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Episode 2 on how to survive Lyme disease – The Lyme Cure: Antibiotic Treatment vs. Natural Remedies… Increasingly people are turning to natural remedies in seeking treatment for Lyme disease. A holistic approach toward healing is gaining ground in the face of established medical science, especially for those who have not obtained relief from a standard 30-day course of antibiotics. There is growing evidence that a holistic approach can help provide relief from the relentless ebb and flow of symptoms associated with the disease, and can be an important part of the overall treatment of inflammation resulting from antibiotic treatment. As many Lyme victims claim failure from antibiotic treatment, more often they seek alternative medicine to best support their decision to abandon antibiotic treatment in favor of learning to live with the disease.

The cure for Lyme is often a complex one, requiring so-called “supplements” which include everything from vitamins and natural remedies, to pharmaceuticals necessary to control the depression, anxiety and pain that is so frequently associated with an infected patient. There are several main reasons why people give up on antibiotic treatment, which is undeniably excruciating, however, often the patient is not in the best position to understand what is best for their own treatment. By the times the disease has compromised the brain, central nervous system, and the heart and muscle tissues, there is a desperation for relief that is overpowering. The number one reason that patients give up antibiotic treatment is that they cannot endure the excruciating symptoms of inflammation that results from the die-off of the Borrelia spirochete. This is called a “Herx” reaction. And after several weeks of treatment, when the expectation of feeling better does not materialize, the natural reaction is that the treatment must not be working. This is far from the truth. It is counter-intuitive, but the presence of a high misery index during treatment actually means the antibiotic treatment is doing its job. This is how a good LLMD, or Lyme-literate doctor, will clinically measure progress of treatment. The second biggest reason for abandoning antibiotics is an insufficient duration of treatment. The standard 30-day limit is often woefully inadequate for those who have been misdiagnosed for a period of many months, or quite possibly years. For the chronically ill, treatment can more often take many months to several years before the patient sees real progress. This is where the importance of holistic medicine plays a large role, in boosting the immune system and abating the severity of symptoms during treatment. However, the use of holistic medicine alone in combating Lyme disease, in the absence of traditional homeopathic treatment is rarely sufficient for ridding the body of the spirochete. Beware the claims of a natural or holistic cure without antibiotics — it is one thing to seek a miracle, another to ignore the science. Do the supplements, the vitamins, the herbal remedies, and any or all of the other purported fixes, but keep science gnawing on the root of the problem, which at least for now, is long-term antibiotic treatment — for as long as it takes. Ideas for an intellectual evolution, solutions for a 21st Century Global society.