Although most patients recover from acute COVID-19, some experience Post-Acute Sequelae of the Coronavirus (PASC). One subgroup of PASC is a syndrome called “long-COVID.”  The Lyme Disease community has become acutely aware of the similarity between this condition and persistent Lyme and tick-borne illness noting that many long-haul Lyme disease symptoms are similar to long haul COVID symptoms.  The main symptoms that overlap are chronic fatigue, cognitive problems, musculoskeletal and neurogenic pain and autonomic nervous system dysfunction.  Similarities also exist with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) raising the following questions:  is it ongoing infection? Is it a post-acute syndrome? Is it an immune response?

Using our knowledge about how to treat tick-borne illness and ME/CFS, therapies to help those with Long Haul Covid are showing great promise.  These treatments focus on restoration of cellular metabolism through the use of targeted nutritional support, oxidative therapies such as high dose vitamin C and brain oxygenation through hyperbaric therapy among others.  Much effort is now being spent to study chronic illnesses following COVID-19 and as that research is published, we will continue to stay current with the latest integrative care options for the management and treatment of Long-COVID.  We are hopeful that the tremendous resources for long haul COVID research could help accelerate Lyme disease knowledge and treatments as well. For more information about Long-COVID, check out our COVID-19 page.

Age-related neurodegenerative diseases are becoming increasingly common as the number of elderly people in the U.S. population continues to increase. These diseases include multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and other disorders that threaten the personal well-being and sanity (from the Latin sanitas, meaning “health”) of so many Americans with advancing age. There is increasing evidence that excessive levels of free radicals—as occurs during normal and pathological brain aging—contribute to the loss and dysfunction of brain cells. Some research has shown that natural antioxidants may help prevent or delay the occurrence of age-related cognitive deficits and neurodegenerative diseases. Other related contributors are mitochondrial dysfunction, heavy metal overload, chronic inflammation, and hidden infections. For example, lead exposure has been implicated in age-related cognitive decline, and chronic viral infections have been implicated in MS.

Mercury and lead toxicities are extremely common in older patients who are losing their hearing and memory. According to a 2007 scientific review, there is now a “decisive role for inorganic mercury in the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease”, with other metals, inflammation, nutritional factors, oxidative distress, and metabolic problems acting as cofactors. With the right overall integration of therapies (including removal of heavy metals), Alzheimer’s disease and many other neurodegenerative conditions may be prevented and perhaps ultimately reversed as well.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that has a substantial impact on the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of people diagnosed with this condition. Although conventional pharmaceuticals are often necessary, such treatments can have adverse side effects and are not always satisfactory in maintaining blood sugar control and avoiding late-stage diabetic complications.

Exercise, diet, and weight control continue to be essential and effective means of improving blood sugar control and in many cases can help reduce the need for medications and prevent long-term complications such as lipid disorders, heart disease, infections, and kidney problems. In addition, our clinical experience confirms a growing body of evidence indicating that the selective use of nutraceuticals, botanicals, and minerals may promote healthy glucose and lipid metabolism. More and more diabetic patients and health care professionals are seeking out this integrative approach, and clinical research is increasingly substantiating the use of supplements such as chromium, Coccinia indica, American Ginseng, and Gymnema sylvestre—all of which are most effective in the context of a comprehensive approach that includes specific lifestyle changes and appropriate use of pharmaceuticals for blood sugar control.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system which controls involuntary functions like blood pressure and heart rate. POTS is a disorder in which most of your blood stays in your lower body when you stand up, and in response, your heart rate can increase significantly, trying to pump blood to the brain. If that rate changes when you change positions, that’s a condition called Orthostatic Intolerance. It’s the most common symptom of POTS and can make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or faint. Your heart rate can go up by 30 beats or more a minute after you stand. As that happens, your blood pressure is likely to drop.

During each appointment at our office, we will take both your sitting and standing blood pressure to document the severity of symptoms. Taking your blood pressure and pulse can give insight and better control over POTS and helps us fine tune your treatment. The Carolina Center can offer a wider variety of treatments than just a beta blocker and looks for possible underlying causes such as chronic infections and environmental toxicity Treatment of these conditions can help minimize POTS symptoms. In addition, we offer IV hydration therapies that can provide symptomatic improvements.

This chronic and often debilitating condition is frequently associated with chronic fatigue. It is not usually the initial symptom of the syndrome, but one that develops gradually after onset of other symptoms, ultimately surpassing these symptoms as being more aggravating. Often patients cause further harm to themselves in this stage because they take large, daily doses of anti-inflammatory medications, resulting in damage to the intestinal lining and the development of “leaky gut syndrome”. This can lead to more rheumatologic complaints as the immune system begins to overreact to undigested materials entering the blood stream.

These antigen-antibody complexes then deposit into joint spaces and muscle tissue, further aggravating the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Musculoskeletal complaints can also vary widely in ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia patients, with symptoms often coming and going in cycles. This is a strong indicator of an underlying digestive disorder as one of the factors contributing to this condition.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), is a complex chronic disease that presents with symptoms in multiple body systems. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is more than just “fatigue” – ME/CFS is a neurological disease according to the World Health Organization.

The cardinal symptom of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM). PEM is a flare of symptoms and/or the appearance of new symptoms after exertion. Patients may also experience other symptoms such as: orthostatic intolerance, unrefreshing sleep, pain, headaches, cognitive symptoms (confusion, difficulty retrieving words, poor working memory, spatial instability, and disorientation), sensitivities to light/sound/vibration, gastrointestinal symptoms, autonomic/endocrine symptoms such as poor temperature regulation, cold or heat intolerance, flu-like symptoms, and new food or chemical sensitivities.

