Lyme Disease

[pickle14]

I am struggling right now with Lyme Disease.  I began my Whole30 December 26th and while I am less bloated, I now have GERD.  I believe this is a result of 3 month of antibiotics, which I have now stopped taking.  As this is chronic Lyme, I have concerns about where my health is going.  Emotionally I am spent.  This is Day 17 for me, and not my first rodeo.  I have done a couple of Whole30's before.  One resulted in the wonderful tiger blood, but since the lyme infection I have been unable to get my energy back.  Anyone else out there battling Lyme?  or some other vector born illness?

[RandiW]

I don't have anything for you, I'm sorry, but I hated to see your message go with no replies. I think, aside from the Lyme, that it's not uncommon for people to start experiencing some GERD during the diet. You may find you need a longer time detoxing since the lyme infection than you did with your first w30. Hang in there and take care of yourself. Best of luck to you <3

[ultrarunnergirl]

Hi pickle,

  Sorry you are struggling. Whole30 should be helping with your GERD, hopefully, if not yet then soon.

  I am not a medical professional, are you working with a doctor? I've heard anecdotal evidence that acupuncture can help with Lyme ... might be worth checking into if you do not improve.

  Wishing you good energy and health.

[Stegner]

I've had Lyme's Disease, but not chronic Lyme's. I was treated right away, recovered fully, and will be forever grateful for that. Lyme's is very common in this area and everybody is always talking about it. I've heard people say that they do better on a no sugar/no wheat diet - that the spirochetes thrive in a high blood sugar environment. Or maybe it's because the immune system works better without sugar in the diet. I don't know, but I think you're on the right track with W30 and I wish you the best. 

[pickle14]

13 hours ago, Stegner said:

I've had Lyme's Disease, but not chronic Lyme's. I was treated right away, recovered fully, and will be forever grateful for that. Lyme's is very common in this area and everybody is always talking about it. I've heard people say that they do better on a no sugar/no wheat diet - that the spirochetes thrive in a high blood sugar environment. Or maybe it's because the immune system works better without sugar in the diet. I don't know, but I think you're on the right track with W30 and I wish you the best. 

 

13 hours ago, Stegner said:

I've had Lyme's Disease, but not chronic Lyme's. I was treated right away, recovered fully, and will be forever grateful for that. Lyme's is very common in this area and everybody is always talking about it. I've heard people say that they do better on a no sugar/no wheat diet - that the spirochetes thrive in a high blood sugar environment. Or maybe it's because the immune system works better without sugar in the diet. I don't know, but I think you're on the right track with W30 and I wish you the best. 

 

21 hours ago, ultrarunnergirl said:

Hi pickle,

  Sorry you are struggling. Whole30 should be helping with your GERD, hopefully, if not yet then soon.

  I am not a medical professional, are you working with a doctor? I've heard anecdotal evidence that acupuncture can help with Lyme ... might be worth checking into if you do not improve.

  Wishing you good energy and health.

Yes, I am under the care of a physician.  The GERD is a gift from 3 months of prescribed antibiotics unfortunately.  It began 2 weeks into this Whole30 round.  I will continue to plug along here.  I have to realize that chronic Lyme that has infected muscle is not going to heal from 30 days of clean eating!  Still looking for an easy fix to a complicated disease I guess!

  On the plus side giving up sugar and wheat can only be a good thing.  I will do the slow roll reintroduction when I'm ready.  But no wheat, ever, if I can help it.  I'm curious about dairy mostly, I miss my probiotic yogurts.  I'm looking for foods that contain probiotics along with probiotic supplements.  I can see how acupuncture might help with some symptoms caused by Lyme, but I cannot see how acupuncture could eradicate a bacterial infection.

Thanks for the replies! 

[RandiW]

@pickle14 It can't, but it can help manage symptoms while you're undergoing other therapies (I'm an acupuncturist). 

 

Best of luck to you!

[J9er]

I don't have Lyme, but I was on antibiotics (doxy) for an extended period of time (longer than three months ) . It was after this that my weight steadily began to increase, I had numerous digestive issues among many other symptoms. I did 2 rounds whole30 with some good results, but Was still struggling with some symptoms before seeking the help of a functional medicine practitioner. After thorough testing, she mapped out a plan of action. I'm 4 months into the process and feeling better than ever.

If you can find a FMP to work with on this it might be really helpful. The right person should also be able to help treat your Lyme as well as your gut. I know I was in a place where I just didn't really know which direction to take and it was leaving me confused and kind of exhausted. Having someone point me in the right direction was the best thing that could have happened. 

 

[pickle14]

On 1/18/2017 at 8:35 AM, J9er said:

I don't have Lyme, but I was on antibiotics (doxy) for an extended period of time (longer than three months ) . It was after this that my weight steadily began to increase, I had numerous digestive issues among many other symptoms. I did 2 rounds whole30 with some good results, but Was still struggling with some symptoms before seeking the help of a functional medicine practitioner. After thorough testing, she mapped out a plan of action. I'm 4 months into the process and feeling better than ever.

