“Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to recover from Lyme disease?”
This is not an easy question to answer! There are many complicated reasons why it may be difficult to overcome a Lyme infection, like what was your health like before infection, did you have preexisting illnesses, what co-infections are involved, what is your stress level, lifestyle habits, nutrition and the list goes on.
The other day my jewelry tree fell over, my necklaces fell off and became an intertwined, tangled mess. It caught me by surprise! How did these necklaces get so easily messed up? It may be far-reaching but as I attempted to untangle those necklaces I began to think about how Lyme disease is so much like those tangled necklaces.
DISCLAIMER: I’m not a doctor and the information here is not intended to diagnose, prescribe or treat any illness or condition. Please seek the advice of a knowledgeable physician. I prefer Integrative or Naturopathic Physicians.
Now, I understand Lyme is much more serious than a tangled bunch of jewelry, after all, I’ve lived the nightmare but I thought it might be a good word picture. Let’s discuss a few of the complications that make recovering from Lyme very difficult.
The first battle in recovery begins with getting a Lyme diagnosis. Testing is simply inadequate, most doctors are uneducated about tick-borne diseases and early infections are often missed. Most of the time adequate treatment is not given.
A short course of antibiotics is not enough to completely kill an early infection and could do more harm than good for a late infection. Once an infection becomes systemic, Lyme begins to hide and protect itself from antibiotic treatment. As the bacteria move through your body, it sends off proteins to show your immune system that it’s one of the good guys. It can also enter into any type of cell in your system changing the DNA structure so that it can move freely throughout causing a lot of damage.
If this isn’t bad enough, Lyme disease is rarely ever the only infection that will need to be identified and treated. Ticks carry multiple types of bacteria, parasites, and viruses.
[bctt tweet=”Ticks usually carry multiple types of bacteria, parasites, worms, and viruses. #lymedisease #lymeawareness” username=”aboundinginhope”]
As Lyme is being treated it’s not uncommon for other symptoms to appear. This is because whichever infection is the most dominant in the system, will be the infection that produces the most symptoms. As that infection is killed off the next infection in line appears on the scene.
Oftentimes undergoing treatment for Lyme causes discouragement and the patient may complain that their doctor isn’t helping or that every time they go in for a checkup their doctor says they have something else going on. This can be very frustrating and you may feel like your doctor is leading you down a rabbit trail in order to make more money but remember, it takes a lot of untangling to get to the root of your health problems.
Lyme literate physicians, whether a traditional medical doctor, a naturopath or other alternative doctor have the knowledge and experience to untangle the mess these infections cause. However, you as the patient need to ask the right questions in order to make sure that you are seeing a doctor trained in tick-borne infectious diseases.
These doctors usually understand the complicated layers of infection, heavy metals, parasites, and deficiencies in the immune system. The older you are the more complicated treatment may be, after all, you’ve have had many years to abuse your immune system. You’ve probably had more exposure to toxins that can break down your immune system. If you eat a standard American Diet (SAD) and have ever taken antibiotics you will have to address Candida which is a yeast infection that can cause a compromise in your immunity.
Have you ever had a mercury filling, eaten off of an aluminum pan, drank from the tap, or had any type of vaccine? Then you’ll most certainly have to deal with heavy metals.
When I sit down to untangle my necklaces, I’ll need to focus on one at a time, slowly and patiently working to untangle them from one another.
If you want to get completely well from a Lyme infection you must be patient, compliant and willing to address every part of the tangled mess within your body. It’s not enough to attack the Lyme, you must address each aspect of your immunity as well as infections and toxins.
Slow and steady truly does win the race. You don’t have to travel the world or try every healing modality available. Focus on building your immune system with good food, filtered water and plenty of rest. Find a physician who is competent in identifying the root cause of the breakdown of your health as well as each infection and toxin you’ve been exposed to. Then keep a positive attitude and believe that you can get better.
Thank you for your story. I became sick 5 years ago, with each year becoming worse. I had to quit work and am now didabled. Did 18 weeks of antibiotics which made me sicker. I went to numerous specialists before hand and found out this past January that i have chronic lyme and bartonella. Im trying some natural stuff now and am on a strick diet. Im detoxing which makes me feel worse. I have ran fever daily up to 102.0 for a year and a half. My life is completely changed!
Hi Misty, I’m so very sorry for your suffering. Your story is not uncommon. With fevers that high I wonder if you also might have other co-infections. If you don’t see improvement with your new treatment plan you might consider testing for both strains of Babesia. I hope you’ve registered to listen to the free Chronic Lyme Disease Summit2. You’ll find that link on my blog. I believe this is a very important Summit to listen to, you might learn some simple ways to treat your infections using herbs or homeopathy. I would recommend seeing someone who understands how these treatment plans work. I pray you find healing soon! xoxo Tricia