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Comprehensive answers to the most common questions about chronic Lyme disease, our treatment programs, what to expect, and how to determine whether our programs are right for your situation. If your question isn't here, our case manager is happy to answer it directly.
Acute Lyme disease occurs shortly after infection with Borrelia burgdorferi following a tick bite, typically presenting within days to weeks with the characteristic bull's-eye rash, flu-like symptoms, and joint pain. When treated promptly with appropriate antibiotics, many patients recover fully.
Chronic Lyme disease refers to persistent, multi-system symptoms that continue months or years after the initial infection — because the infection was not treated promptly, treatment was incomplete, or the immune system continues to malfunction after the active infection has been addressed. Symptoms typically include persistent fatigue, brain fog, widespread pain, sleep disruption, and neurological symptoms that significantly affect quality of life.
Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) is the term used by major US medical institutions for persistent symptoms — primarily fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and cognitive difficulties — that continue for more than six months after a completed course of antibiotic therapy for documented Lyme disease.
The practical difference is largely one of framing and institutional acceptance. "Chronic Lyme Disease" implies ongoing active infection or immune dysregulation requiring active treatment. "PTLDS" as defined by institutions like the IDSA implies a post-infectious condition that may resolve with time. Many patients find the PTLDS framework leads to a dead end — a diagnosis without a treatment recommendation. From our clinical perspective, what matters most is not the label but the underlying mechanisms driving symptoms, which are identifiable and addressable regardless of which term is used.
Chronic Lyme disease presents with a wide and variable symptom profile that often fluctuates in intensity. The most commonly reported symptoms include:
The multi-system nature of chronic Lyme symptoms — affecting so many different body systems simultaneously — is one of the reasons it is frequently misdiagnosed or dismissed.
Ticks carry multiple pathogens simultaneously and can transmit more than one organism in a single bite. The most common Lyme co-infections include:
Co-infections matter because they require different treatment approaches, add to the overall symptom burden, and can sustain immune dysregulation even when Borrelia itself has been reduced. Many patients treated for Lyme alone continue to suffer because unaddressed co-infections are driving significant portions of their symptoms.
This is one of the most painful aspects of the chronic Lyme experience, and it has several causes. First, standard Lyme testing (the two-tier ELISA/Western blot) has significant sensitivity limitations — particularly in later stages of disease — and can produce negative results in patients who genuinely have Lyme infection. A negative test is often interpreted as "no Lyme" rather than "inconclusive."
Second, the institutional controversy over "Chronic Lyme Disease" as a diagnostic category means many physicians are reluctant to apply this label or to offer treatment beyond a defined antibiotic course. Third, because chronic Lyme symptoms affect so many body systems, patients are often referred to multiple specialists — neurologist, rheumatologist, psychiatrist — none of whom have the integrative framework to connect the dots.
The result is patients who are clearly ill, whose symptoms are real and measurable, who are nonetheless told there is nothing further to offer. Our clinical approach starts from the opposite premise: that these symptoms have identifiable underlying mechanisms, and that those mechanisms are addressable with the right interventions.
We offer three structured outpatient programs:
Programs can be completed individually or combined. The appropriate program for any patient is determined through a clinical case review — not all programs are appropriate for all patients, and we match recommendations to individual presentations.
T-Regulatory cells (Tregs) are the immune system's built-in brake — specialized cells that prevent excessive immune activity, maintain tolerance toward the body's own tissues, and ensure immune responses end when no longer needed. In chronic Lyme disease, the master switch governing Treg function (FOXP3) becomes unstable, leaving the immune system without an effective regulatory mechanism.
Autologous Treg therapy addresses this directly: your own T cells are collected, engineered with a stabilized FOXP3 gene designed to remain active under chronic inflammatory conditions, stress-tested in a lab environment that replicates your internal inflammatory conditions, and reinfused after only resilient cells pass the selection process. The result is a targeted restoration of the immune system's regulatory capacity — not immunosuppression, but immune rebalancing. The Lyme Immunotherapy Center — with more than 15 years of experience in autologous immunotherapy — is the first center to bring this approach specifically to chronic Lyme disease patients. See our full article: What Is T-Regulatory Cell Therapy for Lyme Disease
Systemic Perfusion Hyperthermia is a hospital-based procedure that raises core body temperature to 41–42°C under continuous medical monitoring. Borrelia burgdorferi and many Lyme co-infections are highly heat-sensitive — the controlled thermal environment destabilizes their membrane proteins, disrupts protective biofilm structures, and forces dormant organisms into more vulnerable active states. Simultaneously, elevated temperature activates immune surveillance, improves tissue circulation, and creates a physiologic "reset" that many patients describe as a turning point in their recovery.
Safety is maintained through comprehensive preparation and continuous monitoring throughout the session: cardiovascular monitoring, temperature monitoring at multiple sites, IV access for hydration and support, and a structured recovery protocol following the session. Hyperthermia is not appropriate for all patients — cardiovascular assessment is a prerequisite — and every candidate undergoes thorough clinical screening before the procedure is recommended.