Similar to Lyme Disease and Long Covid, this condition is often triggered by an infection in the majority of patients. Because many ME/CFS patients symptoms vary over time and require treatments that are highly personalized, our practice focuses on addressing the underlying causes of your illness on a cellular level rather than at an organ or system level. We tailor each treatment strategy to your unique needs that are based on the results of our comprehensive, individualized testing. Overall, our goal is to support the immune system through nutritional treatments which include IV therapy and a combination of hormone replacement and supplements.

Molds reproduce by forming tiny spores that not visible to the naked eye. Mold also generates Mycotoxins which are toxic chemicals that are present on spores and small fragments of mold and fungus that are released into the air.

These bio-toxins can lead to a variety of symptoms including: fatigue, headache, problems with focus and concentration as well as a variety of hormonal disturbances. These toxins can be long lasting, persisting in the brain and other fatty tissues for years after exposure even when one is no longer being exposed.

The goal is to mobilize the toxins from the fatty tissue, support drainage from the tissues back to the blood stream, moving these toxins to the liver where they are dissolved in bile, then transferred through the gall bladder into the intestines where they eliminated from the body. Treatments include dietary, nutritional, pharmaceutical and, if able, intravenous therapies that support the above processes.

If nutrients are lacking or do not reach body cells, then organs and organ systems will tend to function poorly and tissues will not heal well. At the Carolina Center, one of our first priorities is to evaluate your nutritional status to ensure that you are well supplied with nutrients known to be critical to healthy functioning. Many individuals we see have various cellular nutrient deficiencies, making it extremely difficult for them to generate the energy needed to carry out cellular functioning. Such deficiencies may contribute to virtually every health problem known to humankind. Of course, every patient’s nutritional issues are highly individualized. Individual nutrient requirements can vary by 20-fold or more, depending on the genetics, biochemistry, physiology, and bioenergetics state of the individual.

Through comprehensive nutrient analysis testing (which is largely designed to determine whether cellular nutritional needs are being met), we are able to construct a tailored nutritional regimen that includes both dietary changes and supplements aimed at correcting the deficiencies and bolstering one’s nutritional status over the long term. Correction of these deficiencies will invariably support other aspects of your integrative treatment program and result in profound and often surprising improvements in your health and well-being.

Obesity and being overweight are important risk factors for diabetes, heart disease, cancer and premature death. The need to lose weight and improve body composition has emerged as a critical health issue for the majority of U.S. citizens, and waistlines are expanding at an alarming rate across the globe. Though dozens of dieting regimens have been touted as fat-burning panaceas, the reality is that most individuals continue to struggle with portion control, food choices, logistics, and low satisfaction over the long term.

Our approach at the Carolina Center makes strategic use of whole-food-based meal replacements that include highly nutritious shakes and bars. This approach enables you to feel well-nourished throughout the day with very little effort or planning. Clinical studies indicate that these programs provide the best outcomes in terms of successful weight loss and reduction of disease risk. To complement the meal replacements, we recommend low-glycemic meals that have been shown in numerous studies to engender long-term weight control. Dr. Pittman is available to address medical issues such as insulin resistance, metabolic weaknesses, circulatory problems, and chronic inflammation, and to provide individualized nutritional, metabolic and hormonal testing when needed or desired.

Our newest and most exciting program includes the use of a homeopathic product to accompany of very low calorie weight loss plan. This formula contains homeopathic amino acids that greatly enhance satiety, metabolism and detoxification. This product does not contain actual HCG. To help you achieve your goals and keep the weight off, the Center offers integrative health coaching sessions in order create a personalized plan for reaching your optimal weight and body composition.

As men and women age, they may experience any one of a number of physical changes, such as loss of energy, wrinkles and blemishes in the skin, deteriorating body composition (increased body fat along with loss of muscle), loss of libido, anxiety, depression, and loss of mental focus. When several of these changes occur at the same time, they can add up to a very disheartening situation. Fortunately, with the help of an integrative approach, and utilizing the tools of “functional medicine”, the aging process can be slowed and even reversed. With the help of individualized testing, we seek to identify the factors that are most likely accelerating the aging process in your body. By then addressing each of these factors, we can turn this situation around and restore a high level of vitality and overall functioning.

In today’s world, the human body is exposed to a steady stream of toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and lead (Pb), all of which are serious neurotoxins as well as hormone disruptors. These heavy metals become increasingly concentrated as they are passed up the food chain, but even very low-level exposure poses a threat to young and old individuals alike. Our understanding of the consequences of increased body burdens of heavy metals has evolved considerably in recent years. We now know that both mercury and lead exposures in pregnant women must be kept to a minimum in order to prevent neurodevelopmental problems in the developing fetus and child. Mercury, in the form of mercury vapor (from dental amalgams) and methyl mercury (primarily from tuna consumption), is easily transferred from the pregnant women to the fetus, and boys are particularly susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of lead and mercury following exposure early in life.

Cadmium, found in food and cigarette smoke, increases the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, and other hormone-related cancers. Because of these and many other environmental health concerns, and based on your health history, we may recommend testing assessing your body burden of heavy metals. If excessive levels of heavy metals are found, chelation therapy (both oral and intravenous) in tandem with mineral-antioxidant support can be very effective in reversing this situation; subsequent testing can then be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Often within 6 to 12 months, patients will be free of heavy metals, and many of their chronic symptoms will have resolved in the interim. Our clinical experience suggests that the health-stealing effects of heavy metals are perhaps the biggest blind spot of conventional medicine.