Summary
Seldom do I see functional doctors identifying chronic viruses and bacteria as a cause of disease.
The focus of functional medicine in the infectious space is on parasites, mold, and yeast.
The major causes of death and disability are heart disease and cancer.
The connection between these diseases and viruses and bacteria is much stronger compared to these other 3 classes of infection.
Lyme disease is a group of spirochetal infections, but spirochetes come from other sources, such as the oral cavity.
Do we ignore spirochete-positive bands even if the lyme blot is not definitive for Lyme?
White blood cell counts signal a response from innate and adaptive immunity, and yeast, parasites, and mold seldom cause a change.
Your WBC should be around 4,400 (or 4.4 depending upon the units of measure) with an NLR of around 1.3
READING - AND KNOWING HOW TO READ WBC COUNTS HELPS TELL THE STORY. IGNORING THEM OFTEN LEADS TO THE WRONG TREATMENTS.
Here is a case study.
Client reports: want to feel good for my age constantly. My main issue is insomnia, and I have been in withdrawal for years with extreme fatigue and anxiety.
A bioenergetic doctor said I have (or had) Lyme disease.
I have yet to find one person with past periodontal disease that has actually been resolved based on the OralDNA test. One was not administered in this case, at least yet.
Despite this person's symptoms, the major issues are related to the heart or circulatory system. Also, note the memory issue.
In the person's note, I put the following:
Also, the person has a bit of toxo.
The low WBC, neutrophils, and lymphocytes are characteristic of a viral infection. However, Dr. Carter, Austin, and I ran a trial on 70 people and noted when the profile looked like this: the person often has virals like EBV, CMV, HSV, AND bacterial organisms. If you want to learn more, look at our many case studies.
More....
Participants with early LD (lyme) experienced poor sleep quality, which is associated with typical LD symptoms of pain and fatigue. In the subset of patients who developed PTLDS, sleep quality remains affected for up to 1 year post-treatment and is commonly associated with pain.
LEWIS NOTE: Not just Lyme but a subset of pathogens can create neuroinflammation.
I am not inferring that this person has Lyme, but he DOES HAVE SPIROCHETES or related infection. Even Labcorp understands this. Here is what they say on the lab report.
Sera (blood) from individuals with the following may cross-react (all the positive bands indicate a cross-reaction) in the Lyme Line Blot assays:
other spirochetal diseases (periodontal disease, leptospirosis, relapsing fever, yaws, and pinta);
connective autoimmune (Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and also individuals with Antinuclear Antibody); other infections
(Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; Epstein-Barr Virus, and Cytomegalovirus).
Should the cross-reactions be ignored, or should something be done about it, considering that spirochetes impact both the brain and heart and the person has symptoms in both categories?
Here is what his functional doc had to say.
I am going to limit my response here and not charge you for my time. The lab you forwarded is NEGATIVE for Lyme disease. The Lyme Line Blot is a test run by LabCorp. As it says in the interpretation, you must have 5 of the Lyme specific bands to have Lyme disease: 18, 23, 28, 39, 41, 45, 58, 66, and 93. Of these you are positive for 93, 58, 39, and 23. Therefore, your test is negative.
LEWIS COMMENT: Note he said the person is positive - but not for Lyme (agreed). Again, ignore those because we only care about Lyme?
Part of the wonders of nature is the fact that many proteins look alike. Many people look alike. This is the idea behind a doppelganger. In molecular biology we talk about molecular mimicry. This is one of the principles underlying autoimmunity. Antibodies that see one thing – like part of a bacteria – may see something else in the human body that looks like it, confuse that part of the body for the bacteria, and mount an autoimmune response. Each antibody is “identifying” a part of the protein coat of the borrelia spirochete. Because many other proteins may “look” like the same part of the protein coat (i.e.,. each PXX), certainty in regard to the diagnosis of borrelia exposure requires at least 5 positive antibodies. You do not have 5 antibodies.
LEWIS COMMENT: Would we survive as a species if we REALLY suffered from so many autoimmune diseases? In reality, this person has one or more of the pathogens listed by LabCorp or other pathogens related to them.
IgG, in general, represents established acquired immunity. It does not necessarily imply current infection. When you get a vaccine or have the Chicken Pox, you make IgM first, then as you become immune, you make IgG. Your immune system “remembers” the previous exposure so that if you are exposed again, it has learned, and you will mount an immune response before you get sick.
LEWIS COMMENT: Let's ignore the fact that this person has MANY symptoms that correlate to the list of pathogens articulated by the Lyme line blot and robust research. Let's ignore the fact that his WBC counts corroborate a chronic infection. I would highly recommend that more functional doctors read "Plague Time" by Paul Ewald and hundreds of papers that explain that IgG is CHRONIC and potentially historic.
HOW DO YOU TELL ONE FROM THE OTHER?
READ THE DAMN LABS - PARTICULARLY THE WBC COUNTS WITH DIFFERENTIAL.
The functional doctor has this person on a strong med for depression but refuses to acknowledge the underlying process.
Quote from client: I've taken Amitriptyline for 20 years.
Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant with sedative effects. Amitriptyline affects certain chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) communicating between brain cells and help regulate mood.
Recall the client's desire:
Client reports: want to feel good for my age constantly. My main issue is insomnia, and I have been in withdrawal for years with extreme fatigue and anxiety.
Does the drug accomplish the goal?
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FAIL!
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