Lyme Brain: The Impact of Lyme Disease on Your Brain, and How to Reclaim Your Smarts!

203 Pages·2016·2.02 MB·English

by  Nicola McFadzean DuCharme

ALSO BY
NICOLA McFADZEAN DUCHARME,
ND
The Lyme Diet: Nutritional Strategies for Healing
from Lyme Disease
The Beginner’s Guide to Lyme Disease:
Diagnosis and Treatment Made Simple
Lyme Disease in Australia:
Fundamentals of an Emerging Epidemic
Purchase these and other Lyme disease books
by visiting www.LymeBook.com
LYME BRAIN
The impact of Lyme disease
on your brain and how
to reclaim your smarts!
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to every person
who is suffering from Lyme disease –
may you find healing and recovery,
and may you ‘get your brain back.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank my publisher Bryan Rosner for his ongoing support, his
wise counsel, and the spirit of true partnership that he brings to our
collaborations. Thank you also to my friend and editor Kim Junker – this is
our fourth book together, and I feel like we’re definitely on a roll!
I so appreciate the valuable time that was given by Bob Bransfield M.D.,
Leo Shea Ph.D., Sandy Berenbaum L.C.S.W., Scott Forsgren and Connie
Strasheim – being able to share your words of wisdom was a great addition
and will provide great information for our readers, so I am grateful for them
giving their precious time to provide that. Thank you also Dr. Bransfield for
writing the foreword – you have so much expertise in this area and it was
so special to have your contribution. Steve Harris M.D., you mentored me
during my early days of treating Lyme disease, and your support and
endorsement mean a lot to me.
Thank you also to Michael and Dee Anne Canepa for having a last-minute
read and putting their editing minds to work.
Thank you to my office staff, Brenda and Carmen, for taking so much off
my shoulders so that I could carve out the time to write, and to Emily
Poccia, N.D. for being willing to jump on a very steep learning curve to be
able to care for many of our patients.
Finally, thank you to my ever-supportive husband Dave and my beautiful
daughter Valentina. My family means everything to me and I couldn’t do
what I do without them providing a supportive and loving home base, and
a strong foundation for me.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD by Robert C. Bransfield, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A..
INTRODUCTION
ASSUMPTIONS OF THIS BOOK
SECTION 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF LYME BRAIN
Chapter 1 The Scope of the Problem
Chapter 2 Depression and Anxiety: The Chicken or the Egg?
Chapter 3 What Actually Causes Lyme Brain?
Direct Damage to Nerve Cells
The Inflammatory Response
Neurotoxins
Neurotransmitter Imbalance
Chapter 4 Co-Infections and the Brain
Chapter 5 Is Damage Temporary or Permanent?
Chapter 6 Assessing the Problem: Tests and Studies
SECTION 2: PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACHES TO LYME BRAIN
Chapter 7 Introduction
Chapter 8 Antibiotic Therapy
What Is the Blood-Brain Barrier?
What Determines Which Antibiotics Cross The Blood-Brain Barrier?
A Review of the Antibiotics Used in Lyme Treatment
Antibiotics That Cross the Blood-Brain Barrier
Medications That Are Not So Great for Lyme Brain
Antibiotics Used for the Co-Infections of Lyme Disease
Chapter 9 Medications That Reduce Inflammation
Chapter 10 Medications That Influence Brain Function
Medications That Stabilize Neurological Function
Medications That Balance Mood
Medications That Support Cognition
SECTION 3: NATURAL APPROACHES TO LYME BRAIN
Chapter 11 Introduction
Chapter 12 Antimicrobials
Chapter 13 Anti-Inflammatories
Chapter 14 Detoxification Support
Chapter 15 Neurotransmitter Support
Chapter 16 Cognitive Supports/Neuroprotectives/Antioxidants
Chapter 17 Essential Oils and Brain Health
SECTION 4: NUTRITION AND LYME BRAIN
Chapter 18 Introduction
Chapter 19 Leaky Gut/Leaky Brain
Nutrition Tip #1: Avoid Grains, Especially Gluten
