Lyme disease is a multi-faceted infection that can be difficult to diagnose, even with laboratory testing. It’s a tick-borne infection that usually starts with a characteristic red rash in the shape of a bullseye, but it can cause a range of chronic conditions that can severely compromise your health.
This includes flu-like symptoms, unexplained fevers, stubborn fatigue that won’t go away even after a good night’s sleep. One of the most curious symptoms is brain fog, which refers to a collection of issues such as memory problems, trouble concentrating, and frustratingly short attention spans. It’s also very common for undiagnosed Lyme disease to cause mental health issues such as depression.
Does this sound familiar? The good news is that your symptoms can be effectively treated. Here at Premier Health and Holistic Medicine, our physician takes an integrative approach to Lyme disease. That means assessing all the ways it’s affecting your body to create a personalized treatment plan.
Best of all, a diagnosis doesn’t mean you’ll be reliant on medication for the rest of your life. Dr. Ridinger can prescribe antibiotics and antifungals to treat infection, but she favors natural options. This includes harnessing the power of diet, supplements, detoxification protocols, bioidentical hormones, thyroid hormone replacement, and adrenal support to restore balance in your body.
Have we sparked your interest? Contact us to learn more.
Lyme Disease and Flu-Like Symptoms
Lyme disease only presents with a rash in 84% of cases. That means 16% of people who contract this disease have no obvious indicators. In the initial stages, it might be easy to pass it off as a cold or flu. Symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, fever, muscle pain, and more.
It’s also really important to note that a negative Lyme disease test doesn’t definitively rule out a diagnosis. Current tests have significant limitations, which is why it’s so easy to overlook.
If you have lingering low-level flu symptoms, that repeatedly return and never seem to fully return to normal, schedule an appointment. Rather than just relying on the results of a blood test, our doctor will do a deep dive into your medical history and personal circumstances. This is the best way to find the clues necessary to link seemingly unrelated symptoms and make a proper diagnosis.
Connecting Fever and Lyme Disease
Low-grade fevers are exhausting. If your temperature is 100 degrees or higher, it’s a good sign your body is fighting an invisible invader. Fevers ignite your body’s immune system which is important when it comes to fighting infection. Lyme disease develops as a result of the borrelia burgdorferi infection, so fevers are a normal part of the process. But if you’re not getting better, it means something is wrong. You should schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible.
Fevers are commonly associated with headaches, muscle aches, reduced appetite, skin rashes, and weaknesses, as well as sweating and shivering. However, it can have significant long-term effects, including brain damage. That’s why it’s so important to identify and treat the cause.
Lyme Disease Can Cause Chronic Fatigue
Lots of things can cause chronic fatigue, but Lyme disease is undoubtedly one of them. Left untreated, it can develop into a chronic infection that can affect everything from your sleep to your adrenal glands, sex hormones, gut health, thyroid, immune system, heart, and brain. All of these things are critical to your overall health and well-being and can cause a deep level of exhaustion.
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to treatment. The current thought leaders in this space are the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society (ILADS) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). Each has published its own evidence-based treatment guidelines, but while ILADS is committed to long-term treatment, IDSA favors a short-term approach.
Dr. Ridinger is a member of ILADS. Lyme disease is complex and treatments have come a long way since the early days, when patient after patient experienced little to no benefit from antibiotic regimens. The modern approach is grounded in whole-body wellness, which gives your body the reserves it needs to successfully fight infection so you can start feeling better quickly.
Find What’s Triggering Your Brain Fog
The final symptom we’re going to discuss in this blog is brain fog. Again, it’s one of those symptoms that can be attributed to multiple causes, but when we see it pop up alongside flu-like symptoms, fever, and fatigue, the alarm bells start ringing. Brain fog is a term that describes a general feeling that your brain isn’t firing as it should. It’s commonly associated with slower cognitive ability, poor concentration, forgetfulness, confusion, or dazedness. It can also affect your judgement.
It can sneak up on you over time. You might start by feeling like your thoughts are disorganized or that you’re struggling to put your thoughts into words. As it progresses, you might find yourself staring into space more than normal or struggling to solve basic everyday problems. In some cases, it can arise even after Lyme disease has been successfully treated. For a long time, this aspect of Lyme disease has been poorly understood, but new studies are providing better insights all the time.
This is important, because it’s now well-known that Lyme disease can cause psychological symptoms in addition to physical symptoms. This includes depression and anxiety. As such, it’s common that misdiagnosed psychiatric disorders can delay treatment for Lyme disease that presents with these symptoms. You may not actually have anxiety or depression at all. In fact, it’s likely that successful treatment will restore your mental capabilities and result in a significant mood boost.
Starting a Lyme Disease Treatment
Dr. Robin Ridinger is double-board-certified in Family Medicine and Integrative Holistic Medicine. She’s been working as a physician for more than 25 years and she specializes in Lyme disease because she enjoys treating complex illnesses and restoring whole-body wellness.
If you’ve visited multiple doctors without finding answers, and tried multiple medications without feeling better, it’s time to see a holistic doctor. Dr. Ridinger will take the time to get to know you, find out what’s going on in your life, identify all your symptoms, and track down the cause. Once she’s done that, she can help you take the first steps towards getting your health back.
Don’t believe us? Here are two reviews patient have recently shared on Google:
“I was at a loss when I couldn’t figure out what was causing my health issues. Everything seemed to be interrelated. My primary doctor did some lab work but “nothing” came back. It wasn’t until I saw Dr. Ridinger that she pointed out some serious issues from that initial bloodwork. I’m still working with her to get things balanced, but the money and time is so well worth it. She takes her time with you and really gets to the bottom of what the main causes and issues are. I feel 100% better.”
“I saw Dr. Ridinger several years back after a failed diagnosis from five different mainstream doctors. She was so caring and intuitive and spent a lot of time trying to help me figure out what I was allergic to. After seeing her and implementing her suggestions, I made a full recovery.”
Ready to get started? Schedule an appointment today.
