Lyme disease is caused by tick bites and is the most common vector-borne infection in the United States. When treated promptly and appropriately, most people can avoid chronic Lyme Disease. However, for some, symptoms can become chronic even after treatment. 

For others, Lyme can go undetected altogether, causing symptoms and long-term health complications that are often referred to as “mystery illness”, meaning, doctors can’t figure out what’s causing the symptoms. 

In either case, chronic Lyme disease can significantly impact a person’s quality of life. 

The doctors at Naturally Sue Wellness in NYC offer a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing chronic Lyme disease treatment by identifying and addressing the root of the illness along with any cofactors that may make treatment difficult.

Understanding Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is an illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. These bacteria are transmitted to humans from tick bites. There are three stages of Lyme disease. Many people experience flu-like symptoms after being bitten by an infected tick. Without treatment, or if treatment is delayed, symptoms worsen over time, depending on the stage of the disease: 

Stage 1 | Early Localized Lyme Disease. The bacteria have not yet spread throughout the body. If a rash is going to occur, it will occur during the first stage. You do not need to have a rash present to have contracted Lyme Disease. Symptoms may start 3-30 days after infection and may include: 

• Rash at the bite site, usually shaped like a bullseye 
• Chills
• Fatigue 
• Fever
• Headache 
• Joint and muscle aches
• Swollen lymph nodes

Stage 2 | Early Disseminated Lyme Disease. The bacteria have begun to spread throughout the body, causing more serious illness. In addition to flu-like symptoms, stage 2 symptoms may include: 

• Rashes on other parts of the body
• Severe headache, neck pain or stiffness
• Bell’s palsy (facial paralysis)
• Irregular heartbeat
• Neurological disorders
• Night sweats

Stage 3 | Late Disseminated Lyme Disease. The most common symptom of stage 3 Lyme is recurring episodes of swelling or arthritis that comes and goes in large joints, particularly the knees. Advanced neurological symptoms can also be present here.

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Naturally Sue’s Naturopathic Approach to Lyme Disease

As Naturopaths, Naturally Sue Wellness in NYC takes a holistic, patient-centered approach to Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment. We identify the root cause of illness and treat the whole person, not just your symptoms. We offer expert Lyme disease care to residents of NYC and surrounding areas but also serve clients nationwide via telehealth. 

Our natural approach to Lyme disease care harnesses the body’s innate ability to heal. We utilize a variety of natural Lyme disease remedies, such as herbal protocols and dietary and lifestyle changes to effectively eradicate and dietary and lifestyle changes to effectively eradicate infection and restore optimal health and well-being. 

The doctors at Naturally Sue are the Lyme disease specialists in NYC. Whether in-person or online, we will guide you back to total health, and educate you on your specific disease and how to manage it. 

Holistic Diagnostic Process for Lyme Disease

Lyme disease detection can be complex and difficult to diagnose, especially if the disease is long-term or chronic. Often patients come to us with mystery symptoms, told by other doctors that their lab tests for Lyme are normal. 

When a patient comes to us with symptoms of Lyme, or with a “mystery illness”, we conduct a thorough evaluation of symptoms, lifestyle, and travel history, among other things, depending on the patient. 

We will also conduct thorough antibody and immune testing to look for infection to Lyme as well as other common co-infections that often accompany Lyme disease. 

Two standard, conventional tests used for Lyme disease are the ELISA and the Western Blot. 

• The ELISA test checks for antibodies to the Lyme organisms. It does not test for infection itself and is not always sensitive enough to detect the disease.

   

• The Western Blot test is considered the gold standard for Lyme disease. It will identify antibodies even with long-term infection. 

However, both the ELISA and Western Blot have a high rate of false negative results. Because of this, we also utilize the C4a and CD57 immune markers as additional “puzzle pieces” with a patient’s unique presentation.

• C4a: High levels of C4a are an important clue when diagnosing Lyme disease. C4a has become the inflammatory marker of greatest significance looking at innate immune responses in those with mold exposure, and at certain levels can also indicate Lyme infection. It’s important to note that mold and Lyme usually come hand in hand, as mold exposure can reactivate dormant Lyme disease and Lyme disease can impair your detox pathways and make it more difficult for you to detoxify mold.

   

• CD57: CD57 is a specific subset of our own immune system’s natural killer cells. When CD57 count is low, and a person has been bitten by a tick, it is usually an indication of Lyme disease. The Lyme organism (the spirochete) can affect all major cell types of the immune system, but it most clearly impacts CD-57 cells. In our experience, the lower the number, the worse the patient’s Lyme symptoms are as well. These are the patients who were told that their “labs are normal” but suffer from lots of mystery symptoms. 

Additional testing we use includes the Vibrant Tickborne 2.0 test that looks for Lyme bands and co-infections, as co-infections can occur after a tick bite.

As stated above, testing for Lyme disease is not always black and white. It’s important to assess the patient and not just the labs.

Natural Lyme Disease Treatment Options

Naturopathic Lyme disease treatment is most successful when we start with foundational work, such as nutrition and lifestyle. Doing so supports immune function, and reduces inflammation and infection. Herbal remedies are utilized to help fight infection, detoxify, and build immunity. Dietary supplementation enhances the diet by providing important, essential nutrients for overall health and immunity. 

