Sensitivity Of Persons With Afs
A benefit of this intervention, in the case of a person with AFS, is the low dose of antigen applied in each treatment. Such a low dose isn’t likely to trigger an immune response in that individual. Extremely low doses at the offset are often a requirement to not trigger such a response in a sensitive and weakened individual.
Persons with AFS may be more anxious at the likelihood of serious side effects with the application of immunotherapy. Those in advanced stages of AFS may have significant anxiety related to their health and any interventions.
Clear communication between healthcare professionals and the person undergoing this intervention must occur. This communication should include information about managing their anxiety about the effects of this intervention. A great deal of commitment is required on the part of the person choosing this immunotherapy intervention.
Potential interactions between other AFS interventions and low-dose immunotherapy remain unknown as of this writing. The fragile nature of the person with AFS may increase this potential.
Lda/ldi Has Helped Our Family Immensely
My son used to be quite allergic to poison ivy. Now, if he has an exposure, it doesnt spread all over his body and become a several-week ordeal. Also, my daughters sensitivity to chlorine has been drastically reduced. After swim practice, she used to sneeze a lot and find herself itching all over. Now she comes home from practice each day without any symptoms.
How Is Low Dose Immunotherapy Used
The successful use of LDI requires identifying the antigen or antigens that are causing the symptoms or disease. This can be straightforward, such as using the Lyme disease antigens to treat the chronic inflammatory response from Lyme disease. Other times, it is unknown which antigen has triggered the immune dysregulation. A careful medical history, current symptoms, and past response to medications can help determine which antigen will be most effective. In the above example, the yeast antigen mix could be used when symptoms related to yeast or candida improve on anti-fungal medication but return once the medication is stopped. It is not uncommon for multiple antigens to be used to find the correct antigen in complex chronic illnesses.
Narrowing in on the correct starting dose of LDI is essential for an effective outcome.
LDI antigens are diluted into many doses. The weaker the dose, the higher the number. It is best to start with a weak dose to not cause a flare in symptoms. The goal of the starting dose is to produce a slight improvement in symptoms. If the dose is too weak, there will be no improvement in symptoms .
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How Does Treatment Work
LDI improves symptoms caused by infections, allergies, autoimmunity and sensitivities, and is most commonly used for chronic or recurring infections such as Lyme disease, GI conditions, skin conditions, fungal infections, herpes conditions, Rheumatoid arthritis, and Epstein-Barr virus .
This treatment involves the use of highly diluted substances taken orally once every 7-8 weeks until resolution of symptoms occurs. When the dilution is correct, improvement can occur within a few days, but there can be an exacerbation of symptoms if the dilution is too strong. There is a sweet spot that needs to be found in terms of strength as well as determining the correct microbe, so the dosage will depend on the person. Sometimes only a few doses will give prolonged suppression of symptoms, while others require a lengthier treatment.
We are now offering LDI as a treatment option at Pursue Wellness. Book a free Discovery Call here to learn more about how LDI can help you!
For other health and wellness content, check out these other blogs:
What Is Low Dose Immunotherapy And How Does It Benefit Health
by Pursue Wellness | Feb 7, 2022 | Blog |
Low Dose Immunotherapy is an oral treatment that works toward establishing balance within the immune system. Learn more about what it is and how it can benefit health with this helpful article.
If youre looking for a way to boost your immune system and decrease inflammation, then low dose immunotherapy might be for you. This treatment is a way to retrain the immune system and re-create a better balance. But how does it benefit health and why should you try it out? Keep reading to learn more!
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Chronic Lyme Disease Symptoms
Lyme disease can become chronic either because it isnt fully eradicated initially, or if the immune system cant fully manage fighting the infection, which often leads to significant physical and mental impairment. Chronic Lyme disease is estimated to affect more than 1.5 million people in the US . Many of the symptoms of acute Lyme disease are similar to those of chronic Lyme, like joint pain and severe fatigue. However, Lyme disease can also cause more serious health problems in various body systems:
- Neuropsychiatric problems, like depression, anxiety, brain fog, mood swings, emotional lability, suicidal thoughts, and cognitive dysfunction.
- Issues with fetal brain development in cases where a pregnant woman has Lyme disease
- Sudden-onset aggressiveness and violence, observed in some cases of Lyme disease and Lyme coinfections, particularly Bartonella
- Alzheimers Disease
The Role Of The Immune System In Chronic Illness
The immune system is responsible for the important task of protecting us from foreign invaders, and it must not attack our tissue. The immune system has to distinguish self from non-self. Because of this critical role, the immune system is the most complex organ system in the human body.
What happens when the function of the immune system goes awry? The immune system generates cytokines and other molecules that result in inflammation. This is a normal response in an acute injury. However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it damages tissues and interferes with the normal function of organs. Inflammation is what causes symptoms. For example, when you have the flu, the symptoms fevers, chills, aches, pains, and malaise are not directly caused by the influenza virus but by the immune response to the virus. Most symptoms associated with chronic illnesses are a result of chronic inflammation.
