Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in America. Each year, the number of reported Lyme disease diagnosis rises.
The culprit responsible is the black-legged tick, or more commonly called the deer tick. It’s hard to believe something tiny in size can transmit bacteria that can cause devastating symptoms, but it can.
Deer ticks hang out in grassy areas. The brushier and weedier the site, the better it is for tick habitats. When you are outdoors and walk through the places where ticks may be living, there is a chance a tick will latch onto your body. It is searching for warm blood on which to feed.
How Ticks Spread Lyme Disease
Once the tick attaches to your body and bites you, it releases the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi into your bloodstream. Around the bite itself, you may notice a red rash. However, a rash does not appear in every case.
The longer the bacteria remains in your blood, the stronger it becomes. It also multiplies and travels to different parts of the body.
The sooner you recognize you’ve been bitten and seek medical treatment, the higher your chances of being able to prevent Lyme disease from spreading. The primary treatment for Lyme disease is with the use of strong antibiotics.
Unfortunately, not everyone has positive results from the use of antibiotics. For some, Lyme disease continues to grow, and symptoms become worse.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease progresses in three stages. Early on, you may experience flu-like symptoms, fatigue, headaches, stiff neck, joints, and muscles. As Lyme disease progresses through the following two stages, symptoms can become more severe. This happens because the infection spreads and can ultimately affect the central nervous system, causing neurological and musculoskeletal problems.
Numbness and temporary paralysis of the face, or Bells Palsy, can appear. Further symptoms include swelling in the brain and the joints, mental health disorders, extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, and more severe flu-like symptoms.
Inflammation caused by Lyme disease leads to a weakened immune system.
The symptoms listed are common to many different ailments. For this reason, Lyme disease is sometimes misdiagnosed. Also, the tests used by family doctors are unreliable.
Working with a Lyme-literate doctor is essential in getting an early, accurate diagnosis. They specialize in Lyme disease and can offer better treatment options.
Treatment for Lyme Disease
As mentioned, antibiotics are the first line of treatment for Lyme disease. Traditional administration of antibiotics involves taking pills orally for about two weeks. To stop the spread of Lyme disease, this is not always enough.
Lyme literate doctors can administer antibiotics intravenously, sending the medicine directly into your bloodstream so it can bypass the digestive process, which will break down much of the effectiveness of the antibiotic.
Lyme-literate doctors can also provide innovative, alternative treatments. One showing a lot of success among people with Lyme disease is the use of stem cells.
What are Stem Cells?
Everybody has stem cells. They are the reason you have brain cells, tissues, muscles, and bones. Stem cells cannot only heal injured cells, but they can replicate and develop new cells.
Using stem cells as a therapy to fight diseases is becoming more popular among doctors with patients fighting illnesses that weaken the immune system.
Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy is becoming popular for treating many diseases, especially those that cause inflammation in the body, like Lyme disease.
Celebrities like Kelly Osborne are sharing their stories and bragging about the positive effects of stem cell therapy. She traveled out of the country to get treatment. If you have Lyme, don’t be afraid to travel outside the United States to get the best stem cell therapy.
How Stem Cell Therapy Works
In healing Lyme disease, doctors use mesenchymal cells found in fatty tissue and bone marrow. Stem cells are like chameleons. They can change and adapt to different cells in the body. They do this with the specific goal of repairing damaged areas.
Healthy stem cells injected into areas like the spinal cord replicate and act like neurons, sending messages to damaged areas, telling them to heal that area.
Stem cell therapy reduces the negative symptoms of Lyme disease while also improving your body’s immune system. It gives your body the chance to fight its own battles against infections.
What is Involved with Stem Cell Therapy
Factors like age, weight, and how long you have been struggling with Lyme disease will determine how many stem cell therapy treatments you will need. Your Lyme literate specialist will perform an extensive evaluation to determine the best protocol to treat your symptoms.
Stem cell therapy is safe and includes specific steps. First, your doctor will harvest stem cells, usually from fatty tissue. Some doctors prefer to use donated stem cells. Both can produce positive results.
Second, the stem cells, if harvested from your body, will be processed. They are separated and then cultivated, the third step. Finally, the cells are bioactivated and delivered back into your body through injection or intravenous methods.
Start Your Stem Cell Journey
If you’re interested in participating in stem cell therapy, there are a few steps to take before signing up with the first doctor you call. First, find the right doctor. Treating Lyme disease should be done by a Lyme literate doctor.
If there is no one in your area, don’t be afraid to travel for treatment. Living the rest of your life without Lyme disease is worth the trip.
Next, ask a lot of questions. Lyme-literate doctors not only appreciate questions, but they also have the answers. Questions should include:
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- What type of stem cells do you use in treatment?
- Can you provide evidence of successful stem cell therapies?
- How are cells harvested and administered?
- Where do you get cells?
- Are there side effects?
- How will you measure results?
- How much will it cost?
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You don’t have to wait until your in-person evaluation to get answers. Call or reach out online today.
Reviewed by Dr. Omar Morales, MD