List of Treatment Options for Lyme Disease

It is only fitting that Lori Dennis provides us with a list of options for treating Lyme disease. She has helped her son battle Lyme disease as a learn as you go process. Her information here is invaluable.

Cindy Kennedy MS, FNP-BC

 

HOW LYME SUFFERERS TREAT THIS

‘DO-IT-YOURSELF’ DISEASE

 by Lori Dennis, Author Lyme Madness

Chronic Lyme disease is a ‘do-it-yourself’ illness. For the most part, chronic Lyme sufferers are forced to diagnose, treat and navigate this disease on their own, without much help from the mainstream medical community.

Most allopathic doctors have turned their backs on tens of millions of sufferers worldwide giving us no choice but to turn to alternative forms of healing. Functional, integrative, biological and energy medicine are now at the forefront of treatment for chronic illnesses like Lyme disease, as they are more likely to help us address the root cause. There is a new paradigm of medicine afoot, creating a veritable sea change.

When it comes to treating chronic Lyme disease, there is no silver bullet or one-size-fits-all.  In fact, most Lyme sufferers are given no option but to try everything and anything they can to get better, even if there isn’t sufficient evidence to support it.

‘Healing’ often requires a three-pronged approach, and not always in this order:

• Part 1: Antibacterial agents to kill the spirochetes and other infections
• Part 2: Detoxification to release the bacteria from organs and tissues
• Part 3: Immune and gut-strengthening support

All three steps must be repeated multiple times, and all three steps are necessary to get well—without knowing how or when, in what combination, or in what sequence.

Do-it-yourself. Trial and error. Hit and miss. Bewildering to say the least.

Below is a list of the treatment protocols that Lyme sufferers are using to reclaim their health. This list is by no means exhaustive. There are many more protocols than those I’ve listed here being used to treat Lyme.

I do not offer many details about each of these treatment protocols as there is plenty of information readily available online. I offer this list only for the purpose of helping you understand what Lyme sufferers are up against in deciding how to treat their illness.

Many of the following protocols—listed in no particular order, other than antibiotics which are typically the first line of defense—are summarily dismissed and even mocked by members of the medical profession. We are accused by the “old Lyme guard” of living in a pseudoscientific echo chamber, of being delusional and succumbing to quackery and snake-oil promises of renewed health and magical healing. Lyme sufferers are desperately sick people willing to use desperate measures—measures that can, at times, be more efficacious than anything conventional medicine has to offer thus far.

Perhaps if the medical profession were doing its job and working on solutions rather than mocking us and forcing us to find our own protocols, we wouldn’t have to go on such a desperate search for things that may or may not help. Perhaps if we had more so-called evidence-based research on some of these protocols, they wouldn’t seem so ridiculous after all.

Here are just some of the treatments that Lyme sufferers use in their desperate search to escape this medical nightmare:

Extended antibiotics. Oral, intravenous (IV), and intramuscular (IM). Typically, a rotation of tetracyclines, penicillins, macrolides, cephalosporins, and aminoquinolines. Antibiotics are the go-to, first-line treatment for chronic Lyme. The best approach seems to be pulse-dosing. Antibiotics can only be prescribed and administered by a licensed medical doctor, with the exception of naturopaths in British Columbia and perhaps elsewhere. In the case of chronic Lyme, long-term antibiotic treatment is administered—usually quietly and under the radar—by Lyme-literate doctors. Most doctors refuse to acknowledge the disease and will not prescribe at all, some may prescribe antibiotics for twenty-eight days if they “believe in” Lyme, or they may be part of a small subset of doctors who have been brave enough to prescribe outside of the limited IDSA guidelines but at a cost to their personal and professional life, including having their practices shut down. In Canada, with a few rare exceptions (as revealed in Chapter 8), you cannot find a doctor who will give you antibiotics beyond the IDSA twenty-eight-day sanctioned antibiotic protocol. Most Canadians have to travel to the US for antibiotic treatment. In order to function at all, the majority of chronic Lyme sufferers are on antibiotics for months and even years, and most do so with the help of just a small handful of US LLMDs.

Probiotics. Taken daily to avoid intestinal yeast overgrowth from long-term antibiotic use. Cindy Kennedy suggests Master Supplements.

Gluten-free/sugar-free/dairy-free diet. To keep yeast at bay, regulate blood sugar, strengthen the immune system and the gut.

The Gerson diet. A natural treatment that activates the body’s extraordinary ability to heal itself through an organic, plant-based diet, raw juices, coffee enemas, and natural supplements.

Herbal protocols. Developed by a number of practitioners, including Lee Cowden, Stephen Buhner, Byron White, Dietrich Klinghardt, and others. Some Lyme sufferers use these antimicrobial protocols instead of, or as an adjunct to, antibiotics.

Cannabidiol. Also known as CBD, from hemp seed with minimal THC (psychoactive properties). Read about Dr. Ernie Murakami and check out Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more details.

