Lyme Disease: Treatment

The core of any lyme disease treatment is to support the body first by maintaining sleep, balancing hormones, supporting the immune system, and fixing micronutrient deficits. These steps often take place before antimicrobials are used. Treatment, often involves herbal or prescription antibiotics, can last from weeks to months to years, depending on whether it is a new or chronic infection. Improvement is usually slow in chronic lyme cases. (A chronic infection has been present for more than one year.) An uncomplicated case of chronic Lyme disease requires an average of 6-12 months of high dose antibiotic therapy. The return of symptoms and evidence of the continued presence of Borrelia burgdorferi indicates the need for further treatment.

For lyme treatment to be effective it must be multifaceted. If antimicrobials are used, usually a combination must be utilized to affect the various forms of Borrelia as well as those of the co-infecting micro-organisms. This also means that a physician must treat any other ongoing infections and various organ systems of the body that are involved to help support health and immune function and decrease total load to better enable the body to cope with the infection. This can't be accomplished by relying on antimicrobials alone. This comprehensive whole body approach to lyme disease treatment beyond relying on pharmaceuticals may include a whole range of botanicals, natural supplements, diet, intravenous nutritional therapies, detoxifying, chelation therapy to remove heavy metal toxins, homeopathy, physical medicine, pain management, specific organ and endocrine support, as well as other prescribed medications and other approaches as appropriate for each patient's individual needs.

Learn about the special qualifications of Dr. Marty Ross and Dr. Tara Brooke of The Healing Arts Partnership in dealing with Lyme disease.