Lyme & Infectious Diseases
Lyme disease can be a devastating illness with significant impact on quality of life. It can cause problems in nearly every system in the body, including the brain and nerves. One of the biggest challenges with Lyme disease is the diagnosis. Even though we know much more about Lyme than we did 30 years ago, the CDC criteria for diagnosis hasn’t changed since the early 1990s.
A major contributor to the difficulty of diagnosis is the lack of adequate, consistent testing. Lyme disease is caused by tickborne bacteria, but there are many different species of the bacteria. Unfortunately, detecting the bacteria in the blood is challenging for many reasons (i.e. outdated technology, cost, complexity, human error). Even with advanced technology it is a complicated clinical diagnosis that must take into account a patient’s symptoms, medical history, and bloodwork. There are many different types of tests to choose from, some with greater accuracy and availability than others. Often one type of test will require an additional different test for confirmation, adding to the cost and difficulty of a correct diagnosis. Current research reveals that the standard two-tiered testing recommended by the CDC can lead to false positive or negative results and can miss up to 60% of Lyme disease cases.Â
Lyme diseases can mimic a multitude of other diseases, leading to delayed diagnosis, but it can also occur simultaneously with other chronic debilitating viral illnesses such as Epstein Barr. There is a wide array of co-infections that are often present with Lyme disease. This makes it very difficult to know which virus or bacteria to address first. Standard treatments for tickborne diseases typically involve prolonged courses of antibiotics, causing patients to become at risk for problems with the gut microbiome or increased susceptibility to chronic inflammatory conditions. Tickborne diseases have more than doubled in the past 13 years, and Lyme disease accounts for 82% of all cases.
Common Symptoms of Lyme Disease include the following:
Fever
Chills
Headache
Bell’s palsy
Neck stiffness
Fatigue
Chronic muscle & joints aches and pains
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, chronic abdominal pain
Brain fog or changes in cognitive status
Anxiety & depression
Appetite loss
Weight loss
Anemia
Enlarged, tender lymph nodes
Rash
Shortness or breath
Dizziness
Weakness or numbness in limbs
Because of the complex and debilitating nature of Lyme disease, it is important to utilize testing that will facilitate as early and accurate a diagnosis as possible. The Tickborne 2.0 test offers the most cutting-edge technology available for detecting even small amounts of Lyme infection in the blood and is currently the most comprehensive test available. Furthermore, because its methodology relies heavily on immunochip technology, the laboratory component of human error is decreased, making the test the most accurate and cost-effective of any on the market.
Lyme disease is caused by tick-borne bacteria, but there are many different species of those bacteria. Unfortunately, detecting the bacteria in the blood is challenging for many reasons (i.e. outdated technology, cost, complexity, human error). Furthermore, people infected with Lyme are also frequently infected with other chronic viruses, making it difficult to figure out what to treat first.Â
The Tickborne 2.0 panel ($1400) is the most comprehensive test available, detecting 40 different strains of Borrelia burgdorferi (20 more Lyme markers than most competitors, with 100% sensitivity and 95.2% specificity), 23 opportunistic infections (i.e. Epstein Barr, Cytomegalovirus, West Nile, Herpesvirus), and 25 co-infections (i.e. Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma).Â
For a complete list of pathogens detected with Tickborne 2.0 click here.Â
For a sample report of the Tickborne 2.0 click here.Â
For additional information on Tickborne 2.0 click here