diagnosis of lyme disease

Why Obsession with Getting an Official Diagnosis of Lyme Disease from a Blood Test May be Your Road to Ruin 

Those who have recovered from the chronic effects of tick-triggered illness while under my care, understand that conventional medical diagnosis was not what led them down the path to wellness. Diagnosis of Lyme disease in the conventional medical sense had little-to-nothing to do with restoring their health. 

Has the assignment of a name for your condition been your salvation? 

Unless you have been one of the lucky people who got immediately diagnosed with Lyme, took antibiotics, and never had a problem—I suspect it is highly unlikely. 

I consistently have new patients tell me their tragic tale of traveling from doctor-to-doctor to find one who was willing to officially diagnose Lyme disease. Fortunately for you, medical diagnosis does not enter into the equation.

The “bull’s eye” rash that I am certain very RARELY follows an infectious tick bite does provide diagnostic certainty of Lyme disease. 

It can show up between 3 and 30 days afterwards. The rash usually lasts between 3 and 5 weeks. It is certainly possible that immediate antibiotic treatment upon noticing it might prevent a lifetime of needless suffering. 

This only true if no viruses, protozoan parasites (such as Babesia), and other microbes unaffected by antibiotics are injected by the tick. Blood tests are unnecessary if you develop such a rash following a tick bite. 

Doctors are supposed to diagnose Lyme based on a combination of detailed medical history (including past knowledge of tick bites) and physical exam. According to the CDC, laboratory tests can be helpful but are not recommended when a patient has an expanding red rash following a tick bite. 

What if you have never seen a tick on your body? What if you do not have an allergic sensitivity to tick bites? Clearly, many people do not develop any sort of expanding red rash (erythema migrans)—let alone the supposedly classic bull’s eye rash. 

The same is true with mosquito bites. Not everybody suffers an itchy allergic response. A person could be infected by a mosquito bite without having any telltale sign of being bitten. There are beekeepers who are immune to the stings of their honey-making friends, while others can go into anaphylactic shock from the same! 

The opposite can be true. One can be allergic to a bug’s bite, but have strong immunity against infectious microbes transmitted by it. The bottom line is that the bull’s eye is bull! 

I see little reason to call it a classic sign of Lyme disease when so few Lyme victims I have encountered had developed one. My wife, Sheila never had one, and neither did I (yes, I have had Lyme disease, too). 

What if you have never seen a tick on your body? What if you do not have an allergic sensitivity to tick bites? Clearly, many people do not develop any sort of expanding red rash (erythema migrans)—let alone the supposedly classic bull’s eye rash. 

The same is true with mosquito bites. Not everybody suffers an itchy allergic response. A person could be infected by a mosquito bite without having any telltale sign of being bitten. There are beekeepers who are immune to the stings of their honey-making friends, while others can go into anaphylactic shock from the same! 

The opposite can be true. One can be allergic to a bug’s bite, but have strong immunity against infectious microbes transmitted by it. The bottom line is that the bull’s eye is bull! 

I see little reason to call it a classic sign of Lyme disease when so few Lyme victims I have encountered had developed one. My wife, Sheila never had one, and neither did I (yes, I have had Lyme disease, too). 

Year ago, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stated 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease were arising each year—tenfold of their previous reporting. 

My suspicion is the actual figure is many times that amount since the established blood tests miss perhaps most cases of infection. Many people have reported a downward spiral in their health following tick bites, even though blood tests results were normal.

The diagnostic criteria for medically confirming Lyme disease by means of the Western Blot blood test are very firm. The CDC requires either 5 out of 10 possible Borrelia bands in one group, or 2 out of 3 in the other to confirm a positive test. 

These bands reflect an antibody immune response to either the presence or past presence of the bacterial infection. There are several well-known laboratories that perform the tests. Many patients who have failed to get a positive test will seek confirmation by paying considerably higher fees to a West Coast lab that tests for more strains of Borrelia than others. 

Either way, it is clear that blood tests are woefully unreliable to confirm the presence of Borrelia infection. They are equally woeful for measuring progress after antibiotic treatment! 

Imagine how many people must be suffering the effects of tick-borne infection, but don't know it. As a result, it is neither tested for, nor reported statistically.

The findings of Virginia's Lyme Task Force appointed by the past Governor of Virginia stated that no blood test is capable of ruling out Lyme disease! Diagnosis of Lyme is a matter of a doctor's opinion when there has been neither a bull's eye rash, nor a positive blood test. 

Recovery achieved through applying the Bio-energetic Individual Treatment Equation© is not the result of trying to definitively diagnose and kill Borrelia. Obsession with Lyme can hold you back from recovery. 

This single bacterial species is not your arch nemesis. Your immune system is indeed capable of beating it—with the right support! The Liebell family, staff, and patients of the Liebell Clinic have had the privilege of witnessing it happening over and over for many years, ongoing.

Tick-borne microbes did not just show up recently on planet Earth, nor have they been ruining the lives of every person exposed to them. 

It is vital to ask yourself the question, “Will being formally diagnosed with Lyme disease enable me to get well?” What if I have already taken plenty of antibiotics?” Becoming qualified to be part of the statistics hardly casts off the shackles of chronic illness. 

Are we interested in proving that Lyme disease is an epidemic? Is it our mission to prove that Borrelia is the root of all evil? Or are we searching for the road to better health? 

I pity those who seek validation of their illness as their primary goal. We applaud the doctors, who declare patients to be suffering from Lyme disease (and/or the publicized co-infections). 

However, there is a dark side to this revelation. 

You are NOT your symptoms. You are NOT a statistic, nor are you Lyme disease. The sooner you understand this, the sooner you can get well. 

For many, it is not so much the actual Lyme infection, but rather the label itself that creates the stumbling block to better health. If you receive effective treatment, your body heals itself, your symptoms fade away, and you experience health and vitality once again—will you care what your condition was named? 

Will you care what anybody thinks? My advice is to free yourself from the distractions that come from the simplistic and inaccurate assumption that everything that ails you is the result of Lyme disease and the publicized co-infections. If you do not, you confine yourself to a potentially endless pursuit for the cure for it. 

Overcoming possible chronic infection from Borrelia is just one part of a much bigger equation. Do not make Lyme disease your identity! 

When we utilize a whole-body, wellness-based approach to treatment, the name of your condition or syndrome does not matter. I do not treat infectious disease, nor do I treat the Lyme disease, MS, peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, or any other diagnosis. I treat PEOPLE who suffer pain, fatigue, neurological symptoms, and other problems. 

A diagnosis may be a helpful shortcut, as we investigate for the means to get better. We want to use non-pharmaceutical approaches to support your body so your immune system functions better—so it eliminates microbial causes of whatever your condition is categorized as, and to support natural healing and halt further degeneration. 

It's simple: Give the Liebell Clinic a call at (757) 631-9799 to find out how we can support your quest to improve your health, regardless of what diagnosis you may (or may not) have been given in the past!