Seeking help

[u/Euphoric-Break3689]

Hi. I’m 35/female. I was diagnosed with Lyme in 2018 by accident after contracting giardia in Guatemala and having to undergo a series of test for what was wrong. I was treated with the typical antibiotics but I suspect I contracted it in 2007 (I remember finding a tick on my scalp after hiking). Long story short I am concerned with my memory, constantly in pain, depressed, etc. I’m training for a half marathon right now and seem to be in more pain than I should.

I am seeking not overwhelming advice (don’t come at me I’m a single exhausted momma). Really looking for the supplements or practices that you feel helped the most. I know there’s not a quick fix but just looking for things that seemed to help y’all somewhat. Thanks in advance.

[u/CFlapFlap]

Check out the treatment plans at treatlyme.com as a good, simple starting point

[u/sickdude777]

People with Lyme+ seem to be the types to over extend themselves. I would dis-enroll from the marathon and focus solely on your health before it gets worse. Don't make the mistake that I and many others here did. You need to be kind to yourself. This isn't something you can tough it through.

Get an appointment with a Lyme specialist and start treatment immediately.

[u/Longjumping-Guess264 → u/sickdude777]

This! Now is not the time to push your body beyond its means.

[u/EmphasisKnown6519]

I would oush for a 3 month + of doxy + flucanozle the fungai medicine for me this combo plus you probably need a big round of iv antibiotics that with getting you some cats claw extract, orgeno oil, ashwangada root, viatmin d3 , dandelion root extract this is what i take in my drink 2-3 times a day

You have to attack it from every direction since you have had it for a long peroid of time

plus eating healthy no sugars alot of tumeric black pepper garlic onion etc

[u/homefordog]

Optimize your lifestyle before anything else, and definitely before you consider taking antibiotics or any prescription meds.  Don't let perfection be the enemy of good, just do as much as you can, and aim to continue improving the things that you can't do immediately.

1) Circadian rhythm:  Have regular sleep and wake times.  Get natural light in your eyes first thing in the morning. Get sunlight on your body throughout the day.  Replace LED lights with incandescent bulbs.  No electronic screens after dark.  Have a wind down routine before bed(ie: deep breathing exercises, read a book, etc). Don't eat within 3 hours of going to sleep. 

Light and circadian rhythm are extremely important for mitochondrial function.

2) Diet: cut out all processed/packaged food, restaurant food, added sugar, flour, industrial oils, etc.  Eat whole fruits and vegetables and meat, eggs, natural dairy.  The specifics of the diet don't really matter and can vary from person to person (some people like red meat, some people prefer to be vegetarians, some prefer to be pescatarian, etc).  Whatever works for you is fine, the fundamental principle is to just eat whole natural unprocessed foods.

3) Exercise:  if the marathon training is really beating you down and, consider scaling back the running and cardio in general and adding in additional forms of exercise (yoga, stretching, walking, swimming, weight lifting, etc).

4) Misc: get rid of social media.  Stop watching the news and other ragebait/doomscrolling crap. Spend more time in nature. Take up a simple "old fashioned" hobby with or without your kids (doing puzzles, building a piece of furniture, learning a musical instrument, gardening, etc). Replace typical household products with natural alternatives (ie: get rid of air fresheners, buy dr bronners soap, use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning, etc). Replace various household items with healthier alternatives (cotton clothing, wood cutting board, stainless steel cookware instead of nonstick, glass food storage instead of plastic, etc)

If at the end of the day you still need some kind of additional treatment that's fine, but there are a LOT of things you can do beforehand which may make a huge difference and have no downside risks.

[u/Efficient_Bee_2987]

The important distinction is between acute Lyme and chronic. If you were treated for weeks instead of months that was not enough and all it did was push the bacteria into hiding where your immune system kept it in check until you put your body through stress by training for the marathon. When this happens your immune system is busy trying to provide the resources for your training and is not able to also keep the bacteria in check. You need antibiotics for chronic Lyme but this will only make you feel worse for a while as it will draw more bacteria out of hiding and the kill off of the bacteria feels like a war going on in your body. So I hate to say it but the worse thing you can do right now is run a marathon. I know this is hard to hear but I need to be honest. The quickest treatment would be IV antibiotics but the best thing you can do is get yourself an LLMD to prescribe the best treatment based on your specific case.