By now you’ve probably heard of Lyme disease, an illness that arises from tick bites and is named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut. The disease is named after the town because symptoms akin to arthritis among a number of the townsfolk, both children and adults, were eventually recognized as being caused by Borrelia bacteria transmitted primarily by deer ticks. 

Prior to that time the disease still existed, but wasn’t recognized for what it was, a tick-borne disease that caused a constellation of symptoms that affected the whole body, sometimes for years. Even today, there are many doctors who believe that Lyme disease can’t persist after an initial treatment of antibiotics, or that it can’t be Lyme disease if there isn’t the telltale bullseye rash, or if the tests come back negative. Both are untrue.

 

Chronic Lyme disease does exist, and although testing is available, Lyme disease is difficult to detect for a number of reasons and requires not only the right testing but persistent testing. One reason that many practitioners dismiss Lyme disease as a diagnosis is because testing doesn’t always pick up the disease in the patient’s body. There are several reasons for this. Borrelia bacteria is a survivor. It is efficient at hiding in the body, potentially going dormant when under attack by antibiotics, and camouflaging itself with the use of biofilms. In addition “Lyme organisms can also keep changing their outer surface proteins, like relapsing fever Borrelia do, to fool your immune system into not recognizing them. This helps to explain why it can persist, while at the same time suppressing immune function in some people. In that scenario, you don’t make antibodies in the first place, so you can’t identify the pathogen or properly destroy it.” Many simple blood tests for Lyme disease are based on looking for antibodies to the Borrelia bacteria, and if the bacteria are hiding, especially if antibiotics have been administered right after a tick bite. In addition, if the immune system is overwhelmed, as it definitely can be in chronic Lyme disease, the person may not have enough antibodies to Borellia present to be picked up by the standard blood test for Lyme disease. 

 

Lyme disease and functional testing start from a different point. For an accurate Lyme disease diagnosis, a better panel is necessary that combines more than one type of test (including one that looks for the presence of genetic material from Borellia in the body), and also tests for more than just one strain of Borellia, as standard testing does. Several strains of Borellia can cause Lyme Disease. Currently, the CDC recommends a 2-tiered approach for blood tests, with an ELISA test followed by a Western blot test for the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Unfortunately, “A standard ELISA test followed by a Western blot test from a local laboratory will miss approximately half of those infected with Lyme disease, as they are notoriously inaccurate—which is why you need to use a really good specialty lab, as they will test for more than one strain of Borrelia species.” Progressive Medical Center knows how to test for Lyme disease. We use one of the best laboratories for the detection of Lyme disease, which uses multiple assays, tests for many strains of Borellia, and tests for Lyme disease co-infections that can start from other organisms like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, rickettsial species, tularemia and various viruses that can all be transmitted in the same tick bite (or subsequent tick bites) that caused Lyme disease.

 

Even with the best testing, it might still take several tries before there is definitive confirmation of Lyme disease through testing alone. Remember, Lyme disease can hide out, go dormant, and be temporarily suppressed by antibiotics. That’s why the preferred diagnosis is not through testing alone, but through a thorough differential diagnosis by someone who is knowledgeable about Lyme disease and who doesn’t dismiss patient complaints as phantasms. Many Lyme patients go YEARS before they find a clinic where they are believed, and who can recognize the diverse symptoms and the shifting nature of them as being a hallmark of Lyme disease. Lyme symptoms can be varied, presenting differently in different people, can change from month to month, and can be complicated by co-infections, toxic load, nutrient deficiencies, and other health problems. Progressive Medical Center has years of experience in diagnosing Lyme disease and in Lyme disease recovery. If you suffer from Lyme disease, or exhibit symptoms that might be diagnosed as Lyme disease, we should be your preferred choice for Lyme disease treatment in Atlanta. 

 

If you currently know or believe you have Lyme disease, you likely know what your symptoms are, and are searching for practitioners who will believe you and help. We are those practitioners. If you don’t currently know if you have Lymes but have a group of symptoms that debilitate you and that no doctor has been able to explain, you may have Lyme disease, and we can assess you, diagnose you, and treat you.  