Bee venom (apitherapy). Google Ellie Lobel for her remarkable story and how bee stinging became a popular Lyme protocol. Many people are stinging themselves with live bees in the hopes of healing, and often swear by their success.

Rifing. The Rife machine, developed by Royal Raymond Rife in the early 1930s and replicated by modern manufacturers. With his machine, Rife claimed he could cure cancer and other diseases by weakening or destroying pathogens using specific frequencies of electromagnetic fields that vibrate at the same frequency as the bacteria cells.

Low-level laser. Cold laser and low-level laser therapy using LED (light-emitting diode) light. The energy in the light waves is absorbed by the ATP in the mitochondria in our cells. When a cell isn’t getting enough oxygen and blood sugar to make energy, this additional energy will help the mitochondria work better, and the cell returns to health. Wounds can heal more quickly, muscle spasms may relax, and inflammation can be reduced.

Genetic testing. 23andMe or Younique, for example, determine pathways and genetic sequencing that can help you with personalized molecular medicine.

Infrared saunas. Detoxifies, relaxes, relieves pain, and improves circulation and immune function.

Detox baths. Detoxifies the body and relieves pain, but it also seems to stop many infections quickly and helps the body regain balance. Air and water purifier. Removes contaminants in your water and air, lessening the body’s toxic load.

BioMat. A state-of-the-art medical device that delivers therapeutic, far-infrared rays and negative ions, relieving pain and improving immune function.

Acupuncture. Regulates immunity and manages pain. Lymphatic massage. Stimulates the lymph flow within the lymphatic system, as it can become sluggish while battling Lyme disease.

Chiropractic medicine. Can help with aches, pains, and improve immune system.

Craniosacral therapy. Improves and balances the flow of the fluids (cerebrospinal fluid)—bathing the brain and spinal cord, which in turn helps calm and relax the entire nervous system.

UVLrx—ultraviolet light. A form of intravenous therapy where low light energy is introduced directly into the circulatory system to support red blood cell oxygenation and a healthy immune system.

Diamond Shield Zapper or Hulda Clark Zapper. A multifrequency zapper that offers six important improvements, including sweeping, microcurrents, and constant voltage.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or tube.

IV ozone therapy. Ozone is injected into the bloodstream to kill pathogens and boost the immune system. Bio-oxidative medicine. Introduces small amounts of medical ozone (O3) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into thebody for the prevention and treatment of disease.

Cryotherapy. Noninvasive cold therapy focused on athletic recovery, pain management, and overall health.

Low-dose immunotherapy (LDI). Helps restore immune tolerance to the environment outside and inside the body.

Advanced cell training (ACT—formerly immune response training). Uses the same premise as muscle memory.

Bicom/MORA/bioresonance. Electromagnetic waves used to diagnose and treat human illness. Vega machine testing. A type of electro-acupuncture device used to diagnose allergies and other illnesses as well as sensitivities to supplements.

Ondamed/Amp Coil. Pulsed electromagnetic frequency devices designed with principles based on biophysics.

Colloidal silver. Antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral. Vitamins, minerals, lipids, enzymes, and amino acids. To support immune system and organs.

Yoga, qigong, tai chi, Reiki, and other energy work. For balancing your system.

Oil pulling Lyme in mouth and teeth. An ancient Ayurvedic remedy mentioned in Charaka Samhita. Dr. Dakin’s solution. Twenty parts water to one part bleach in Waterpik for teeth and gums where spirochetes hide.

Ritchie Shoemaker mold protocol. Cutting-edge research and treatment for mold.

Colonics/enemas. Eliminates waste buildup, detoxifies, and reduces fatigue.

Lyme bomb. Cocktail of Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO)—Thieves, frankincense, and oregano. Cindy Kennedy is a Young Living essential oil distributor. See her information under the resource tab.

Heavy metal detox. Cilantro and Sun Chlorella.

IVIG. A plasma protein replacement therapy used to treat disorders of the immune system or to boost immunity.

GcMAF. Rebuilds the Immune system to destroy cancer, infections and chronic diseases.

Marshall protocol. A medical treatment used by physicians worldwide to treat a variety of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including (but not limited to) sarcoidosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Zhang formula. A combination modern Chinese medicine treatment protocol designed to kill Lyme and its coinfections, as well as support various organ systems in healing.

A Lyme sufferer who writes the Will There Be Cake blog ran an informal survey for five weeks to determine who does what for Lyme treatment. When asked the question, “Which treatment options have you personally tried upon receiving a diagnosis of Lyme disease?” the results ranged from 66.7 percent who tried conventional antibiotics and herbal protocols to 21 percent who tried the Rife machines or similar, to 1.5 percent who tried Zhang.

As to which protocol(s) work best and in what combination, your guess is as good as any.

Lori Dennis, MA, RP is a Registered Psychotherapist and the author of LYME MADNESS, named #1 NEW RELEASE in Immune System Health on Amazon. LYME MADNESS is available on Amazon. For more information on Lyme Madness, go to loridennisonline.com.