There is no standardized treatment for chronic Lyme Disease. The CDC has limited recommendations for the treatment of Lyme Disease which include prophylactic use of doxycycline following a deer tick bite and a 10-21 day course of antibiotics if Lyme Disease has been diagnosed. If the CDC protocol is used early in Lyme Diagnosis, it may help prevent the development of chronic Lyme Disease. However, the antibiotics used to treat Lyme Disease also have the potential to induce the cyst form of Borrelia, making Lyme Disease harder to treat long term if it does develop. In the absence of satisfactory CDC recommendations, there are probably thousands of alternative protocols that have been developed. All possible options for treating Lyme Disease are well beyond the scope of a blog post or even a single book. Here, I will discuss some of the treatment options I find most common and/or efficacious.
Antibiotic Therapy
Antibiotic therapy involves the combination of antibiotics, administered orally or intravenously, to target different forms of Borrelia burgdorferi. While each doctor employs a slightly different cocktail, therapies generally include an antibiotic to target Borrelia infection residing in extracellular tissue and one or more antibiotics to target Borrelia infection residing intracellularly. Additional antibiotics may be used to target the cyst form of Lyme Disease and help breakdown biofilms. Common classes of antibiotics include penicillins, macrolides, sulfa drugs, tetracyclines, and nitroimidazoles. Antibiotic therapies have high side effect profiles, often require years of treatment, and have variable effectiveness.
Disulfiram Therapy
Disulfiram, also known as Antabuse, is a drug used to treat alcoholism. It works by inhibiting one of the key enzymes responsible for detoxifying alcohol, amplifying side effects of consumption. Recently, it has been promoted as promising therapy for Lyme Disease due to its ability to kill actively replicating Borrelia infections and the dormant infection with an effectiveness that outperforms other drugs. Additionally, Disulfiram may be effective in treating Bartonella, one of the most problematic Lyme Disease co-infections. It is such a promising drug candidate that research is ongoing regarding its effectiveness in treating Lyme Disease. In the meantime, clinical use by prominent Lyme physicians is demonstrating an ability for Disulfiram to effectively treat Lyme Disease that has been resistant to other antibiotic treatments and maintain patients in remission. However, Disulfiram can be toxic to the nervous system and includes liver toxicity as a side effect.
Herbal Antimicrobial Therapy
To avoid the high side effect profile of conventional drugs, many doctors prefer to use a combination of herbal plant formulas to treat Lyme Disease. Some of the herbs are used to kill Borrelia, some are used to increase the body’s intrinsic healing mechanisms, and others are used to help decrease side effects of treatment. The four most common herbal protocols are the Zhang protocol, the Cowden protocol, the Buhner protocol, and the Byron-White protocol.
Zhang Protocol: Dr. Zhang is a prolific Lyme researcher and highly respected by the integrative medicine community. His protocols incorporate many elements backed by his research and are used by many clinics that treat Lyme Disease. The Zhang protocol consists of herbal blends focused on killing Borrelia, reducing inflammation, and promoting detoxification. His protocol may also help treat Babesia and Bartonella co-infections. Key herbal extracts in this therapy include Allicin (from garlic), Artemisiae (from wormwood), Houttuynia, Coptis, and Cordyceps. While considered effective by many, this therapy may be long term.
Cowden Protocol: The Cowden Protocol was developed by Dr. Lee Cowden and is also reputable for its efficacy. It is aimed at killing Borrelia and supporting detoxification, including detoxification of heavy metals. It is composed of herbs rotated over a period of 5 months. While there are many herbs utilized in the Cowden protocol, the three key herbs are Samento (Cat’s Claw), Banderol, and Cumanda. When combined, Banderol and Samento are effective against all 3 forms of Borrelia (extracellular, intracellular, and cyst) and can help kill co-infections. Cumanda is a broad spectrum antimicrobial used to treat Borrelia and co-infections. Die off reactions, also known as Herxheimer reactions, are common in this protocol and like the Zhang protocol, it may require long term use to be effective.
