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How Can I Get Better?: An Action Plan for Treating Resistant Lyme & Chronic Disease
Are you sick, but can't find any answers why? Do you have a seemingly unconnected collection of symptoms that leave doctors guessing? Or have you been diagnosed, but found that none of the treatments seems to make a difference? You may have Lyme disease and not even know it. Known as the great imitator, Lyme disease and its associated co-infections can mimic the symptoms of and often be misdiagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and even depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis. In his landmark book, Why Can't I Get Better?: Solving the Mystery of Lyme & Chronic Disease, renowned internist and leading world expert Dr. Horowitz introduced his revolutionary plan for treating Lyme disease, and chronic diseases in general. Now, in this new handbook How Can I Get Better?, Dr. Horowitz updates his research and offers a direct, actionable step-by-step plan for implementing his 16 MSIDS Diagnostic Map.
480 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2017
179 people are currently reading
582 people want to read
About the author
Richard I. Horowitz
9 books33 followersDr. Richard Horowitz is a board-certified internist and the medical director of the Hudson Valley Healing Arts Center, an integrative medical center which combines both classical and complementary approaches in the treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne disorders. He has treated over 13,000 Lyme and tick-borne disease patients in the last 30 years, with patients coming from all over the US, Canada, and Europe to his clinic. He is former Assistant Director of Medicine of Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and is one of the founding members and past president elect of ILADS, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. He is also past president of the ILADEF, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of health care professionals on tick-borne diseases. Dr Horowitz has trained over 200 healthcare providers in diagnosing and caring for patients with treatment-resistant tick-borne disorders and was previously awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award by the Turn the Corner Foundation as well as awards from Project Lyme for his treatment of Lyme Disease. He has dedicated his life to helping those stricken with this devastating illness.
He is also the author of two best-selling books on Lyme disease, Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease (2013, St Martin's Press, NY Times Best Seller), and How Can I Get Better? An Action Plan for Treating Resistant Lyme and Chronic Disease (2017, St Martin's Press, National bestseller). These books incorporate recent scientific advances and explain in detail how healthcare providers can effectively diagnose and treat resistant chronic illness. In addition, he has co-authored peer-reviewed Lyme guidelines, and published in the medical literature on novel “persister” drugs for the treatment of Lyme disease and coinfections, as well as the role of the 16-point MSIDS model in chronic illness.
Other projects include Dr Horowitz serving as a consultant to governmental agencies around the world, including those in China, Australia, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Dr Horowitz was a member of the HHS Tick-borne Disease Working Group and Co-chair of the “Other Tick-borne Diseases and Coinfections” subcommittee from 2017-2019 which provided recommendations to Congress to help the US improve the care of those suffering with tick-borne disorders. He recently served as a member of the HHS Babesia and Tick-borne Pathogen Subcommittee and was elected by Governor Cuomo to serve as a member of the NYS DOH Tick-borne disease Working Group in 2021.
Finally, Dr Horowitz recently published several scientific articles on classical and integrative solutions for COVID-19 which have been effective in helping those with acute and chronic illness, and he will be releasing his first novel, Starseed R/evolution, ‘The Awakening’ a cli-fi (science fiction/climate change) novel in the Fall of 2021, which will provide novel, potential solutions to our present climate crisis.
He is also the author of two best-selling books on Lyme disease, Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease (2013, St Martin's Press, NY Times Best Seller), and How Can I Get Better? An Action Plan for Treating Resistant Lyme and Chronic Disease (2017, St Martin's Press, National bestseller). These books incorporate recent scientific advances and explain in detail how healthcare providers can effectively diagnose and treat resistant chronic illness. In addition, he has co-authored peer-reviewed Lyme guidelines, and published in the medical literature on novel “persister” drugs for the treatment of Lyme disease and coinfections, as well as the role of the 16-point MSIDS model in chronic illness.
Other projects include Dr Horowitz serving as a consultant to governmental agencies around the world, including those in China, Australia, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Dr Horowitz was a member of the HHS Tick-borne Disease Working Group and Co-chair of the “Other Tick-borne Diseases and Coinfections” subcommittee from 2017-2019 which provided recommendations to Congress to help the US improve the care of those suffering with tick-borne disorders. He recently served as a member of the HHS Babesia and Tick-borne Pathogen Subcommittee and was elected by Governor Cuomo to serve as a member of the NYS DOH Tick-borne disease Working Group in 2021.
