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Meet Dr. Cory Tichauer

Dr. Cory Tichauer is a board-certified Naturopathic Doctor with 22 years of experience in complex chronic illness and tick-borne infections at Bear Creek Naturopathic Clinic in southern Oregon. A longtime ILADS member and former board director, he also belongs to ISEAI, the ISMCAS, and the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Dr. Cory uses functional medicine, naturopathic therapies, individualized pharmaceuticals, and advanced diagnostics to remove obstacles to health and support the body's self-repair mechanisms.

What We Talk About

• Dr. Tichauer's background as a naturopathic physician and why he chose that path over conventional medicine
• How chronic infection, particularly tick-borne illness, emerged as a central focus of his clinical practice
• His involvement with ILADS and the role of the organization in advancing provider education
• Why current two-tiered Lyme testing (ELISA + immunoblot) misses a large percentage of chronic cases
• The use of the B31 lab strain in standard testing and how it contributes to false negatives
• How immune suppression, biofilm formation, and the intracellular nature of Borrelia reduce antibody production
• How lab threshold cutoffs are calibrated for acute care, not chronic illness
• The difference between qualitative and quantitative ELISA results, and why specific band markers matter
• Javora Health: what it is, how it was created, and its mission to increase access to quality Lyme testing
• The TASO home blood collection kit: how it works, why it's well-tolerated, and how samples are processed
• Armin Labs: what makes it one of the most validated Lyme testing labs, including CAP certification and German standards
• The TickPlex panel and the scope of co-infections, chronic viral infections, and parasites it can screen for
• Round body (persister form) Lyme testing and why up to two-thirds of chronic Lyme patients test negative on standard ELISA
• The LymEspot (ELISpot/lymphocyte transformation test): how T-cell testing can detect active infection within 10 to 14 days of exposure
• Serial testing as a tool to track treatment progress, including why an initial antibody increase after treatment can be a positive sign
• The three-pillar natural support protocol: immune upregulation, biofilm disruption, and antimicrobial herbs
• Javora's symptom-tracking app, online quiz for test selection, and Dr. Tichauer's weekly open office hours
• The future of Lyme testing: the need for consensus between functional and conventional medicine, and what improved direct-organism testing could look like

Episode Resources

Jivora
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Desbio
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Tick Mitt
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Tick Tock
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NIKKI
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Connect With Dr. Cory Tichauer

Website:
http://jivorahealth.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jivorahealth

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jivorahealth

Keywords

Lyme disease testing, home Lyme test, tick-borne illness, chronic Lyme, Borrelia testing, Armin Labs, co-infection testing, Lyme literate doctor, naturopathic Lyme treatment, ILADS, Javora Health