Complex Chronic Disease
Many patients come to our clinic with a diverse array of symptoms. These symptoms may be concerning, bothersome, or deeply debilitating. Their cause is commonly unknown or, at least, not well understood. The majority of our patients have seen many specialists without answers, or received diagnoses that still do not feel right before visiting us. Blood or other laboratory tests may have been unable to confirm a true causative factor, or painted a muddy clinical picture. Some have been told, “you just need a therapist,” or “it’s all in your head”.
Complex Chronic Disease
Common diagnoses given to patients with CCD:
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue (ME/CFS)
Lyme Disease & Other Chronic Infections
Fibromyalgia
Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS)
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
Mast Cell Disorders (MCD)/ Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
Mold/ Biotoxin Illness
Gastrointestinal Disorders
*Note: This is not a complete list. Every patient presents differently.
Inspired by BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre’s definition of CCD
How do we define Complex Chronic Disease (CCD)?
Conditions Treated
Complex Chronic Disease
When we carefully and attentively address each stressor contributing to CCD, we liberate the body’s own healing capabilities. If we only focus on killing Lyme disease through antibiotic therapy, we ignore all of the other stressors contributing to the disease state. The patient might experience an increase in negative symptoms and imbalances, or a serious setback in health. When we weave all of the pieces of CCD together—however—the chance of a full restoration of health, and the speed at which that healing happens, greatly increases.
