I write and advocate about chronic Lyme from the one place a textbook can't reach — the inside. Misdiagnosed for a decade, treated alongside my whole family, and still living the long road of recovery, I now help other families find treatment that actually works.
I'm Christina Carter — the person behind every guide on A Lyme Life. I'm not a physician, and I never pretend to be. What I bring is something different: lived, decade-long experience of chronic Lyme, years walking families through treatment decisions, and a commitment to telling the truth about what helps and what doesn't.
In 2004 I was bitten by a tick in the San Francisco Bay Area and told "Lyme doesn't exist in California." That sentence cost me over a decade of misdiagnosis. When I was finally diagnosed CDC-positive in 2014, my daughter, son, and husband all tested positive too — Lyme is a family illness. In 2017 our whole family traveled to Germany for whole-body hyperthermia, and that began a recovery I'm still living and writing about honestly today.
Ten years misdiagnosed, a whole family treated, and a recovery still in motion — including my daughter's reinfection by a second tick. I write from inside the illness, not the sidelines.
Since 2018 I've helped hundreds of families navigate testing, hyperthermia, immunotherapy, and treatment abroad — and I've sat beside parents while their children were treated.
Team member at The Lyme Specialist since 2018, and Clinical Advisory Board member at Lyme Re-code. Earlier, I worked in children's psychiatric care for the state of Nevada.
No guaranteed cures, no pressure. My guidance is free to you; partner programs compensate me only if you choose treatment — so my only job is helping you choose what's right for you.
When my son became ill with Lyme disease, I quickly learned the difficult truth that those afflicted with Lyme are forced to become their own doctors, because the traditional medical system falls short in recognizing and treating this complex illness. We don't choose to become experts in Lyme disease; we have to. Hours are spent researching, formulating more questions, and listening to the experiences of the people who have walked this road before us.
Out of that struggle, I also discovered something extraordinary: the Lyme community. Families, patients, small groups of brave, innovative, free-thinking practitioners, and thoughtful advocates such as Christina all come together to be heard and to collaborate in the fight against this formidable disease. It is a community defined by resilience and an unwavering commitment to help the person standing beside you find hope and healing.
Christina embodies everything that makes this community so remarkable. She serves the community with extraordinary generosity — she shares what she knows, connects people with resources, and gives her time and energy because she truly cares. What sets Christina apart is her relentless curiosity. She is always exploring new therapies, emerging research, and innovative healing modalities that may help in someone's recovery, approaching each person as a unique individual with a genuine desire to understand what might move them specifically closer to recovery.
Our family is deeply grateful for Christina's guidance. She was a steady source of hope and encouragement as our family made the decision to seek treatment overseas for our son's Lyme disease, and that decision had a profound impact on his healing journey. Christina didn't simply provide information — she offered hope, encouragement, and the reassurance that no one has to navigate this journey alone. She represents the very best of the Lyme warriors, and we are fortunate to have found her and to know her.
The complete path from diagnosis to remission, in the order it actually matters.
What it is, how it works, and what a week of treatment really looks like.
Why standard testing misses so many, and the labs Lyme doctors trust.
Why so many stay unwell after hyperthermia — and what helped my husband.
German hyperthermia, moderate hyperthermia + immune therapy, or integrative care.
What "LLMD" means, where to look, and the questions to ask.
Medical disclaimer: Christina Carter is a patient advocate and educator, not a licensed medical provider. Everything she writes is shared from personal experience and for educational purposes only — it is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified, Lyme-literate healthcare professional. Individual results vary.