by Jennifer Crystal
Lyme disease is a complex illness, not just because it manifests in the body in different ways, but because it is also very difficult to diagnose. The Lyme disease bacterium itself, Borrelia burgdorferi, is a high-functioning organism called a spirochete. It doesn’t react to medication as other illnesses do. People have trouble pronouncing it. In this article, I will unravel the mystery of the spirochete: what it is, how it works, what it feels like in an infected person, and how patients can best obliterate it.
Spiro-whats?
I have heard every possible pronunciation of spirochete, from speer-o-shet, to spy-ro-shet-tees, like agricultural machetes. The correct pronunciation is spy-ro-keet. The name is derived from the shape of the bacteria, which is spiral like a corkscrew. Another spiral-shaped bacteria you may be familiar with is syphilis. While the illnesses are different, both are marked by coiled bacteria that twist and move, making them difficult to catch and treat in the body.
Spirochetes are savvy. They spiral away from antibiotics, burrowing into bones, cells, joints, and nerves. They can even cross the blood-brain barrier, bringing Lyme disease into your central nervous system. They replicate and spread; all it takes is one dormant spirochete to start reproducing for a Lyme infection to flare up. This is why late-stage Lyme—which goes untreated for a long time and has spread around the body and into the central nervous system—is difficult to treat, if not virtually impossible to fully eradicate.
How does a spirochete function?
In layman’s terms, I tend to think of spirochetes as glowing gummy worms buzzing around my body. I picture them with headlamps guiding their way through my joints, cells, and organs, including my brain. At my lowest point of illness, when my spirochete load was high and my symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, inflammation, and migraines were at their worst, I would imagine an x-ray showing millions of glowing worms spinning through my body.
The image is not far off from what was actually happening. My body was overloaded with spirochetes that were causing inflammation, frayed nerves, short-circuited synapses, etc. As antibiotics chased the spirochetes, eventually some started dying off. This caused another kind of overload because the antibiotics were killing the bacteria faster than my body could eliminate them. The build-up of dead, yet to be off-loaded toxins causes what is called a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction which will make you feel much worse before you begin to feel better. Eventually, however, the antibiotics will start overwhelming the spirochetes which the body will slowly but relentlessly eliminate; then you’ll start feeling better.
Can I feel spirochetes in my body?
Technically, no. Though my Integrative Manual Therapist often says he can feel the motility of spirochetes when I am having a flare-up of achiness, inflammation, and fatigue. When my Lyme flares, I often first sense it in my forearms and shins. These areas feel bruised to the touch, and are especially achy. I also feel a spinning sensation under my skin, and when I put my hands on my skin, I feel a buzzing like electricity. I imagine I’m feeling the twisting spirochetes coiling around my arms and legs, but my Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) says, no, what I’m actually feeling is the inflammation of my peripheral sensory nerve fibers.
How do I get rid of spirochetes?
Borrelia burgdorferi is best killed with antibiotics. In my personal experience, naturopathic or homeopathic treatments are a good complement to antibiotics, but they can never replace them. However, I have found other techniques that may help antibiotics work more effectively, by helping my body to detox (offload) dead spirochetes.
These are techniques that help me when my Lyme is flaring up. Other patients may have other ideas that I haven’t tried. It’s important to check with your LLMD to see what the best protocol is for you.