Rising Above Lyme Disease: A Revolutionary, Holistic Approach to Managing and Reversing the Symptoms of Lyme Disease And Reclaiming Your Life

259 Pages·2019·4.48 MB·English

by  Julia Greenspan

RISING
ABOVE
LYME
DISEASE
A REVOLUTIONARY, HOLISTIC APPROACH
TO MANAGING AND REVERSING
THE SYMPTOMS OF LYME DISEASE—
AND RECLAIMING YOUR LIFE
JULIA GREENSPAN, N.D.
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© 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2019 Julia Greenspan, N.D.
First Published in 2019 by Fair Winds Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group,
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23 22 21 20 19 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 978-1-59233-777-4
Digital edition published in 2019
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
Cover and Page Design: Kelley Galbreath
Page Layout: tabula rasa graphic design
Printed in China
The information in this book is for educational purposes only. It is not
intended to replace the advice of a physician or medical practitioner. Please see
your health-care provider before beginning any new health program.
Dedicated to my mother,
Janet Geil (1948 –1982),
and to my children,
Sydney and Samuel—I love you!
CO N T E N T S
Introduction 6
PART 1 PART 2
Demystifying Finding Relief
Tick-Borne
CHAPTER 5
Disease
Stepping into
Your Power:
CHAPTER 1 Self-Advocacy
The Tick: Nature’s and Treatment 97
Dirty Needle 11
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 2 Setting the Stage
Diving Deeper for Treatment
into Chronic Success 115
Lyme Disease 28
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 3 The Foundational
More than Just Lyme Naturopathic
Disease: The Role of Treatment Plan 125
Coinfections 54
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 4 The Foundation
Finding the Most Is Strong—Now
Accurate Testing 76 Support the
Infrastructure 151
CHAPTER 9
Building Your
Future Body:
Physical Medicine 164
PART 3
When Lyme Reference Charts 222
Persists:
References 233
It’s Time to
Acknowledgments 246
Dig Deep
About the Author 247
CHAPTER 10 Index 248
The New Normal:
Living with Chronic
Lyme Disease 179
CHAPTER 11
Energy Medicine:
Nurturing Our
Future Selves 206
INTRODUCTION
C
hronic Lyme disease and associated coinfections are creating a
chronic disease juggernaut that is moving through both the human
body and our health care system, diminishing quality of life and
productivity while increasing medical costs.
The biggest risk factor associated with Lyme disease is the denial of treatment
rather than the disease itself. More than just a physical experience, Lyme disease
requires a level of medical savvy patients don’t even know they need until they try
to find treatment for a chronic condition that many believe doesn’t exist. Finding
appropriate, compassionate care is a game with a unique set of rules for navigating
the medical system and insurance coverage. But the stakes are high: Unresolved
tick-borne disease opens the door to a range of chronic health conditions that
are seemingly unrelated, including cardiovascular effects, hormone imbalance,
neurological diseases, autoimmune diseases, and premature aging.
How do we rise above Lyme disease? We become educated about what to
expect in the course of diagnosis and treatment, and we learn how to advocate
for ourselves. My motivation in writing this book is to offer a framework for
understanding the diseases ticks carry, related conditions that make recovery
more difficult, the sociological impact of tick-borne disease, the trauma
of trying to find help, and the range of complementary treatment options.
6 RISING ABOVE LYME DISEASE
Rising Above Lyme Disease is a guide for patients, family members, support
groups, and others, serving as a reference for treatment options, symptoms,
and approaches to preventing long-term complications.
When I first considered writing the book, I pictured a chronic Lyme
disease patient at home in the middle of the night, overwhelmed with fear
from symptoms so intense he feels a loss of hope leading to suicidal thoughts.
This scenario happens more often than most will admit. As much press as the
disease gets, people with the infection still feel that they are living in the
shadows, shamed for not getting well fast enough or accused of attention-
seeking behavior. The more we understand the barriers a Lyme patient is up
against, the more compassion we as a society will be able to give, and the more
we will understand that it takes time to heal.
Tick-borne infections require patients to dig deep and learn the self-care,
self-advocacy, and inner strength they will need to endure the long marathon