Finally, Dr Horowitz recently published several scientific articles on classical and integrative solutions for COVID-19 which have been effective in helping those with acute and chronic illness, and he will be releasing his first novel, Starseed R/evolution, ‘The Awakening’ a cli-fi (science fiction/climate change) novel in the Fall of 2021, which will provide novel, potential solutions to our present climate crisis.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 12, 2018
Once you go down the rabbit hole of Lyme disease and everything that comes with it, you realize that most of mainstream medicine is some kind of crazy looking glass world (why yes, I DID just reference both "Alice and Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" there in the same sentence, thank you for asking) where tripped-out caterpillars try to hook you on their hookahs, mad queens are always offering you jam tomorrow but never today, when they're not screaming "Off with her head!" that is, and walruses and carpenters are sobbing tears of fake sorrow so that they can gobble you down all the faster. Sometimes the only way to get anywhere is to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction as where you think you want to go.
However, there are a few sources of reasonably reliable information and even help. Dr. Horowitz has been treating Lyme patients for decades now, and has built up an arsenal of possibilities to consider and things to try, which he shares here.
"How Can I Get Better?" covers Lyme and its main co-infections, as well as other problems that often go with it, such as hormonal imbalance, mitochondrial disfunction, sleep disorders, and heavy metal toxicity. There are comprehensive lists of different antibiotics and supplements to try, along with suggestions for lifestyle modifications such as meditation. Although I haven't tried most of the things here, and probably won't (at least I hope not!), it's a useful place to start if you're a patient wondering what your options are, or a doctor wanting to find out more about Lyme in order to help your patients.
The protocols and treatment plans Dr. Horowitz describes are drug-heavy, although he also suggests the use of herbal treatments and traditional Chinese medicine, which he says have proven to be helpful for a number of his patients. If you're not sure whether synthetic antibiotics or herbs are better for you, he talks about both, although with more emphasis on the former. He also describes various detox methods to try. He does make a rather terrifyingly blithe statement about how exercise is beneficial to Lyme patients, including those who have developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which made all the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. No doubt exercise is beneficial for many people, and after I was infected with Lyme but before I developed post-exertional malaise it was beneficial for me too, but no more, no more. So if you are of the subset of people who have developed PEM and you have suddenly gone from super-fit to being left completely prostrate by even mild exertion, don't get suckered by that lie that you can exercise your way out of this disease. Treat your infections and start getting better first, and then ease your way back into any sort of exercise very, very slowly and carefully. To Dr. Horowitz's credit he does mention that his CFS patients often end up making themselves bed-ridden by leaping back into exercise too quickly, and stresses the importance of getting fit slowly, but I feel called upon to stress this super-important point again.
Anyway, if you're wondering what on earth to do about your mysterious chronic illness that maybe has been diagnosed as Lyme disease and maybe hasn't, this is a comprehensive and readable place to start your investigation.
However, there are a few sources of reasonably reliable information and even help. Dr. Horowitz has been treating Lyme patients for decades now, and has built up an arsenal of possibilities to consider and things to try, which he shares here.
"How Can I Get Better?" covers Lyme and its main co-infections, as well as other problems that often go with it, such as hormonal imbalance, mitochondrial disfunction, sleep disorders, and heavy metal toxicity. There are comprehensive lists of different antibiotics and supplements to try, along with suggestions for lifestyle modifications such as meditation. Although I haven't tried most of the things here, and probably won't (at least I hope not!), it's a useful place to start if you're a patient wondering what your options are, or a doctor wanting to find out more about Lyme in order to help your patients.
The protocols and treatment plans Dr. Horowitz describes are drug-heavy, although he also suggests the use of herbal treatments and traditional Chinese medicine, which he says have proven to be helpful for a number of his patients. If you're not sure whether synthetic antibiotics or herbs are better for you, he talks about both, although with more emphasis on the former. He also describes various detox methods to try. He does make a rather terrifyingly blithe statement about how exercise is beneficial to Lyme patients, including those who have developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which made all the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. No doubt exercise is beneficial for many people, and after I was infected with Lyme but before I developed post-exertional malaise it was beneficial for me too, but no more, no more. So if you are of the subset of people who have developed PEM and you have suddenly gone from super-fit to being left completely prostrate by even mild exertion, don't get suckered by that lie that you can exercise your way out of this disease. Treat your infections and start getting better first, and then ease your way back into any sort of exercise very, very slowly and carefully. To Dr. Horowitz's credit he does mention that his CFS patients often end up making themselves bed-ridden by leaping back into exercise too quickly, and stresses the importance of getting fit slowly, but I feel called upon to stress this super-important point again.
Anyway, if you're wondering what on earth to do about your mysterious chronic illness that maybe has been diagnosed as Lyme disease and maybe hasn't, this is a comprehensive and readable place to start your investigation.
April 6, 2017
Anyone with thyroid issues, inflammatory disease of any kind, diagnosis such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, (without a good reason) memory issues, ADHD, and a host of other symptoms that do not have obvious causes, should read this excellent book on chronic illness and the many possible causes as well as the complicated and personal paths to wellness. It was decades before my Lyme and other co-infections were finally diagnosed and the battle for wellness will likely go on for more years, but my quality of life continues to improve. Being educated on all the possibilities and taking wellness into one's own hands is key to overcoming these complex issues.
