Let’s say you’ve been bitten by a tick, or suspect that you might have been.
You’re suddenly experiencing symptoms like ongoing headache pain, brain fog, body aches, fevers, chills, sleep disturbance, excessive fatigue, night sweats, and panic attacks, to name a few.
Or, perhaps you’ve had chronic illness for quite some time, and only now realize late stage tick borne disease could be a contributing factor.
Whichever the case, you’ve now decided it’s time to see a doctor.
There are a thousand ways this can go wrong, because tick borne diseases and their complications are grossly marginalized in the medical community.
So, let’s explore how to go to the doctor and get the care you need, when you suspect tick borne disease.
1. Determine what you want and learn who can provide it.
Right now, no FDA approved or cleared treatment methods exist for Lyme Disease and coinfections, other than 3-4 weeks of antibiotics.
If you see a mainstream Primary Care or Infectious Disease Doctor, that’s the only treatment they can give you.
If you’re still symptomatic after the course of antibiotics, they have two options – pursue an alternate diagnosis, or take a symptom-management route and refer you to a specialist.
Additionally, the lab work they are allowed to request for Lyme Disease is an ELISA with reflex to a Western Blot, interpreted by the CDC regulations, which has a 56% rate of providing false negative results. They rarely test for tick borne coinfections, unless you know to ask.
This subsequently causes a high rate of false negatives, leaving many patients undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. To even perform this poorly accurate test, they will want to hear a history of a tick bite and/or bullseye rash first.
If you do not want the above testing or treatment method, it is pointless to see a mainstream MD (Primary Care or Infectious Disease), because this is all they can do, and it really is not their fault. It’s the nature of the medical industry at this time.
If you don’t want to pursue this option, you have a few alternatives –
A Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) from an ILADS search.
These licensed medical doctors use much more accurate testing methods and typically treat over a long period of time with multiple antibiotics, antimalarials if you have the coinfection Babesia, and sometimes a handful of complementary therapies as well, such as detoxificaton support, herbal medicine, or nutritional supplements.
Unfortunately, they’re few and far between, so you might find yourself driving hours, or even to another state, to see one. They’re also the most expensive of all your options.
But for many people, it’s worth the distance and the cost, if they can afford it.
LLMDs don’t advertise themselves as such to the general public and ILADS is extremely careful about who they send LLMD information to, because LLMDs are at risk of losing their licenses if word gets out about the way they treat Lyme Disease.
To find a Lyme literate doctor, search this directory.
A Naturopathic Doctor (ND) or Functional Medicine Doctor (any licensed MD, DO, ND, DC, NP, or PA-C also board certified in functional medicine).
These physicians often use much more accurate testing methods for Lyme and coinfections, although they may opt to use bioenergetic scanning or muscle testing instead, depending. Be sure to find out how they conduct their testing and diagnoses before choosing to entrust one with your health.
Typically, they’ll treat with a combination of diet, detox, electromagnetic, homeopathic, bodywork, nutritional, and herbal therapies. A select few may incorporate longer term antibiotics, but it’s not as common.
Compared to to LLMDs, they’re usually more affordable, but compared to medical doctors who take insurance or self-treating, their cost can still be fairly high.
To search for a functional medicine doctor near you, take a look at these directories.
- IFMCP network (Institute for Functional Medicine)
- CFMP network (Functional Medicine University)
- ACFN network (American College of Functional Neurology)
- ACNB network (American Chiropractic Neurology Board)
To find a naturopathic doctor near you, search this directory.
A Homeopathic Practitioner.
Popular belief equates homeopathic medicine with naturopathic and complementary medicine. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Homeopathy is a very specific type of energy medicine. It is founded on two principles.
- Substances that would cause unpleasant symptoms or even poisoning when consumed by a healthy person are diluted with water or sugar and shaken (successed) until no molecules of the original substances are left in the water or sugar. Only the “energetic imprint” of the substances remain in the water or sugar. This is homeopathic medicine. According to this homeopathic principle, the more diluted the medicine, the more potent it is.
- Like cures like. Meaning, homeopathic doctors choose a remedy for each patient by selecting the homeopathic medicine that, in a healthy person, would cause the symptoms the patient is currently experiencing if consumed undiluted.
Homeopathic doctors can be MDs, DOs, or NDs who choose to become board certified in homeopathy and earn homeopathic diplomate status.
Homeopathy and energy medicine are so different from other types of alternative and complementary medicine. For that reason, it’s important to research it in depth before you decide whether seeing a homeopathic doctor is the route you want to take.
Homeopathic doctors are likely to use bioenergetic scanning or muscle testing instead of functional lab work.
They’ll typically treat with a non-traditional homeopathic protocol like DesBio, or classical homeopathy, and sometimes electromagnetic therapies, too.
Their cost is about the same as an Naturopathic Doctor or Functional Medicine Doctor.
An Herbalist.