Herbal Therapies: Antimicrobial herbs used to support immune function and reduce Lyme infection include:

• Teasel Root
• Cat’s Claw
• Japanese Knotweed
• Chinese Skullcap
• Wormwood
• Black Walnut
• Artemisinin 

Nutritional Therapies: Key nutrients and dietary adjustments for managing Lyme disease include:

• Eliminate unhelpful foods, such as processed food, fast food, refined sugar, and alcohol. 
• Focus on whole foods, like colorful vegetables and fruits, fiber, like greens and legumes, quality protein, like lean, organic meats, and healthy fats, like olive oil, nuts & seeds. 
• Stay hydrated with plenty of water to support the liver and kidneys to detoxify.
• Support gut health to ensure daily and effectual bowel movements to help eliminate toxins and infection. 

Lifestyle Recommendations: Ensuring your body is relaxed and in a state conducive to healing is important when recovering from Lyme disease:

• Stress management, like deep breathing, light music, art, or other outlets 
• Recuperative sleep 
• Physical activity that promotes stress reduction, like walking, yoga, and Tai Chi. 
• Supportive therapies, like massage, acupuncture, Reiki, and aromatherapy

Environmental Considerations: Environmental triggers are key for managing Lyme disease. There is a huge cross-over between mold/mycotoxin illness and Lyme disease. Treating mold as well as heavy metal toxicity is also imperative to fully recovering from Lyme disease. Mold exposure can reactivate a dormant Lyme infection. 

Mental Health Support: Managing Lyme disease can take an emotional toll. Addressing mental health, such as anxiety, depression, or trauma can greatly influence patient outcomes when it comes to Lyme disease. 

One treatment plan is not going to fit everyone, as each patient has different needs. We use a personalized approach to treating Lyme disease based on the individual needs of each patient, accounting for their current state of health, lab test results, and health history.

Get in touch with Naturally Sue Wellness to discover what an individualized Lyme disease protocol would look like for you. 

Case Studies | Testimonials

Lyme disease presents in patients with symptoms in all shapes and forms. Some patients have a couple of symptoms including fatigue and brain fog, and others have more intense symptoms that greatly impact their quality of life. Regardless of the symptoms, we have been able to help hundreds of patients with Lyme Disease. 

Check out this case study of a patient with Neurological Lyme disease 

Why Choose Naturally Sue

Dr. Sue and Sparks both experienced the effects of Lyme Disease. Dr. Sue in particular was undiagnosed for over 15 years and has gone through a rough journey to get a proper diagnosis. It is because of her first-hand experience with this disease that she has learned how to help her patients get well and regain their quality of life from a Lyme Disease diagnosis.

Naturopathic Medicine has helped many of our Lyme disease patients regain their health.

Get in touch with Naturally Sue Wellness to discover what an individualized Lyme disease protocol would look like for you. 

FAQs

Can your body naturally fight off Lyme?

In our experience, not all people infected with Lyme Disease have symptoms or complications. If their immune system and nervous system are strong, they may never require treatment, however, if their body goes through an acute stressor, it can begin to present with symptoms and complications as the Lyme bacteria can reactivate from dormancy. 

If the infection causes symptoms, there are ways to support your body’s immune system and its ability to fight infection under the right circumstances, with good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle, supplementation, and in acute scenarios, antibiotics may be necessary combined with all of the above. 

What is the best Lyme disease treatment in the world?

The best Lyme disease treatment in the world is one that is tailored to every patient, taking into account the specific needs of each individual. A good treatment plan will include a combination of therapies that fight infection and boost immunity, such as: 

• Herbal treatments
• Diet
• Lifestyle
• Environmental
• Other supportive therapies 

The best treatment plan is not one-size-fits-all.

Why won’t doctors treat Lyme disease?

A few reasons for this may be:

• Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose and may mimic other diseases. 
• Lack of training and expertise in Lyme Disease
• They do not recognize chronic Lyme Disease 
• Testing for Lyme is limited and not dependable.  
• Comorbidity with other infections or toxins makes complete treatment overwhelming and confusing 
• Treatment can be time-consuming and costly.

Because of the complex nature of the disease, many conventional doctors may be reluctant to treat Lyme disease. Also, many may not understand the gravity that Lyme Disease can have on patients’ health, especially if they are not Lyme Literate. We call these doctors LLND’s or LLMD’s. We recommend they are sought out if you are looking for someone trained and knowledgeable in Lyme to help you. 

Some conventional doctors do not recognize chronic Lyme Disease and also feel that one dose of Doxycycline or a course of antibiotics can be enough to cure Lyme disease, but that is not the case of what we see in our practice.

With patience and discernment, Lyme disease can be treated and patients can make a full recovery. The doctors at Naturally Sue Wellness are like disease detectives and have successfully treated hundreds of patients with Lyme disease. 

If you are suffering from symptoms that you may think are related to Lyme disease, or if you are experiencing symptoms of a mystery illness, get in touch with us at Naturally Sue for a free consultation.  

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