Nutrition Tip #2: Avoid Food Intolerances
Nutrition Tip #3: Avoid Dairy
Nutrition Tip #4: Eat Fermented Foods (and, of Course, Take
Probiotics)
Nutrition Tip #5: Avoid Sugar
Nutrition Tip #6: Avoid Excitotoxins MSG and Aspartame
Nutrition Tip #7: Avoid Unhealthy Fats, Eat Healthy Fats
Nutrition Tip #8: Eat High Quality, Lean Proteins
Nutrition Tip #9: Drink Water, Water and More Water
Nutrition Tip #10: Avoid Drinking Caffeine and Alcohol
SECTION 5: LIFESTYLE FACTORS
Chapter 20 Sleep
Chapter 21 Exercise
Chapter 22 Exercising the Brain
Chapter 23 Thought Life
Chapter 24 Addressing Psychoemotional Issues and Trauma
Counseling/Talk Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Energy Psychology
Chapter 25 Lyme Disease and PTSD: Is There an Association?
SECTION 6: THERAPIES TO HELP LYME BRAIN
Chapter 26 Neurofeedback
Chapter 27 Home-Based Brainwave Entrainment
Chapter 28 Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
SECTION 7: OTHER BARRIERS TO RECOVERY FROM LYME BRAIN
Chapter 29 Introduction
Chapter 30 Heavy Metals
Chapter 31 Methylation Defects
Chapter 32 Adrenal Health
Chapter 33 Thyroid Health
Chapter 34 Mold Toxicity
Chapter 35 A Toxic Environment
SECTION 8: PEDIATRIC CONSIDERATIONS
Chapter 36 Lyme Brain in Children
Chapter 37 Autism and Lyme Disease
Chapter 38 Mental Illness and Lyme Disease
SECTION 9 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Chapter 39 Products and Protocols
Antimicrobials
Detoxification Helpers
Anti-Inflammatories
Brain/Cognition Support
Neurotransmitter Support
Dosing Summary
SECTION 10 INTERVIEWS
Chapter 40 Introduction
Chapter 41 Scott Forsgren
Chapter 42 Connie Strasheim
Chapter 43 Sandy Berenbaum, L.C.S.W
Chapter 44 Robert Bransfield, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A
Chapter 45 Leo Shea, Ph.D
CONCLUSION
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Berenbaum Lyme Disease Screening Protocol
Appendix B: Bransfield Assessment Table
READING AND RESOURCE LIST
WORKS CITED
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FOREWORD
by Robert C. Bransfield, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A.
Lyme Brain: The impact of Lyme disease
on your brain and how to reclaim your smarts!
I
would like to thank Nicola McFadzean Ducharme, N.D. for taking on
the effort to write Lyme Brain: The impact of Lyme disease on your brain
and how to reclaim your smarts! More attention is needed on the mental
symptoms associated with Lyme/tick-borne disease, and books addressing
the mental symptoms are very much needed. Patients and family members
need to be better informed on this subject.
Treating the mental symptoms seen with Lyme and associated diseases is
both frustrating and rewarding. It is frustrating due to the complexity of
these conditions and the obstacles that exist in the healthcare system, but it
is also very rewarding when we can help patients navigate through
multiple obstacles and improve from chronic debilitating symptoms. We
were educated with very basic disease models that are insufficient when
dealing with more complex diseases with multiple contributors, multiple
pathophysiological processes and multiple symptom presentations.
Multiple scientific disciplines need to be integrated to understand and
effectively treat these conditions.
Microbes in our external and internal environment have a significant effect
upon our health, and infections can have a significant impact upon our
mental health even when they do not penetrate into the central nervous
system. Psychiatric illness is always caused by something, and these causes
need to be better understood. There are many who instead see psychiatric
symptoms as a diagnosis by default when they cannot explain the cause of
a symptom. Invariably, clinicians who follow this belief system lack
sufficient training in tick-borne diseases, psychodynamics and
neurophysiology, which explains an inability to understand the
pathophysiology of mental symptoms. Our mental adaptive capabilities