.
This stage of the disease is primarily characterized by evidence of systemic infection, which means infection has spread throughout the body, including to other organs.
Symptoms can include:
- disturbances in heart rhythm, which can be caused by Lyme carditis
- neurologic conditions, such as numbness, tingling, facial and cranial nerve palsies, and meningitis
The symptoms of stages 1 and 2 can overlap.
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Late Stage Lyme Disease Post
Even though the majority of patients diagnosed with Lyme disease are treated successfully with antibiotics, some patients continue to have symptoms that last for several months or even years after treatment has stopped. These symptoms are often called chronic Lyme disease or post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome and can include not just aches and pains but also problems with the brain, joints, muscles, nervous system, heart, or other organs.
Late disseminated infection:
The most severe form of post-treatment Lyme disease is known as late disseminated infection. LDI develops within two to four weeks of stopping antibiotic therapy. Symptoms include persistent headaches, dizziness, depression, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, and sometimes paralysis. The condition tends to occur more frequently among older adults and children.
Post-infectious encephalomyelitis:
Another type of long term complication of Lyme disease is post-infectious encephalopathy or meningoencephalitis. PEM usually begins between three and 12 months following an initial bout of Lyme disease. Patients report fatigue, memory loss, confusion, personality changes, mood swings, seizures, tremors, and visual hallucinations. Other symptoms associated with PEM include headache, neck stiffness, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and stiffening of the limbs.
Why Do Doctors Not Treat Lyme Disease
Without laboratory findings, however, most doctors are uncomfortable with diagnosis and treatment of chronic Lyme disease. This may be because Lyme disease symptoms can be mistaken for those of other illnesses, such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and depression.
Then What are the 3 stages of Lyme disease? There are three stages of Lyme disease.
- Stage 1 is called early localized Lyme disease. The bacteria have not yet spread throughout the body.
- Stage 2 is called early disseminated Lyme disease. The bacteria have begun to spread throughout the body.
- Stage 3 is called late disseminated Lyme disease.
Furthermore, What celebrities have had Lyme disease?
Here are a few examples of stars with Lyme disease.
- Avril Lavigne. Canadian singing sensation Avril Lavigne has been battling Lyme disease since 2014.
- Shania Twain.
- Debbie Gibson.
- Yolanda, Anwar & Bella Hadid.
Does Lyme disease lower life expectancy? The researchers concluded, Only pre-existing comorbidities, and not Lyme disease stage or severity, were predicative of having lower QOL scores and long-term symptoms. Take away message: In the long run, Lyme does not affect your life as much as other health conditions.
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Treating Lyme Disease: A Functional And Integrative Medicine Approach
On Wednesday, March 8, Dr. Sunjya Schweig and his wife, Lia Gaertner, together gave a deeply affecting and informative presentation sharing their personal and professional experiences with Lyme disease. The talk was part of the ongoing Distinguished Speaker Series. What follows is a synopsis of some of the highlights.
Lia Gaertner sharing her story with a full room at the speaker series event in Berkeley, CA.
Lia Gaertner, a member of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation Science Committee, and Dr. Schweig, who is on the foundations Advisory Board, bring a wealth of professional expertise and knowledge to the table. But their story starts on a personal note, for it was just one month after Dr. Schweig started working in private practice that Lia after 10 years of battling serious illness, unexplained symptoms, and debilitating physical and mental challenges was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease. Together, the couple took what they describe wryly as a rapid descent together down a rabbit hole a deep dive into Lyme, trying to learn as much as possible for their survival.