Seattle Bartonella, Lyme Disease & Environmental Illness Doctor
A blog category for conditions caused by tick-borne illness. Diseases are carried by ticks that are infected with bacteria, viruses, or parasites.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is also a recently coined term to describe widespread muscular pain and tender points. Pain is generally felt all over the body although it may start in one particular area such as the neck or shoulders. FM pain has a variable description including: burning, radiating, gnawing, sore stiff and aching muscles. It often varies … Read More “Fibromyalgia” »
Gestational Lyme Disease – Exposure to Lyme Disease and Co-infections Unfortunately, there is great debate within the medical community regarding the existence and prevalence of the transmission of Lyme disease, co-infections, and parasites to the unborn fetus. The medical community already recognizes that certain infections cross the placental barrier and they are known as “TORCH … Read More “Gestational Lyme Disease” »
PTSD and Lyme Disease Most patients with chronic illness who have been repeatedly misdiagnosed, and virtually unheard, wind up with some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and adrenal exhaustion. The fight to be heard, find a competent practitioner, receive proper and attentive care, is no small feat in this fast paced world, and is … Read More “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” »
Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is a spirochetal infection cause by Borrelia hermseii, Borrelia miyamotoi, and several other less well known bacterial species. Tick-borne relapsing fever is found in Africa, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Asia, Canada, and the western United States. Rodents are the primary reservoir and ticks are the likely vector for this disease. Tick-borne Relapsing … Read More “Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever” »
Metabolic Syndrome is a collage of risk factors that are associated with an increased risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and peripheral artery disease. About 30 million Americans suffer from the following symptoms: Central abdominal obesity Fasting glucose of greater than 100mg/dL BP greater than 130/85 Low HDL Fasting triglycerides greater than … Read More “Metabolic Syndrome” »
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is characterized by extreme intolerance of environmental odors such as diesel fuel, tobacco smoke, chemicals, perfume, cleaning products, new carpeting, formaldehyde, chlorine, and a host of other odors that plague our modern world. MCS is frequently associated with “sick building syndrome” where the patient has been exposed to … Read More “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities” »
Complex Chronic Illness and the “Ologist” Shuffle Complex chronic illness is a constellation of symptoms that arise in a patient over time, and which occur as the result of a variety of different reasons. Traditional medicine has notoriously failed these kinds of patients because it lacks a holistic perspective. Patients find themselves on what we … Read More “Complex Chronic Illness” »
A unique Bartonella or “cat scratch fever” treatment is Clotrimazole. It is an antifungal medication used to treat various fungal infections such as athlete’s foot, ringworm, and other candidiasis infections. It is an imidazole and works by inhibiting fungal cells by altering the permeability of the fungal cell wall. It binds to phospholipids in the cell membrane … Read More “Clotrimazole for Bartonella” »
Frequently we see autoimmune diseases associated with Lyme Disease and coinfections such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Scleroderma, Graves Disease, Celiac Disease, etc. Essentially any tissue in the body can fall prey to autoimmune disease if the autoimmunity is driven by infection. When pathogenic infections invade tissues, the bacteria produce LPS (lipopolysaccharides) which are … Read More “Autoimmune Disease” »
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) was coined in 2003 by Dr. Richard Shoemaker in Pocomoke, Maryland when he began seeing a multitude of patients with mold toxicity from water-damaged buildings. However, CIRS is also found in ciguatera and cyanobacteria exposure, post Lyme syndrome, recluse spider bites, traumatic brain injury, and chronic fatigue syndrome. CIRS is … Read More “Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome” »
