If your tick‑borne panel is lit up with Lyme and co‑infections and you still have no idea what is actually making you sick, this episode is for you.
In this live Q&A, I answer a question from “Diane,” a homeschooling mom in the Midwest who feels like she has tried everything, is terrified she is going to crumble under the fatigue, and now has a stack of positive Lyme markers she does not know how to interpret. I walk through why those panels can be full of “positive” results without clearly explaining your symptoms, why chasing each marker one by one feels like whack‑a‑mole, and how I use my five‑part framework (principles, essentials, hazards, diagnostics, therapeutics) to decide what actually matters first. This is the same framework I lay out in far more detail in my book on repair deficit and chronic illness.
Here’s exactly what we cover in this episode:
00:00 – Live Q&A intro, who “Diane” is (homeschooling mom, Midwest, exhausted and overwhelmed), and her core question: “My labs show a lot of tick‑borne illness markers. Where do I even start, and how do I know if it’s working?”
02:00 – Why a tick‑borne illness panel can come back with many positive markers and still not tell you what is actually driving your symptoms
03:00 – The role of toxins and malnutrition: why bodies with high toxic load and poor nutrition struggle to clear infections, and why environment, diet, and lifestyle often matter more than another round of antibiotics
03:50 – Case story: a man told his Lyme was “causing” autoimmune hyperthyroidism, how further testing revealed a mercury problem from high‑mercury fish, and how treating the mercury led to remission and avoiding thyroid removal
04:45 – Correlation vs causation: why positive Lyme markers are not always the true cause of fatigue, pain, or thyroid symptoms
05:04 – Why chasing individual markers one at a time leaves people feeling like they are playing whack‑a‑mole, and the big mistake of not retesting labs over time
05:40 – Lab “noise” and variability: what happens when you actually trend markers like Lyme titers, why values can swing from day to day, and why Dr. Stillman rarely orders or trends Lyme serologies now
06:35 – The difference between treating a number and treating a person: William Osler’s quote, why context and detailed history matter more than any single lab result
07:30 – IGF‑1 as an example: how low IGF‑1 often reflects poor sleep, low protein, low calories, or unrelenting stress, and why you must fix growth hormone / repair capacity before expecting antibiotics or protocols to work
11:30 – Why so many people with complex tick‑borne panels say they’ve “tried everything” and still don’t feel better, and why in many of those cases the main problem is not actually a tick‑borne infection
13:20 – How to think about order of operations: overview of the five‑part framework from the book (principles, essentials, hazards, diagnostics, therapeutics) and why principles, basics, and hazard removal must come before heavy diagnostics and protocols
14:30 – Essentials and hazards in real life: light, water, “soil” (environment), detoxification, and why you cannot live in a sick environment and expect to get well
18:00 – When antibiotics, herbals, and other anti‑infectives still have a place, and why they work better once terrain and repair deficit are addressed
22:00 – Practical guidance for patients like Diane: how to rank priorities when money is tight, what to ask your clinician, and how to avoid getting lost in endless specialty testing
27:00 – Closing thoughts: encouragement for those who feel confused and hopeless, reminder that labs are tools not destiny, and where to learn the full framework in Dr. Stillman’s book and by booking an evaluation with his team
Enter the giveaway to win a free copy of my book here.
You can purchase my book September 15th or pre-order now.
Additional resources:
For Dr. Stillman’s latest article visit here
Want to take your health to the next level? Here are a few ways to deepen your knowledge and take action on your health:
Work with Dr. Stillman – Ready to optimize your health with a functional and integrative approach? Book your evaluation here.
Stay Informed & Inspired – Subscribe to Dr. Stillman’s newsletter for exclusive health insights, podcast updates, and expert guidance on living a vibrant life.
Don’t forget to share this episode with someone who needs to hear it!
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drstillmanuncensored.com/subscribe
