Alternative Medicine Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a complex illness with many variables, which makes it a highly controversial topic in the medical world. On the most basic level, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is usually transmitted by blacklegged ticks and affects an estimated 300, 000 patients a year in North America. While most cases tend to be clustered in certain regions, the infection is increasingly widespread across the globe and stands as the most common vector-borne illness in both America and Europe.

In a perfect world, Lyme disease can be identified by a bullseye rash, diagnosed with a little bloodwork and treated with a course of antibiotics. Unfortunately, for too many, this is not the case. Lyme disease is insidious and can be very serious affecting multiple systems. It is one of the most misunderstood, misdiagnosed and mistreated illnesses, which remains both a mystery and sometimes a topic contention among the vast majority of medical professionals. 

Dr. Robin Ridinger is a double-board certified, integrative medical doctor in Leesburg, VA with over 25 years’ experience treating complex conditions such as Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, hormone imbalances and autoimmune diseases.

Taking An Integrative Approach To Lyme Disease

If you have been struggling with chronic illness and looking for compassionate care in the midst of the mystery, contact Dr. Robin today!

Lyme disease, like many other chronic illnesses, is challenging to diagnose and can be even more difficult to treat. Often patients are exhausted from months, even years, of chronic fatigue and a host of symptoms that tend to wax and wane only to be dismissed by their healthcare provider.

Dr. Robin Ridinger is a board certified in both Integrative Holistic Medicine and Family Medicine. She believes in taking the whole person into account, listening attentively to her patient’s journey in its entirety and meeting them with utmost compassion.

Integrated Approach To Lyme Disease Treatment

Treating Lyme disease requires persistence on the part of the provider, and there is no magic pill. Frequently patients present with chronic symptoms long after a course of treatment with antibiotics should have resolved things. Yet when life doesn’t go back to normal, so-called “experts” may deny the diagnosis of Lyme disease altogether despite diagnostic and historical evidence. There is a misconception that if the cure doesn’t work, then it must not be the disease. How frustrating to then ask, “What do I have then, Doctor?” only to be told three of the most exasperating words in healthcare, “We Don’t Know.”

Dr. Robin is highly regarded as a Lyme-literate medical expert who believes in treating the person, not simply the disease. Her tenacity in uncovering the roots of illness is matched by her kindness and creativity in finding solutions for your overall wellness and healing.

Lyme disease is often multisystemic resulting in pandemonium in the immune system and what is known as Lyme complex. Ticks, like nature’s dirty needles, surprisingly carry a wide range of bacteria, of which the medical community has barely scratched the surface in research. You may be surprised to learn virtually all patients are co-infected with multiple tick-borne infections, and their symptoms may present in multiple systems throughout the body. More often than not, patients are labeled with one condition such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, depression or even malingering without ever uncovering the root cause of disease.

Lyme Disease: Resolving The “lyme Wars”

Dr. Robin may use comprehensive testing in conjunction with a close study of your medical history to determine the extent of imbalances. She will then create a personalized evidence-based treatment plan tailored specifically for you. Treatment may include special diet, supplements, bio-identical hormones, thyroid and adrenal support, medications, if necessary, I.V. vitamin/mineral therapy or oxidative therapies. Her toolbox is complete with a host of therapies, all at her disposal to apply within the context of the each patient’s individual story.

Lyme disease and its co-infections wreak havoc on the immune system resulting in excessive systemic inflammation. The immune system can easily become compromised or suppressed, a condition known as immunodeficiency, whereby the immune system is in a state of hypoactivity and susceptible to persistent infection.

When the system is overloaded, auto-immune disease can occur as well. Like soldiers caught in the chaos of battle, the body’s own defense mechanism may miscalculate the enemy resulting in friendly fire incidents. The autoimmune system becomes hyper-vigilant and literally attacks its own healthy cells unable to discern who, what or where the real enemy is.

