Lyme Disease: The Symptoms, Tests, and Treatments Doctors Miss

What if the fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, or mysterious symptoms you've been chasing for years weren't caused by stress, aging, or burnout—but by a tick bite you never even noticed? Lyme disease is one of the most misunderstood illnesses in medicine. But Lyme is rarely just one infection—it's often part of a much bigger picture involving co-infections, immune dysfunction, inflammation, gut health, and environmental triggers. In today's episode, I walk through a functional medicine approach to Lyme disease and tick-borne illness, including: Why Lyme disease is so often missed—and the hidden role of co-infections like Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma The limitations of conventional testing and treatment, and how functional medicine looks beyond the infection to understand why some people recover while others remain chronically ill The role of herbs, antibiotics, gut repair, detoxification, immune support, and mitochondrial health in a comprehensive recovery plan What the latest evidence says about emerging therapies like ozone, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and hyperthermia—as well as practical strategies to prevent tick-borne illness in the first place Lyme disease isn't always just an infection—it's often a whole-body disruption. By addressing the underlying drivers of inflammation, immune dysfunction, gut health, and cellular resilience alongside the infection itself, you give your body the best chance to heal and recover. Resources Mentioned: Track your metabolic health with Function Health: https://functionhealth.com/mark (Use code MARK2026 for $50 off your membership.) Have a question you’d love answered on Office Hours? Submit it here (0:00) Introduction to Lyme disease, overview, and Dr. Hyman's experience (4:13) Functional medicine's approach and comprehensive treatment strategies (10:51) Innovative therapies for Lyme disease (14:08) Managing die-off reactions and restoring gut health (17:18) Supporting the immune and nervous systems; prevention strategies (19:29) Future research, persistent symptoms, and conclusion (21:15) Alzheimer's disease, neuroinflammation, and call to action