Lyme Disease and Chronic Lyme – Antibiotic Resistance and Other (comorbid) Infections

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease that involves a tick bite that can cause a variety of symptoms and health problems. Approximately 30% of infected individuals will have a bulls-eye rash, but any rash on the skin that is over 2 inches in size can be considered suspicious of lyme disease. Other infections are also found on deer ticks (predominant vector of lyme disease) and often go untested and thus untreated leading to chronic health problems and dramatically reduced quality of life.

Medical treatments for both acute and chronic lyme disease include various antibiotics depending upon the patients age, antibiotic tolerance/sensitivity history and other health problems. Antibiotics, and other types of anti-infectious drugs can be administered either orally (by mouth) or intravenously. Chronic cases of lyme disease, and co-infections are often treated identically to acute cases. This approach, unfortunately, leaves many people with antibiotic resistance, failed treatment efforts, and most often, severe ongoing health problems.

These health problems and symptoms include neuro-musculoskeletal symptoms like muscle pain and weakness, neuropathies, demyelination of the central and peripheral nervous system (destruction of the protective myelin coating), brain fog and memory loss and more. In fact, according to Dr. Wald, “virtually any symptom (patients’ complaint) or sign (what the practitioner sees), can be caused from lyme disease and it’s potential comorbid infections.

Dr. Wald’s natural approach might include various forms of chiropractic and detailed nutritional analysis. Dr. Wald’s natural approach to lyme is aimed towards mitigating antibiotic resistance and leaky gut syndrome. “Sadly some of the people who have come to me for their chronic lyme disease have been placed on IV-antibiotics or oral antibiotic for a year or more. Many of these people tell me that they feel better as long as they remain on antibiotics – but there is a problem with this interpretation. Antibiotics are also antiinflammatory medications. This means that a person may feel better from the antiinflammatory effects and not from the “killing of the lyme bug/coinfections)! And in the process, have a high potential of developing antibiotic resistance.

My approach to lyme disease includes a careful health history and health plan aimed at improving overall body immunity, nutrition and control of inflammation. As a result, it is possible to improve “bug” killing effects of the infected person’s immune system. Dietary and nutritional supplements are absolutely necessary for the treatment and recovery of lyme disease, but if a true infection exists (lyme or any of the coinfections), antibiotics and sometimes anti-parasitic medications are necessary.