Tick Boot Camp Podcast
Dr. Casey Kelley has joined Tick Boot Camp for multiple in-depth conversations about Lyme disease, tick-borne infections, complex chronic illness, integrative medicine, and the evolving future of patient care.
- COMING SOON: Episode 575: Dr. Casey Kelley Instagram Live: Lyme Disease Research, Treatment Advances, and Why Clinical Experience Matters
- Episode 359: Frontline of Lyme – An Interview With Dr. Casey Kelley
- Episode 275: Community Healing – An Interview With LLMD Casey Kelley
- Episode 170: LLMD Takes on Instagram Live – An Interview With Dr. Casey Kelley
- Episode 98: She’s Been There – An Interview With Dr. Casey Kelley
Through these conversations, Dr. Kelley has shared both her clinical expertise and her personal experience as someone who endured years of unexplained symptoms before discovering that Lyme disease and tick-borne infections were contributing to her illness.
Her appearances explore physician education, individualized treatment, mast cell activation, POTS, nervous system regulation, emerging diagnostic tools, Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy, ozone therapy, artificial intelligence, clinical data, and the importance of giving patients validation and hope.
About Dr. Casey Kelley
Casey Kelley, M.D., ABoIM, is the founder and medical director of Case Integrative Health, an integrative medical practice focused on identifying and addressing the underlying contributors to chronic and complex illness.
Board-certified in both Family Medicine and Integrative Medicine, Dr. Kelley combines conventional medical training with functional and integrative approaches. Her work focuses on understanding the whole patient rather than evaluating symptoms, infections, hormones, neurological concerns, and immune dysfunction as unrelated problems.
She is particularly recognized for her work with Lyme disease, tick-borne infections, persistent symptoms, and other conditions that may involve multiple interconnected systems.
Her Personal Lyme Disease Journey
Dr. Kelley’s commitment to Lyme disease care is deeply personal.
Her symptoms began while she was in college. Although she had previously been active in athletics, dance, and show choir, she began experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, exercise intolerance, and difficulty completing ordinary activities.
She initially received an asthma diagnosis and later endured years of unanswered questions and unsuccessful treatments. During medical school, she was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, commonly known as POTS, after undergoing a tilt-table test.
Despite trying medications, compression garments, increased fluids, and other strategies, she continued struggling throughout medical school and residency.
Her perspective changed after hearing Lyme disease expert Dr. Richard Horowitz speak. Recognizing her own experience in what he described, Dr. Kelley eventually pursued testing and treatment for tick-borne illness. Her health improved substantially, and her experience helped shape the physician she would become.
Today, she brings the perspective of both a doctor and a former patient to her work. She understands how isolating it can feel when symptoms are dismissed, laboratory results appear normal, or a patient is told that an illness is psychological simply because conventional testing has not identified the cause.
From Conventional Medicine to Integrative Care
From the beginning of her medical career, Dr. Kelley asked questions about health, healing, and longevity that conventional medicine alone did not always answer.
Seeking a broader understanding of chronic disease, she began studying Functional Medicine alongside her traditional medical education. This multidisciplinary approach taught her to examine how infections, inflammation, immune dysfunction, cellular health, environmental exposures, hormones, the nervous system, and emotional stress may interact.
Dr. Kelley describes Lyme disease as a “master class” in functional and integrative medicine because patients frequently present with multiple overlapping contributors rather than one isolated problem.
Her approach is designed to investigate those relationships and build a treatment plan around the individual patient.
Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Illness Expertise
Dr. Kelley has studied the causes, effects, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease and associated infections extensively. She lectures nationally and helps educate other healthcare professionals about recognizing and treating patients with complex tick-borne illnesses.
Her clinical work may involve patients affected by Lyme disease and infections such as:
- Bartonella
- Babesia
- Anaplasma
- Ehrlichia
- Rickettsial infections
- Other Borrelia species
She emphasizes that Lyme disease is rarely as simple as identifying one pathogen and selecting one treatment. Each patient may have a different combination of infections, immune responses, genetics, environmental exposures, microbiome changes, neurological symptoms, and treatment tolerance.
For that reason, she does not believe there is one universal treatment sequence that will work for every patient.
Individualized Treatment for Complex Chronic Illness
At Case Integrative Health, Dr. Kelley treats Lyme disease within a broader chronic complex illness framework.
A patient’s treatment priorities may include infections, mast cell activation, mold exposure, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular membrane health, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, hormonal imbalances, gastrointestinal health, or other barriers to recovery.
