Tick Boot Camp Podcast
Dr. Raphael “Tito” Balbino was featured on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast:
Functional Medicine, Lyme Disease & Complex Chronic Illness
Dr. Raphael “Tito” Balbino, MD, is a board-certified physician who brings together training in Family Medicine and Geriatrics with a holistic, functional medicine approach to Lyme disease, complex chronic illness, systemic inflammation, and healthy aging.
At Mandarin Wellness Center in Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Balbino works with patients through longer, highly personalized appointments designed to look beyond individual symptoms and explore the broader factors that may be contributing to illness.
His path into functional and integrative medicine was not a straight one. Dr. Balbino began his career firmly rooted in conventional medicine before personal experiences, continued study, mentorship, and exposure to complex chronic illness changed the way he thought about health and healing.
From Brazil to a Career in Medicine
Dr. Balbino was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and lived there until age 12, when his family moved to the United States.
His interest in medicine developed after taking a Human Anatomy and Physiology course in college. Fascinated by the human body, he decided to pursue medical school—a journey that would ultimately require approximately 14 years of education and clinical training.
Dr. Balbino attended the University of Illinois College of Medicine and initially explored several areas of medicine before gravitating toward primary care and, eventually, geriatrics.
He completed his Family Medicine residency at Duke University and subsequently pursued additional training in Geriatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
That combination gave him a broad foundation for looking at the whole patient rather than a single organ system or diagnosis.
Why Dr. Balbino Moved Toward Functional Medicine
One of the most important influences on Dr. Balbino’s evolution as a physician came from outside his formal medical education.
His wife experienced a collection of seemingly disconnected health problems, including symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog. Despite Dr. Balbino’s extensive conventional medical training, he found that what he had learned did not adequately explain everything she was experiencing.
Her own search for answers eventually introduced the family to concepts commonly discussed within functional medicine, including nutrition, gastrointestinal health, hormones, environmental exposures, lifestyle, and the interconnected nature of different systems within the body.
Initially skeptical, Dr. Balbino began studying these subjects himself.
What started as curiosity gradually changed the way he practiced medicine.
He became increasingly interested in asking a larger question:
Instead of only treating a symptom, what factors are contributing to the patient’s overall state of health?
That shift eventually became central to his medical philosophy.
Discovering Lyme Disease and Associated Disorders
Another major turning point came in 2021, when Dr. Balbino was introduced to Dr. Shirley Hartman.
As Dr. Hartman prepared to step away from full-time practice, she and Dr. Balbino developed a relationship that included extensive conversations about medicine, patient care, and holistic approaches to complex illness.
Dr. Balbino asked Dr. Hartman to recommend some of the books and resources that had most influenced her clinical work.
It was through this process that he began exploring Lyme disease and associated disorders far beyond what he had encountered during his conventional medical education.
His understanding became even more personal as his wife’s longstanding health history was reevaluated through the lens of Lyme disease and tick-borne infections.
Testing reportedly identified evidence consistent with multiple Borrelia strains and Bartonella, providing another possible framework for symptoms that had previously appeared disconnected.
For Dr. Balbino, Lyme disease reinforced an idea that had increasingly shaped his approach to medicine: the body cannot always be understood as a collection of isolated systems.
Because Lyme disease and complex chronic illnesses may involve symptoms affecting multiple areas of the body, he believes patients often benefit from a broader, whole-person evaluation.
Dr. Balbino’s Approach to Lyme Disease and Chronic Illness
Patients with Lyme disease and other complex illnesses frequently describe symptoms that cross multiple systems—neurological, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, immune, hormonal, cardiovascular, and more.
That complexity can make these patients challenging to evaluate within a traditional short medical appointment.
Mandarin Wellness Center is structured differently.
New-patient consultations may range from approximately one to four hours depending on complexity, while standard follow-up visits are generally scheduled for an hour.
The additional time allows Dr. Balbino to review a patient’s history, discuss concerns in detail, evaluate previous testing and treatments, and develop an individualized plan.
Rather than assuming that every patient with similar symptoms needs the same protocol, his approach emphasizes the individual circumstances surrounding each person’s illness.
Lyme disease referrals have become one of the largest sources of patients coming into his practice. In his Tick Boot Camp interview, Dr. Balbino described seeing people across a wide spectrum—from patients who have no idea why they have remained chronically ill to experienced Lyme patients seeking additional treatment options. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Functional and Integrative Medicine at Mandarin Wellness Center
Dr. Balbino’s practice incorporates conventional medical knowledge alongside functional and integrative strategies.
Depending on the individual patient, the practice may explore areas such as:
- Lyme disease and associated disorders
- Complex chronic illness
- Chronic and systemic inflammation
- Nutrition and metabolic health
- Gastrointestinal health
- Environmental and lifestyle factors
- Mold and environmental exposure
- Healthy aging
- Immune function
- Nutritional and laboratory assessment
- Individualized supportive therapies
Mandarin Wellness Center also offers a variety of in-office therapies, including IV nutrient therapy, high-dose IV vitamin C, IV glutathione, IV ozone therapy, infrared sauna, frequency-specific microcurrent, therapeutic phlebotomy, and TruDOSE Platelet IV Therapy. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
The appropriateness of any therapy depends on the individual patient, their medical history, and the physician’s clinical assessment.
SOT / Q-REstrain and Lyme Disease
Dr. Balbino’s Tick Boot Camp conversation also explored Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy, commonly known as SOT, and the newer Q-REstrain terminology.
