Episode 227: Pain to Purpose - an interview with Madi Peters

Madi Peters is a 22-year-old medical school student from Canada training to become a Naturopathic Doctor (ND). Her Lyme disease experience has shaped her life, values, and passions. She soon will be helping others suffering from chronic Lyme disease once she completes medical school.

Prior to getting sick, Ms. Peters was a very active teenager engaged in competitive dance, teaching gymnastics, participating in her school’s swim team, and actively serving as a member of her school’s student council. Suddenly, she went from an extremely active, social, and academically successful teenager to becoming debilitatingly ill and bedridden.

Ms. Peters’ Lyme journey began when she was 16 years old in eleventh grade. She visited over 20 doctors during a one-year period prior to getting her Lyme disease diagnosis. Some of Ms. Peters’ symptoms included debilitating migraines, extreme fatigue, noise and light sensitivity, dizziness, brain fog, and many more neurological and systemic symptoms.

Many doctors misdiagnosed Ms. Peters’ with things like a concussion, chronic daily tension headaches, stress, overexertion, and some even said she was making it all up in her head. She had numerous MRIs, CAT scans, spinal taps, and other tests which couldn’t find anything wrong with her.

Finally, Ms. Peters found Dr. Maureen McShane in New York who diagnosed her with Lyme disease through a clinical assessment followed up with an IGeneX blood test. She has also used ArminLabs in Germany as well as the Immunosciences Lab out of California to validate her Lyme diagnosis.

Ms. Peters first treated with Dr. McShane using oral and IV antibiotics prior to treating at the Sponaugle Wellness Institute in Florida which utilized heavy detox protocols, IV supplements, herbal tinctures, infrared saunas, colonics, and more for 4 months. The institute also discovered that she had mold toxicity and fungal infections which were preventing her from healing. She continued with the recommended treatment once back home in Canada. Once stopping treatment last year, Ms. Peters has stayed on a maintenance protocol which includes immune support and detox tools.

If you would like to learn more about how a young woman didn’t let Lyme disease take her down and is now using her experiences to help others in the Lyme disease community, then tune in now!

PS Christa Nannos special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!