Science says eating just one meal per day can improve your health. Learn more at https://highintensityhealth.com/OMAD ----- Episode #54: Casey Kelley, MD- Treatments for Lyme, Co-Infections, Biofilms and Candida ➢ Connect w/ Dr. Kelly: http://wholehealthchicago.com/about/casey-kelley ➢ Whole Health Chicago: http://wholehealthchicago.com ➢ Read the Interview Transcript: http://highintensityHealth.com/drkelley ➢ Listen to the Audio in iTunes: http://highintensityhealth.com/itunes -----------------------------------------Lets Connect-------------------------------------- ➢ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MikeMutzelMS ➢ Listen to the Audio in iTunes: http://highintensityhealth.com/itunes ➢ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/metabolic_mike --------------------------------------Key Takeaways---------------------------------- Dr. Casey Kelley: Yeah, coinfections—you know, I always tell people, “Lyme is lonely. It always brings its friends to the party.” So usually, someone has at least one, if not two, bugs hanging out. In this area in the Midwest, we typically have Anaplasma and Ehrlichia, Bartonella, Babesia. Those are the most common coinfections. But mycoplasma pneumoniae is another one that I see a lot. You can have lots of different viruses that come along. Chlamydia pneumoniae—it can also interact with candida; it’s not necessary that candida comes with it, but because of everything that’s going on, someone can have a candida overgrowth issue because of all of this. And all of these bugs cause different symptoms in it of themselves, but they’re similar to Lyme and they’re similar in the fact that they cause a multitude of different symptoms, and they can all just kind of smolder under the radar for years and cause these issues. The labs are great for it. So as the diagnostician, you have to kind of really look into that history and ask the questions and see what the symptoms are, and then try to fit it with the bugs that may be there. Testing: The Western Blot is looking at the immune system’s response to different proteins on the bug—but you have to use the right lab. These regular conventional labs only look at the one strain and they leave out about five different markers for the bug, for a lots of political and vaccine issues and other things. I would still do that sometimes because of money issues, and sometimes that’s all it takes because if they’re enough positive on that, then it’s a positive. But the better labs are the Lyme-specific labs, like IGeneX, that do two strains, and then they look at all of the strains for the bug, but that’s out-of-pocket. There’s a little bit of money issues there, but that’s the best test that we have right now in the States. But you have to look at it, you have to know how to read it, you have to kind of look at it objectively in the whole picture because the CDC has very strict positive results for that; ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Disease Society) has different positive results for that. So generally speaking, I’ll start with one of those. If I could do the IGeneX one, then that’s where I prefer to start because that’s the better lab. A Helpful Test: One of them is called the “CD57.” That’s a natural killer cell; it’s kind of a white blood cell. And generally, in chronic Lyme issues, it’s going to be suppressed; it’s going to be really low. And there’s another lab. It’s actually a comparison between two. These are complement levels—C3-A and C4-A. And generally, in chronic Lyme, you’re going to see a high C4-A and a low or normal C3-A. High C4, low C3. And so, if I’m suspicious of Lyme and their Western Blot’s negative but their immune markers are saying there’s something going on, then we might try and treat them. I’ll have the conversation with the patient, “Look, I think this maybe what’s going on. Nothing you’ve tried so far has helped. Do you want to try this route and see if we can get you better this way? We don’t have to do antibiotics, we can do some herbs, we can try some other treatments, then you can repeat that test later.” Usually, if they’re negative because their immune system’s so run down, once you start treating them and things start to replenish and rebuild, then you can retest it; it actually comes back positive. So for example, like cat’s claw, actually supports CD57. So if they have a low CD57, the cat’s claw can help build that up; it’s also anti-Lyme. So you can certainly herbs in that sense, too, just to kind of, “Let’s try and kill the bugs and increase your immune system at the same time. See if we can get a response from that.” And I’m lucky enough to work here at WholeHealth Chicago an herbalist, Seanna Tully. So I get to learn a lot from her and talk to her, and there are different protocols, and different herbalists out there have a lot of different protocols out there in combination—different herbs that you can use. Drops, pills, the works.