Clinic Services

Do you need a Lyme Disease Specialist? We are specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne diseases.

  • Have you been bitten by a tick ? Do you suspect you may have been bitten by a tick?
  • Do you have suspected Lyme and/  or other tick-borne diseases?
  • Have you been diagnosed with Lyme and or other tick-borne diseases and need further treatment and services?

We understand that tick-borne diseases and their symptoms can have a significant impact on your day-to-day lives. This is why the TBD Clinic offers more comprehensive appointments to allow for a thorough assessment, for our patients to be heard and to receive personalised treatment plans.

The TBD Clinic provides diagnosis and treatment for those with suspected or diagnosed tick-borne diseases, including Lyme Disease and co-infections. We can provide you with clinical assessments and we will advise as to what investigations (e.g. bloods or heart testing) will assist us to develop your treatment to target Lyme disease, symptoms and other tick-borne diseases, through the use of medications and supplements.

SERVICES

There are a variety of services currently available at the TBD Clinic, as a Lyme Disease specialist clinic. The recommended services, including your recommended tick-borne disease investigations and treatment options will be discussed with you at a relevant appointment.

Presently the TBD clinic offers:

  • Consultations (these can be remote via virtual meetings or face to face  in our clinic; We treat those with Acute and chronic Lyme Disease,  Bartonella and Babesia and other tick-borne diseases. A recent tick bite service is also available.
  • Prescriptions: Please inform us of any allergies and sensitivities.
  • Treatment plans (medication and supplement/herbal protocols)
  • Testing recommendations (advising for  ordering of the tests)
  • Clinical letters (including referral letters)
  • Clinical calls
  • Clinical emails
  • ECGs in clinic and
  • Blood draws in clinic

CONSULTATIONS

TBD Clinic consultations take place at our clinic in Worthing or remotely via virtual meeting as we understand that your health may make travelling may be difficult. Please let us know if you have  any special requirements, either on line , or in person. E.g. Hearing loops. If assistance is required regarding online access, our Clinic Manager will be happy to assist .

TBD Clinic schedules initial and 3-monthly consultations (or sooner if required)  for 60 minutes. This allows for a thorough clinical assessment, which explores your medical history, symptoms and any investigations completed or required. This supports diagnosis, but also gives us an opportunity to consider other potential issues or causes of your symptoms, such as other bacterial , viral or fungal infections or other possible causes.  Next steps will be discussed with you and this may include a combination of prescribed medication, herbals and supplements; Testing or further investigations will also be discussed . Any monitoring required will also be discussed. You will be given a review date and an opportunity to ask questions.

It may be helpful to bring someone with you for the consultation.

Currently, consultations take place on a Monday and Tuesday, between 10:00 and 15:00. However, the TBD Clinic will make exceptions for other days depending on urgency of consultation and clinician availability.

Prior to your consultation:

Initial Consultations

Our Clinic Manager will be in contact to assist with the following:

  • Booking a convenient date and time for your in-clinic or remote appointment
  • Creating a patient folder on our secure online platform for which a link will be sent to you.
  • An email with two form links, the TBD Clinic Consent and Registration form.
  • Patients to please send any previous blood work or other investigations,, where possible,  to help better prepare our clinicians on your symptoms and needs. 

Follow-up consultations

Follow-up consultations are booked every 3-months for 60 minutes, unless otherwise indicated by your clinician. Please keep us informed of any changes to your health , possible side effects or if you have any questions regarding your treatment.

Clinical scheduling of these consultations is essential in order to monitor your  health and treatments, any side effects and to consider if any changes are needed.. It is helpful to book this appointment ahead, to ensure there are no delays or disruption to treatment.   Please ensure any investigation results and changes to medication regimens  are shared 1 week prior to your appointment as without these there may be delays to your treatment. 

NEW SERVICE – Recent tick bite consultation

Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases are usually easier to treat, the earlier they are diagnosed. If you believe that you have recently (within the last 4 weeks) been bitten by a tick, please contact us on 07398 416 917 or info@tbdclinic.com to book your 30-minute appointment for Recent Tick Bite Consultation *This will be a scheduled remote consultation, for within one working day of contact. *

What is the Recent Tick Bite Consultation?

  • An appointment one working day from contact
  • 30-minute appointment in which your recent tick bite and possible treatment options will be discussed.
  • If treatment is indicated  a prescription will be provided. This can be sent for postal delivery of medications (costs vary according to medication and pharmacy) or in some cases a local pharmacy if they will accept the electronic prescription and the medication is in stock. .
  • Cost: £175

After your consultation:

After your consultation, and, if  needed,  investigations are completed, a post-consultation letter will be provided to you. This letter will include your clinical assessment and treatment plan. Should your treatment plan include a prescription, this will be sent to the pharmacy for processing. Please always read the patient information leaflet supplied by pharmacies.

Important consultation information:

Investigations & Treatment:

In order to assess and treat you safely, we will discuss with you  a baseline of required investigations before treatment. These investigations commonly include a variety of general blood tests and/or ECG (electrocardiogram) and are crucial to create and monitor your health and treatment plan to ensure safe treatment.

