Tick Town: Increasing Occurrences of Lyme Disease

July 5, 2017

First recognized in the United States in 1975 after a puzzling and unexplainable outbreak of debilitating health issues near Lyme, Connecticut, it was not until 1982 that doctors identified the correlation between deer ticks and Lyme disease. The disease is caused by several strains of the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick. Once a tick emerges from an egg, it frequently becomes infected during its larval or nymph stage, as it feeds off small animals like squirrels, mice, or birds that carry the Lyme-causing bacteria. During the tick’s subsequent feeding cycle, it passes the bacteria to a human, or another animal.

Early symptoms of the disease often manifest as a flu-like illness, with accompanying fever, chills, muscle aches, and joint pain. While the characteristic ‘bulls-eye’ rash called erythema migrans is often present, many people develop a different type of rash, or none at all. Moreover, a host of Lyme symptoms occur in other diseases, and as a result, many patients suffering from Lyme disease are misdiagnosed with conditions like fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and other psychiatric illnesses, before being correctly treated.

If Lyme is not diagnosed or treated in its early stages, it transitions to a chronic, highly problematic late-stage disease, and symptoms increase in their severity. Untreated Lyme disease will eventually infect joints, the heart, and the nervous system—causing nerve paralysis and meningitis, and difficulty with memory and concentration.

There are approximately 329,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, and the number of those infected is expected to increase. According to Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the illness is on track to produce its worst numbers in 2017. Moreover, many experts believe the true number of Lyme cases is higher than reported, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention require ‘objective measures’ like positive blood tests or rashes; therefore, estimates indicate that CDC surveillance only captures approximately 10% of reportable Lyme cases. There is currently no vaccine for Lyme disease, and most researchers note that the FDA-approved blood tests are often inaccurate.

Because of the multi-faceted and complex nature of Lyme, neither standard nor functional medical treatments work very well in this patient population, nor is it enough only to treat the infection in many patients. Andrew Heyman, MD, MHSA, a renowned expert in chronic infections and Lyme disease, states: “Common complaints such as fatigue and weight gain can be wrapped in a much deeper problem such as Lyme that may be underlying the clinical presentation. To successfully treat Lyme patients, one must eradicate the infection, resolve the chronic inflammatory response and repair the injury to the brain – all of which is possible with targeted therapies to restore patients back to health.” A true specialist in this field, therefore, must have an extraordinary ability and capacity to treat the patient as a whole, with experience and skill in not only hormonal balance, stress management, microbiome health, and detoxification, but also genomics, brain trauma and injury, chronic infections, and mold exposure—along with managing other complicated factors associated with Lyme disease.

International Blog Spotlight: India

IV Nutrition Detox and Chelation Therapy in Cancer
Kalpana Gupta Shekhawat, MBBS, DNB, DFM, MD Clinical Nutrition 

A healthy diet rich in nutrients is the best way to nourish the body.

I have observed in my practice that most of the patients suffering from cancer are very low on nutrients and high on toxic heavy metals, with poor livers, low kidney function, poor dental health, amalgam fillings, leaky gut, immune dysfunction, and an inability to detox due to low sulfur levels, leading to inflammatory reactions, which lead to manifestation of the symptoms and tumor formation. If the underlying chemistry is not addressed, it leads to metastasis in the whole body!

It is surprising that a fatal disease such as cancer is largely due to a basic lack of understanding on the part of the patients, which leads them to stray to various available therapies, which do not address the root cause.

I have been treating my patients for the last 7 years in a different way than conventional practitioners by addressing the root cause, and trying to understand the risks associated with their current health statuses, and providing them with a plan to prevent chronic diseases.

I have observed that once disease is established, metabolic correction with IV detox and nutrition therapy is the best solution.

IV therapy gives the most rapid recovery to the metabolism, as compared to oral nutrient therapy.

IV Nutrition therapy has given me enormous fulfillment in terms of patient outcomes when treating cancer patients.

I have seen inflammatory markers significantly reduce as I give up to 10 sessions of IV nutrients, Glutathione, and EDTA chelation: customized to each patient.

I advise my patients surrounding nutraceutical supplementation, dietary guidelines, and IV Nutrition & Detox therapies:

  • High doses of Vitamin C: This critical therapy provides lifelong maintenance for cancer patients; it typically involves a slow IV over a period of 1 to 2 hours.
  • EDTA chelation: For extracellular heavy metal removal, this works best for patients who have high levels of heavy metals in their urine.
  • Glutathione: This is a master detox, and when given through an IV, it works very well for intra cellular detoxification.
  • COQ10: Added to detox drip supports mitochondrial health.
  • Alfa Lipoic Acid: This antioxidant tackles free radical damage.
  • N Acetyl Cystein: Naturally boosts level of Glutathione in cells.

Dr. Kalpana Shekhawat is a Functional and Regenerative Medicine consultant, with an extensive educational and professional background in clinical nutrition and BHRT. In addition to having published various articles surrounding lifestyle disease management, Dr. Kalpana runs a lifestyle disease management clinic: “Freedom Age.” She works to manage disease by addressing nutritional deficiencies, and integrating her knowledge of conventional medicine with Functional medicine. 

Physician of the Month: Wallace Brucker, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM

A4M valued member Wallace Brucker, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM shares insight from his professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

I am a practicing orthopedic surgeon offering community based, general orthopedic services to 2 hospitals in central Wisconsin as well as an army reserve surgeon providing orthopedic trauma services throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

Q: What Anti-Aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? How did you do so?

I began discussing anti-aging approaches to our Special Forces soldiers that were chronically stressed and plagued with abnormal cortisol levels and diminished testosterone levels. It was my hope that when they returned home, they would have a better understanding of how to maintain their health and what kind of Integrative physicians to seek out to get that care. The patients we take care of in Wisconsin and our newly opened practice in Breckenridge, Colorado have access to our 4 product lines: BHRT for men and women, IV therapies, Stem Cell and PRP therapy and limited aesthetic services.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing Anti-Aging Medicine (as a professional, and for your practice)?

Professionally, integrative medicine allows me to “see” the patient as a whole. Modern, state of the art testing now allows us to anticipate and direct trends thus giving me the opportunity to really affect change. This allows our practice to be more proactive than reactive. This is the part of anti-aging medicine that is most rewarding for me personally.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

The biggest changes come when you balance the hormones, stress and cortisol, diet and lifestyle. The link between low hormone levels and abnormal lipids and sugars is profound. Getting those lab values down and restoring optimal function really impacts our patients long term. Thru education, our patients become interested in this new approach to wellness…thru results, they become committed.

Q: Why would you recommend Anti-Aging Medicine to your peers?

Many of my patients are physicians. My professional colleagues frequently contact me with questions about the “anti-aging” approach to wellness and I simply tell them it is the future! Knowledge of the Integrative approach to medicine is another tool and in Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine, we love tools!

Q: Where do you see the future of Anti-Aging Medicine 20 years from now?

The future is now with A4M and its global reach and scope. I see customized medicine growing larger with continued expansion of genetic testing and, of course, nanotechnology. The anti-aging pill? Perhaps not too far behind.