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How Is Ldi Administered
LDI can be administered by intradermal injection or by sublingual dosing. At One Agora, we utilize sublingual dosing with great success. Doses given sublingually are placed under the tongue and held for a short period of time, typically about 30 seconds. In sublingual dosing, the treatment is absorbed through the mucus membranes in the mouth.
There are a wide range of LDI antigens for numerous conditions along with a wide range of doses of LDI. After the initial dose, it is generally given once per week until an effect is seen, then it is dosed once every seven to eight weeks, though a booster dose can be given if a patient’s improvement diminishes and symptoms return before the seven-week mark.
Th1 Th2 And Th17 Inflammation
There are three different types of immune system inflammation pathways in the body. These are called Th1, Th2, and Th17. Th stands for a type of white blood cell called a T helper cell. T helper cells are in the class of first responders to some type of insult to the body whether it is a germ or something we are allergic too. Th1 cells release cytokines that turn on cells that attack viruses and bacteria like Lyme and the coinfections. Th1 cells regulate cellular immunity. Th2 releases a different pattern of cytokines that regulate humoral immunity. That is the part of our immune system that uses proteins called antibodies to fight infections or things we are allergic too. Th17 cells patrol our mucous membranes like those in the nose and the intestines. To protect the borders this way Th17 cells also release different kinds of cytokines.
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Restoring Proper Immune Function Is A Critical Step In Healing
Autoimmune conditions are a result of the immune system losing proper regulation. The immune system does not start attacking our body without a cause! Symptoms from chronic infections are caused by a hypersensitive or persistent immune response to an antigen that may be harmless at low levels. Autoimmune diseases and chronic infections are associated with immune dysregulation, and low dose immunotherapy is an effective treatment for restoring proper immune function.
Beginning Lyme Treatment: Ldi Des Bio And Detox
When I learned I had Lyme disease, I went through a strange jumbled up mess of emotions. The doctors office called and told me my test came back positive. They wanted me to come in as soon as possible to talk about beginning Lyme treatment. I was near tears.
The tears welling up in my eyes were tears of happiness. I was happy to finally know what the cause of all of my strange seemingly unrelated symptoms were.
At the same point, I was angry. I was angry at all of the doctors who told me nothing was wrong, the doctors who told me it was just chronic fatigue and I shouldnt worry about it.
I was frustratedfrustrated that I had spent over a year diligently looking for what was wrong. Over a year of visiting doctor after doctor. Much time and money went into doctors visits and a 6 month contract with a health coach .
But in the end I was just relieved. Relieved I could finally begin my journey back to wellness.
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How Ldi Helps Stop The Immune
Low-dose immunotherapy or LDI is designed to retrain your regulatory T cells so your immune system responds appropriately.
Patients are administered extremely low levels of biologically inert pathogens or allergens to slowly build up tolerance to their immune triggers. The concept is similar to allergy shots, but the concentrations are much lower and broader in scope.
In the case of chronic Lyme, patients are given extremely diluted doses of Borrelia burgdorferi and 74 common bacterial co-infections. The broad range of pathogens is key since many patients are dealing with a combination of these infections or may develop a reaction to them over time. Once patients reach their therapeutically correct dose , their immune system switches off and the inflammatory symptoms subside.
Unlike traditional Lyme treatments like antibiotics and steroids, LDI treatments do not deplete the microbiome or immune system, and unlike allergy shots, its very rare to see a dramatic flare in symptoms.
Low Dose Immunotherapy In Bend Oregon
Low dose immunotherapy is a treatment for âturning offâ an overactive immune system. This applies to allergies, autoimmune diseases, or any process in which the immune system is activated.
âTraditional immunotherapy involves administering a diluted solution of the allergen by injection, under the tongue drops, or topical cream. The concentration of allergen is relatively high and stimulates the body to make âblocking antibodiesâ which block the portion of the immune system that is overactive. The injections take years to work and are dangerous due to the high concentration of allergen. Under the tongue allergy drops are much quicker and safer, yet both injections and drops are limited for use only with inhalants such as pollens or animal dander.
âLDI is different because it uses much lower concentrations of allergens and may be used to treat not only inhalant allergies but also allergies to foods, chemicals, and certain autoimmune or overactive immune conditions. LDI is given as sublingual as an under the tongue drop since it gains access to the immune system quite well in this manner.
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Inflammation Circuit Dysfunction And Low
Runaway immune response in the dysfunctional Inflammation Circuit fits this model of chronic immune response vs. infection very well. Many autoimmune conditions find their origins in this overactive immune system and the way it develops.
Problems tend to arise in this circuit at the point when inflammation becomes rampant and unchecked. The Inflammation Circuit aims to protect your body from invading pathogens whether these pathogens originate from outside your body or internally.
Inflammation occurs naturally in your immune systems response to these pathogens. Typically, once the pathogens are removed from your body, the inflammatory response returns to a normal level. However, there are certain conditions in which this normal response spirals out of control. The result is chronic inflammation that can spread throughout your body.
