Lyme disease

[Amy Saville]

Hi there,

I'm just wondering if anyone here has dealt with chronic Lyme disease. I just began a 3 month course of antibiotic for it and would like to compare notes.

I did my first Whole 30 in July this year and loved it. I got sick at the very end of it while on a trip to Colorado (I live in NJ), and thought it was altitude sickness. But it never fully went away when I got back. I took a "diet vacation" at the beginning of August and ate like utter crap for about 10 days and figured the reason I was feeling so bad was the food I was eating. I have been eating very close to Whole 30 again since the middle of August (the occasional dark chocolate here and there) and I'm sure that eating this way is keeping me from feeling much worse.

Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to tweak my diet to support my gut while it's attacked by this heavy round of antibiotic. I'm on Ceftin, which apparently is easier on the stomach than doxycycline. I'm taking a probiotic, too. But if anyone has any suggestions or resources for how to tweak the nutrition aspect to support Lyme recovery, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading.

[Tom Denham]

I have no experience with Lyme's disease, but have had good experience beginning to drink kombucha on a regular basis. The GT Dave's brand kombucha that I am buying at Whole Foods includes enzymes and probiotics. I noticed an improvement in less than a week.

[Renee Lee]

Hi Amy,

Lyme disease has an autoimmune component, so doing what you're doing is definitely the right way to go. Maybe hop on the autoimmune protocol for 30 days to see if things get even better?

Probiotics, sauerkraut, bone broth and kombucha are all going to be good for you.

[twodrifters]

Amy, I went through heavy duty antibiotic treatment 5 years ago, with both orals and IV. So I sympathize with the debilitating effects of this disease. I wish I'd had the support of Whole9 then.

I did improve with the antibiotic treatment, but then I had to recover from the effects of the antibiotics. Eventually I was eating to decrease yeast issues, which flared up systemically. A bout of C-difficile hit me really hard, and taught me that I wasn't consuming enough probiotics. The capsule form I was taking didn't have enough different strains either. I didn't know about some of these other options, like kombucha, etc. It's tricky when you have to time ingestion of probiotics and antibiotics to get the benefit of the probiotics.

I still experience "flares" of inflammation that are arthritic in nature, and I'm hoping that eating Paleo will really decrease these flares. Lyme disease can be brutal but I think you're on the right track.

[LuckyMe]

Amy - I am on day 2 of an antibiotic marathon due to Lyme.  Which also blew up my thyroid, which has since been removed ... I've got it all going on     Lyme Disease + Hypothyroidism.  Bad mojo.

 

I'm all in, I have to be.  I have dabbled in paleo before, but i love the Whole30 fundamentals.  This time for me it is for REAL.   My doc said "gluten free", and thru some web surfing I have found myself here.

 

I want to do everything in my power to compliment the supplements and the antibiotics that I am taking. And, I do believe it Starts with Food.

 

Power, Energy & Strength to you.  

 

And, I am going to try Tom's recommendation on the kombucha tea.  

[Amy Saville]

Hi LuckyMe,

 

Is this your first round of antibiotics with Lyme? I do find that Lyme is such a tricky disease because it manifests so differently in each of us. I had a hard time sticking with Whole 30 when I was first sick because, for whatever reason, I found that my neurological symptoms were much worse on it. I would eat clean Whole 30 for a week or so, and then I would have terrible memory problems (like, look at my phone and be unable to remember how it worked). Then I'd go get a bagel and be fine. It was a bad cycle I was in there for many months.

 

I finally stopped my antibiotics for Lyme in July and have been holding my own with an herbal approach. I've been doing mostly Whole 30 style diet since mid-September but I have some alcohol in the herbal tinctures I use, so it's technically not a Whole 30. However, that said, I have noticed a lot of improvement this time around with the change in my diet. Less aching joints, random pain, my cognitive symptoms are much, much better, better energy. My main issue now is a bad stomach problem I'm having and I can't tell if it's viral or due to the diet. I'm riding it out for now and hopefully will continue to keep seeing progress.

 

Best of luck to you - I hope that the Whole 30 gives your body the boost it needs to deal with the treatment and the Lyme. I always kept coming back to it because I believe it's the best way to support our bodies to do what they know how to do - heal.

 

Power, strength, healing back at you!

[Vian]

Hi Amy, I sent you a private message about this, but not sure you saw it. I was just wanting to know what kind of suppliments you were using that are helping your Lyme disease so much. My cousin was recently diagnosed with it, but it's too early to tell if it will be chronic or not. I was hoping to pass on some info to her. I'm glad you have your lymes under control, I hope you keep seeing improvement.

[tami92109]

I'm dealing with it and have been for 9 yrs (took 7 to get Dx).  Look up the GAPS diet - very similiar to this but not as restrictive.

[Esther E. Kim]

Not sure if a new thread needs to be started but was hoping people here could help.  My friend has started her first journey in whole30 and had a question (she was having some difficulty posting her question so I'm doing it for her) that I am not familiar with.  Hoping someone else might have something that they could share with her.  Thanks in advance! 

Her email to me: Did you have trouble sleeping during any period of the Whole30 program?  I have struggled with insomnia for years because of the Lyme.  I have only been able to sleep in the last year or so due to sleep aids.  I am still taking the same sleep aids, but they are not working.  I know it's the diet, because this always happens to me when I cut down on carbs. ha ha ha ha.  Anyway, I did see on the forum where people added more potatoes to the diet and that seemed to help them a lot (just needed more carbs).  I have been afraid to do this because I am insulin resistant (a very common condition for people with chronic Lyme).  Anyway, I am trying to reverse this condition with the diet.  Therefore, I am afraid of eating potatoes.  I have allowed myself a half of a sweet potato on occasion, but that's it.  Also, I am eating lots of veggies, but not fruit, because again, I am concerned about my condition.  What are your thoughts?  I don't think I can go too many more nights like this.  I'm a wreck! ha ha ha ha.  Just wondered if you came across anything in all of your research.  

[Tom Denham]

Not sure if a new thread needs to be started but was hoping people here could help.  My friend has started her first journey in whole30 and had a question (she was having some difficulty posting her question so I'm doing it for her) that I am not familiar with.  Hoping someone else might have something that they could share with her.  Thanks in advance! 

Her email to me: Did you have trouble sleeping during any period of the Whole30 program?  I have struggled with insomnia for years because of the Lyme.  I have only been able to sleep in the last year or so due to sleep aids.  I am still taking the same sleep aids, but they are not working.  I know it's the diet, because this always happens to me when I cut down on carbs. ha ha ha ha.  Anyway, I did see on the forum where people added more potatoes to the diet and that seemed to help them a lot (just needed more carbs).  I have been afraid to do this because I am insulin resistant (a very common condition for people with chronic Lyme).  Anyway, I am trying to reverse this condition with the diet.  Therefore, I am afraid of eating potatoes.  I have allowed myself a half of a sweet potato on occasion, but that's it.  Also, I am eating lots of veggies, but not fruit, because again, I am concerned about my condition.  What are your thoughts?  I don't think I can go too many more nights like this.  I'm a wreck! ha ha ha ha.  Just wondered if you came across anything in all of your research.  

 

Eating starchy veggies is not likely to aggravate insulin resistance. I think your friend should try eating at least two fist-size servings of potatoes, parsnips, rutabagas, plantains per day for a while to see if her sleep does not improve. I sleep better when I eat at least one serving of starchy veggies each day and suffer if I don't.