You can have basic labs that look normal and still feel like you’re slowly losing ground: fatigue that doesn’t lift, migrating pain, brain fog, mood changes, sleep disruption, and GI symptoms that seem to come out of nowhere. Sometimes the decline is gradual. Sometimes it’s a clear “before and after” moment—an illness, a stressful season, travel, or a summer of being outdoors—and your body just never returns to baseline.
When we talk about tick-borne infections, we’re not only talking about Lyme disease. We’re talking about a broader vector-borne / stealth pathogen picture that can drive immune dysfunction and inflammation. In many chronic cases, the question isn’t “Do you have Lyme, yes or no?” The better question is: What is driving your immune system to stay activated—and why aren’t you recovering like you should?
At Restorative Medicine Center, our approach is simple to say and harder to do: we dig deeper. We use a root-cause, pattern-based evaluation that’s designed to reduce chaos—not add to it. No bandaids. No symptom whack-a-mole. We’re here to build a plan that actually makes sense.
We serve patients throughout Metro Detroit, including Rochester Hills and Oakland County, and we routinely work with people who have been through multiple rounds of “normal results” without answers.
What Counts as a Tick-Borne Infection
Ticks can carry multiple organisms, and some infections behave like stealth pathogens—meaning they can persist quietly, trigger immune activation, and contribute to symptoms that don’t fit neatly into one diagnostic box. The goal isn’t to label everything as tick-borne. The goal is to recognize when the pattern warrants a smarter workup.
A “tick-borne infections” evaluation may include considering:
- Lyme disease as part of a broader vector-borne picture
- Co-infections that may shift symptoms and treatment response, such as:
- Bartonella
- Babesia
- Anaplasma/Ehrlichia (depending on history and clinical clues)
- Other overlapping contributors that can act like immune “noise” but still matter:
- Mycoplasma patterns
- Viral reactivation patterns (not “you’re infected with everything,” but signals that the immune system may be struggling)
Our Diagnostic Philosophy: Clarity, Not More Chaos
Our goal is not to order every test under the sun. Our goal is to identify the drivers of immune dysfunction and inflammation so we can create a plan that is actionable and tolerable.
We prioritize:
- A usable timeline (because patterns matter more than isolated symptoms)
- Targeted testing with decision value (tests that help us decide what to do next)
- A plan that matches your tolerance and safety (because a plan you can’t tolerate is not a plan)
A Detailed History That Actually Guides Decisions
Timeline-building
When people are stuck, it’s rarely because they haven’t tried enough. It’s because no one has taken the time to build a timeline that actually explains the pattern.
In our clinic, we don’t just ask, “What symptoms do you have?” We ask: When did this start, what changed, and what keeps re-triggering it?
We map out:
- Symptom onset and progression: the first “this is different” moment, and what happened next
- Major inflection points: illnesses, stressful seasons, travel, moves, new buildings, pregnancy/postpartum shifts, big life changes
- Flares: what reliably triggers worsening (viral illness, lack of sleep, work deadlines, exercise, alcohol, heat, certain foods) and what reliably improves things
- Infection history: recurrent strep or viral illnesses, “it was just a cold but I never recovered,” sinus/ear infections, mono-like episodes, prolonged recovery periods
- Antibiotic history: what you took, when you took it, what changed (including “I felt better for a week and then it came back”)
- Immune stressors: chronic stress, poor sleep, overtraining, gut disruption, high inflammatory load
- Environmental history: water damage, musty odors, damp basements, workplace exposure, symptom shifts when you’re away from home/office
- Functional impact: changes in school/work performance, stamina, need for naps, sleep quality, mood stability, cognitive endurance
The point of this isn’t to create a longer chart. The point is to identify the few highest-yield drivers so we stop guessing.
What we ask you to track
The fastest way to reduce chaos is to track the right things—simply and consistently.
We typically ask for:
- A symptom + trigger + intervention calendar
- What flared, what you think triggered it, what you tried, and what happened next
- Sleep quality (not just hours): unrefreshing sleep, insomnia, “wired but tired,” night sweats, early waking
- Energy crash patterns: what causes post-exertional crashes and how long recovery takes
- GI patterns: nausea, bloating, stool changes, appetite swings, sensitivity to foods/supplements
- Medication/supplement responses, including the crucial detail:
- “This helped… then stopped,” “This made me worse,” or “This helped sleep but worsened daytime fatigue”
Patterns are information. If we can see the pattern, we can build a plan that fits your physiology.