If investigations have been requested at your consultation, these are to be completed and the results sent to the TBD Clinic. We will  request blood testing or investigations for  your safety (e.g. to assess the safety of medication on your liver) , or where it will aid a diagnosis, or where it will make a difference to how we are treating . All results should be sent to the TBD Clinic and will be uploaded to your portal. 

We may be able to advise options for how the blood can be taken (phlebotomy) and testing. This may be via your GP or privately.

These will commonly be:

Baseline blood tests and ECG : These often  include thyroid, liver and kidney function, a full blood count , but other blood tests which may be advised.  Lyme disease and some of the other tick-borne diseases and other infections can cause problems with your heart including Lyme Carditis. Some of the medications we use can affect your heart rhythm, such that it may be advised that your heart is checked with an ECG before commencing these treatments.. It is also important we are informed of any changes to your medications and any medical history.

You will be given a blood test and ECG  request form.

Monitoring blood and ECG  tests : The frequency of these will be discussed with you.

It is important to be clear that many of the Lyme and other Tick-borne diseases’ treatment protocols may require a substantial time to establish and to produce results, please inform us if you stop your medication or you are experiencing troublesome or prolonged side effects. Please read the patient information leaflet supplied  by the pharmacy and follow this advice; ; the monitoring investigations are crucial for your safety. 

If tick-borne disease blood testing is required this will be discussed with you. We are unlikely to require these regularly, however.

A further consultation may be required for after the results are available. This consultation is scheduled to discuss your results and provide a  treatment plan. Once your personalised treatment protocol has been created, your lead clinician will liaise with you and our suppliers to promptly provide your medications and/or herbals. This treatment plan will be reviewed at regular intervals and consultations will be made every 3 months or earlier if needed. Interim consultations are likely to be shorter in duration .

TREATMENT PLANS

After a clinical assessment, your lead clinician  will create a personalised treatment plan for you.

These treatment plans are based on your individual needs and can include:

Medication Treatment for Tick-borne Diseases and Symptoms

Our Lyme Disease Specialist TBD Clinicians may  prescribe medications, such as  antibiotics, anti-fungals, anti-parasitics and other tick-borne diseases medications, to treat symptoms.  There are a number of other medications, which may also  be considered. Your medication plan will be discussed fully with you and will be tailored for you, taking into account your health and wellbeing , your tick-borne infections, risk of side effects and a ‘Herx’ reaction and any other diagnoses.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/lyme-disease/

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society – https://www.ilads.org/

Herbal Treatment for Tick-borne Diseases and Symptoms

In some cases, herbal treatment protocols may be recommended.

While the clinicians at the TBD Clinic are not herbalists, they can create herbal treatment protocols when advisable. This protocol  may be to treat tick-borne infections, prevent  or manage symptoms, side effects or prevent or manage a Herx reaction. This will be tailored to the individual needs of the patient and are used as standalone treatment plans or to complement prescribed medication treatment. We may recommend working in collaboration with a herbalist or functional practitioner, especially if there are complexities.

​PRESCRIPTION

TBD Clinic clinicians are independent prescribers and will provide prescriptions for your treatment protocols. Prescription service includes a patient clinical history review and assessment, medication assessment and contact with pharmacy. Prescriptions will be sent to one of our selected pharmacies or, should you have a preferred pharmacy, the pharmacy of your choice.

INVESTIGATIONS

As mentioned above, further investigations may be requested for your safe treatment. These can include:

  • Baseline and/or monitoring blood tests
  • ECG
  • Tick-borne Diseases and other infection testing

There are  several laboratories who offer tick-borne disease testing. Where testing is needed , we provide  investigation request forms and/or liaise with your preferred laboratory. Presently we utilise Infectolab  and Armin for tick-borne disease blood testing. We have worked with these laboratories to create ‘panels’, or combinations of blood tests, which can work out cheaper than requests for individual blood tests .  We will discuss these with you, regarding the process for this .

CLINICAL LETTERS, INCLUDING REFERRAL LETTERS

This service includes a patient clinical history review and assessment, consultation assessment, treatment plan review and the writing of clinical letter. Clinical referrals are recommended by clinicians and this will require a referral letter completed by your lead clinician or requested by patients for referral letters to other specialists. for example to see a cardiologist or functional practitioner, for PIP applications, to provide to their place of work etc. Patients can request a clinical letter if one is needed from a Lyme Disease specialist, e.g. GP surgery, employer etc.

EMAIL or TELEPHONIC CLINICAL QUERY

The TBD Clinic is a patient-centred clinic and provides interim services, should the need arise for our patients. If an event such as new symptoms occur, side effects from medications arise or several questions are asked needing a clinical response. This clinical response can be provided as an email or a short scheduled telephone call. However, this does not take the place of a consultation and should a longer or more complex response be required, a consultation will be scheduled according to clinician discretion.

ECG

The TBD Clinic provides ECG services using a 12-lead ECG machine. This service is conducted at our clinic in Worthing by our clinician Georgia Tuckey. An electronic copy of your ECG can be provided to you via your patient portal.

BLOOD DRAWS

Should a patient request a blood draw service, this will be provided at our clinic. Clinician, Georgia Tuckey has years of experience in blood draws and managing, where needed, patients with a fear of needles.

The TBD Clinic is committed to providing the highest quality care to all our patients, with unwavering commitment to tailored patient-centred services to help you get the treatment you need.

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