Included in the Inflammation Circuit are the microbiome, the gut, and the immune system. These systems and organs work together with the rest of your body to fight whatever foreign invaders might threaten you. They also try to keep your normal body processes functioning well.
How Does Lda And Ldi Work
LDA and LDI use extremely low doses of antigens in conjunction with the enzyme beta glucuronidase to down regulate an inappropriate immune response. This is also known as increasing immune tolerance. LDA and LDI are better tolerated than conventional allergy therapy, as well as being more convenient and effective. Conventional treatment with escalating doses of allergens often require twice weekly injections for 4 to 6 months, then continued at extended ongoing intervals. Low-dose therapy injections are only given every 7 weeks, and frequency is reduced over time as a patients symptoms improve. Contrary to conventional allergy injections, LDA and LDI doses are much lower, and there has never been a reported case of anaphylaxis.
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Restoring Tolerance & Supporting Immune Function
You can think of LDI in terms of the Goldilocks story. It doesnt supercharge the immune system to make it overactive or suppress immune function and leave you vulnerable to infection.
LDI helps the immune system respond just right so it can protect you from real danger without mistakenly attacking your body, environmental antigens, or the foods you eat.
What Is In An Ldi Dose
LDI combines specific antigens with an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. This enzyme attracts T cells, which are specialized white blood cells involved in the immune response and tells the T cells to pay attention to whatever antigens are included with the enzyme. Then the enzyme causes the down-regulation, or desensitization of TH2, the part of the immune system that was over-reacting to the included antigens. When the over-activated TH2 portion of the immune system is reduced, the depressed TH1 immunity is enhanced, which can effectively destroy intracellular infections.
So, for example, let’s say that the patient’s LDI dose included antigens to Lyme bacteria. By combining the beta-glucuronidase enzyme with Lyme antigens, the LDI diminishes the abnormally activated TH2 immune system, which is the major cause of symptoms in chronic Lyme disease, but allows the TH1 to take over and effectively attack the Lyme bacteria in the cells.
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Dosing Strength Frequency Titration And Booster Shots
Starting dose. Dosing is started extremely low. This occurs by diluting the germs many times. For instance a person with severe Lyme receives an initial dose which is diluted as 1 part of liquid into 100 parts of water. This process is repeated 20 times. This dilution is called a 20C dilution. A person with moderate symptoms could start at 10C to 12C dilution.
Frequency. An ideal dosing frequency is every 7-8 weeks once the best dose is found. If a person flares up on the initial dose, then a more dilute dose is given 7 to 8 weeks later. It takes 7 weeks for the existing T cells to die and to be replaced by new T cells.
Dose Titration. If the initial dose does not produce any kind of improvement in 10 days then a titration dose can be given of the next strongest strength. For instance if you start at 20C dose and get no improvements at all then the next dose is 19C.
Booster Dose. If a person has some improvement that does not last the full 7-8 weeks, then a booster dose can be given. The strength of a booster can range from 1% of the dose strength up to 50% depending on the length of the improvement. When boosters are given the cumulative dose over the 7-8 weeks is added together to determine the next dose at 7 weeks from the initial dose.
Beta-Glucuronidase. Beta-glucuronidase is given as .01ml along with .04ml of the germ dilution mixture.
How Does Low Dose Immunotherapy Work
Low dose immunotherapy was developed based on the same concepts of low dose allergy therapy . Low dose allergy therapy uses very dilute allergens, including foods and inhalant allergens, to improve immune tolerance to these substances. Low dose immunotherapy employs highly diluted doses of bacterial, viral, fungal, and other antigens to modulate an inappropriate immune response.
LDI antigens effectively treat symptoms associated with chronic infections when inflammation from the immune system persists despite a reduced infectious load. LDI is also effective at treating autoimmune conditions triggered by a bacteria, virus, or parasite. Occasionally when antibodies form against a pathogen, the antibodies will attack human organs and tissues, causing an autoimmune condition. This concept is known as molecular mimicry and is a primary cause of autoimmune diseases.
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What Results Can You Expect
LDI has a different result in each patient. For some patients, improvement in symptoms can be immediate or seen the very next day. Results can last for a few days to several weeks.
One of the great benefits of LDI treatment is that each dose can be customized to the appropriate strength for the patient. The key to successful treatment with LDI is to find the correct dose for each patient. Some patients who are weaker or sicker will have better results on a much weaker dose than can be given for a patient who is stronger. It is better to start on a weaker dose and work your way up to the stronger dose than to start on a strong dose and have a flare-up of symptoms. It may take a number of weeks to work-up to a dose that is effective. Once that dose and particular antigen is determined, the treatment is then given every seven to eight weeks.
As patients progress through each dose, symptom relief lasts longer. Often by the 4th or 5th exposure to the LDI/LDA, patients will see significant relief from symptoms for the full seven weeks between treatments. At this point, the interval between treatments is typically stretched out – waiting until symptoms return before giving the next dose. After a period of time, patients may need injections/sublingual dosing only one or twice per year to stay in remission.