07/15/2026
My Story with Lyme and Co-Infections
Disclaimer: The following account describes my personal experience and is shared strictly for educational and informational purposes. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition or treatment plan.
It was the end of June 2022 in Richfield, Wisconsin. I woke up in the early morning to go to the bathroom, and I noticed an itchy bump on my inner thigh near my groin. It felt like a cyst or a pimple. I turned on the light and, with sleepy eyes, saw a red bump. I squeezed it; nothing really came out, but it looked red. I thought nothing of it and went back to bed.
About two days later at work, I was very tired—exhausted, really. I was freezing and had my sweater on. I recall going outside at lunch to sit at a picnic table, laying my head down on my crossed arms, and falling into a deep sleep. I don’t know how long I was out. I finally woke up when I heard someone come out the clinic door, got up, and went back to seeing patients. Thankfully, it was Friday and I had the weekend off.
When I got home, I had no appetite, a low-grade headache, and a rising fever. I just rested that night. On Saturday, I was tired and felt like I was coming down with something, but I felt confident it wasn’t COVID. As the day progressed, my fever spiked all the way up to 104°F! I let my body do its thing, as fevers are meant to kill infections. I rested, pushed fluids, and managed without an appetite.
By Sunday, I was still running a high fever between 104°F and 105°F. That is when I noticed swollen lymph nodes in my right groin. The "pimple" was more prominent, and though there was some redness, there was no pustule. That’s when it clicked: it was likely a tick bite.
(For background: I live on a 14-acre farm where we have open spaces bordered by woods. We see many deer raising their fawns, alongside chipmunks, moles, mice, raccoons, and woodchucks.)
I took a Tylenol or ibuprofen—whichever I had on hand—just to take the edge off the headache. I then went to urgent care and contacted a colleague of mine. She had recently left the larger medical organization I used to work for to start her own independent practice, where she offered 10-pass ozone therapy.
In urgent care, they ran a CBC, CMP, and a G6PD test (which was thankfully done, as it's required for ozone therapy). The doctor there was familiar with Lyme, and I told her that is exactly what I suspected. I am incredibly grateful she gave me a 21-day prescription of Doxycycline (100 mg BID).
When my labs came back, they showed a marked elevation of my liver enzymes and an elevated white blood cell count. Even though I was taking the Doxycycline, I am so grateful to my colleague who was able to immediately provide 10-pass ozone followed by a Glutathione push. I was so unwell that I couldn't really function; my husband had to drive me to the clinic. I hydrated and rested. After that first treatment, I could literally feel my fever coming down. It stayed around 101°F to 103°F for the next 36 hours.
I did a second round of ozone two days later, and again, my husband had to drive me. I tolerated the treatments well, and my fever continued to drop. By the end of the week, I was feeling about 75% back to my baseline. I did a third round of ozone to "seal the deal" and ensure those bugs were cleared. I am so grateful to my colleague who was able to provide me with what was truly lifesaving treatment.
After six weeks, I had my labs rechecked. The results showed antibodies to four distinct tick-borne infections: Borrelia (Lyme), Rickettsia (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma.
I continue to prioritize self-care and live a healthful life. Thus far, I am well. Of course, that does not mean I couldn’t get re-infected or experience a reactivation of a dormant infection in the future. I believe this experience was a message from God, directing me to learn more and help others navigating Lyme and tick-borne diseases. I am profoundly grateful for my recovery.
A Call for Clinical Autonomy and Patient Advocacy
I will say, it is a shame that doctors are threatened and afraid to treat tick-borne infections due to pressure from entities not involved in direct patient care. This is not only an underserved patient population, but many of my own patients have been dismissed and gaslit by infectious disease specialists. If patients were able to press charges against the doctors who missed or undertreated their infections, perhaps fewer physicians providing actual care would have to practice defensive medicine. It is not uncommon to see sham peer reviews and threats from medical boards if you practice outside their strict guidelines.
The multidisciplinary panel representing the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) released updated guidelines in 2020 on treating Lyme disease and co-infections. These guidelines were based on small sample sizes, and their own disclaimer stated that they are just guidelines—reaffirming that the doctor has the responsibility and right to use their clinical judgment, in collaboration with the patient, to decide on the best course of action.
Unfortunately, many medical establishments, affiliations, and boards treat these guidelines as absolute law, completely excluding the doctor-patient relationship and clinical judgment.
Below, I have linked to the IDSA guidelines, the ILADS guidelines, and a comprehensive review pointing out the errors and omissions in the IDSA guidelines.
Resources & Guidelines
ILADS Treatment Guidelines
ILADS Statement on Guidelines
IDSA Lyme Disease Guidelines
Peer-Reviewed Review: Errors and Omissions in IDSA Guidelines
Peer-Reviewed Evidence of Lyme Borreliosis/Tick-Borne Disease Associated with Psychiatric Impairments
The following is a list of peer-reviewed articles supporting the evidence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases associated with neuropsychiatric illness. It is organized into two categories: neuropsychiatric symptoms and dementia.
Updated by Robert C. Bransfield, MD, DLFAPA, DILADS
