Chronic Illness & Complex Case Care

Root-Cause Evaluation for Multi-System Illness, Unexplained Symptoms & Long-Standing Health Challenges

Many patients come to Denver Sports & Holistic Medicine after years of frustration — countless specialists, normal labs, and symptoms that don’t fit neatly into one medical box. Chronic, complex illness rarely comes from a single cause. It develops when multiple systems break down at once: immune, hormonal, mitochondrial, digestive, neurological, and detoxification pathways.

If you feel like no one has connected the dots, this is where our work begins.

Dr. Martina Sturm specializes in unraveling multi-system, chronic, and hard-to-diagnose conditions, using functional medicine, TCM, and precision diagnostic testing to uncover the root causes of persistent symptoms.

What Makes Complex Cases Different?

Complex cases often involve:

• Multiple overlapping diagnoses

• Symptoms that shift or migrate

• “Normal” labs despite severe symptoms

• Sensitivity to medications or supplements

• Flare cycles triggered by stress, toxins, foods, or infections

• A history of mold exposure, Lyme, trauma, surgery, or chronic stress

• Involvement of multiple organs or systems

These conditions require a comprehensive, whole-body approach — one that understands how systems interact, where breakdowns happen, and how to rebuild health step-by-step.

Conditions Commonly Treated

We support patients with chronic, persistent, or unexplained symptoms, including:

Chronic Infections & Post-Infectious Illness

• Lyme disease

• Bartonella, Babesia, and coinfections

• Long COVID / post-viral syndromes

• Chronic EBV or reactivation patterns

Environmental & Toxicity-Driven Illness

• Mold illness & mycotoxin exposure

• Chemical sensitivities

• Heavy metals

• Sick building exposure

Neuro-Immune & Autoimmune Dysregulation

• MCAS / histamine intolerance

• Autoimmune fatigue & inflammatory syndromes

• POTS, dysautonomia, vagus nerve dysfunction

• Neuropathy, internal vibrations, migrating pain

Hormonal, Metabolic & Mitochondrial Dysfunction

• Chronic fatigue

• Hormone instability

• Insulin resistance

• Mitochondrial burnout

• Exercise intolerance

Digestive & Gut-Immune Disorders

• IBS & SIBO

• Leaky gut & food sensitivities

• Candida & fungal overgrowth

• Parasites

• Inflammatory bowel patterns

Complex Pain Syndromes

• Fibromyalgia

• Chronic joint or muscle pain

• Unexplained inflammation

If your symptoms do not appear on this list, you may still be a strong candidate — complex cases often involve patterns rather than single diagnoses.

Our Approach to Complex, Chronic Illness

Healing chronic, multi-layered illness requires precision.

Our method includes:

1. Comprehensive Timeline & Pattern Mapping

We evaluate not just symptoms, but your entire health timeline — infections, exposures, stressors, surgeries, medications, travel, trauma, hormones, and environmental changes.

Patterns often reveal what standard labs miss.

2. Advanced Functional Testing

Diagnostic testing may include:

• Mycotoxin panels

• Lyme & coinfection panels

• Gut microbiome mapping

• Organic Acids Test (mitochondria, detox, dysbiosis)

• DUTCH hormone & cortisol mapping

• Immune markers

• Detoxification & methylation pathways

• Micronutrient testing

• Environmental toxicity panels

Functional Lab Testing

3. Multi-System Treatment Strategy

Your plan may integrate:

• Nervous system regulation

• Detoxification & lymphatic support

• Gut healing

• Immune modulation

• Mitochondrial repair

• Hormone balancing

• Acupuncture & electro-acupuncture

• Bioenergetic therapies

• Ozone and/or injection therapy (when indicated)

• Lifestyle & sleep optimization

• Targeted nutraceuticals & herbal medicine

→ Detoxification & Environmental Medicine

→ Bioenergetic & Nervous System Therapies

→ Longevity & Mitochondrial Health

→ Acupuncture

→ Functional Medicine

4. Gentle, Stepwise Progression — Not Overwhelm

Complex cases often become worse when too many treatments are added too quickly.
Your care plan respects:

• Your sensitivity threshold

• Your detox capacity

• Your nervous system state

• Your mitochondrial resilience

We rebuild your health layer by layer, in the correct order.

5. Ongoing Monitoring & Adjustments

As your biology shifts, your plan evolves.
Recovery is dynamic — and your body’s responses guide the next steps.

Common Symptoms We Help Unravel

• Brain fog, confusion, memory problems

• Neuropathy or internal vibrations

• Migrating joint or muscle pain

• Fatigue not relieved by rest

• Temperature dysregulation

• Dizziness, lightheadedness, POTS

• Chronic nausea or digestive instability

• Hypersensitivity to foods, chemicals, or light

• Sleep disturbance

• Hormonal swings

• Anxiety, irritability, overwhelm

If you’ve been told “your labs are normal” yet you do not feel well, you are not alone — and you are not imagining your symptoms.

Why Patients Choose Dr. Martina Sturm

• Deep expertise in complex, chronic, multi-layered conditions

• Integrative training in TCM, functional medicine, and longevity medicine

• Advanced diagnostic interpretation

• Trauma-informed, nervous system–aware approach

• Personalized, root-cause protocols — no generic plans

• Options for both in-person care and telemedicine

You do not need to navigate complex illness alone.

Ready for Answers, Clarity, and a Plan That Makes Sense?

Your symptoms are real. Your experience matters. And your healing is possible.

Begin your personalized complex-case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What qualifies as a complex or chronic case?

A complex case involves multi-system symptoms, long-standing illness, unexplained patterns, or conditions that have not improved with conventional care. These often include mold illness, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, post-viral syndromes, autoimmune activation, and gut–immune disorders.

2. Do you work with patients who have normal labs but feel unwell?

Yes. Many complex patients have “normal” labs despite severe symptoms. We use advanced testing to evaluate mitochondria, toxins, infections, hormones, immune markers, and gut pathways.

3. How long does it take to see improvement?

Most patients begin seeing progress within 4–12 weeks, depending on toxicity load, infections, nervous system stress, mitochondrial function, and overall system resilience.

4. Do you offer telemedicine for complex cases?

Yes. Much of the evaluation, functional testing, and treatment planning can be done remotely.

5. Can complex symptoms come from mold or Lyme disease?

Absolutely. Mold toxins, Lyme disease, and coinfections are among the most common root causes of chronic multi-system illness.

6. What if I’m sensitive to supplements or medications?

We specialize in highly sensitive patients and take a low-and-slow, nervous-system-friendly approach.