Chronic Lyme disease and its co-infections
Anyone struggling with a proven or suspected Lyme-related issue may not find a simple paththrough conventional avenues. There is considerable controversy regarding the diagnosis and treatment of chronic Lyme disease.
I am happy to guide any enquirer, whether they wish to ‘dive into the deep end of the pool’, which involves investigations and a combination of both conventional and non-orthodox/naturopathic therapies, or they wish to drop into the ‘shallow end of the pool’, based on
- What has and has not worked for them to date
- My experience
The deeper into the pool we swim, the more likely we are to find the swiftest avenue back to good health. This includes identification of the infective organism(s) (Borrelia burgdorferi travels with ‘Co-Infections), discussion on the dissolving of infective ‘biofilm’ that surrounds and protects chronic infection, and resurrection of an often suppressed, sub-optimal immune system. Without a focus on these areas, recurrence of symptoms and other infections may occur.
Issues surround the current conventional testing performed here in the UK. The main test undertaken, the ELISA test for the organism that causes Lyme – Borrelia burgdorferi, is only around c.60% accurate (a measure known as sensitivity which also means 2 out of 5 positive tests may be wrong https://tinyurl.com/38wyau3c . 1 in 10 negative tests (specificity) are also considered to miss the infection.
A European laboratory, considered by some authorities as leading the way in diagnosis, is Armin Laboratory, based in Germany. They utilise a test called the Tick-Plex, considered to be 95% sensitive, 98% specific https://tinyurl.com/y95mhvnu. This is for various B. burgdorferi subspecies, and also the co-infections which travel within the same tick host as Borrelia. These include Babesia, Bartonella, and Chlamydia spp, Rickettsia, Yersinia, Mycoplasma spp, and several viruses, including EBV, CMV, HSV & Coxsackie.
There is often a disregard by conventional medicine for these co-infections, which can be responsible for innumerable symptoms:
http://canlyme.com/just-diagnosed/co-infections/specific-co-infections/.
These tests measure infection indirectly through the immune response, but chronic infection can cause immune suppression. It is therefore important to check the activity of the white blood cells that attack these infections, specifically, Natural Killer and T cells.
Conventional treatment tends to be through the use of antibiotics provided only at the time of acute infection, generally after a typical ‘Bulls-Eye’ skin lesion appears, following the story of the tick bite. Symptoms of chronic infection typically include arthritic, neurological,cardiac and chronic fatigue symptoms as well as depression and recurrent minor illnesses. Chronic (long-term) infection of these conditions is rarely considered in the differential diagnosis, nor is unexplained CFS/ME, all of which can remain undiagnosed.
The role of B. burgdorferi causing overlapping symptoms with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (and other unexplained conditions) is not yet widely accepted in conventional medical circles,despite over 33,000 research papers having been published: https://tinyurl.com/4r8u5u9k
Specialists in this field in Europe and the USA consider that chronic infection may act through damage to mitochondria (small parts of cells that make energy), explaining the Chronic fatigue effects.
Testing for co-infections is done after establishing specific details of each case and using an algorithm to identify the infections most likely to be involved. There are over a dozen possible co-infections, and testing for each one can cost between £100 – £200, so doing all becomes expensive. Therefore, taking an accurate description of the specific symptoms and using the algorithm allows a narrowing of the field, which, in turn, reduces costs.
As a physician in complementary and integrated medicine, I consider each case individually. At an initial consultation, I will discuss conventional investigations, studies of such chronic infections and therapeutic options using both conventional and naturopathic options in an integrated manner.
Furthermore, I work with an experienced naturopathic practitioner with a special interest in Lyme who, being a German speaker, keeps very up to date with the research of the world experts, such as Drs. Klinghardt, Bruhner, Horowitz and others, as well as various research institutes that are leading the way in research in this field.