Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease is most often transmitted by black-legged tick bites and in recent studies has also been found in mosquitos.

Black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are most prevalent in the Northeast United States but have been found in all 50 states and Canada. These ticks live in wooded and grassy areas. Cases of Lyme disease are on the rise in recent years showing reported cases nearly doubling since 2014. The CDC estimates cases in the United States at more than 300,000 people infected annually while acknowledging that Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, is a corkscrew or helix-shaped organism called a spirochete. These spirochetes are known for being serious pathogens with Lyme disease’s cellular make-up being close to that of syphilis. Borrelia burgdorferi can attack any organ in the body, including the central nervous system, the brain, the muscles, joints, the heart, and more. Lyme Disease is known as the “great imitator” as Lyme disease symptoms have a widespread list of symptoms that mimic many other diseases causing it to be misdiagnosed for fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and various psychiatric illnesses such as depression.

Dr. Sponaugle designs an individual Lyme disease treatment plan for every patient suffering from Lyme disease. The standard medical treatment of Antibiotics for Lyme Disease is highly effective when the disease is diagnosed and caught early. Dr. Sponaugle specializes in treating Chronic Lyme disease in which standard medical Lyme disease treatment has failed. No two Chronic Lyme patients suffer from the same extent of Lyme-induced brain damage or neurological impairment.

Chronic Lyme Disease is an immune-suppressing infection. Long-term immune suppression from Chronic Lyme Disease opens that gateway for multiple co-infections of every type of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic. Lyme spirochetes, Bartonella, and the mosquito parasite, Protomyxzoa Rheumatica, will wrap themselves in biofilm if they are not immediately destroyed upon entry into our bloodstream. Biofilm is a protective shield manufactured by invading organisms to escape attacks from our antibodies, natural killer cells, and antibiotics.

Effective Chronic Lyme Disease Treatment requires a deep understanding of the Lyme Spirochete and tickborne infections like Bartonella and Babesia infections that live inside the cells of every organ in the body. Causing chronic illness and chronic Lyme disease symptoms throughout the entire body. Treatment for chronic Lyme disease requires much more than knowledge of microorganisms, antibiotics, and the immune system. Effective Chronic Lyme disease treatment requires additional expertise in the brain, and functions of multiple body systems including the endocrine system, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular system.

During your initial treatment, we perform a comprehensive evaluation to determine how well your brain and various body systems are functioning and specialized DNA testing to determine genetic antibody deficiencies that predispose you to a compromised immune system. This extensive consultation evaluates your immune system and neurological system, including an extensive analysis of brain chemistry and brain function, your gastrointestinal system and endocrine system, the entire hypothalamic system and your pituitary adrenal (a gonadal axis with emphasis on pituitary [brain] hormones and specific hormones that are required for activation of the immune system). Immune function or “kill power is dependent on every organ in your body, therefore we analyze over 500 numerical biomarkers from various body systems.

From this analysis Dr. Sponaugle determines the complete causation of sickness, to better prioritize and design your individual treatment. Our testing will reveal if you have any additional stealth infections such as Babesiosis, Bartonellosis, or Protomyxzoa Rhuematica that are also destroying your mental and physical health. Our late-stage Lyme Disease treatment is designed so you will receive the benefit of being treated for Lyme, while at the same time receiving a whole-body wellness protocol.

Wellness treatment is centered around clearing toxins, optimizing your endocrine system, gastrointestinal system, and cardiovascular system resulting in optimized immune function. Hormonal deficiencies will be corrected to enhance neurotransmitter receptivity and subsequently the brain’s ability to “turn on” the immune system. Special emphasis is placed on pituitary brain hormones and downstream hormones that German research has proven are responsible for activating specific cytokines, cytokines are chemical messengers that activate your natural killer cells and regulate your overall “kill  power.”