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Can Exercise Cause Herxing

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Posted 1/21/2009 6:05 PM (GMT 0)
Yesterday I pushed hard on a fairly long walk. I felt tired but good when I finished. This morning I am dizzy, have some brain fog and feel generally run down. Anyone know if exercise can bring this on?
Posted 1/21/2009 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
Did you work up a sweat and did you shower after your walk?When I used to sauna at the clinic, they told me if you work up a sweat and do not shower, your body re-absorbs the toxins through the skin. So, if your did not shower that could be what happened and you would feel worse.  D

Posted 1/21/2009 7:09 PM (GMT 0)

rvnut said...
Yesterday I pushed hard on a fairly long walk. I felt tired but good when I finished. This morning I am dizzy, have some brain fog and feel generally run down. Anyone know if exercise can bring this on?

The Herxheimer reaction occurs when large quantities of toxins are released into the body as bacteria die, due to antibiotic treatment or rapid detoxification. I am not really sure that excersise kills bacteria but I could be wrong. People with Lyme get over exerted much easier. I think that is simply what happened. When Lymies over exert themselfs our immune system is weakened even more and the spirochete can run wild.
Posted 1/21/2009 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi rvnut.  Yes, exercising can cause a herx.  Exercise can raise the body temperature and increase oxygen, two things the bacteria do not like.

 

Posted 1/21/2009 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
I did sweat and took a shower afterward. Thanks ticker. That makes sense. This had happened before and I laid off exercise because I didn't know what was going on. it sounds like exercise might be extra good smilewinkgrin
Posted 1/21/2009 7:45 PM (GMT 0)

You are welcome rvnut!

Dr. Burrascano believes exercise is extremely important.  He discusses it under "Lyme Disease Rehabilitation" starting on page 27 in his treatment guidelines at http://www.ilads.org/files/burrascano_0905.pdf

 

Posted 1/21/2009 8:18 PM (GMT 0)

ticker said...
You are welcome rvnut!

Dr. Burrascano believes exercise is extremely important. He discusses it under "Lyme Disease Rehabilitation" starting on page 27 in his treatment guidelines at http://www.ilads.org/files/burrascano_0905.pdf

I couldn't agree more. Exercise is very important and can help the body heal. It can also help antibiotics penetrate deeper in the tissue but from what I have read its not good to exercise so much that you crash the next day.
Posted 1/21/2009 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
A study on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome showed that exercise released a large amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines, explaining the post-exertional fatigue these patients experience.

My doctor follows these cytokines. Mine are very elevated and I know I feel worse after any sort of exertion.

modified to add: The current research is showing that it is the inflammation that is a large cause of symptoms in Lyme.

Posted 1/22/2009 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, exercise can bring on a herx just as much as antibitocs can, but it is extremely important in getting well. It should be used as a form of treatment just as much as abx are and as you continue with it, you should see improvements. Just make sure to rest during the herx peroid following your exercise.
Posted 11/15/2011 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, exercise can definitely cause a herx, but for a different reason than many think. Bartonella and other lyme spirochettes hide in fat cells. Burn the fat cells, and you release the bart back into your system, causing a massive herx, as I've unknowingly done several times. I kept wondering why I would feel so bad if I missed a meal or exercised and ran. Some days, it got so bad that I felt like I did before I was ever treated. Then, I learned that when you burn fat, you're essentially releasing the bart back into you system and, it finally made sense to me. Now, if I have to feel good, I don't diet that week. I'm upping my treatment on days that I run or diet, and hopefully will get the bart that's still hiding in my fat cells. Anyway, I hope that helps- it explained a lot to me.
Posted 11/15/2011 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
Yes - the herx is probably caused because aerobic exercise does two big things that the Lyme bugs hate - increased body temp and increased oxygen levels in the blood. These can cause significant die-off and, hence, the herx. Plus, the discussion here is right, if you do burn off fat, then the pathogen is released into the bloodstream where it is killed by the higher temp, the higher levels of oxygen and whatever abx is there....
Posted 11/27/2013 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Ticker for the PDF - great info. And thanks to all here for the confirmation of herxing caused by exercising. I was diagnosed in 2010 with Lyme, went through treatment and felt better, but not 100%. I have been periodically doing cleanses which caused herxing. I just started a new exercise regimen (finally feeling up to it after this many years) and have been feeling great until last week and felt awful. I realized I was herxing, but couldn't figure out why. This gives me more encouragement to keep up this exercise regimen. Many thanks for the info and encouragement!
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