Some patients may need their mast cells and inflammatory responses stabilized before they can tolerate antimicrobial treatment. Others may need infection treatment earlier. For certain patients, nervous system support or environmental interventions may become the first priority.
Dr. Kelley explains that this process cannot always be reduced to a rigid sequence of treating one condition first, another second, and another third. Treatment must be adjusted according to the patient’s symptoms, history, laboratory findings, tolerance, response, and current capacity.
Listening to Patients and Working in the “Gray Zone”
Many people with chronic Lyme disease live in what Dr. Kelley describes as medicine’s “gray zone.”
Their symptoms are real and often disabling, but standard laboratory tests may not clearly explain what is happening. Patients may be analytical and understandably want definitive answers, yet currently available testing cannot always identify every infection, inflammatory process, or biological disruption.
Dr. Kelley believes experienced clinicians are essential in these situations.
She listens for patterns, considers the patient’s complete history, evaluates possible contributors, and works collaboratively with the patient to determine reasonable next steps. She is also candid that treatment sometimes requires carefully trying an intervention, observing the response, and changing direction when necessary.
Her message to patients is that uncertainty does not mean their symptoms are imaginary or that they cannot improve.
ILADS Education and Physician Training
Dr. Kelley is closely involved with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, also known as ILADS.
ILADS is an international medical society dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and associated illnesses through physician education, clinical collaboration, guidelines, conferences, and professional training.
Dr. Kelley is an ILADS Fellow and has served the organization in leadership roles, including as treasurer. She also helps train clinicians who are learning how to diagnose and treat tick-borne infections.
During her 2026 Tick Boot Camp Instagram Live, Dr. Kelley discussed a partnership involving the Illinois Lyme Association and Carle Health to make the ILADS Fundamentals Course available to healthcare providers.
The course provides intensive education on Lyme disease, Bartonella, Babesia, other tick-borne infections, pediatric and adult presentations, diagnostic limitations, and individualized treatment strategies.
Dr. Kelley believes that placing a properly trained Lyme-literate clinician in more communities could significantly reduce diagnostic delays and help patients receive appropriate care earlier.
Research, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Kelley is optimistic about the future of Lyme disease research and diagnostics.
She believes larger clinical datasets may help researchers identify meaningful groups of patients who share biological patterns, symptoms, or treatment responses. This could eventually allow clinicians to better predict which treatment strategies may be most helpful for particular patient populations.
Artificial intelligence may also help clinicians process complex information, identify overlooked relationships, and stay informed about rapidly expanding research.
However, Dr. Kelley stresses that these tools cannot replace a knowledgeable clinician. Artificial intelligence can produce incorrect or misleading information when it is not guided by someone with the training to evaluate its conclusions.
Her vision for the future combines better testing, more clinical data, advanced technology, experienced physicians, and direct patient collaboration.
Emerging Lyme Disease Diagnostics
Dr. Kelley is encouraged by research seeking to determine whether a Borrelia infection is active, previously treated, cleared, or no longer the primary factor driving symptoms.
She has discussed emerging diagnostic approaches that examine peptides and other biological signals associated with active Borrelia activity.
Improved diagnostics could help clinicians answer several critical questions:
- Is an infection currently active?
- Is the patient showing evidence of a past exposure?
- Has the infection been adequately reduced or cleared?
- Are continuing symptoms being driven by immune dysfunction, mast cell activation, another infection, mold exposure, neurological changes, or a different process?
Being able to rule out or better define one major contributor could save patients time, reduce unnecessary treatment, and help clinicians focus on the remaining barriers to recovery.
Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy
Dr. Kelley has also discussed Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy, commonly called SOT and sometimes referred to as Q-REstrain, as one of the tools used in her clinical practice.
SOT is designed to target genetic sequences associated with a specific pathogen found in an individual patient. A blood sample is analyzed to identify the targeted organism, and a customized oligonucleotide is created with the goal of interfering with the pathogen’s ability to replicate.
Dr. Kelley explains that SOT is highly individualized and is not equivalent to selecting a generic Lyme or Bartonella product from a shelf. If the targeted organism cannot be identified in the sample, the customized therapy may not be produced.
She initially considered SOT primarily for patients who had plateaued after trying antibiotics, herbal protocols, ozone, and other approaches. As her clinical experience grew, she began considering it earlier for selected patients.