 

So what are the symptoms of Lyme disease? Who are the types of patients that should be assessed by Progressive Medical Center? If you are unsure if you have Lyme disease, but are concerned you might, assessment and functional treatments for Lyme disease might benefit you. Let’s look at the relationship between Lyme disease and various symptoms:

 

Lyme disease and chronic illness- If you are chronically ill, have a range of symptoms, and no doctor has been able to diagnose you, you might have Lyme disease. If you have were once diagnosed with Lyme disease, and doctors say you have been “cured”, but you still have symptoms, you likely have chronic Lyme disease. Chronic Lyme disease, if left untreated, can result in chronic illness that impacts major organs and your immune system as a whole. Lyme disease can cause chronic fatigue, and be a co-infection with Epstein-Barr (among others) because of the suppression of the immune system that occurs. Chronic Symptoms of chronic Lyme disease include:

 

• Muscle and joint pain (which can be migratory in nature)

 

• Severe fatigue

 

• Tingling and/or numbness/and/or burning and/or stabbing sensations (neuropathy, which can be migratory in nature)

 

• A stiff neck

 

• Headaches

 

• Light and sound sensitivity

 

• Dizziness

 

• Memory and concentration problems

 

• Mood disorders such as depression and/or anxiety

 

• Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep

 

• Fever and/or chills

 

• Gastro-intestinal issues

 

• Chest pain with palpitations

 

• Shortness of breath…and more. (all from Medical Detective)

 

Lyme disease and inflammation- Because of the nature of Lyme disease, the body’s reaction to the bacteria at the root of the disease, Borrelia, can cause systemic inflammation. Your body reacts to infection by attacking the cause of that infection. The byproduct of this attack is to increase inflammation in the body. Inflammation, when it runs rampant, like in a long-term illness such as Lyme disease, can cause a chronic infection that affects many systems in the body. This chronic inflammation can reduce your lifespan, make it harder to fight off infections, and can cause oxidative stress that impacts the brain, heart, and other organs.

 

Lyme disease and gut health- Gastrointestinal issues are common with Lyme disease: “ lack of appetite resulting in weight loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are also common in the early stages of Lyme disease. Further, liver function can be negatively affected in individuals with Lyme disease” Chronic Lyme disease can extend these symptoms, and the systemic infection that results can cause chronic gut problems as well.

 

Lyme disease and neurological symptoms– We know that Lyme disease impacts the brain and the neurologic system in general. Some of the scariest symptoms of Lyme disease include those that alter the mind. Many Lyme patients report hallucinations, brain fog, a sense of unreality, loss of balance, depression, and general anxiety. Not only can these symptoms be debilitating, but when revealed to some standard practitioners, they can result in a psychiatric label slapped on your records. This can mean that when you go to a standard practitioner, the first thing many will assume is that all of your problems are psychosomatic, and you may be steered in a purely psychiatric direction. Progressive Medical Center understands the full range of symptoms that come with Lyme disease. We won’t categorize you, or assume that your disease isn’t real.

Now let’s talk about Lyme disease treatments. Progressive offers integrative medicine for Lyme disease treatments. This means that we take you seriously. Many Lyme patients have been through the wringer, often dismissed after one dose of antibiotics, if even taken seriously to start with. Lyme disease protocol at many conventional doctors means an initial screen for Lyme, which if negative means dismissal of Lyme as a possibility. Even if Lyme is accepted as a diagnosis there, that usually means a course of antibiotics and it’s settled as far as they are concerned. In fact, if a Lyme patient complains at many clinics after the initial treatment of a course of antibiotics, they are usually dismissed. At Progressive Medical Center, Advanced Lyme disease treatments include natural and holistic treatments. We understand Lyme disease and patient’s concerns are never dismissed. For the best Lyme disease patient care in Atlanta, come to Progressive Medical Center.