Lyme disease and mold toxicity can wreak havoc on the body, causing IBS-like digestive issues. Doctors often dismiss IBS complaints as stress related and don’t test for Lyme disease or mold toxicity.
As a result people suffer for years with no answers. Hopefully, this blog post can help illuminate these hidden issues for those who may have them. Or prevent health problems from starting.
I’ve had both Lyme disease and mold illness and know from personal experience how psychologically stressful it can be. I have worked with many clients who experienced gut issues after being exposed to mold and became a mold certified practitioner to help them. And Lyme/tick-born illness is something I’ve dealt with twice and addressed it in two different ways.
I am sharing my story and protocols for educational purposes only, to raise awareness, provide resources and point people in the right direction to solve stubborn gut issues. This is not medical advice.
Anxiety spikes with Lyme, mold AND gut issues, so don’t be hard on yourself for your emotional reactions. It is physically driven in most cases.
As your immune system and nervous system fight Lyme or mold, you will feel the psychological effects of the battle.
Below is my story and the protocols I used to recover.
Lyme and tick-born illness
I had Lyme disease in my early 20s. I never found the tick bite but the symptoms progressed into joint pain, fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, depression and fever like symptoms and swollen glands.
The doctor gave me a blood test and diagnosed me with Lyme disease. After that I took one one month of oral antibiotics but they seemed to do nothing.
I was put on three weeks of IV antibiotics, which gave me an intense in vitro dose of medicine straight into my blood stream.
This did work but did a number on my biome. A few years later I developed digestive issues. If you do take antibiotics, always focus on rebuilding your biome afterwards. Take saccharomyces boulardii before, during and after and get more details on how to rebuild it here. Here is the link for the full protocol on Fullscript.
The second time I dealt with tick born illness was almost 2 decades later. This time I found the tick engorged on the middle of my back.
It was COVID, I had just moved to a new country and I did not want to take antibiotics if I did not need it.
I sent the tick for analysis. There are many labs around the world who specialize in this. And while I waited for the results I did an herbal protocol that focused on building up my immune system, rather than just killed the bacteria.
The natural Lyme protocol that I used is detailed here (you will have to create a user name and password to see it) and it worked very well. It took several weeks for me to get my tick results back and I was already on the herbal protocol and feeling fine.
It showed that the tick was infected with ricketssia and anaplasma. Both of which can cause severe infections (Rocky Mountain spotted fever and anaplasmosis) and could lead to death in immunocompromised individuals.
I also took a blood test when I was three quarters done with my protocol to check on the status of infection and even though it showed a positive for both bacteria in my system, it was a weak positive, meaning that the infection had been there and was leaving my body.
How long the tick has been attached (if longer than 36 hours) and how it is removed (removing the whole tick and not leaving the head) plays a big role in how sick you may get.
I recovered beautifully. Without antibiotics and with a high dose of immune supporting herbs design by Stephen Buhner. I have read that his popular herbal approach works the best at the beginning stages of the disease, within the first two months of being bitten.
I also read that in this stage, the success rate is 75%, which is amazing. But remember to always do any protocol under the guidance of a practitioner. Since I am a practitioner I was my own guide.
In cases where the disease has progressed both antibiotics and herbs may be useful. The benefits of using no strong antibiotics or antimicrobials to fight the tick-born bacteria left my biome in tact, helping my body fight the infection in its full strength and capacity.
Where to send the tick for analysis
How long the tick was attached matters a lot. If you are in the U.S. I highly recommend sending it to the University of Connecticut as they not only identify the tick and test it for all the diseases it can carry, but also determine how long it has been latched on (engorged).
Useful things to know about Lyme disease/tick-born illness
*Lyme tests could produce false negatives if you have been infected for more than 4-6 months. The spiral-shaped bacteria can burrow into your organs and escape detection, much like another hard to find spiral-shaped bacteria that infects the stomach, called H. pylori.
*Doing an immune support protocol like the one above, could help improve symptoms. If this is the case, this could be a clue that Lyme is present.
*The best diet to support Lyme disease is an anti inflammatory diet. Much like a modified Mediterranean diet. Avoiding alcohol, sugar, processed foods and gluten. Eating as many Whole Foods as you can tolerate and lots of olive oil, fish oil, turmeric and greens can help support a healthy immune system. And don’t forget good quality animal protein.
*If you have a dog or outdoor cat, treat them with an oral medication that kill ticks, as they are a big vector for picking up spreading tick.
*And alway remember to check yourself for ticks after spending time in the woods or nature. And tumble your clothes in the dryer to kill ticks who hide in clothing.
*Working on gut health will help the body fight both mold and Lyme, as a majority of your immune system lives in the gut. And don’t forget the basically of getting enough sleep, stress relief and moving your body for immune support.
Mold toxicity
I lived in mold-ridden apartments to varying degrees for the 2 1/2 years that I lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The population there are not very mold literate and don’t recognize mold as a health threat. Everyone thought I was over reacting when I moved from an apartment with mold growing on the ceiling and in the bedroom closet.
The way people react to mold differs. And also the psychological response varies wildly. Some people are terrified. And yet others dismiss it completely.
There are two ways to test for mold in your body. There is a urine test (Great Plains and RealTime Labs) and a blood test (mymycolabs.com). The urine test will tell you if there has ever been an exposure and how much of it is being released from the body. The blood test tells you if the exposure is current and how well your body is fighting it.
Mold protocols involve supporting the liver with NAC or glutathione and using binders to escort the mold spore out of the body. You may have to address mold overgrowth in the sinus cavities and use anti-fungals, because yeast loved to grow where mold attacks.
The first rule of dealing with mold is to stop exposure. That means moving out as you remediate or finding a new place all together, that is mold free.
Then you can detox it. This is the mold protocol I used successfully.
Doing castor oil packs and infrared or regular saunas can help get the mold out of the body. And eating a diet that is low in carbs (like grains and sugar) is important. Sugars, starches and carbs can feed mold and yeast.
It is important to support the nervous system during a mold and Lyme protocol because it supports immunity. Your immune system is your best friend always, and especially in your battle again Lyme and mold.