Looking at Lyme

Dr. Rebecca Trout Fryxell is a medical and veterinary entomologist, researcher and associate professor at the University of Tennessee and joins us from Knoxville, Tennessee. In this podcast, Dr. Trout Fryxell talks about tick biology, tick populations in the southeastern US, and strategies to keep ticks away from people in our backyards and school yards. 

Dr. Trout Fryxell became interested in Veterinary entomology when she learned that even a very small organism, such as a caterpillar, could have a very big impact on something many times its size such as a horse. That sparked her interest to study vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks and flies with the aim of helping to reduce the harm they can cause. She explains that a vector is an arthropod that acts as a bridge for a pathogen to move from point A to point B.

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Dr. Neil Nathan is a physician and author, and has practiced medicine for over 50 years in the areas of family medicine and pain management. In part 2 of our podcast with Dr. Nathan, he talks about Bartonella, helpful strategies for treating tick-borne illnesses, resources for a deeper dive into the diagnosis and treatment mold, Lyme disease and multiple chemical sensitivities. We’ll also get a sneak peak into his new book that addresses causes and solutions for the growing problem of increased sensitivity.

Dr. Nathan explains that, although Bartonella is often overlooked, it is the nastiest and hardest tick-borne infection to treat. Because it is the “third in line” of the three most common infections, it often doesn’t receive as much attention as Lyme and Babesia. Dr. Nathan points out that Bartonella is as common as Borellia in ticks from his region, northern California. Some of the common symptoms of Bartonella are pain on the bottom of the feet, vibrational perceptions or tremors, and intense anxiety, depression or a feeling of hopelessness. Beyond the symptoms themselves, Dr. Nathan notes that the increased intensity of a patient’s experience is often an indicator of a Bartonella infection.

• Read the full show notes for this episode, part 2
• Listen to part 1: 49. Mold, Lyme and Bartonella with Dr. Neil Nathan

Dr. Neil Nathan is a physician and author, and is a Founding Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine, and the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness (ISEAI). He has practiced medicine for over 50 years including 30 years treating patients with chronic complex illnesses, and 20 years treating patients with Lyme disease. He has written several several books about chronic illness, mold toxicity and other environmental illnesses, Lyme and energetic diagnosis. He joins us from Northern California to explore the foundations of mold toxicity, Lyme disease and other infections, and the impact they have on our cells and our nervous system. This episode is part one of a two part interview. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Nathan has observed that certain illnesses don’t fit neatly into medical models. While working at a pain management center in the 1980’s, Dr. Nathan and his colleagues saw many patients with what was once called fibrositis, and is now known as Fibromyalgia. Because diseases such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia were poorly understood, many of these patients were referred to psychiatrists, and given medications that didn’t work. 

With better understanding of the biochemistry of Fibromyalgia and CFS, better treatments were discovered. Over time, though, those treatments became less effective, leading doctors to explore other contributing factors such as Lyme disease. Many patients who weren’t responding to treatments for Lyme disease were also found to have mold toxicity. With the increase in patients presenting with these problems, Dr. Nathan decided to take matters into his own hands and learn all he could about Lyme disease and later, mold toxicity.

• Full show notes
• Dr. Neil Nathan, MD
• Naviaux Lab
• DNRS
• Books by Dr. Nathan

In this episode from Season 3, Sarah explores how the brain functions with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Dr. Jill was working as a neuroanatomist, teaching and conducting research at the Harvard School of Medicine when she experienced a severe hemorrhagic stroke. After recovering from that stroke, Dr. Jill wrote about her experience and has travelled the world giving inspirational talks, including one of the first TED talks to go viral! She describes that fascinating experience in her first book “My Stroke of Insight” and joins us today to talk about what she refers to as “Whole Brain Living”, which is also the title of her new book.

Posttraumatic growth is not only the topic of this podcast from Season 2, it is also the process that birthed the Looking at Lyme podcast. Sarah explores posttraumatic growth with Dr. Richard Tedeschi, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of North Carolina, faculty member of the Posttraumatic Research Group and distinguished chair of the Boulder Crest Institute for Posttraumatic Growth.