February 20, 2024
He does a great job at breaking down the science in a way people can understand it. Very thorough, I think everyone would benefit from this book. It is one of the those books that really has depth into Lyme and chronic conditions. He even describes some of the minerals, herbs and pharmaceuticals that help with some of these illnesses. I have taken some of them and I have absolutely seen improvement in my own personal body (although every body and condition is different)
He also talks about herxing which is SO freaking real and I wish more health practitioners were aware of because it is a huge part of pain and healing and weird symptoms like large lymph nodes etc. He also touches base on something truly important which is nourishing the other aspects of your body which may be run down and if you have other issues Lyme has a harder time healing . This seems obvious but having doctors put antibiotics in your face and say your “better now” isn’t the case, Lyme isn’t shaped like most bacteria so it can burrow and also bacteria even after gone can leave damage to your body if it’s not caught in time or treated properly. I can’t wait til more people know about this book. I truly know it can at the very least be a great tool for resources.
He also talks about herxing which is SO freaking real and I wish more health practitioners were aware of because it is a huge part of pain and healing and weird symptoms like large lymph nodes etc. He also touches base on something truly important which is nourishing the other aspects of your body which may be run down and if you have other issues Lyme has a harder time healing . This seems obvious but having doctors put antibiotics in your face and say your “better now” isn’t the case, Lyme isn’t shaped like most bacteria so it can burrow and also bacteria even after gone can leave damage to your body if it’s not caught in time or treated properly. I can’t wait til more people know about this book. I truly know it can at the very least be a great tool for resources.
May 21, 2019
Dr Horowitz does an amazing work helping Lyme-MSIDS patients. This book is a must read if you want to know more about these terrible diseases.
The book was crafted for doctors, in case this is your first MSIDS book, might be difficult to understand everything. If you are a doctor treating Lyme-MSIDS patients please read it since you might not know all of this.
If yourself are a patient I recommend asking your doctor if they read this book.
My spouse was diagnosed three years ago with three tick born diseases. In the past few years we learned a lot, yet there were still lots of new things in this book.
The book was crafted for doctors, in case this is your first MSIDS book, might be difficult to understand everything. If you are a doctor treating Lyme-MSIDS patients please read it since you might not know all of this.
If yourself are a patient I recommend asking your doctor if they read this book.
My spouse was diagnosed three years ago with three tick born diseases. In the past few years we learned a lot, yet there were still lots of new things in this book.
March 31, 2018
I bought this book for a friend based on a recommendation from a Lyme Disease group on Facebook. I have recommended this book at least a dozen times since. It is excellent at explaining biology, protocols, and more in layman's terms. It is great for anyone with chronic, western disease, but particularly good for those with resistant Lyme Disease, which is very poorly treated by doctors and rarely diagnosed properly. The CDC's guidelines for reading the Western Blot test. Anyone who has symptoms similar to Lyme Disease should read this book and get properly tested.
April 9, 2023
This is a book on Internal Medicine, more than just a management of Lyme-borrelia and co infections. And I like it to the point of giving it 5 stars ;-)
I will read this book more than once, I promise.
As a (Belgian) veterinarian specialist in dog a cat neuropsychiatry , I will try to apply the concept and clinical advises in vet medicine: this resonates with my paradigms and ethics.
Joel Dehasse
I will read this book more than once, I promise.
As a (Belgian) veterinarian specialist in dog a cat neuropsychiatry , I will try to apply the concept and clinical advises in vet medicine: this resonates with my paradigms and ethics.
Joel Dehasse
September 21, 2025
This book was incredible. It helped me to further talk to my doctors about a treatment plan and it really gave me a full view of what is needed to get better (from each system in the body- including the mental and emotional). This was a great read! The only criticism is sometimes it got very heavy with medical jargon but there were plenty of explanations and examples to help with understanding.
July 24, 2018
When you're up at all hours of the night suffering from aches and pains I can think of a nothing better than to recommend this book. It provides an excellent commentary on testing and treating Lyme Disease.
December 4, 2023
Really comprehensive book on Lyme treatment, including lots of medical options as well as nutritional and herbal info. Got lots of treatment ideas to add to my protocol, and great info on coinfections which I brought with me to my doctor to ask extra questions about treatment options.
June 13, 2018
Best book on chronic illness I have read in years! Lots of information on chronic illness and MSIDS plus more info on Lyme Disease than can be found out there.Highly recommend.
February 2, 2022
Informative and well-researched. Tailored more to a US-style system of healthcare with private Lyme specialists.
February 7, 2017
This is a great book and reference for many of us dealing with recurring unexplained illness.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews