Category: Lyme Disease

May is Lyme disease awareness month and it’s perfect timing to think about prevention as the weather warms up and people spend more time outdoors. Before you go out in the woods this spring and fall it’s important to take measures to prevent tick bites and to always check yourself thoroughly once home. What is Lyme Disease? Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans primarily through the bites of infected blacklegged ticks (deer ticks). It is the fastest growing vector-borne infectious disease in the United States according to the CDC. A vector-borne disease is one that results from an infection transmitted to humans and other animals by blood-feeding anthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. While Lyme disease occurs in Colorado, it’s underreported. This is because it’s not mandatory to report Lyme disease and there is a belief by the medical community that it does not exist in Colorado. Lyme Disease: Getting the Facts In the last ten years, deer ticks have significantly expanded their range. Forty-three states within the continental US have established or reported blacklegged tick populations. Blacklegged ticks are also native to Europe, northern Asia, northern Africa and South America. Lyme disease is transmitted mostly by the nymphal...

Disulfiram Exhibits Antibacterial Activity Against Borrelia Burgdorpheri in Two Studies In 2016 a researchers at Stanford University published research showing disulfiram, also known as Antabuse, as having antibacterial activity against Borrelia burgdorpheri, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The paper, Identification of New Drug Candidates Against Borrelia Burgdorferi Using High-Throughput Screening, identified disulfiram as its top candidate as having promise in treating Lyme disease and babesiosis infection. The in vitro study and others since then have shown that disulfiram is effective at killing both the actively replicating and the more quiescent persistent forms of Borrelia burgdorferi. In a paper published in May 2019 in the journal, Antibiotics, the author, Dr. Leigner, reported on three patients that he treated with disulfiram for Lyme disease.  Each patient had required intensive antimicrobial therapy for control of the symptoms of chronic, relapsing, neurological Lyme disease and relapsing babesiosis. Each was able to discontinue treatment and remain clinically well for periods of observation of 6–23 months following the completion of a finite course of treatment solely with disulfiram. One patient relapsed at six months and is being re-treated with disulfiram again. What is Disulfiram and Why is it Effective Against Lyme Disease? Disulfiram is a...

Do You Think You May Have Lyme Disease?   Check out the following signs and symptoms to see if any match for you: Do you have fatigue and brain fog that started years ago and has gradually worsened over time? Do you have cyclical bouts of malaise, fever, fatigue and body aches? Do you have joint pain and swelling that persists without a diagnosis of rheumatoid or osteoarthritis? If so were you given a "catch all" diagnosis of mixed connective tissue? Did you have a summer flu that persisted and was diagnosed with mononucleosis but you developed persistent fatigue, weakness, headaches and dizziness? Do you have non-specific symptoms that are dismissed by your primary care physician or you are told that you have fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome? Did your symptoms improve or even clear up after a round of antibiotics, just to return when you stopped taking them? Did you suddenly or over time develop neurological conditions that include dizziness, headaches, numbness and tingling in your arms or legs, or pain in your hands or feet? After experiencing a trauma such as a car accident, emotional loss, or even childbirth, did you find yourself with persistent fatigue,brain fog, and...

Since treating those suffering from Lyme disease I am asked this question often. According to the Centers for Disease Control website there have been only 4 reported and confirmed cases of Lyme disease in Colorado.  The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment website does not list Lyme disease under its list of tick bourn illnesses and the Colorado State University extension website states, that “No human cases of Lyme disease have originated in Colorado.” So why are cases of Lyme disease in Colorado not being reported or confirmed despite a growing number of practitioners diagnosing and treating Lyme disease in Colorado?   For example, last fall a young man came to me for treatment of Lyme disease.  A month earlier he had been at a concert in a park in Denver sitting on the grass near some tall weeds.   A few days after the concert he noticed an oval rash on the side of his thigh with clearing in the center (bulls eye rash).  Luckily he took a photo of the rash.  One week after the concert he developed fatigue, joint pain and fevers.  He went to the ER and they ran an antibody test that looks for exposure to...

Denise Clark, ND Lyme disease is a tick borne illness that generates much controversy among the medical community and researchers. One of the key topics of debate is whether the Lyme spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, persists in patients who have been treated with the recommended doses of antibiotics and yet remain symptomatic. A certain train of thought that divides the medical community was developed in the 1970’s that chronic, persistent Lyme disease was purely an autoimmune arthritis.  Prior to this time the European medical literature reported Lyme disease as systemic illness involving neurologic, psychiatric, and musclo-sketal symptoms. Whether Lyme disease can persist is controversial for many reasons: Acute infection with Lyme disease not treated long enough. It is common for most people with a positive diagnosis of acute Lyme disease to be treated with the antibiotic, doxycycline, twice a day for 10-14 days. Given the low success rates in trials treating Erythema Migrans (EM) rashes for 20 or fewer days, The International Lyme and Associated Disease Society (ILADS) recommends that patients receive 4-6 weeks of doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime. A minimum of 21 days of azithromycin is also acceptable, especially in Europe. The Bulls-Eye Rash (Erythema Migrans) that is a pathognomonic sign for...