Root Cause Triad Lens: the “Why” Behind Symptoms
Most chronic symptom clusters are downstream consequences of immune dysfunction and inflammation. We organize complex cases using a Root Cause Triad framework—because it’s common for more than one driver to be present.
Microbes
- Tick-borne infections and co-infections (Lyme and beyond)
- Other chronic/recurrent infections that keep the immune system activated or dysregulated
Toxins
- Biotoxins (especially mold/water-damage environments) when the history fits
- Internal microbial toxins and inflammatory byproducts that can amplify symptoms
Stress response / nervous system physiology
Fight-or-flight patterns can:
- Amplify inflammation
- Disrupt sleep and blood sugar stability
- Increase sensory sensitivity and anxiety
- Reduce treatment tolerance (the “everything makes me worse” phenomenon)
Stress physiology can be both:
- A trigger (what starts or worsens the process), and
- A barrier (what keeps the body from recovering even when you’re doing “all the right things”)
Testing Strategy: Targeted, Not Random
If your body is already overwhelmed, more testing without a strategy can create more confusion. Our testing philosophy is “decision value”: every test should help answer a specific question and guide next steps.
Baseline “safety labs” (foundation for smart treatment)
We often start by establishing a baseline and ruling in/out common contributors, including:
- CBC/CMP (general health markers, liver/kidney function, blood counts)
- Anemia/iron patterns when indicated
- Inflammation markers and metabolic clues that influence fatigue and pain patterns
These labs are also important for safety if we’re considering any targeted therapies later.
Immune and inflammatory pattern testing (when appropriate)
Depending on the case, we may look at:
- Immunoglobulin patterns and immune resilience clues
- Autoimmune screening considerations when symptoms/labs suggest it
- “CIRS-style” biomarkers and inflammatory signaling patterns (case-dependent)
Tick-borne testing approach (interpreted in context)
Tick-borne testing can be helpful, and it has limitations. We’re honest about both.
What testing can tell us:
- Evidence that supports a tick-borne pattern
- Clues about immune response and microbial burden
What testing can’t always tell us:
- The full story in isolation, especially in chronic cases
Why results vary:
- Timing (early vs later illness)
- Immune suppression/dysregulation (some people don’t make strong antibodies)
- Prior antibiotics
- Test methodology (different tests measure different things)
How we use test data:
- Alongside your timeline, symptom pattern, exposures, and treatment responses
- To guide sequencing and reduce trial-and-error—not to “win an argument with a lab report”
Additional workups we consider when the history points there
Many “tick-borne” cases are layered. If your history suggests additional drivers, we may consider:
- GI testing: dysbiosis, candida patterns, inflammation, permeability signals
- Nutrient status: energy production, methylation support, antioxidant capacity
- Endocrine patterns: thyroid patterns, cortisol/stress physiology, sex hormone patterns when relevant
Differentiating Tick-Borne Illness From Look-Alikes
A big part of good diagnosis is avoiding tunnel vision. Tick-borne illness shares symptoms with many conditions—and sometimes more than one is present.
Common overlaps include:
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Anemia/iron issues
- Sleep disorders (including unrefreshing sleep patterns)
- Long post-viral syndromes
- Autoimmune and inflammatory patterns
- Mold-related illness / biotoxin illness in water-damaged environments
You can have a tick-borne pattern and mold exposure. You can have immune dysregulation and iron issues. You can have nervous system dysregulation that keeps everything louder. Our job is to sort out what’s primary, what’s secondary, and what needs to be addressed first so you can actually move forward.
Get Answers and a Plan You Can Follow
If you’ve been told your labs are “normal,” your symptoms are “just stress,” or you should simply rest more—yet you’re still not getting your life back—hear this clearly: you’re not crazy. These symptom clusters are often pattern-based and driven by real physiology: immune signaling, inflammation, nervous system dysregulation, microbial burden, and sometimes environmental exposures that keep the system stuck.
The good news is that when we stop treating each symptom like it’s separate—and start looking at the pattern—we can usually create a plan that’s calmer, clearer, and actually actionable.
If you’re in Metro Detroit and suspect Lyme or another tick-borne infection is part of your story, the next step is to schedule a comprehensive tick-borne infections diagnostic evaluation. We’ll build a usable timeline, choose targeted testing that has decision value, and map out next steps that match your tolerance and safety.
Contact Restorative Medicine Center
Restorative Medicine Center (Dr. Teresa Birkmeier-Fredal, MD)
705 Barclay Cir #115, Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Phone: 248.289.6349
Fax: 248-289-6923
Office Hours: Mon–Thurs: 9am–5pm | Fri: Closed
Website: restorativemedcenter.com