Lyme Disease & Other Tick-Borne Illnesses
Lyme Disease is the primary infection associated with ticks. The main cause, a bacterium called Borrelia burgdoferi, is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick or black-legged tick. Other common infections transmitted by ticks include other species of Borrelia, and various strains of Babesia, Bartonella and Ehrlichia. With ongoing research, more organisms that cause chronic illness are being identified with increased frequency including many parasites. It is the combination of the effects of these multiple infectious organisms and the extreme immune and inflammatory reaction to the proteins in their cell walls that contributes to the severity of Lyme Disease/Tick-Borne Illness. Because many physicians lack adequate training in identifying the many symptoms, signs and laboratory findings that point to this condition, it is usually either overlooked or misdiagnosed.
Acute vs Chronic Lyme Disease
Acute Lyme disease involves flu-like symptoms that may occur soon after a tick bite, but only 25% of cases result in a the classic bull’s eye rash. Many people never see the tick, and an acute illness can subside after 7-10 days. This phase is much more like any typical acute bacterial infection. If treated quickly with the appropriate antibiotics for approximately 4-6 weeks, most individuals will recover and not have any residual effects. The challenge occurs when co-infections predominate in which case the typical course of antibiotics for Lyme will not be fully effective.
If co-infections were missed or the illness was simply left untreated, it may persist as a chronic infection and hyper-inflammatory response with symptoms that include severe fatigue, brain fog, headaches, mood swings, arthritic pain, and irregular heart rhythms. These symptoms will be worse in individuals with metabolic detoxification disorders, whether genetic or acquired through environmental exposure, dietary or nutritional factors. The inability to process the many toxins generated by the inflammatory response to these infections significantly worsens symptoms of the illness and creates more challenges during treatment.
Our Approach to Lyme Disease
Antibiotics are invariably the first course of action for anyone who has experienced a tick bite with acute symptoms; treatment outcomes can be 100% successful if treated within a few weeks of the acute illness. However if the organism transmitted by the tick was something other than Borrelia (Lyme), the standard treatment (doxycycline) may be ineffective. For patients with chronic tick-borne infection, anti-microbial therapies is typically broad-spectrum, to cover multiple organisms and the various life cycle phase of the Lyme organism/ Because this is more than just an infection – it is also a very powerful hyper-immune and inflammatory response as well as a bio-toxin burden issue – successful treatment must address all these factors.
To diagnose tick-borne diseases, we use specialized labs for testing, such as Galaxy Laboratories, IgeneX, Infectolab and others.
Stabilization is the First Step
Prior to any commencement of anti-microbial therapies, our initial goal is stabilization—accomplished by addressing nutrient deficiencies, immune dysfunction and hormone imbalances, as well as addressing secondary digestive system disorders included dysbiosis, the overgrowth of potentially pathogenic bacteria, yeast and parasites. Controlling symptoms is addressed through the integration of pharmaceutical, nutritional, herbal and homeopathic formulas. Hormonal support is critical to stabilization as these systems are often improperly functioning due to hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunction.
Most important is improving the body’s natural systems of detoxification in preparation for the release of toxins that typically are associated with anti-microbial treatment. Once these steps have been accomplished, patients are generally feeling better and more functional and ready to begin the next phase to actively treat the infection.
A Comprehensive Approach
The key components of our integrative medical approach to Lyme disease are as follows:
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Stabilization of chronically ill patients, occasionally using intravenous as well as oral nutrient therapies and detoxification therapies (colon hydrotherapy and other methods)
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Anti-microbial treatment for secondary infections such as gut dysbiosis (bacterial overgrowth, yeast and/or parasites
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Antibiotic treatment of the Lyme organisms and its coinfections, along with herbal therapy to support the immune system and target the infections.
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Ongoing digestive and liver support to prevent potential side effects and complications from treatment. The performance of “safety labs” is performed regularly to monitor liver and bone marrow health and make treatment adjustments if problems are detected.
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Integration of therapies to break down the “bio-film” material that coats colonies of organisms, protecting them from the effects of antibiotics and the immune system.
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Alternating periods of treatment of infections along with bio-film therapies with periods of detoxification focusing on the use of glutathione, liver-gall bladder cleansing, and fibers to absorb toxins from the intestines. “Kill off then clean out”.
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The use of immune boosting pharmaceuticals and supplements necessary for the body to ultimately control the infection when antibiotics are no longer being used.
Dr. Pittman was an early adapter to the concept of Chronic Tick Borne Infection as the cause for many unexplained illnesses and has been expanding his educational experiences in this area ever since. A member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), he has attended their annual conferences regularly since 2006 and in 2012 entered the ILADS Education Foundation Physician Training program, undergoing three preceptorships with experienced Lyme physicians. Dr. Pittman’s training was with Dr. Richard Horowitz of Hyde Park, NY, Dr. Bernard Raxlen of Manhattan, NY, and Dr. Joseph Jemsek of Washington, DC.