Therapeutic Apheresis filters blood to remove inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta), circulating immune complexes, dead pathogen fragments, environmental toxins, heavy metals, and mold mycotoxins. This accumulated burden creates what researchers describe as a "toxic internal environment" — a state in which chronic immune dysregulation is sustained and other treatments are working against an unfavorable physiologic backdrop.
By clearing this burden, Apheresis resets immune signaling, reduces inflammation-driven symptoms, and creates significantly better conditions for other therapies — particularly Treg therapy — to be effective. We describe it as a "supportive accelerator": it does not address all drivers of chronic Lyme on its own, but it creates the internal environment in which the body can actually participate in recovery.
IV therapies in our 18-day program are organized into targeted "lanes" based on the patient's specific clinical drivers:
Which lanes are included for each patient is determined by epigenetic testing and comprehensive labs — not applied uniformly. IV therapy in our protocol is purposeful, not a menu.
No. This is one of the most important distinctions to understand about Treg therapy. Conventional immunosuppression — such as corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs — broadly reduces immune system activity, which does weaken the ability to fight infections.
Treg therapy works differently. It restores the immune system's regulatory mechanism — the internal "volume control" that keeps immune responses proportional, targeted, and appropriately resolved. A properly regulated immune system is not less capable of fighting infections; it is more precise. It responds appropriately to genuine threats and stops creating collateral inflammatory damage when the threat has passed. Every patient receives individualized risk assessment and close monitoring throughout treatment.
Every program begins with comprehensive diagnostics designed to understand the full picture of how Lyme disease and related factors are affecting your body:
This workup is not optional or supplemental — it is the foundation on which your personalized program is built. The results determine which IV therapy lanes are included, how treatments are sequenced, and where the nutritional and physiotherapy focus is placed.
Timing varies significantly between patients, and we are careful not to make specific outcome promises. The honest answer is that it depends on disease duration, the degree of immune dysregulation, the presence and severity of co-infections, and individual physiology.
Some patients report earlier perceptible shifts during the program itself — particularly with Apheresis, where the reduction in inflammatory burden can produce relatively rapid symptom relief. Treg therapy changes tend to emerge more gradually over weeks to months, consistent with the biological timeline of immune reprogramming. Many patients describe the program as a turning point — not an instant recovery, but the beginning of a meaningful and sustained trajectory of improvement that continues after returning home.
The 18-day comprehensive program includes a full suite of supportive services designed around the needs of patients traveling for intensive treatment:
We recommend Quartz Hotel & Spa — a 5-star Medical Tourism Hotel designed around holistic wellness, located at P.º del Centenario 4210, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana. Our patients receive a preferred rate. The hotel includes a pool, spa, gym, and restaurant, and is developed specifically to support patients maintaining health routines during medical stays. Contact: +52 (664) 862 8200.
The most common route for US patients:
US citizens require a valid US passport to enter Mexico — no visa is required for medical stays. The 18-day program includes roundtrip airport and clinic transportation. For shorter programs, most patients find the crossing straightforward, and our team is available to guide you through the logistics.
Systemic Perfusion Hyperthermia, Therapeutic Apheresis for Lyme disease, and autologous T-Regulatory Cell therapy are not widely available in the US for several reasons. They require advanced specialized equipment and trained medical teams. In the US, Apheresis for Lyme disease is not an FDA-approved indication, limiting insurance coverage and clinical adoption. Advanced hyperthermia requires hospital-level infrastructure not widely built out for outpatient Lyme care. Autologous Treg therapy is in early clinical development and not yet available as an integrated Lyme-specific offering at most centers.
Mexico's regulatory environment allows clinically grounded treatments with established safety profiles and international clinical experience to be offered to patients who need them — not as a loosening of medical standards, but as a different regulatory framework that prioritizes patient access. Our programs are physician-supervised, hospital-grade, and designed around the same principles of safety and evidence that govern medical practice internationally.
The first step is completing our short patient intake questionnaire — five questions about your Lyme history, symptoms, prior treatments, and readiness to explore advanced options. Our case manager will personally review your profile and reach out within one business day to discuss your situation and determine whether a program is appropriate.
If your presentation does not fit our programs, we will tell you directly and do our best to point you toward options that are a better fit. Complete the intake here →
Program pricing depends on the specific protocol recommended for your situation, your individual clinical picture, and the components included. To discuss eligibility and pricing, complete our patient intake and our case manager will review your case and provide full program details including costs.
We understand that this is a significant investment, and we are committed to making sure every patient has a clear, complete understanding of what is included before any commitment is made. Start your intake here →
If after reviewing your history our team determines that our programs are not the right fit for your current situation, we will tell you directly and honestly — and do our best to point you toward options that may be more appropriate. Not every patient with Lyme disease is a candidate for every intervention, and our goal is to ensure that any patient who comes to us receives an honest assessment rather than a sales conversation.
Our case manager is happy to answer questions specific to your situation. Complete the short intake and we'll reach out personally within one business day.