In this article I would like to talk about Lyme disease – how to approach it from a holistic point of view and how it can be treated naturally. In addition, I will describe how I healed from Bartonella infection (a Lyme co-infection).
What is Lyme and why is it so complicated to treat
Lyme disease is a widely spread disease transmitted from a tick or insect bite with hundreds of thousands new cases per year. The disease is caused by bacteria called borrelia burgdorferi. The infection is conventionally treated by tetracycline antibiotics, most common is Doxycycline. The treatment is especially effective at the early acute stage of the disease while the bacteria is still circulating in the blood stream. Once the bacteria has penetrated body tissues and organs, the antibiotics are less effective or show no effect at all. It is very common that the antibiotics help to get the disease into remission for a while but many experience relapses.
Lyme is a complicated disease that goes deep into our constitution – this is why it is difficult to treat. The bacteria has a spiral shape and can “screw” into the body tissues causing a systemic illness. Borrelia belongs to the spirochetes family, same family as syphilis. Spirochetes release neurotoxins into the nervous system. As a result, neurons don´t communicate and neurological disorder manifests (paralysis, seizures, neuropathy and more). It causes fatigue, pain, inflammation located in different parts of the body. For each person it can be a different organ or system depending where the weakness within the constitution is. The severity of the Lyme disease is related to the spirochete load in the patient. A few spirochetes produce mild or asymptomatic infection. In addition, it depends on the overall health and vitality of the person and how the immune system is able to deal with it. This is the reason why some have almost no symptoms whereas others experience severe symptoms and a condition that does not allow them to live their lives.
Unfortunately, the diagnosis can be quite difficult, as many people don’t remember any tick bite or don’t get the characteristic skin rash (erythema migrans/bull´s eye rash). Also the tests to diagnose Lyme can come back negative. The early stage can resemble a flu, late stages can mimic many other diseases – chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, mental illness, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, ALS, MS, arthritis, psychological disorders (depression, panic attacks, brain fog), sleep disorder. As a result, many people get misdiagnosed.
How to approach Lyme disease naturally
A holistic approach to the disease is to raise up the vital force, raise up the immune system and so stimulate the body to heal itself. Once the body is balanced, the bacteria will not be able to survive in such an environment and will die off. I consider the multi-layered approach in treating Lyme disease the most effective – homeopathic medicine, bioenergetics medicine, herbs and tonics, detox and nutritional therapy. I see homeopathy as the most important part of the multi-layered treatment approach, supported by the other mentioned therapies.
Homeopathy can be effective in treating Lyme cases. As I mention on my website, homeopathy stimulates the own healing ability (vital force) and promotes the inner balance at all levels (mental, psychological, physical).
Usually there are different layers in Lyme cases to treat. First layer is the etiological layer that has to be sometimes addressed first. (However, it is not a rule and it always depends on the individual symptoms.) Etiology in this case is an insect bite. LEDUM is a homeopathic remedy used for all type of puncture wounds (needles,..), insect and animal bites, ailments from vaccinations (also a puncture wound). LEDUM can be given prophylactically after a tick bite or at the early stage of the disease. Take LEDUM 200C 3x a day for 2 days. BORRELIA NOSODE is effective at the early stage as well. However, it can be used at different stages of the disease or as an intercurrent remedy.
Other layers in a Lyme case are acute and chronic phases. Chronic Lyme disease is a pathological layer to be treated along with treating the personality. In both, acute and chronic phases, it requires finding a homeopathic remedy fitting the totality of the symptoms an individual is expressing in the disease.
Another new layer that can be created on top of the Lyme is from the excess use of the chemical drugs (antibiotics). This layer can possible cause an obstacle to cure that sometimes needs to be cleared out with homeopathic antibiotics (homeopathic Doxycycline; if the antibiotics taken causing this layer was Doxycycline) and activated charcoal.
Sometimes the case needs to be treated as a miasm (a predisposition towards chronic disease underlying the acute manifestations of illness, which is transmissible from generation to generation).
The approach towards the disease is very individual, as in most cases we have to treat the constitution while addressing all or some of the mentioned layers in order to move towards health.
The very same approach I have described above can be used for treating Bartonella infection (a Lyme co-infection).
Bartonella infection and my story
Bartonelosis is a group of emerging infectious diseases caused by bacteria belonging to the Bartonella genus. Most common is Bartonella henselae that is mainly transmitted by ticks, fleas, lice or sandflies. Also animals (especially cats) can be infected by it and can transmit it to a human. Bartonella is considered for a Lyme co-infection, however, it is not a rule and a person can be infected only with this bacteria. The majority of articles available on the internet describe the disease as mild for most people and severe only for the immunocompromised patients undergoing immunosuppressive treatments. However, the latest research shows that the infection can cause severe symptoms and condition, similar to Lyme. In the best case scenario the doctors test for Lyme but only a few are aware of Bartonella and test for it. As a result, people have an illness with no diagnosis and feel hopeless.
I had the infection as well. I got bitten by an insect. A couple of days later I developed flu like symptoms – fever, swollen glands, muscle ache, exhaustion etc. As the skin got swollen and red at the site of the bite I went to a doctor. They did a blood work but everything looked fine. At that time I had no idea what the cause of my condition was. Three weeks later I went back to the doctor´s office because I started to develop new symptoms. The flu like symptoms lessened but I experienced neurological symptoms (disorientation, severe insomnia, visual and auditory hallucinations, nerve pain, muscle twitches etc.) and systemic joint pain. I ended up in the hospital. All tests were fine. They even tested for Lyme. The test came back negative. Back then I have already had a good experience with homeopathy and started a homeopathic treatment for the acute stages (BELLADONA, PYROGENIUM, STAPHYSAGRIA, LEDUM). My symptoms started to improve. At that time I was sent to another doctor for another blood test. This doctor apparently knew about Bartonella and did a serology test for it, which came back positive and confirmed the infection. He mentioned neither he nor his colleagues ever treated anyone with this condition and prescribed antibiotics (Doxycycline), which I didn´t take as my symptoms were already improving from the homeopathic treatment. After receiving the information this bacteria was a cause of my problems, I took BARTONELLA NOSODE. The breakthrough in my case happened after taking SYPHILINUM (miasmatic approach). Within a month all neurological symptoms disappeared and never came back. The last remedy that finished the case was RUTA, which cleared up the arthritis symptoms.
Since then I have never had any symptoms of Bartonelosis ever again. The whole recovery took 5 months, which I consider for a miracle, when seeing other possible outcomes with Bartonella or Lyme.
With this story I would like to show that there is something else that can be done when conventional treatments are failing.
“Where there´s life, there´s hope.”
Stephen Hawking
(Note: The mentioned remedies are not to be used for your case, as they were specifically selected for my symptoms that manifested in this disease. The remedy needs to be selected individually based on your symptoms and condition.)
Additionally, I took some herbs and tonics to support the healing process. I will list them below. They are effective for both, Lyme and Bartonella.
Herbs & Tonics
Besides the homeopathic treatment, specific tonics and herbs are recommended to alkalinize, oxygenate, detoxify and nourish the blood and tissues. They support the immune system and have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties:
CAT`S CLAW (Uncaria Tomentosa)
JAPANESE KNOTWEED
TEASEL ROOT