Dr. Tedeschi and his colleague, Dr. Lawrence Calhoun, have been working in this area since the 1980s and have developed the academic theory of posttraumatic growth. As psychologists, the pair were interested in finding out what makes people wise, and interviewed people who had experienced either physical disability or bereavement. They found that these individuals had gained wisdom and experienced positive changes in their lives in the aftermath of their traumas. A decade into this work, they coined the term posttraumatic growth to describe this process.

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Dr. Cornish is an integrative functional physician working at the Amen Clinics. She was introduced to chronic Lyme disease when working with a patient who was not cured by a short course of antibiotics. The patient, a landscaper who presented with a bullseye rash followed by ongoing Lyme symptoms, had been labeled as a “drug seeking” patient. This caused Dr. Cornish to ask the question, “Who in the world drug-seeks antibiotics?” After joining a medical practice in a Lyme endemic area, Dr. Cornish learned about the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), and eventually became a Board member.

While CT and MRI scans of the brain examine the function and anatomy, Dr. Cornish explains that a SPECT scan, a single photon emission computerized tomography scan, looks at brain activity and blood flow. She explains that areas of the brain that have less blood flow or activity appear almost like “holes” on a SPECT scan. These changes can be caused by toxins, head injury, Alzheimer’s, Lyme disease and other infections.

Although SPECT scans alone are not diagnostic of Lyme disease, scans can be used to figure out what questions to ask. Dr. Cornish looks for areas of inflammation and “scattered early activity”. Later in the disease process, the activity may be less scattered and may take on a scalloped appearance with decreased blood flow, indicating brain inflammation. The scan, along with a physical exam and detailed patient history help a physician determine differential diagnoses. Dr. Cornish notes that brain inflammation can be caused by a number of toxins such as mold, Lyme, and other tick-borne infections.

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Today we're flashing back to an interview on outdoor education. In this podcast, Sarah reaches Mike Horembala in the Foothills of Alberta. Mike, known to his students as “Mr. H’, is a Vice Principal and teacher with a passion for the outdoors. He developed a program within the Foothills School District called “Go Wild,” where students can learn about the outdoors while earning credits. Students participate in day trips and multi-day expeditions...hiking, canoeing, kayaking, backcountry skiing and snowshoeing amongst many other outdoor activities. They’ve even gone on an eco-tourism adventure to Belize! We’d have to agree with Mike when he says “pinch me” - what a great opportunity for students and educators alike!

Read the original show notes! Learn more about our Educators' Resource.

Interest in meditation has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years and is now practiced by millions of people worldwide. In this podcast, we find out how meditation can help people throughout their health challenges and beyond. Nicholas Arsenault is an outdoor educator who discovered the healing power of meditation through his own journey with Lyme disease, and is now drawing on what he has learned to help others.

Nicholas turned to meditation in order to address the mental health component of Lyme disease. He wanted to be able to direct his own healing process, become grounded and shut out the noise associated with Lyme disease. His meditation practice began when he met Jeff Warren, a meditation teacher from Toronto, Canada. After guiding meditation for several years, Nicholas enrolled in meditation teacher training with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield with the intention of better navigating his own life and eventually helping others.

• Read the show notes!
• Meditation video

When we sense danger, our limbic system causes us to react in order to stay safe. This system can become impaired, causing a reaction even when we are no longer in danger. In this podcast, Annie Hopper explains limbic system impairment and shows us that the limbic system can be retrained, moving us into a state of rest and repair.

Annie Hopper is a limbic system rehabilitation specialist and founder of the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS). She is also author of the book Wired for Healing: Remapping the Brain to Recover from Chronic and Mysterious Illnesses.

• Read the full show notes
• The Brain That Changes Itself, Dr. Norman Doige
• Limbic system impairment self-assessment survey
• Living DNRS program
• Lyme related success stories
• Learn more about the Dynamic Neural Retraining System

Summer camps are in full swing and fall education programs are on their way! CanLyme’s Educator’s Resource is the perfect companion for all educators, including parents, who want to learn how to prevent Lyme disease and keep children (and themselves!) safe in the outdoors.

The Educator’s Resource is free to download on the Looking at Lyme website, and is full of activities and projects to help kids learn about ticks, and how to prevent and recognize Lyme disease. It’s all about learning, having fun and staying safe in the outdoors!

Also check out these Looking at Lyme podcasts, where experts in outdoor education and risk management share their tips on how to prevent and manage tick bites in outdoor education programs and in the wilderness.