Lyme Disease Functional Medicine — A Root-Cause Approach That Actually Works
If you’ve been bouncing between doctors, told your labs are “normal,” and still feel awful — you’re not imagining it. Chronic Lyme disease is real, it’s complex, and it deserves more than a two-week course of antibiotics and a pat on the back.
At Balanced Health NP, Melissa Tomon, CRNP is a Lyme literate provider listed on PA Lyme who takes a functional medicine approach to chronic Lyme disease — looking beyond the surface to understand why your body isn’t healing and what it actually needs to recover.
Book a Free ConsultWhat Is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. In its acute stage, it can cause a bull’s-eye rash, flu-like symptoms, and joint pain. When caught early and treated with antibiotics, many people recover fully.
But here’s the problem: many people don’t catch it early. The rash doesn’t always appear. Standard testing misses cases. And when Lyme goes undiagnosed or undertreated, it can become chronic — triggering widespread inflammation, immune dysfunction, and a cascade of symptoms that can be debilitating.
Acute vs. Chronic Lyme: An Important Distinction
Acute Lyme disease — a recent tick bite with early symptoms — is typically handled effectively by conventional medicine with a course of antibiotics. That’s not what we treat. Our practice focuses specifically on chronic Lyme disease: patients who were missed, undertreated, or never fully recovered. If you suspect an acute tick bite, please see your primary care provider or urgent care promptly for immediate antibiotic treatment.
Co-Infections and Complications
Ticks rarely transmit just one pathogen. Co-infections like Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma are common and often overlooked by conventional providers. These co-infections can amplify symptoms and make recovery significantly harder if left unaddressed.
Symptoms of Chronic Lyme Disease
Chronic Lyme disease can look different in every patient, which is part of why it’s so frequently missed or misdiagnosed. Common symptoms include:
- Persistent fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest
- Joint and muscle pain that migrates throughout the body
- Brain fog, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating
- Headaches and migraines
- Numbness and tingling in hands and feet
- Sleep disturbances — trouble falling or staying asleep
- Anxiety and depression that seem to come out of nowhere
- Heart palpitations
- Digestive issues — bloating, nausea, food sensitivities
- Night sweats and temperature dysregulation
If you’re experiencing several of these symptoms — especially after a known or suspected tick bite — chronic Lyme treatment should be on the table.
The Root-Cause Approach to Lyme Disease
Conventional medicine tends to treat Lyme as a single infection with a single solution: antibiotics. But for many patients with chronic Lyme, that’s not enough. The infection is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
How Melissa Approaches Lyme Disease Differently
At Balanced Health NP, we dig deeper. Melissa’s lyme disease functional medicine approach goes far beyond testing for Lyme alone. She investigates the full picture — the infection and any co-infections, immune dysfunction, gut health, toxic burden, inflammation, nutrient status, and everything else that may be keeping your body from recovering. Chronic Lyme is rarely just about the infection — it’s about the terrain.
Advanced Testing
Standard Lyme testing is notoriously unreliable. We use advanced functional medicine testing that goes well beyond the conventional two-tier approach — giving us a comprehensive view of what’s happening in your body so we can build a treatment plan based on real data, not guesswork.
What to Expect as a Patient
Initial Consultation
Your first visit is a deep dive — not a 10-minute rushed appointment. Melissa will review your full health history, symptoms timeline, previous lab work, and lifestyle factors. This is where we start connecting dots that other providers may have missed.
Personalized Treatment Plan
There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol for chronic Lyme. Melissa creates a comprehensive, individualized plan that addresses the infection, supports your immune system, restores gut health, optimizes nutrition, and incorporates lifestyle strategies for sleep, stress, and recovery. Every plan is built around your unique test results and clinical picture.
Ongoing Support
Healing from chronic Lyme isn’t linear. Melissa provides ongoing telehealth follow-ups to adjust your plan as you progress, manage herxheimer reactions, and ensure you’re moving toward lasting recovery — not just symptom suppression.
Telehealth Convenience
All appointments are conducted via telehealth, available to patients in Pennsylvania and Florida. No commuting when you’re already exhausted. Get expert care from your couch.
Why Choose Balanced Health NP for Lyme Treatment?
Melissa Tomon, CRNP brings a unique combination of credentials and personal understanding to Lyme care:
- Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania
- Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) certified
- Board-certified in pediatrics with 15+ years of clinical experience
- Lyme literate provider listed on PA Lyme, specializing in chronic Lyme and co-infections
- A practitioner who listens, investigates, and refuses to accept “we don’t know what’s wrong with you” as an answer
“After years of being told nothing was wrong, Melissa finally helped me understand what was happening in my body — and gave me a real plan to get better.”
Ready to Get to the Root of Your Lyme Disease?
You’ve been through enough. It’s time for a provider who takes chronic Lyme seriously and has the expertise to help you heal — not just cope.
Book Your Free Consult