If your symptoms have never fully added up, if you've been handed a fibromyalgia diagnosis that didn't feel complete, or if you've watched someone you love go through the medical maze with Lyme disease and come out the other side still struggling, this episode is for you.
Lyme disease is the single topic that opened the door to functional medicine for me nearly two decades ago. And it's one I keep coming back to because it remains one of the most complex, politically charged, and misunderstood conditions I encounter in practice. In this solo episode I share my most honest, grounded, and clinically informed perspective on where things stand in 2026.
What I Cover in This Episode:
Why I've always referred to Lyme disease as the great masquerader, and what that means for patients who keep being told their labs are normal.
Why standard testing in conventional medicine misses Lyme disease more often than most people realize, and why a negative result is not always a definitive answer.
My honest take on both underdiagnosis in conventional medicine and overfocus in the functional medicine world, and why I think both conversations are worth having.
Why fibromyalgia is the number one conventional diagnosis I connect to undiagnosed Lyme disease, and what patterns in your own history are worth paying attention to.
Where I stand on antimicrobial therapy, herbal approaches, and why I'm cautious about leaning too heavily on any single treatment direction.
How fear and chronic fight or flight activation show up in my Lyme disease patients and why addressing the nervous system is always part of the protocol for me.
A personal story about preparing for a family walk in a wooded area and what it reminded me about how patients with Lyme history experience everyday decisions differently.
Who This Episode Is For:
I made this episode for patients who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and never felt that diagnosis told the whole story. For anyone whose aches and pains just don't add up. For patients who have been treated for Lyme disease and made progress but still feel like there's a long way to go. And for practitioners who want a balanced, skeptic-friendly perspective on one of the most complex topics in chronic illness care.
Key Takeaways:
Lyme disease is underdiagnosed in conventional medicine due to symptom diversity and the limitations of standard testing.
A negative result on standard two-tier testing does not close the investigation.
Fibromyalgia is the number one conventional diagnosis I associate with undiagnosed Lyme disease.
Herbal antimicrobials are my preferred approach for longer term treatment, always within a broader root cause framework.
Fear and nervous system dysregulation are always part of the Lyme disease picture, and in my experience they are always worth addressing directly.
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Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. Information discussed is not intended for diagnosis, curing, or prevention of any disease and is not intended to replace advice given by a licensed healthcare practitioner. This podcast and its guests may have direct or indirect financial interests associated with products mentioned.
