New Treatment Provides Dramatic Results
by Tina J. Garcia
A woman painfully hobbles into the clinic, barely able to stand at the front desk. She scribbles her name on the sign-in sheet and makes her way to the nearest available seat. The overwhelming fatigue causes her to drop heavily into the chair. She braces her head in her hand and closes her dazed and weary eyes. The eyes that used to draw compliments for their beautiful luster and sparkling allure now reflect years of sleepless nights, episodes of wracking pain and a loss of enthusiasm for life. Makeup hardly helps, so she doesn't even bother to use it anymore. Besides, her arms are so tired and weak that it takes too much effort for her to apply the mascara. Once shiny and full of body, her hair has thinned and looks dry and brittle. She combs her hair before going to her doctor's appointments, but she doesn't have the energy to style it, as she had before becoming debilitated from Lyme disease and co-infections.
Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, invades the body in a stealthy way. As it burrows into the brain, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves, it causes more and more damage that manifests as various complaints throughout the body. At first, you may think you're just tired from doing too much or stressed out from work and family duties. It's easy to dismiss these common, everyday complaints during the first few weeks and months that you experience them. However, when you notice tingling and numbness in your arms, hands and feet, you begin to think it might be more than just a stressful job or too much to do around the house. Then when you can't sort the papers on your desk, make accounting mistakes and forget what you are doing and where you are going, you know that something else is definitely wrong. Add painful, swollen joints that hurt with every step and you're ready to seek a medical diagnosis.
This is when the Lyme Odyssey begins. To the detriment of patients and treating physicians alike, it's rare to get an immediate diagnosis of this insidious infection which robs a person of their physical and emotional well-being. It usually takes many different medical encounters before a doctor finally determines the underlying cause of these diverse symptoms - co-infections and Lyme Borreliosis Complex (LBC), which is a late-stage diseased state. By this time, the bacterial load has the upper hand and is destroying the physical body. The patient's immune system has already mounted a valiant attack, but has either been defeated or is stuck in "overdrive" by the time treatment is finally administered.
In this difficult situation, the patients and the treating physicians are behind the eight ball. Patients are desperately looking to the doctor to cure them so they can regain their pre-infection abilities and return to their previously productive lifestyle. Patients maintain a high standard for their treating physicians and hold them accountable, whether or not the treatment results in being cured.
Lyme-treating doctors are seeing an increase in patients presenting with these similar symptoms. The goal of these physicians is to restore their patients' health, which is not an easy task. In their spare time, physicians read medical literature and books and consult with colleagues in search of better ways to treat their ailing patients. They are on a continual quest to keep abreast of new developments and discoveries with regard to Borrelia, Bartonella, Erlichia, Babesia, Mycoplasma and viruses, all co-infections that may be complicating their patients' health. Treating late-stage Lyme Borreliosis Complex and the other infections that accompany it, is a learning process. Studying the diseases and gaining experience in the clinical setting provides a critical understanding of the many complexities involved in treating such a complicated mix of infections. It takes fortitude and a willingness to try different treatments on an individual basis to see which ones will be most effective.
Recent developments in research on Borrelia burgdorferi biofilms has been a catalyst for three Lyme-treating physicians in Arizona to collaborate for the benefit of their patients. Microbiologist Stephen Fry, M.D. of Fry Laboratories in Scottsdale, has contemplated the use of certain agents that destroy biofilms which surround and protect bacteria and cause remissions and relapses in chronic infections. In 2008, Dr. Fry began discussing research on this subject with Dino Prato, N.M.D., owner of Envita Natural Medical Centers of America (also in Scottsdale) and David Korn, D.O., M.D.(H), D.D.S., Medical Director at Envita and LongLife Medical, Dr. Korn's private practice in Mesa. The result of these discussions is the application of a novel treatment protocol administered by Dr. Korn, who in addition to his osteopathic license is also a homeopathic physician licensed in Arizona. The combination treatment is currently providing great improvement and relief to Lyme disease patients. Drs. Korn and Prato are grateful to and acknowledge Dr. Fry for sharing his insight and knowledge about the destruction of
biofilms.
The new treatment protocol begins with the insertion of a port-a-catheter by an interventional radiologist for administration of intravenous therapy. The therapy is given in the doctor's office once per week for nine weeks, give or take a week or two. It begins with a three-hour IV with an agent that destroys the biofilm surrounding the bacteria. This makes the previously-sequestered bacteria vulnerable to antimicrobial therapy. Immediately following the first IV, Azithromycin antibiotic is administered, also intravenously. This second IV takes approximately two hours. This is done in one day and the patient goes home. The patient returns to the office the next day and receives an IV mineral supplement, absent magnesium.
Dr. Fry explains that the reason magnesium needs to be withheld from the mineral supplement is due to the fact that magnesium aids the bacteria in the development of the biofilm. Therefore, after destroying the biofilm and the bacteria, it is not logical to provide magnesium, which will only help create more biofilm. Dr. Fry has also found that Lyme disease patients more often than not have an overabundance of magnesium. However, he recommends monitoring the patient's magnesium level during treatment.
The doctors are reporting dramatic improvement in patients, such as the woman described above who was so sick prior to treatment. After three weeks of the combination therapy, this woman bounced into the clinic with renewed enthusiasm, reclaiming herself as the vibrant person she was before becoming so ill! After only three weeks, her energy level had increased substantially, enabling her to apply her makeup and fix her hair again. As a chronic LBC patient, I can relate to the importance of regaining previous function and a return to one's previous self. I feel very comfortable after speaking with Drs. Fry and Korn and look forward to receiving this treatment protocol in the future, also.
The doctors are not claiming this treatment to be a cure for every patient, but one treatment for approximately nine weeks sure beats several weeks or months of antibiotic therapy three times a day. The staff at Envita and LongLife Medical are available to answer questions you may have about this promising new treatment. Please note that Dr. Korn is the only physician mentioned in this article who is licensed to administer and who is administering this particular treatment. Dr. Fry's information is provided for questions only; he does not provide this particular treatment protocol. For your convenience, phone numbers and websites are provided below.
Dr. Dino Prato & Dr. David Korn
Envita Natural Medical Centers of America
www.envita.com
866-830-4576
602-569-4144
Dr. David Korn
LongLife Medical
www.longlife-medical.com
480-354-6700
Dr. Stephen Fry
Fry Laboratories
www.frylabs.com
866-927-8075
Dr. Stephen Fry
Airpark Medical Center
www.airparkmed.com
480-991-4555