Buhner Protocol: The Buhner protocol was developed by an herbalist. Although designed to be used alongside antibiotics, many practitioners use it as an independent Lyme Disease protocol. It relies on 3 core herbs to kill Borrelia and reduce symptoms of Lyme Disease. These first key herb Andrographis, considered to have anti-spirochete properties in herbal tradition and known to have anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and immune supportive actions in integrative medicine. The second key herb is Japanese Knotweed, from which many resveratrol products are derived. This herb is also attributed with anti-spirochete properties in herbal medicine and is an anti-inflammatory. As a rich source of resveratrol, it is high in antioxidants which can help protect the body from damage created by Lyme Disease. The third key herb in this protocol is Cat’s Claw, used for immune strengthening. This protocol is based on a combination of herbal tradition and scientific research and can incorporate other herbs to address co-infections.
Byron-White Protocol: This protocol was developed by a natural health practitioner and is used commonly in Lyme Disease. Unlike other common herbal therapies, it does not focus on core herbs but rather offers concentrated herbal extracts formulated specifically for each type of infection associated with Lyme Disease. This protocol often requires long term use.
Ozone Therapy
When you think of ozone, you might think about the environmental contaminant. In the environment, ozone gas is mixed with other toxic contaminants. In a medical setting, ozone can be administered as a pure gas. Ozone is a similar molecule to oxygen but instead of two oxygen atoms, it is composed of three. Although ozone should not be administered to the respiratory tract, where it can create damage, there are many other way it can be administered including rectally, through intravenous administration, through direct injection, through infused water or oils, as a topical cream, vaginally, and through ears or sinuses. The most common application used in treatment of Lyme Disease is intravenously.
Ozone is an oxidative therapy, meaning it has reactive, charged particles that activate the immune system to produce beneficial byproducts including anti-inflammatory molecules and antioxidants. These oxidative particles also damage bacterial membranes and viral spike proteins. Because of this, ozone is considered a powerful anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial agent that can be used for a wide range of infections. Ozone is so powerful that it was used to help end the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. In addition to being powerfully anti-microbial, ozone gasses are also able to improve blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues, support mitochondrial metabolism, reduce inflammation, and strengthen the immune system.
Ozone is used in Lyme Disease due to its powerful anti-microbial properties, believed to not only target Borrelia but also co-infections. Its anti-microbial action combined with its powerful ability to stimulate healing make it a preferred Lyme Disease treatment by many providers. Using ozone therapy to treat Lyme Disease entails multiple treatments called 10-pass treatments, which exposes the body to large amounts of ozonated blood. This treatment can be very expensive and create die off symptoms.
Low Dose Immunotherapy
Low Dose Immunotherapy is one of the therapies I personally utilize to treat Lyme Disease. This therapy was developed from an antigen therapy historically used to treat allergies. In the allergen therapy, diluted amounts of allergens were injected into patients to help re-educate the immune system on how to respond. This treatment principle was then adapted for many other types of things to which the immune system inappropriately responds, including Lyme Disease. The therapy is performed by orally administering a formula with extremely dilute amounts of Borrelia and co-infections. This is repeated periodically to train the immune system not to inappropriately respond to these infections. Although this therapy does not kill any infections, research suggests that damage from Lyme Disease comes from the inflammation created by the infection, rather than the infection itself. Based on this principle, LDI is a preferable therapy because it helps turn off the damage associated with Lyme Disease without the expense and high side effects of treatments often used as Lyme Disease therapies.
SOT Therapy
SOT stands for Supportive Oligonucleotide Technique. This is the therapy I selected to treat my own Lyme Disease. This therapy genetically sequences the replication sequences of your individual Borrelia infection and co-infections, using samples of your blood. It then creates small oligonucleotide molecules complementary to the coding sequences of your infections. These molecules are delivered intravenously, where they actively block replication of infections for 6 months. Because the life cycles of Borrelia and its co-infections are less than 6 mo., all infectious organisms, for which SOT is administered, die and no more is reproduced. Because of this unique action, this therapy has potential to cure certain Lyme infections (although nobody who treats Lyme Disease ever uses the word “cure”). It is important to understand that the messenger RNA molecules specifically block reproductive sequences on foreign infections and degrade over time. They do not target your own DNA and they do not persist indefinitely. This therapy can be initially costly and does not offer therapy for all infections and co-infections associated with Lyme Disease.
Bee Venom Therapy
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