Lyme Disease – Why Antibiotics Often Fail

The standard medical regimen for Lyme disease is three weeks of antibiotics.

After three weeks, your physician will likely discontinue your treatment even if you still have symptoms. Thinking three weeks of antibiotics is sufficient to kill and eradicate the infection.

Many Lyme literate doctors feel that six weeks of antibiotics is most appropriate for treating Lyme disease since the bacteria are growing slowly.

While most bacteria in your body replicate every twenty minutes, the Lyme bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi are replicated every one to sixteen days.

This replication time is much slower than a bacteria that would cause a sinus infection.

Long-term Effects of Antibiotic Use

Some people take antibiotics for months or even years with little or no improvement.

They can kill many healthy bacteria, essential for having a robust immune system and fighting off infection naturally.

Up to 80% of immune function comes from your gut, making these healthy bacteria essential for a robust immune system.

Long-term antibiotic use can also cause kidney and liver damage and other harmful side effects.

As a functional medicine practitioner, I have witnessed the long-term effects of using antibiotics, including:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal Pain
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Insomnia

Some new research has suggests that Lyme bacteria have become immune to several antibiotics.

Some of these Lyme organisms are called Persister cells, and they have ingenious ways to alter hundreds of their genes to survive antibiotics.

These Persister cells grow slower than other Lyme bacteria, giving the antibiotics less time to eradicate these bugs.

The Effectiveness of Antibiotics in Treating Lyme Disease

If you have acute Lyme disease, taking antibiotics is an appropriate treatment that eradicates the infection and prevents them from causing long-term damage to your body.

According to the CDC in the US, however, 20% of people with acute Lyme disease will fail antibiotic treatment and develop persistent Lyme disease.

The evidence for treating chronic Lyme disease has not been very encouraging. Some studies have found no advantages of using antibiotics in chronic Lyme disease.

Other studies have shown that any benefits were lost shortly after stopping the antibiotics.

Natural Options For Treating Lyme Disease

If you have been on the roller-coaster of antibiotics, it is time to look at other options.

In his book, The Lyme Solution, Dr. Darin Ingels, ND, outlines the natural ways he used to treat himself for Lyme disease and thousands of his patients.

I use this same approach to help my clients who have Lyme disease, which includes:

• Teaching people how to eat the right foods to help nullify the infection
• Natural ways to improve gut health and your immune system
• Improve detoxification
• Encourage deeper, restful sleep
• Employing alternative therapies to help balance your immune system

Disclaimer

This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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