Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an acute infection that can turn into a chronic illness that a bacteria called borrelia burgdorferi can cause. It spreads to humans through infected tick bites. Although many patients do not remember being bit by a tick, they have positive tests and clinical symptoms of Lyme disease and/or co-infections. Therefore, many question whether there are other ways of acquiring Lyme disease and co-infections.

What are the Co-Infections Associated with Lyme Disease?

Co-infections are additional illnesses that can happen alongside Lyme disease. These may result from other bacteria, viruses, or parasites transmitted by the same tick bite. Examples of co-infections include bartonella, babesia, tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF), anaplasma, ehrlichia, and rickettsia. 

Having co-infections can make Lyme disease symptoms more severe and challenging to treat.

How to Test for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

We provide comprehensive testing to help diagnose Lyme disease and co-infections. Unfortunately, the conventional testing for Lyme disease through standard labs has a very low sensitivity. This means that if you have Lyme disease, you could have a 51% chance of being told you don’t have Lyme disease. We offer testing which increases the likelihood of a true positive result compared to conventional screening tests. This includes lab companies such as Igenex, Vibrant Wellness, and InfectoLabs.

Once your medical history review and testing are complete, we work with you to ensure your personalized treatment targets your specific symptoms and addresses the underlying causes of your condition.

Key Strategies for Treating Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

Overall, an individualized and comprehensive approach is crucial for effective treatment of difficult Lyme disease & co-Infections. These concepts include:

• Infection level reduction
• Biofilm reduction
• Immune system support
• Detoxification support
• Inflammation reduction
• Pulsed treatment
• Persister bacteria reduction
• Mitochondrial support
• Parasite reduction
• Heavy metal reduction 
• Mold toxicity reduction
• Anti-inflammatory diet
• Methylation balance
• Nutrient deficiency treatment
• Neurologic healing
• Joint healing
• Stem cell activation
• Chronic viral level reduction (ex. EBV)
• Candida reduction
• Microbiome balancing
• Neurotransmitter balancing
• Hormone balancing

Natural Treatments for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

We offer many effective treatments for Lyme disease and co-infections, including:

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

HBOT acts as an anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and promotes healing by driving oxygen and circulation deep into the tissue. This helps kill infections, regenerate damaged tissue, improve detoxification, and enhance the efficacy of other treatments. Our HBOT chambers can go up to 3 ATA pressures which is often key for difficult Lyme disease and co-infection cases. HBOT allows oral and IV therapeutics to penetrate deeper into the tissue, which can increase treatment's overall efficacy. Furthermore, HBOT has been researched as a strong biofilm treatment for chronic infections.

Oral Therapies for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

We offer numerous innovative oral therapies including pharmaceutical, herbal, peptide, and nutraceutical options tailored to your history, lab results, and symptoms. This includes innovative integrative treatments such as methylene blue, DMSA, ivermectin, and LDN (low dose naltrexone). Oral therapies can target many of the anti-infective, biofilm, immune, and detoxification needs of Lyme disease and co-infection patients. We often recommend liposomal oral delivery which helps enhance absorption and biofilm penetrance.

Intravenous (IV) Anti-Infective Therapies for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

IV therapy delivers nutrients, fluids, and medications directly into your bloodstream for rapid absorption and treatment efficacy in difficult-to-reach areas Lyme disease and co-infection can hide such as the neurologic system. IV anti-infective therapies aim to penetrate the “biofilms” that often hide these chronic infections. Biofilms are protective layers where groups of bacteria can form, shielding them from conventional treatments and contributing to ongoing infections. The most effective IV treatments for helping heal from Lyme disease and co-infections include:

• EBOO therapy
• IV ozone 10-Pass
• IV ozone MAH (major autohemotherapy)
• IV vitamin C high dose
• IV antibiotics
• SOT therapy
• UVBI
• IV laser therapy

Detoxification & Immune Support for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

Detoxification and immune support are often key to improving the tolerance and efficacy of anti-infective treatment. Our top in-office therapies to target your immune and detox needs include:

• EBOO therapy
• HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy)
• IV ozone 10-Pass
• IV ozone MAH (major autohemotherapy)
• Red light therapy
• LymphaPress lymphatic massage
• IV nutrient booster
• IV MSM 
• IV glutathione
• IV chelation (ex. CaEDTA)
• IV Plaquex (phosphatidylcholine)

Neurologic Healing for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

Lyme disease and co-infections can damage the neurologic system. This is why some patients continue to have significant symptoms even after strong anti-infective treatment is completed. Our strongest neurologic healing therapies include:

• HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy)
• IV ketamine therapy
• IV NAD+
• IV extracellular vesicles (EV) derived from umbilical cord
• CVAC therapy

Joint Healing for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

Even after Lyme disease and co-infections have been treated, lingering joint inflammation and damage can cause ongoing symptoms. Our top joint regenerative therapies include:

• PRP & A2M injections
• Prolozone injections
• Focused shockwave therapy
• Umbilical cord tissue injection

Treatment Guidelines We Use for Lyme Disease & Co-Infections

The two organizations that give recommendations regarding Lyme disease and co-infection treatment are IDSA and ILADS. One of the distinctive differences between these organizations is that the IDSA does not advise anti-infective treatments for chronic Lyme disease however ILADS allows for individualized anti-infective treatment plans. We follow ILADS approach and have found combining integrative medicine with anti-infective therapies to be the best treatment plan for most chronic Lyme disease and co-infection patients.

Ready to start your healing path from Lyme disease and co-infections?