Is SOT safe?

Yes, SOT is antisense therapy which has been assessed in thousands of studies for safety. Although it’s more recent that SOT is becoming a popular treatment option for Lyme disease, antisense therapy is not new.

In 1998 the FDA approved fomivirisin, an antisense oligonucleotide drug that effectively stopped the replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and was used to prevent blindness from CMV retinitis. Ultimately the drug was discontinued due to low demand but recently there has been a reemergence of anti sense drug research and development. Currently there are 6 anti sense drugs in the US that are FDA approved for a variety of genetic diseases.

Research on SOT/antisense therapy is linked below under the additional SOT resources heading.

What are the side effects of SOT?

While SOT is well tolerated, when dealing with living pathogens in a human body there are potential side effects even with a gene silencing therapy like SOT.

The most common side effects of SOT include:

• Headache

• Fatigue

• Flu-like symptoms

• Herxheimer (die off) reactions

• Flaring of other co-infections

Many of these symptoms can be managed with additional lifestyle and supplement support. Dr. Steph provides every patient with resources on home drainage support (i.e. infrared sauna, castor oil, epsom salt baths, etc.) and her favorite supplement/herb options to minimize die off reactions.

In Dr. Steph’s experience, most patients have less side effects and die off reactions with SOT than other Lyme treatments they’ve tried.

How many SOT infusions will I need?

The number of SOT infusions needed varies person to person. Dr. Steph advises most patients to expect starting with 2 to 4 SOT infusions spaced 4-6 weeks apart over the first year.

Factors that effect the number of SOT treatments include:

• Bacterial/viral load. The more micro organisms you have, the more SOT molecules it will take to effectively stop replication. This can mean multiple rounds of SOT needed for the same target infection. There is not currently any lab testing available that accurately determines the load of infection in your body.

• Co-infections. The more different strains of infection you have, the more likely you may need multiple SOT targets. However- this is not always the case. Often times when you clear out immune suppressing infections (i.e Borrelia burgdorferi), other infections clear on their own.
  

Where does the SOT infusion take place?

Dr. Steph’s SOT infusions happen wherever you are! Our mobile IV clinic services all of San Diego and takes Dr. Steph directly to you so that you can have your infusion administered in the comfort of your own home. Travel fees may apply depending on your location. Dr. Steph also has an office in La Mesa, CA where infusions may be scheduled if needed. Inquire for details.

How much does SOT cost?

The cost of each SOT treatment is $2400. This price includes the SOT blood draw (if you are local), the SOT from RGCC lab, and the administration of the infusion. Mobile infusions within 15 miles of 91942 area code are no additional charge. Any location outside of this radius will have an additional travel fee for mobile infusion based on mileage.

Consultations are priced separately. The initial SOT consultation price is $225 for a 45 minute appointment. Follow up consultations may be required to review additional labs ordered and finalize SOT targets. Follow up appointments are based on 1:1 time spent together.

• Standard follow up pricing: $225 for up to 45 minutes.

• Brief follow up pricing: $100 for up to 15 minutes.