of recovery. If they lack self-love, have experienced trauma, or have a habit of
placing their needs lowest on the totem pole, they will find that these patterns
hamper recovery. Life stressors, mental or emotional imbalances, and negative
outlooks can be magnified during the treatment process. Neuroinflammation
created by the presence of spirochetes in the brain intensifies old emotional
wounds, fears, and traumas, which can dramatically slow the healing process.
This is why it’s so important to discuss psychospiritual aspects of the recovery
process, delving into energy medicine and tapping into the innate quantum
healing capabilities of the mind and body to enhance personal power, rebuild
the body, and experience a deeper level of self-awareness. The healing power
of the mind is substantiated by science daily, and it is a power we all have
access to. Integrating conventional medical methods with alternative and
energetic healing makes recovery more efficient. I have spent more than a
decade weaving together multiple modalities to support patients through their
journey to heal from tick-borne disease.
I am what is considered a Lyme-literate doctor with an integrative medical
practice. My bachelor’s degree is in psychology, and I thought I would
eventually earn my doctorate in that field. Before I entered medical school,
I worked as a case manager with at-risk populations in domestic violence
shelters, in suicide crisis management, and in rape victim assistance. The
skills I learned in my early twenties have served me well in my work with
patients in crisis with tick-borne infections. Eventually, my heart felt a pull
toward naturopathic medicine, and I happened to live minutes away from one
of the oldest naturopathic medical schools in the country, the National
University of Natural Medicine. Part of the fiftieth graduating class, I com-
pleted my doctorate in 2006 after four years of medical school, with a focus on
general family practice and environmental medicine.
7
I had always been drawn to mind-body medicine—even in my undergraduate
years—and recognized my own intuitive sensitivities in non-ordinary reality
since childhood. Many people with energetic sensitivities tend to keep them
quiet or dismiss them as fictional, but we all have the capacity to access our
energy in a more intuitive way. We all have the capability to explain that
energy away as well. To be authentic in the way I practice complementary
medicine, I discuss energy healing as a way of bringing it out of the shadows.
Naturopathic medicine provides a beautiful flexibility to blend science and
spirit. It’s an open playground for exploring all the holistic facets of medicine
with a foundation of science for diagnosis and treatment. And it embraces all
aspects of the human experience and honors the patient’s individual journey.
The tenets of naturopathic medicine serve as my compass daily as I work
with patients of all ages and from all walks of life. These tenets are:
• First, do no harm. This principle is about using the least invasive
measures to improve a person’s quality of life, working with utmost
safety and integrity. Unfortunately, with Lyme disease, discomfort
is often part of the healing process, but the goal is to support this
process with natural medicine and lifestyle choices that minimize
suffering.
• Identify and treat the cause. If the cause of an illness is not
addressed, it will be difficult to resolve the symptoms.
• Access the healing power of nature. Natural medicine is not just
about using herbs, nutrition, and homeopathy; it’s about tapping
into the innate intelligence of the body to heal when obstacles are
removed.
• View the doctor as teacher. My role as a doctor is to empower,
support, coach, and reflect compassion. Each patient is her own
doctor on a daily basis, making choices for self-care. I’m the person
who provides available options and gives guidance for making
necessary life changes to create optimal health.
• Treat the whole person. Naturopathic doctors are trained to see
the human body as a cooperative system instead of in parts. A
doctor serves patients best when she addresses the physical,
mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and spiritual
aspects of their lives. Treating the whole person is about listening
to the complete story and understanding how to help the parts that
are out of balance.
• Support prevention. Our job as doctors is to work ourselves out of
a job by helping patients recover and avoid disease states. Preven-
tion is the deferment of disease throughout the course of a lifetime.
8 RISING ABOVE LYME DISEASE