Ep. 137: Dr. Daniel Kinderlehrer — What Is the Role of Lyme Disease in Common Psychiatric Illnesses?
My guest this week is Dr. Daniel Kinderlehrer. Dan is a physician and author of the recent book, Recovery From Lyme Disease: The Integrative Medicine Guide to Diagnosing and Treating Tick-Borne Illness (affiliate link). This was a great discussion about a topic that’s important for a lot of people. Dan is extremely knowledgeable and has a great deal of experience in treating Lyme Disease.
Some of his experience is personal, as you’ll hear him describe, since he recovered from Lyme himself. We discuss many of the psychiatric syndromes that Lyme can trigger, including extreme depression and anxiety. Other topics we explored included:
- Why Lyme Disease was the worst—and best—thing that happened for my guest
- Common neuropsychiatric symptoms of Lyme and related infections
- Complicating coinfections like Babesia that are also transmitted by ticks
- “Lyme Wars”: The controversy surrounding chronic Lyme disease
- Feeling dismissed by doctors when the cause of one’s illness can’t be identified
- The unhelpfulness of naming a cluster of symptoms without identifying the underlying pathophysiology (e.g., chronic fatigue)
- Doctors who get angry at patients who suggest they might have Lyme disease
- The heroism of continuing to search for an explanation for one’s symptoms
- Why Lyme bacteria often resist antibiotics, making it hard to clear the infection (e.g., biofilm colonies)
- The potential toll of long-term antibiotic treatment
- Asymptomatic Lyme infection and the importance of the “soil” that the Lyme “seed” lands on
- Lyme’s disruption of our “software,” rather than our “hardware”
- Why so many psychiatric issues are associated with Lyme Disease, generated by neuroinflammation
- Susan Swedo, PANDAS, and PANS (Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome)
- The role of Lyme in some cases of depression, eating disorders, and other conditions
- Using chronic illness as an opportunity to look deep within and recreate one’s life in a new way
- When to consider the possibility that one has a tick-borne illness
For more information on tick-borne illnesses, consult the website of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.
Daniel A. Kinderlehrer, MD, is a nationally recognized physician with expertise in the fields of nutrition, allergy, environmental medicine, Lyme disease, and the healing of mind-body-spirit as a unified whole.
He co-founded The New England Center for Holistic Medicine in Newbury, Massachusetts, and has taught extensively, including practitioner training courses at the Omega Institute, The National Institute of Behavioral Medicine, and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.
Dan created and organized the Lyme Fundamentals course which is presented annually at the International Lyme and Associated Diseases conference. He is the author of several review articles in medical journals and the Lyme Times.
His integrated medical practice in Denver, Colorado, focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne disease.
Find out more about Dan and his work at his website.
Very informative. After 5 years of tbi s I have not improved very much. This podcast will lead me to attempt another treatment perhaps. I will definitely read the book! Thank you
I’m glad to hear it, Martine. I had a positive Lyme test after my conversation with Dr. K! Sending best wishes for health and healing.
Hi Seth!
Finding your podcasts and CBT resources has been a blessing! I very much appreciate your holistic approach to your work in psychology. When I heard about your illness, it sounded very much like what I am going through. 22 years old, and had a myriad of issues, the main being fatigue for a couple years and now full blown insomnia for months on top of it. I’m sure the insomnia is not related to my mental health as I’m very careful to do all I can’t to keep that in check! Anyway, I think It could be lymes..don’t know what you dealt with but if it was chronic lymes, and you have any top heath tips or treatments to heal it! Please let me know! Living in New Zealand doesn’t help, we
don’t have any accurate lymes tests here, and it’s hard to find a specialist who knows anything about it! Thank you for reading, I hope you are all well and back in good heath now!!
Keep up the amazing work,
Astaria Vink.
I appreciate your kind comments, Astaria. It does sound like it’s worth looking into possible Lyme. I got tested after this conversation and my test was, according to Dr. K, “very positive” for Lyme. I haven’t found an MD who will treat me, so still looking into options. I hope you find the root of your struggles and I truly wish you the best! Seth
Thank you so very much for taking the time to reply! Just bought a CBT deck! 😇
I’m sorry to hear that, not the best of news. But, hey, at least you know the cause of the dis ease and now have something to work with, and thanks to god sends like Dr. K, it can be healed! 😇
I’m not sure if he’s taking on patients now, however, I’m currently trying to track his/ his clinics email down, in hopes that I can become an international patient.🤞🏽
As we don’t have any Lyme specialised MD’s in NZ, It would mean the world if you could help me with his contact info.
My email is astaria.vink@gmail.com,
if you have privacy concerns. 😊
Wish you the absolute best for your healing journey! 🌻
I greatly appreciate your thoughtful words Astaria, and I hope you find the CBT Deck helpful. I appreciate your optimism about my prognosis! Dr. K told me that those seeking treatment with him should call 303-444-4877. He asked that I warn people that there’s a waiting list. Best wishes for your healing, as well. 🙂
Any help for a chronic Lyme patient that’s pregnant? My daughter was treated before and never felt better. Now she is 8 months pregnant. Dr. aren’t helping and told us she has been treated already, good bye.
I’m sorry for the slow reply, Ebony. For some reason I wasn’t notified about recent comments. It’s a good question about your daughter. I would suggest seeking out a medical doctor who is very experienced in treating Lyme. The ILADS website is a good place to start. Best wishes to you and your daughter.