SOT has become a frequently discussed treatment within parts of the Lyme disease community because it is designed around a specific microbial genetic target.
During the interview, Matt and Rich explored how individualized targeting differs from broader antimicrobial strategies and asked Dr. Balbino about his clinical experience using these approaches.
Dr. Balbino emphasized that Lyme patients frequently present with far more than a single infectious issue, reinforcing the importance of considering the patient’s larger health picture when evaluating any therapy. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Frequency Specific Microcurrent
Another modality discussed extensively during the Tick Boot Camp interview was Frequency Specific Microcurrent, or FSM.
FSM uses low-level electrical currents delivered at selected frequencies and is used by some integrative practitioners as a supportive modality for pain, inflammation, neurological symptoms, and other conditions.
Dr. Balbino shared clinical examples from his practice while also acknowledging that responses vary between patients.
That individualized response is consistent with one of the larger themes of his practice: no single therapy should be assumed to work the same way for everyone.
TruDOSE Platelet IV Therapy
One of the regenerative therapies available through Mandarin Wellness Center is TruDOSE Platelet IV Therapy.
The process uses a patient’s own blood. A calculated amount is drawn, the platelets are concentrated, and a specific concentration is then administered back to the patient intravenously.
Platelets are widely known for their role in clotting, but they also contain signaling molecules and growth factors involved in inflammatory responses and tissue repair.
TruDOSE is marketed as a method of providing a more standardized, patient-specific concentration of platelets than traditional platelet-rich plasma approaches.
Dr. Balbino discussed patient experiences with the therapy during his Tick Boot Camp interview, including patients with complex neurological and chronic symptoms. These examples represent individual clinical experiences and should not be interpreted as proof that the therapy can reproduce the same results in other patients.
Claims regarding its effectiveness for particular chronic diseases, including Lyme disease, should be distinguished from established clinical evidence.
Lyme Disease, Mold, and the Bigger Clinical Picture
One lesson Dr. Balbino emphasized is that improvement in one area does not necessarily mean every contributor to illness has been addressed.
He described seeing Lyme patients improve and then experience returning symptoms after going back into mold-exposed homes or workplaces.
That experience has influenced how Mandarin Wellness Center sequences evaluation and treatment, with attention to environmental exposures and other contributors before moving forward with certain interventions. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
It reflects the broader philosophy behind his practice: complex illness often requires looking at the interaction among infection, inflammation, environment, immune function, metabolism, and the patient’s individual history.
A Physician Focused on Time, Listening, and Individualized Care
An important part of Dr. Balbino’s philosophy is something increasingly difficult to provide in modern healthcare: time.
Complex chronic illness rarely fits neatly into a 15-minute appointment.
Patients may arrive with years of symptoms, numerous specialists, extensive laboratory testing, multiple diagnoses, treatment failures, medication histories, and symptoms affecting seemingly unrelated parts of the body.
Dr. Balbino’s longer appointment model is intended to provide enough time to understand that larger story.
His approach reflects the evolution of his own career—from conventional medical training in Family Medicine and Geriatrics to a broader exploration of functional medicine, Lyme disease, inflammation, nutrition, regenerative approaches, environmental illness, and whole-person care.
Continuing Dr. Shirley Hartman’s Legacy
Dr. Shirley Hartman became an important mentor to Dr. Balbino as he entered the complex chronic illness and Lyme disease space.
Following her passing, Dr. Balbino described the responsibility of continuing portions of the work and philosophy she had shared with him.
Patients who had worked with Dr. Hartman repeatedly told him how profoundly she had affected their lives. Initially, Dr. Balbino described the responsibility of following someone so respected as daunting.
Over time, however, he came to view continuing that legacy as part of his own path.
He described his role simply: he is there to serve patients—and, when he is not the right person to help someone, to help them identify someone who may be. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
Work With Dr. Tito Balbino
Dr. Balbino sees patients through Mandarin Wellness Center in Jacksonville, Florida, where he provides personalized functional and holistic medical care for people with a variety of health concerns, including Lyme disease and complex chronic illness.
During his Tick Boot Camp interview, Dr. Balbino said he was fully licensed in Florida, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., and that the practice also offers telemedicine where appropriate. Patients from other states may sometimes establish care through an in-person visit before continuing portions of their care remotely, depending on applicable requirements and the patient’s needs. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
Patients interested in learning more about Dr. Balbino, his medical philosophy, available services, or becoming a patient can visit Mandarin Wellness Center.
Listen to Dr. Raphael “Tito” Balbino on Tick Boot Camp
In his in-depth Tick Boot Camp conversation, Dr. Balbino discusses:
- His journey from Brazil to medicine in the United States
- Family Medicine and Geriatrics
- His transition from conventional to functional medicine
- His wife’s chronic illness journey
- Lyme disease and Bartonella
- Dr. Shirley Hartman’s mentorship and legacy
- Why Lyme disease can be difficult to recognize
- Lyme disease outside the Northeastern United States
- Functional and integrative approaches to chronic illness
- SOT / Q-REstrain
- Frequency Specific Microcurrent
- IV and regenerative therapies
- TruDOSE Platelet IV Therapy
- Mold exposure and Lyme disease
- Hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome considerations
- Why complex patients require individualized care
Until the episode page is published, explore more conversations with Lyme-literate physicians through the Tick Boot Camp Doctor Interviews.
