Frequently Asked Lyme Disease Treatment Questions

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi).  It often mimics and has been misdiagnosed as a wide range of other diseases.  For example, doctors frequently misdiagnose Lyme disease as CFS, Fibromyalgia, MS, depression, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s and ALS. Lyme disease is a serious condition.  It affects multiple areas of the body with symptoms that vary from person to person. Borrelia is a corkscrew-shaped bacterium referred to as a spirochete.  Therefore, because of its unique shape and properties, this bacterium can bore itself into muscles, bones and even nervous system tissues.  In addition, it can then go on to wreak havoc on its host (you and me).

Where did Lyme disease come from and how long has it been around?

Lyme Disease was initially discovered in Lyme, Connecticut in the early 1980’s.  And, it is becoming one of the most undiagnosed and untreated epidemics of the 21st century.

How do people get Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is often attributed to tick bites.  However, recent studies show other ways to contract Lyme disease such as mosquitos, blood transfusions and even gestationally (transmitted from mother to child).

How many people are infected by Lyme disease in the United States each year?

Approximately 300,000 people in the US alone are Infected each year by Lyme disease.

What about co-infections?

Sometimes co-infections are a bigger issue than Lyme. Bartonella, Babesia, and Erlichiosis, are some of the most common co-infections. Therefore, treatment becomes more complicated when co-infections are involved.  Leaving co-infections untreated can cause more serious health threats.  And, the patient may become increasingly ill as a result.

Is a vaccine available for Lyme disease?

There is no vaccine against Borreliosis that is currently available.

What can you do to prevent the acquisition of Lyme disease?

When individuals participate in outdoor activities in tick infested areas for protracted periods of time, such as days or weeks, then some doctors and health care providers may prescribe antibiotics as a preventive measure.  However, tick awareness, appropriate clothing in tick-infested areas and early removal of
attached ticks remain the most important prevention measures.

What happens if you feel bad, have symptoms and are suffering as if you have Lyme disease, but don’t? 

In most cases, we can provide you with additional testing, natural remedies, appropriate prescriptions (if necessary) and custom vitamin and mineral supplementation to address nutritional deficiencies identified by our tests.

Or, we can refer you to another expert more suited to your current condition as necessary.

Is Lyme disease limited to people in North America?

No. Lyme disease is a world-wide infectious disease and it has been reported in all 50 states.  Twenty five percent of the reported cases are children. Lyme disease has been found on every continent but Antarctica.

What are the common symptoms and signs of Lyme disease?

Skin: Only about 9% get the classic “bull’s eye” rash. Others may get another type of rash or may get no rash at all.

Fever and Flu like illness, muscle aches, joint pain and/or swelling, fatigue, headache.

Cardiac/Pulmonary: Chest pain or rib soreness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations.

Gastrointestinal: Nausea and/or vomiting, GERD, change in bowel function (constipation, diarrhea), gastritis, abdominal cramping, irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction

Musculoskeletal: joint pain or swelling; joint, neck or back stiffness; migrating muscle pain or cramps; TMJ; neck creaks and cracks.

Neurological: muscle twitching; headache; tingling; numbness, burning or stabbing sensations; facial paralysis; dizziness; poor balance; vertigo; increased motion sickness; light-headedness; tremor; confusion; difficulty thinking/concentrating/ reading; forgetfulness; poor short term memory; disorientation; double or blurry vision; increased floaters; increased sensitivity to light or sound; ringing in ears.

Neuropsychiatric: irritability, depression, disturbed sleep (too much or too little, early awakening), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), paranoia, panic anxiety attack.

Reproductive: Testicular pain or pelvic pain, menstrual irregularity, milk production, (lactation), sexual dysfunction, loss of libido.

General: Unexplained fevers (off & on), chills, sweats, weight-loss/weight-gain, fatigue, tiredness, hair loss, swollen glands, sore throat.

The most common symptoms include: fatigue, neck stiffness or pain, jaw discomfort, muscle pain, joint aches like arthritis- typically in the knees, swollen glands, memory loss, cognitive confusion, vision problems, digestive issues, headaches and fainting.

Profound fatigue and randomized joint pain are the two most common symptoms of chronic Lyme.

On average, how accurate is traditional testing and how many medical providers will a Lyme disease patient see before they get an accurate diagnosis?

Borrelia bacteria can morph into three visually unique shapes.  And, it hides and moves easily through certain areas with denser tissue.  Their evolution suggests the possibility that they have been around and in our bodies, longer than we think.

Because the infection varies and manifests in over 100 different symptoms, Lyme disease is usually not even considered by most physicians.  Even if testing is performed, standard testing misses over 90% of the cases of chronic Lyme disease. This is because the standard methods of testing were designed to test for acute Lyme disease and not chronic Lyme.

The standard testing method is an immunoassay test of IgG and IgM antibodies followed by Western blot for confirmation. In addition, most doctors use the CDC (Center for Disease Control) criteria to define/identify a positive test. The problem with this is that the the CDC criteria was never meant for diagnosis, it was meant for epidemiological surveillance (tracking).

It is for those reasons that a typical Lyme patient sees an average of 9 different medical providers before receiving an accurate diagnosis.

What other diseases and ailments show similar symptoms to Lyme disease and frequently result in a misdiagnosis?

Adrenal Fatigue
Alzheimer’s Disease
Anxiety Disorder
Arthritis
Autoimmune Diseases
Celiac Disease
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Pain Syndrome
CREST Syndrome
Vertigo
Degenerative Disc Disease
Depression
Fibromyalgia Syndrome
GERD (acid reflux)
Grave’s Disease
Hashimoto Thyroid
Insomnia
Migraines
Morgellens Disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Panic Disorders
Parkinson’s Disease
Psoriasis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Systemic Lupus (SLE)

Can you have Lyme disease even if you don’t get the “Bulls eye” rash?

Yes. Only about 9% of Lyme patients get the classic “bull’s eye” rash.

What about co-infections?

Sometimes a bigger issue than Lyme, is the co-infections. Bartonella, Babesia, and Erlichiosis, are some of the most common co-infections. Treatment becomes more complicated when co-infections are involved.  When co-infections are left untreated, a more serious health threat often occurs. And, patients can become increasingly ill.

Is a vaccine available for Lyme disease?

There isn’t a vaccine against Borreliosis that’s currently available.

What can you do to prevent the acquisition of Lyme disease?

Some individuals participating in outdoor activities in tick infested areas for protracted periods of time (days or weeks), reach out to doctors and health care providers to get prescriptions for antibiotics as a preventive measure.  However, tick awareness, appropriate clothing in tick-infested areas and early removal of
attached ticks remain the most important prevention measures.

What happens if you feel bad, have symptoms and are suffering as if you have Lyme disease, but don’t? 

In most cases, we can provide you with additional testing, natural remedies, appropriate prescriptions (if necessary) and custom vitamin and mineral supplementation to address nutritional deficiencies identified by our tests.

Or, we will refer you to another expert more suited to your current condition as necessary.

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The Medical Offices of Dr. Nathan Miller and Nicole Forsberg APRN-C, NP-C

Home of LymeDiseaseTreatmentNow.com and StemCellTherapyRx.com

2448 E. 81st St

Suite 1465

Tulsa, OK 74137

918-493-3824