Herbalists have a vast knowledge of plant medicine, how it works, and how to use it for specific situations.
They may prefer you to bring your own test results to the consultation, if you have any, or may guide you through completing the most accurate testing you can order yourself. Some herbalists may use bioenergetic scanning or muscle testing, but not all. Again, do your research before committing to a practitioner to make sure you’re on board with the testing methods they use.
They typically create and recommend a specific herbal protocol for an individual, and guide the client through completing it. Additionally, they may suggest adding other healing modalities such as detoxification support, bodywork, or nutritional therapies.
If you want to go the route of herbal treatment, but don’t feel comfortable doing it on your own, seeing an herbalist may be a good choice for you.
If you’d like to locate an herbalist near you, you can search the following directories:
- American Herbalists Guild (AHG Registered Herbalists)
- National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA professional members)
- National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM practitioners)
Get your own lab work done, do your own reading, and self-treat.
This option may be for you if you are low on funds, enjoy taking charge of your own health, and the idea of self-treating doesn’t overwhelm you.
Aside from seeing an MD who takes insurance, it is BY FAR the most affordable option.
You can choose which tests you want to order, which treatment method(s) you want to use, and can monitor your own progress.
The only limitation you’ll have is not being able to use prescription medication. However, you can order some medications that are typically only available via a prescription on websites like All Day Chemist.
Take a look at my resources page to see the Lyme and coinfection treatment books I recommend.
2. Be VERY clear about your symptoms at your appointment.
Once you know what route you want to go, the next step is to carefully explain your symptoms to whomever you decide to see.
If you want the 3-4 weeks of antibiotics, as soon as you get or suspect a tick bite, it’s best to immediately make an appointment to get seen by your general practitioner or an infectious disease specialist.
You might say something like, “I experienced a tick bite followed by (list your specific symptoms). I want to be tested for all of the tick borne infections via a tick panel. I would prefer to be treated with antibiotics right away, before I get my results, given my history of a tick bite followed by symptoms that indicate I was infected and the risk of becoming a late stage case if my treatment is delayed.”
If your doctor gives you any trouble about performing a tick panel or beginning treatment with antibiotics, ask them to write their refusal to test and/or treat in your medical record (and make sure they actually do it).
You cannot be too clear or direct.
You’ll want to avoid mentioning any psychological symptoms at this appointment, or your doctor may brush off your entire case as depression, anxiety, or hypochondria.
After the course of antibiotics, if you want to be referred to one or more specialists for help with your symptoms, be sure to tell your doctor very clearly which symptoms you’re still experiencing and how pressing they are. This would be the right time to mention psychological symptoms, if you have any. That should get you the referrals you need.
You might need to see a few specialists if you’re going to successfully take the symptom management route and you have multiple symptoms to deal with.
You’ll want to approach your specialist visits differently.
Mainstream medicine believes a short course of antibiotics cures every early Lyme Disease and coinfection case, with the exception of 20% who experience residual symptoms afterwards. There is no common knowledge of treatment success rates (or lack thereof) for late stage patients, so you will only hear doctors talk about the statistics for early stage cases as if it applies to both early and late stage equally.
So, to avoid your specialist dismissing you as “difficult” or “uncooperative”, you’ll want to avoid mentioning the Lyme Disease and coinfections that caused your symptoms.
If you feel you absolutely must mention it, use the phrase Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) if you want to get taken seriously, because that is the most accepted term for residual symptoms after conventional tick borne disease treatment in mainstream medicine.
If you’re not going the route above, it’s a good idea to write a detailed list of your health history and symptoms and keep track for a little while before your appointment.
Then, when you go see your Lyme Literate practitioner of choice, be VERY clear in relaying this list.
You can describe all your symptoms together in this case, because most alternative and complementary practitioners want to know the whole picture in order to treat you most effectively.
At the visit, tell them you want to be tested for all tick borne diseases, chronic/reactivated viruses, and mycotoxins, and don’t be afraid to request the brand/type of testing you prefer, if you have a preference.
If you feel like you have to go to the ER because your symptoms are too severe and you just need some temporary relief, try not to mention Lyme Disease or any other tick borne illness, if you can help it.
You’ll be treated the most kindly and taken the most seriously if you stick to describing your symptoms, focusing on the one that sent you to the ER, such as chest pain, dizziness, or severe headache.
If you play it carefully, the doctors there can usually help give temporary symptom relief and ensure that you aren’t dying.
Just remember, the ER only does life or death interventions, so don’t expect them to be able to understand or treat your actual condition, especially since it’s one mainstream medicine barely acknowledges.
3. Be Your Own Advocate.
In the end, remember that doctors and other health practitioners are contractors, in essence – not your dictator.
You hire and pay them for a service they can hopefully provide for you.
If you aren’t satisfied with the way things are going, you can ALWAYS say something, and if they don’t take your concerns seriously, you can find a new one.