Pillars Of Holistic Prevention And Treatment Of Lyme Disease

Inflammation, immunosuppression and autoimmunity can be further compounded by factors unique to the individual. Everybody is different and every body carries its own set of strengths and weaknesses, including sensitivity to molds, toxins, foods, medications and environmental factors. A multisystemic approach is absolutely necessary to bring the immune system back into order and optimum health.

Ticks carry a cesspool of microbes which may result in any number complications if not treated successfully. Chronic inflammation and infection can cause a ripple effect to multiple systems downstream. This why Integrative, Holistic healthcare by a board-certified doctor is crucial! Finally, we will explore some of the cascading effects that may manifest as a result of Lyme disease complex.

The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) and its co-infections Babesia and Bartonella are responsible for an array of neurological issues beginning with brain fog and cognitive dysfunction. This can hinder one’s ability to make healthy choices and follow through with treatment regimens. Neuropsychiatric disorders may also arise, such as anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Certainly, these things can be secondary responses to the stress of chronic illness. However, they may also be a result if infection yielding neuroinflammation and neurotransmitter imbalance.

All About Chronic Lyme & Potential Treatments

Your autonomic nervous is responsible for regulating the body’s automatic activities that sustain you night and day without conscious effort on your part. Dysautonomia, brought on by Lyme disease complex, can create chaos to autonomic systems including heat and cold intolerance, unstable blood pressure, irregular pulse and labored breathing.

Because symptoms can manifest months or years after initial infection or without the patient’s knowledge, some providers overlook or deny the possibility of Lyme disease as a root to their patients’ illness. Meanwhile there is much debate surrounding how to both treat and diagnose Lyme disease and its accompanying affects. One camp maintains the belief that Lyme is difficult to contract and easy to treat, holding fast to traditional standards of care with antibiotics. The other camp considers that Lyme is much easier to contract than once believed and explores a wider range of treatment options. Here’s more information about how to prevent Lyme disease and treat tick bites.

Research of evidence-based treatment is ever expanding and a truly Lyme-literate doctor understands that the battle is to be fought for the individual and does so with utmost integrity and compassion.

Herbal Support For Lyme Disease

If you are serious about getting to the root of your health issues, Dr. Robin Ridinger is serious about helping you find answers now!Patients with Lyme disease use a wide range of treatments to manage the symptoms and complications of their disease. These treatments include antibiotics, other prescription medications, and alternative treatments. Alternative treatments for Lyme disease are popular — either used alone (31%) or in conjunction with antibiotics (38%).

We asked participants in MyLymeData who were using alternative Lyme disease treatments to tell us whether they were very effective, moderately effective, not effective or whether they were unsure. The chart below shows how many patients have tried various types of alternative Lyme disease treatments and their effectiveness. If you hover your curser over any particular treatment, the effectiveness ratings and adverse side effects will appear.

Two important things to note here. First, the most effective alternative treatment reported is herbal protocols, while the least effective reported is stem cell. Herbal protocols, many of which have antimicrobial properties, were the most popular alternative treatment—with 68% of patients who used them reporting that they were either moderately or very effective, with a low side effect profile.

Dna Connexions Lyme Test Panel Featured In The Townsend Letter

Only 3% of the 331 patients who used stem cells said that they were effective in treating their Lyme disease. The rest either said that they were unsure or that the treatment was not effective. And remember, stem cell treatment can be very expensive, inconvenient –often involving traveling long distances, and has been invasive in terms of procedures.

The question that we included in the top 10 I'd like to discuss today, deals with alternative therapies, and specifically the question asks what natural therapies or protocols are the most effective? And you know, we get a lot of questions about this, but a threshold question that you have to ask when you're looking at alternative treatments is, well, how many people are using them? We always hear that everybody is on antibiotics, but that's not the case. It was close to a 50-50 split between those who use antibiotics and those who don't. 31% reported that they use antibiotics, but they also use alternative treatments. And around 16% of patients were not using either alternative therapies or antibiotics. There were many reasons why people weren't using antibiotics, about 30% said that they couldn't find a treating physician, 20% pointed to insurance constraints, but another 20% said that they weren't working for them and others said that they simply preferred alternative treatments.

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Herbal Remedies For Lyme Disease