How does Functional Medicine Treat Lyme Disease?

We have made the point before: Lyme Disease needs to be correctly identified, diagnosed and treated early on. This is best done by a Lyme-literate doctor. In our clinic, we are Lyme-literate doctors. 

We look beyond antibiotics and look for the root causes of disease, within the individual patient. Healing Lyme Disease and its various symptoms is an on-going process. It is not based on one specific drug, supplement, herb or therapy. We employ a range of different immune-boosting, health-promoting strategies to strengthen the immune system and keep pathogens under control.

The conventional medicine treatment approach of antibiotics may help. Sometimes it doesn’t. Even so, antibiotics can be damaging to gut health and long-term pharmaceutical use always has side effects. In our clinic, we look for natural treatment approaches. We use medications too but always look to less-invasive solutions with the least side effects first. 

You can read about our approach to treating Lyme Disease here.

How do we Treat Lyme in our Clinic?

There are various things we do when treating Lyme Disease, whether it is acute or chronic:

Co-infections: We test for Lyme co-infections. Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Bartonella and others are co-infections that may be transmitted through the same tick bite. An infected tick can harbor hundreds of bacterial and/or viral pathogens. These possible infections need to be addressed for any Lyme treatment to be complete. 

Other chronic infections: Any infection linked to systemic inflammation needs to be addressed. For example, people with Herpes simplex infection or a history of outbreaks, can take medication.  Active Epstein-Barr Virus can be treated with herbs. 

Herbs: We use various herbs with Lyme Disease. Lyme is a complex microbe so working with and trying out different herbs gives the best chances of success. Japanese knotweed and Cat’s claw are both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. They help to support immune function. Andrographis, cistus and turmeric reduce inflammation. Adaptogenic herbs combat stress and regulate the HPA axis.

Supplements: It is important to cover possible nutrient deficiencies with a multi-vitamin /mineral formula. Medicinal Reishi mushrooms have beta-glucans that boost the immune system. Omega 3 reduces inflammation. Monolaurin is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal, helping to fight pathogens that cause Lyme and Lyme co-infections. 

It is important to use a biofilm buster to ensure all of the Lyme, or other, bacteria are treated and eliminated. Bacteria can burrow into tissue and hide from the antimicrobials. With something to break down the biofilm, the bacteria are exposed to the antimicrobials and can be eliminated.

Anti-inflammatory diet: Inflammation can be reduced through a better diet. We like the Paleo or the gluten-free Mediterranean diet best to decrease inflammation, pain and autoimmune-type flare-ups.

Exercise: Exercise is always beneficial but in cases of illness, it needs to be at an appropriate level. Start very slowly, ideally with supervision to make sure you don’t overdo it. Being too sedentary is actually associated with immune dysfunction and toxin build-up, which are two things that can worsen Lyme symptoms.

Stress reduction and management: It is important to maintain proper hormonal balance and regulate cortisol and keep it at healthy levels. To cope with stress and increase mindfulness, we recommend meditation, yoga, tai chi, guided mediations, apps, journaling, breathing exercises and other resources. Each person needs to find a stress management method that works best for them.

Sleep: Good sleep is critical to maintain strong immune function and general good health. Practice good sleep hygiene to make sure you get 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night.

Gut heath: Gut health is the foundation of overall health. 70-80% of immune function is based on good gut health. We check for intestinal permeability or leaky gut, infections, inflammation or impaired absorption / digestion. We often put our Lyme patients on a gut healing protocol with dietary restrictions, gut-healing nutrients, digestive enzyme support and treatment of any identified dysbiosis. We also use prebiotics and probiotics.

Address inflammation & possible autoimmunity: We address inflammation and potential autoimmune reactions. This is done via an anti-inflammatory diet, improving gut health and repairing leaky gut, reducing toxins/ stress/ anything that increases inflammation and an over-reactive immune response. We look for systemic inflammation. We can give supplement support and anti-inflammatory herbs, such as liposomal glutathione, fish oil, resveratrol, vitamins C and D, Boswellia, quercetin and omega-3 fats. 

Toxins: Reducing toxin exposure and possibly detoxing toxins help the immune system to function well. People may have toxicity from metals (mercury or lead), organic pollutants (benzene, phthalates, or organophosphate insecticides) or mold or other biotoxins. A targeted detoxification protocol using binding agents (Cholestyramine or bentonite clay), sauna, herbs, sulforaphane and avoiding seafood can help to reduce the toxic load (Toups K, 2022).

Acupuncture: Acupuncture helps control inflammation. Stimulating certain acupuncture points can control the immune responses to bacterial infections and lessen systemic inflammatory responses to bacterial infection (Akoolo L, 2022). The interaction between the nervous and immune systems affects how the body responds to acute stressors like infections. Communication between the nervous and immune systems can curb inflammatory responses to a Borrelia burgdorferi infection (Akoolo L, 2022).

Acupuncture has a lasting anti-inflammatory effect on mice (Akoolo L, 2022). Even a short 2-week acupuncture treatment decreased neutrophils in the joints and inflammatory cytokine levels throughout the body in mice, 4 weeks later (Akoolo L, 2022). This shows acupuncture’s lasting anti-inflammatory effect (Akoolo L, 2022). 

New Approaches: There is new and interesting research being done to try to find medications that can block Borrelia’s ability to vary its antigens (Davidsson, 2018). If successful, it could mean an end to chronic Lyme Disease (Davidsson, 2018).

Functional Medicine and integrative approaches can be very effective in conditions that have no clear ‘cure’. This goes for Lyme Disease and chronic Lyme as well as conditions like long Covid, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and chronic pain. FM techniques (exercise for depression, mindfulness for stress and anxiety management, an anti-inflammatory diet) can decrease the inflammation that comes with chronic conditions. These are often more effective than pharmaceuticals (Roth A, 2021). 

When people suffer from these chronic conditions with ‘no cure’ in conventional medicine, they may lose confidence in conventional medicine. They may see very little improvement despite working with different doctors. Conventional doctors often blame stress for people’s symptoms (Roth A, 2021). While stress is an important factor, this does not identify any of the root causes of illness. This is where Functional Medicine can truly help and very often completely cure people, if the patient puts in the time and dedication required to implement treatments. 

In our clinic, we are experts at identifying root causes, diagnosing conditions like Lyme Disease and helping people to address the root causes of illness and improve their health. We are Lyme-literate doctors who treat Lyme Disease and post-Lyme chronic symptoms, with both natural and pharmaceutical approaches, depending on the individual case. 

Summary

• Lyme Disease is a complex disease. The bacteria responsible for a Lyme infection is the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. 
• The Borrelia bacteria is genetically very complex and sophisticated. It can change shape and form. This means the immune system’s normal ways of eradicating bacteria may not work on this bacteria. This is because Borrelia can change the antigens it produces and confuse the immune system
• In addition, Borrelia can hide behind a biofilm for protection from antimicrobial treatment.
• In Functional Medicine, we can often better address complex diseases than conventional medicine can. 
• In Functional Medicine, we identify the specific root causes for each individual and address them one by one. For example, we can identify gut issues, hormonal imbalance, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, excess stress, toxic load and others. Addressing these issues individually will help to regain full health.
• We use lifestyle habit changes, diet changes, herbs, supplements and antimicrobials to address Lyme Disease. In many cases, we can fully resolve a Lyme infection through these Functional Medicine techniques.

** Please stay tuned for our next Blog!  **

If you are a clinician wanting to learn more about treatment of Lyme Disease, please check out our clinician training programs here.