Answering questions about hyperthermia treatment for Lyme disease

Authored by Michelle McKeon

If you have never experienced the traumatizing effects of Lyme, take my word, it is a complete nightmare. I spent years in pain, battling confusing symptoms and feeling as though I had very little control over my life after antibiotics failed to improve my condition.

Common Lyme co-infections such as Bartonella, Protozoa Rheumatica, Mycoplasma Pneumonia, and Powassan virus were so virulent in my body that I didn’t respond to any of the therapies offered by some of the best Lyme Literate Medical Doctors (LLMDs).

When I discovered hyperthermia treatment, my body was already in crisis and I doubted my ability to recover at all.

Whole-body hyperthermia treatment puts a patient in a special thermal chamber. Then, using infrared-A-irradiation, the core temperature of the body is carefully increased. The goal is to bring the patient’s body temperature to at least 106° F (41.1° C), the point at which many strains of Borrelia (Lyme disease) are killed.

If the patient can tolerate higher temperatures, doctors at several clinics in Germany and Mexico believe it is preferable to try to reach 107° F (41.6° C) and above.¹ Higher temperatures increase the effectiveness of the treatment.

I underwent hyperthermia treatment myself. I believe it is the primary reason why I have a good quality of life today. Over the past seven years, I have worked with hundreds of Lyme patients who have also experienced incredible benefits and results from hyperthermia.

Why hyperthermia’s three-part approach is effective

• Increasing body temperature kills Lyme microbes. This increases the effectiveness of antibiotics, decreases microbes’ resistance to antibiotics, and enables antibiotics to get inside the cells more easily.² 
• Disrupting the structural integrity of biofilms. When a person has chronic Lyme disease, biofilms form around the spirochete, preventing antibiotics from reaching the pathogen. Increased heat breaks down these biofilms, allowing antibiotics to penetrate them.³
• Stimulating the immune system. This induced fever increases blood flow to organs and tissues, improving the oxygen supply to the body. Also, the immune system responds with a strong production of natural killer and helper cells.⁴ This process gives your body the best fighting chance of becoming stronger.

What to look for when considering hyperthermia treatment facilities

• Make sure extreme whole-body hyperthermia is offered. This means that their machine can raise the patient’s entire body temperature to at least 105.8° F (41° C), a temperature that kills many spirochetes. Clinics should attempt to reach 106.9° F (41.6°C), which is the point at which all spirochetes are killed after two hours.⁵  Most clinics only offer moderate hyperthermia, which reaches 104° F (40°C). This helps boost your immune system, but is not high enough to kill Borrelia.
• Find out if the clinic is an in-patient facility. Immediately following a treatment, hyperthermia results in physical exhaustion. Patients should be monitored throughout the night as well as the following few days after treatment. In-patient facilities allow doctors and nurses to help patients feel comfortable when having a die-off reaction from the pathogens. When pathogens die, they expel toxins, which can cause inflammation and an increase in symptoms. In-patient facilities tend to offer a number of detoxification therapies that are available throughout a patient’s entire stay.  Detoxing allows the body to expel these harmful toxins by decreasing inflammation,  so that the patient can feel relief from his/her symptoms.
• When considering extreme whole-body hyperthermia treatment, ask if the Heckel machine is used. The Heckel machine measures and monitors the body’s core temperature, heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and respiratory frequency to achieve the best therapeutic effect with minimal patient toxicity.⁶   This is a safe and effective way to heat the body up to intense temperatures.

While tick-borne infections are incredibly complex, extreme whole-body hyperthermia treatment helps many people by allowing the body to become stronger. Strengthening your body empowers you to reclaim your health!

Michelle McKeon, MS, is a Functional Nutritionist and President of Lyme and Cancer Services (LCS), which represents several hyperthermia clinics in Germany and Mexico. At no charge to patients, LCS helps individuals to understand whole-body hyperthermia and to navigate the process of receiving treatment. More information at https://thelymespecialist.com/

References:

1. Stasheim, C. (2016). New paradigms in Lyme disease treatment: 10 top doctors reveal healing strategies that work (pp. 270). South Lake Tahoe, CA: BioMed Publishing Group LLC.
2. Douwes, F., & Strasheim C. (2017, Feb 7). How I Discovered Hyperthermia for Lyme Disease and Why it Works. Retrieved from https://www.prohealth.com/library/how-i-discovered-hyperthermia-for-lyme-disease-and-why-it-works-41295
3. Progress on utilizing hyperthermia for mitigating bacterial infections. Taylor Ibellia, Sarah Templetonb and Nicole Levi-Polyachenkoc. Intern J Hyperth. 34(2):144–156, 2018.
4. Dr. Kleefe Hyperthermie. (2019). Whole-body Hyperthermia. Retrieved from http://www.dr-kleef.at/en/whole_body_hyperthermia2
5. St. Georg Hospital. (2017). Lyme Treatment Protocol. Retrieved from https://www.st-george-hospital.com/lyme-treatment-protocol/
6. Sanoviv Medical Institute. (2019). Neuroprevention Webinar. Retrieved from https://www.sanoviv.com/page/7/?s