Dr. Kelley does not describe SOT as a guaranteed cure. Pathogens may persist in biofilms, tissues, intracellular forms, or other areas that make them difficult to reach. Her broader treatment goal is often to reduce the microbial burden enough for the immune system to regain control and for the patient to return to meaningful health and function.
Ozone Therapy and Biofilm Support
Dr. Kelley sometimes combines SOT with ozone-based therapies and other supportive interventions.
In her clinical experience, ozone therapy may help lower inflammation, address circulating organisms, support oxygenation, and reduce the intensity of treatment-related reactions for certain patients.
She may also introduce biofilm support, herbs, medications, or other therapies at strategic points in the treatment plan. These decisions are individualized and depend upon what the patient can tolerate and how the patient responds.
Nervous System Regulation and Neuroplasticity
Dr. Kelley considers nervous system support an important component of chronic illness recovery, but she does not believe every patient should be pushed into an intensive brain-retraining program at the beginning of treatment.
People with severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, air hunger, pain, or overwhelming treatment schedules may not have the capacity to devote substantial time and energy to neuroplasticity exercises.
For these patients, she may begin with passive or lower-effort nervous system support before introducing more demanding programs.
Tools discussed by Dr. Kelley include:
- Vagus nerve stimulation
- Apollo Neuro
- Pulsetto
- Neurofeedback
- Binaural beats
- Breathing exercises
- Hypnosis
- Humor, laughter, play, and intentional joy
She emphasizes that discussing the nervous system does not mean a patient’s illness is “all in their head.” Infections, inflammation, immune dysfunction, and physical illness are real. At the same time, chronic illness can keep the brain and body trapped in a prolonged fight-or-flight state that may continue interfering with healing.
Supporting Patients Who Cannot Tolerate Treatment
Some of the most sensitive patients may react to extremely small amounts of an herb, supplement, medication, food, or environmental exposure.
For these individuals, Dr. Kelley may focus first on calming inflammation, stabilizing mast cells, supporting the nervous system, and strengthening cellular foundations.
Depending on the patient, supportive strategies may involve nutrients or compounds such as:
- Quercetin
- Curcumin
- Resveratrol
- Specialized pro-resolving mediators
- Essential fatty acids
- Phosphatidylcholine
- Plasmalogens
- Butyrate
- Other cellular membrane support
The purpose is not necessarily to attack an infection immediately. It may be to create enough stability for the patient to eventually tolerate the treatments needed to move forward.
Remission, Recovery, and Hope
Dr. Kelley often prefers the word “remission” to “cure.”
The human body naturally contains countless microbes, including organisms that can remain controlled for years without producing symptoms. Rather than becoming consumed with eliminating every last organism, she encourages patients to work toward lowering the infectious and inflammatory burden, restoring immune regulation, improving function, and returning to a meaningful life.
This does not mean ignoring organisms that may contribute to long-term risk. It means recognizing that a person can become symptom-free and regain health even when absolute microbial eradication cannot be proven.
Dr. Kelley also acknowledges the emotional and spiritual burden of chronic illness. Moving from identifying as a sick person to believing that health is possible can be difficult after years of dismissal, fear, pain, and failed treatments.
Her work reinforces an important message for the Lyme community: complex does not mean hopeless.
Education and Professional Background
Dr. Kelley earned her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed her Family Medicine residency at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago.
Before founding Case Integrative Health, she practiced at WholeHealth Chicago, Michigan Avenue Immediate Care, and St. Joseph Hospital.
Her professional background includes:
- Board certification in Family Medicine
- Board certification through the American Board of Integrative Medicine
- Founder and medical director of Case Integrative Health
- Fellow of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
- Past treasurer of ILADS
- Longstanding involvement with the Institute for Functional Medicine
- Founding membership in the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine
- Teaching and faculty experience connected with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University
Case Integrative Health
Case Integrative Health was created to provide patients with access to a broader range of integrative tools within one clinical environment.
The practice works with patients experiencing complex chronic illness, infectious disease, hormonal concerns, cardiometabolic conditions, and longevity-related goals. Its multidisciplinary team includes physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who collaborate on challenging cases.
Dr. Kelley and her clinical team conduct regular rounds to discuss patients, compare perspectives, and refine treatment plans. She believes this collaboration makes clinicians stronger and gives complex patients the benefit of multiple experienced viewpoints.
Learn more about Dr. Kelley and her practice at Case Integrative Health.
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