If you can find a FMP to work with on this it might be really helpful. The right person should also be able to help treat your Lyme as well as your gut. I know I was in a place where I just didn't really know which direction to take and it was leaving me confused and kind of exhausted. Having someone point me in the right direction was the best thing that could have happened. 

 

Thanks for the feedback.  I was supposed to be treated for a year or more, so this is a little disconcerting.  But, onward.  I have an appt for a second opinion in a couple of weeks.  I have been looking for a practitioner who can generate an herbal treatment program.  I just don't do well with pills on so many levels.  My body does not metabolize medication like the average person.  I am glad to hear you are feeling better.  I will too, in fact I do feel a bit better since I first posted this.  Lyme is a series of ups and downs.  More like two steps forward and one step back.  I can measure progress however.  So that is a good thing.  Unfortunately I live in a very remote part of the country, so alternative practitioners are few and far between.  I will continue my search however!

[mcveg]

I have suffered from Chronic Lyme's for 4 years and since last summer I have been in remission or symptom free until this week. I'm on Day 29 and I've started to have Chronic Lyme symptoms again - peripheral neuropathy, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, etc. I'm wondering if the Whole30 regimen could be associated with my recent relapse. Could detoxifying your system actually cause a relapse of Chronic Lyme's? Please only reply if you are a Chronic Lyme's sufferer, a medical professional, or someone with real knowledge on the subject. People who contracted Lyme's, got a target rash or some other symptom that allowed them to be successfully treated immediately probably don't understand the challenges of Chronic Lyme's. I was bitten by a tick but had no symptoms until a year later when I had my first vertigo attack. After multiple vertigo attacks, several other symptoms slowly emerged. High doses of Doxycycline finally helped me reach the road to recovery last year...until now...

 

[Patricia H]

I have suffered chronic Lyme disease for many years, primary symptoms incredible aches and pains similar to Fibromyalgia but not that. It has been a very hard road which others with this horrible affliction can relate to. I have been on antibiotics, tried Chinese Medicine herb treatments for many months, acupuncture and just living with it. 

As far as the Whole30 and Lyme, what I have been wondering is if it has set off a Herxheimer reaction which is where die off from the Spirochetes cause many unpleasant symptoms. I struggle with sugar and went cold Turkey off of sugar when I started Whole30 and a lot of unpleasant symptoms particularly great fatigue and muscle weakness have occured. 

The Herxheimer is just a thought that you may want to consider. I am on my first Whole30 day 16. It has been pretty rough with only one day, Day 15, where I got glimpses of feeling better. I am doing this to address my sugar cravings and I must say that this is working on that account.

Good luck and I hope this helps somehow. I feel your pain.

[mcveg]

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to try to boost my immune system with some organic, gluten-free, dairy-free supplements. I know Lyme's symptoms can reoccur but after one year of feeling close to normal (- I never regained my stamina -) it's extremely distressing to feel so horrible again! I also made an appointment with my LL doctor to see if she wants me to resume any kind of herbal regimen.

I started Whole30 to detox and to lose weight and I think I have accomplished that. Additionally, I don't think I'll return to eating breads since they are truly my Achilles heel. I'm going to do the Whole30 maintenance plan and gradually reintroduce other foods and just try to take it slow. Thanks again for your support and best of luck to you too :-)

[Robin Henrie]

I have had chronic Lyme for almost 20 years.  In that time, I have done several rounds of antibiotics, one of which lasted for a year and a half.  I know that this has given me leaky gut.  For several years now I have been working with a wonderful herbalist, which has had me feeling the best that I have felt in a while.  This spring, though, my respiratory allergies have kicked in the worst that they have been in 15 years, including a return of my asthma, which had been gone for over 10 years.  was even planning to call my doctor to ask for an inhaler. Today is day 3 of my first Whole 30.  Yesterday I noticed the start of a symptom flare, which I now recognize as a Herxheimer reaction.  Every Lyme symptom is coming at me (minus the migraines), which I take to mean that the detox is working.  I know that I have to just get through to the other side, and then it will be better.  As I was sitting outside watching my grandkids this morning, I noticed something that I had not expected.  I was not wheezing at all!  This is the best that I have breathed in months!  The mold and pollen in the yard have not changed, so I am chalking it up to the Whole 30!  I can handle a few days of extra hurting, if I don't have to go back on medication for asthma!   Thank you for this program and for all of the support that you offer!  Having had chronic Lyme for so many years, and having worked with a wonderful Lyme doctor and several herbal protocols, I have accumulated a fair amount of knowledge about Lyme and the other infections that come from the same tick.  I am looking forward to seeing how the Whole 30, which is very similar to the dietary recommendations that go with one of the herbal protocols, will make me feel.  I will keep you all posted.