Madison Area Lyme Support Group

Sufferers of chronic Lyme disease often have a defective immune response when taking the antibiotics needed to help cure them of the disease. This lowered immune system response can be caused by the Lyme disease itself, or by other internal problems such as heavy metal toxicity. The role of heavy metal detoxification in the treatment of chronic Lyme disease has been a point of study for many experts. Some have posited that heavy metal toxicity and Lyme disease go hand-in-hand, and that heavy metal detoxification could help in the long-term treatment of the chronic illness.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that can cause the infected person to experience a wide array of symptoms such as numbness in the limbs, memory loss, dissipated cognitive function, flu-like symptoms and chronic headaches. Antibiotics are generally used to treat both short and long-term Lyme disease, but due to the attack on the body, sufferers also have weakened immune systems that can lead to antibiotics having less efficacy.

Although more research needs to be done on certain stressors and their correlation with antibiotic resistance in Lyme disease patients, promise has been shown in heavy metal detoxification therapy.

Heavy metal toxicity and Lyme disease

Heavy metal toxicity is the build-up of certain heavy metals in the body that can cause a range of problems such as chronic fatigue, depression and other mental health issues, digestive issues and altered cognitive function. It’s also worse in people who have the MTHFR (Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase) gene mutation, as this mutation leads to problems with the body’s natural methylation process. The methylation process helps keep things functioning at an optimal level by removing certain stressors such as bacteria, pollutants and heavy metals.

When heavy metal toxicity is present in a person suffering from Lyme disease and the MTHFR gene, the treatment of Lyme disease becomes that much more difficult. To help the body process antibiotics, heavy metal detoxification could play a vital role in helping to smooth things along.

The first and simplest way is through diet. What a person eats has a lot to do with how the body functions, and when certain toxins are present in large amounts, as with the case of heavy metal toxicity, the body does not function at the optimal level. Adding foods rich in vitamins and minerals will encourage heavy metal detoxification throughout the body. Good foods to eat are organic fruits and vegetables such as wild blueberries, tomatoes and lemons; cilantro and garlic; and green tea. To avoid increasing ingestion of heavy metals, it’s good to avoid certain foods such as fish, alcohol and brown rice (because of its high levels of arsenic).

Image by Geralt on Pixabay: The human body needs to run at its most optimal for antibiotics to work properly.

Chelation therapy for Lyme patients

Another process used to help rid the body of its overload of heavy metals is chelation therapy. Chelation is a type of chemical process used by doctors for patients whose heavy metal toxicity is too severe to be tackled by diet alone. The process involves the medication ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). EDTA is given intravenously for direct contact with the bloodstream. 

When the drug enters the bloodstream, it finds the minerals in the body that attribute to the overall heavy metal detoxification and attaches to them. Once the EDTA has attached itself to the heavy metals it sought out throughout the body, it then begins the process of detox. The compound created by EDTA’s attachment to the minerals is then passed through the body, eventually leaving through the urination process. This is especially important for sufferers of Lyme disease because it contributes to the body’s overall absorption and use of the antibiotics needed for treatment.

Hyperthermia therapy for Lyme patients

As understanding of alternative treatments for Lyme disease is low, patients recovering from the disease are often solely reliant on the strength and efficacy of the antibiotic course they take. That is why their body needs to be running at its best for the antibiotics to work as they should. Hyperthermia is a process used to help lower antibiotic resistance, thus making the treatment more effective for Lyme patients.

Hyperthermia is the process of heating the body internally until a fever breaks. When a fever is present, white cells in the body work overtime to help combat infection. This actually helps antibiotics attack and kill the Lyme bacteria, because the cells designed to fight the disease and elicit an immune response react much faster than if the body was at its regular temperature.

How to treat chronic Lyme disease

Antibiotics are the most efficient treatment of chronic Lyme disease, but there are a variety of ways to help treat both acute and severe cases in conjunction with medication. Supplements aid in the body’s natural processes so that when a Lyme disease patient takes the antibiotics they need to fight the disease, the body is ready to fight. Things such as Vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and 5MTHF all aid in the proper function of the body. These supplements can affect the way people with the MTHFR gene combat Lyme disease because those vitamins and minerals can duplicate the processes of a normal MTHFR gene. In sufferers of Lyme disease, this encourages the body to complete its natural methylation process with close to full efficacy.

Image by Daily Nouri on Unsplash: Supplements aid in the proper function of the body’s systems.  

Another way to help the antibiotics do their job is through the use of infrared saunas while doing an antibiotic course. The infrared sauna helps to sweat out heavy metals and other toxins trapped in the body. The heat also helps quicken the metabolic rate, which can aid in quick digestion (and passing) of certain things that aren’t necessary in optimal health. Some studies even go so far as to suggest that sweating can cause the body to get rid of more toxins than the passing of toxins through urine, but both are effective ways of ridding the body of harmful chemicals that can decrease the efficacy of antibiotics used in the treatment of Lyme disease.

*This article is based around the expertise of BCA’s new doctor, Dr. Hollenhorst, who specialises in pain management and heavy metal detoxification. If you have any questions regarding how heavy metal detoxification and chelation therapy could help patients with Lyme disease, please email us at info@bca-academy.com*

Featured image by Vegan Liftz on Unsplash