A woman in her late 40s came to the clinic for a naturopathic consultation complaining of severe pain that moved all over her body. It began a year and a half prior, when she experienced sudden shoulder pain during a camping trip. The pain got worse as the day went on and continued for three days. Three months later a similar pain began in her knee and lasted a few days. The pain — along with swollen joints — continued to flare every few weeks.
She saw a rheumatologist, and all of her blood work came back normal. Doctors placed her on multiple pain medications and over the counter pain medication to help control the symptoms. She also noticed insomnia, mood swings, and a significant decrease in her energy levels. She was unable to exercise even though she previously was very active. The pain had gotten so bad that she was unable to even walk up stairs some days. Her rheumatologist diagnosed her with fibromyalgia.
A Naturopathic Doctor at our clinic completed Lyme disease and co-infection testing to evaluate the possibility of tick-borne disease. The testing came back positive for Borrelia burgdorferi — the bacteria that causes Lyme disease — and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, a bacteria of the Rickettsiaceae family that invades white blood cells.
The naturopathic patient then started a naturopathic treatment plan that the clinic Naturopathic Doctors designed to allow the body to heal by killing the infection, decreasing pain, and resolving inflammation caused by the infections. Her naturopathic treatment included a combination of intravenous therapies, naturopathic herbal and vitamin supplements, and oral antibiotics.
Within three weeks of treatment the naturopathic patient noticed a reduction in swelling and pain for the first time. Her energy was still low and she was experiencing lymph swelling and fatigue, so treatment was continued.
Over the next three months her energy continued to improve and the pain resolved significantly. The naturopathic treatment plan then changed, discontinuing antimicrobial treatments and continuing naturopathic immune support, such as IV nutrients, to continue supporting the healing process.
After a few months the naturopathic patient noticed her fatigue was increasing again and she had a few flares of pain in both her knees and shoulder. She once again started on treatment to kill the infection and within a month was feeling as good as a few months prior. The patient stayed on naturopathic herbal antimicrobials that are specific for Lyme disease for three months after the antibiotics.
At the six month follow-up the naturopathic patient was continuing on fish oils, a naturopathic anti-inflammatory herbal, and was receiving IV treatments once a month. The naturopathic patient reported resolution of her pain, and was taking no pain medication of any kind. She had experienced no symptoms for three months, energy was the best in years, and her anxiety had also resolved. The naturopathic patient has a high stress job so current and future naturopathic treatments are continuing to help manage her stress and decrease the risk of any future flare-ups.
