-Perhaps the resource we use most for finding the root cause of difficult conditions is Genova Lab- especially the powerful complete digestive stool analysis. See more information on their tests at Great Smokies Diagnostics now called Genova lab.
- We also use Spectracell for their funcitonal intracellular analysis or FIA which shows what nutrients the body needs - at Spectracell. We use Metametrix Lab for many functional tests - check at Metametrix.com.
Food allergy testing is often key to finding the cause of chronic symptoms. We often use Immuno Labs for this. They have a very helpful website with a lot of support materials for people coping with food allergy at betterhealthUSA.com
We use an approach called Functional Medicine. Functional Medicine is a dynamic approach to assesing, preventing and treating complex chronic disease. It identifies dysfunctions and imbalances in the body systems strives to find and correct the various causes. See more at the Institute for Functional Medicine.
-Metagenics is one of the most reputable supplement companies. They have stringent quality controls and carry out more research on their products than any other US supplement company. See more at Metagenics.
There is some information on the Firstline Therapy program at FLT.
-We treat many patients with Lyme disease and do special testing for this. We have recently switched from IGenes Laboratory to Stony Brook Lyme Disease Laboratory in Stony Brook, New York. Stony Brook detects IgG,, IgA, and IgM antibodies and they also have the ability to report CDC non-specific bands if requested. Stony Brook is now billing Medicare and Medicaid.
More information on Lyme Disease is available at Bowen.org. A good resource on Lyme disease recommended by many of our patients is Lymenet.
-Revival is a natural soy product which is especially helpful with many peri-menopausal symptoms. For more information about Revival and soy foods in general check out soy.com
-The Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT is a system using accupressure to help people with phobias, negative emotions, problem habits, and even physical problems like asthma and headache. People can either learn EFT their own and/or work with a therapist or health coach. We have often seen amazing and fast results with EFT - even for longstanding problems. More information is at emofree.com
Carna Zacharias-Miller is an experienced EFT therapist and we often refer to her. She works with all kinds of problems but has a special interest in problems stemming from inadequate mothering. She has a website at missingmother.com
About Lyme Disease and Our Approach at IHC
We are a primary care practice and not Lyme disease specialists. We do provide some diagnotic and treatment services for all types of chronic problems, including Lyme disease. Some ill patients will need to see a specialist.
General Information
There is a great disparity of opinions in the medical community regarding Lyme disease – in diagnostic testing, type and length of treatment and in where it may occur in the US and how common it may be. Chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pain and inflammation, insomnia and mood problems are often due to some chronic infection.
The infective organism in Lyme disease, Borellia Burgdorferi, causes symptoms of muscle and joint pain, mood problems, memory problems and a wide variety of other symptoms, depending on the severity and the organs affected. It is one of few infections that can cause neurological symptoms. One form of Lyme – Morgellon’s _ causes skin lesions and crawling sensations. Because Borrelia Burgdorferi “BB”(the organism causing Lyme disease) is present in very small numbers, is often inaccessible in the nervous system and may change into different forms – it is often difficult to diagnose. It also seems to cause some damage to the immune system if the infection is longstanding. There is often a poor immune response which makes some forms of testing for “BB” insensitive – giving some false negative results.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists Lyme disease as a clinical diagnosis, which means that clinicians should make the decision whether and how to treat based on the whole patient presentation and all testing information, but not depend solely on getting a positive Lyme test result.
We at IHC strive to assist our patients with the difficult issues presented by Lyme disease. We generally use Dr. Burrascano’s guidelines for Lyme treatment (see ILADS website). We must consider any possible risk of Lyme treatment, all the treatment options, and also the risk of not treating the disease.
In some cases patients may have severe and chronic problems, which are consistent with Lyme disease, and they have not found any other effective treatment. In these cases, we may do an antibiotic trial of 1-2 months. Often this will clarify the diagnosis, and treatment may be continued if there is a positive response.
We use several tests for diagnosis of Lyme disease: 1) the Lyme Western Blot IGG and IGM, 2) a more sensitive Western blot with more bands tested from Igenix Lab, and also 3) the Bowen test, which is still being researched. (see resources for more information)
Initial Workup:
1.Physical Exam especially for lymph nodes, oral lesions, rashes, joint swelling, muscle weakness or abnormal sensation and muscle pain.
2.Testing for Lyme - perhaps repeating Western blot, using Igenex western blot, dot blot and/or Bowen testing.
3.Testing for co-infections - Erlichiosis and Babesiosis testing my also be needed, perhaps also Bartonella especially with persistent lymph nodes or fevers. May need EBV titer for fatigue and low-grade fever, and stool yeast culture for fatigue and digestive problems.
4. Other lab tests –complete panel if not done, CBC, HIV, Complete thyroid evaluation including free T3, T4, TSH and possibly Basal temperature measurement. Glucose and sometimes 2 hr. glucose tolerance and insulin may be needed if hypoglycemia symptoms.
5. Immune function tests for patients with co-infections may be helpful.
The digestive system is important in immune function. Testing for yeast overgrowth in the gut and for digestive function may be needed. Food allergy testing is sometimes recommended.
Metabolic Syndrome
Abdominal, or central, obesity is at an all-time high. Abdominal obesity is of particular concern because it is linked to metabolic syndrome, a condition where blood lipids, blood glucose and blood pressure are poorly controlled. Persons with metabolic syndrome are at greatly increased risk for more serious conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, diabetes and stroke. In the U.S., metabolic syndrome is defined as abdominal obesity, (waist circumference greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women), together with two or more of the following risk factors: serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl or above; HDL cholesterol 40mg/dl or lower in men and 50mg/dl or lower in women, blood pressure of 130/85 or more and fasting blood glucose of 110 mg/dl or above. The United States alone has about 30% of the population affected by Metabolic Syndrome.
Even though central obesity is an essential component of metabolic syndrome, that’s not the whole story. Abdominal fat is actually comprised of two metabolically distinct fat compartments. The fat that accumulates under the skin is called subcutaneous fat. Unsightly as it may be, this type of fat is relatively benign. The real perpetrator is dense visceral fat found deep in the abdomen, surrounding the intra-abdominal organs. Visceral fat is of particular concern because elevated levels of visceral fat are actually a cause of metabolic syndrome. Visceral fat cells are not just sedentary storage cells. They release inflammatory cytokines such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and Interleukin (IL)-6, which contribute to chronic systemic inflammation. Visceral fat also produces angiotensin, a chemical messenger that can elevate blood pressure by causing the constriction of blood vessels. Excess visceral fat is a significant factor in the development of metabolic syndrome. Some new herbal supplements have been developed that specifically targets this abdominal fat. One is a licorice derivation VFM-100 or Glabrinex. The other is Insinase by Metagenics, which is in UltraMeal 360. The FirstLine Therapy Lifestyle program is specifically designed to reverse metabolic syndrome. BIA is used to determine your individual needs. Ask us about working with Elizabeth and Leah on a program specifically for you. See the coupon in our newsletter for your 1st Free Nutritional Consultation.
Diet and Exercise DO work!
One of our patients recently reduced her LDL cholesterol by over 100 points! She was taking both a supplement with red yeast rice and niacin. She made some diet changes; cut out grains and increased fruits and vegetables. Natural methods can work very well for reducing cardiovascular risk, blood pressure, cholesterol, and can help correct some factors that drugs don't treat like, high CRP and homocysteine. The first step if you have cardiovascular risks or family history of heart disease, is to get a complete blood profile done. Then talk with us about trying natural methods to reduce or eliminate drugs.