lyme and celiac disease

I have a question... can someone with lyme develope celiac disease from taking ABX for 3 years on and off?

I am asking cause I have always had some type of food alergy for years b4 my Lyme. I was always constipated and when I was in High school I couldnt eat any meat and poultry would  upset my stomach. But as I got older I could eat chicken but still no meat. When I got Lyme and went on meds my constipation stopped and reversed due to meds.

But then it reversed again and all the meds started to bloat my stomache to the point I had to stop treatment. and it worked. took a few months off and went back on meds and again I had to stop.

I have taken Fiber pills with my meds, take in more fiber and nothing has helped. even Stool softners not work till 2 days later. I was even taking pro-bioctics and doing detox baths.

So I am starting to think that since fiber doesnt work that am I gluten sensitive?

I have a referale to a GI dr and I have to make an appointment tomorow and till then I am going to do a food diary and cut out all wheat.

about 10 years ago my MD said I had IBS and I went on a IBS diet and it didnt really help and but I cut out diary and it helped ablot. Again since I had lyme and on meds I was able to eat dairy cause I was able to pass a bowl movement. But now I am back to sqare one from b4 lyme.

WHAT can I eat. I go hungry cause I am afraid that anything I eat will bloat my belly. I also have a pain or ache somethimes on my lower left side that had been there for a few weeks now.

any thoughts.. thank you jennie

Yes, Lyme can cause non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, or it can activate Celiac Disease in someone with the appropriate genetics (HLA-DQ2, HLA-DQ8).

Do NOT go on a gluten free diet if you want an accurate Celiac diagnosis - the tests are only valid if you are consuming plenty of gluten during the time the tests (blood screening test, biopsy of the upper small intestine) are done.

To get diagnosed with non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, I have found EnteroLab (see http://www.enterolab.com - I have no financial connection with this website/company/doctor) to be most useful.

Oh, by the way, Lyme is known to paralize the abdominal muscles, so that it may not matter what you eat, your belly may still be distended.  And it doesn't matter how many sit-up you do, either, because of the paralized muscles.  The only way to make this go away is to get the Lyme / coinfections treated adequately.

Take care,

Sounds like muscle spasms in the bowel. Magnesium supplementation may help. Calcium also. And make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Dehydration can also cause muscle spasms.

I have lived with constipation my entire life - and it has never been a minor issue for me. I wouldn't pass anything for as long as 7 - 10 days most of the time, but have gone as long as 22 days - before I finally found a doc that would actually listen and believe me! I have tried more things than I care to remember - and 12 years later, with a lot of experimenting and a good herbalist to help, my 'innerds' function daily now most of the time.

As Razzle has said, LD can actually activate Celiac Disease. If anyone believes they have this condition, please seek out appropriate medical attention, as this can be serious from what I understand.

With that being said, gastrointestinal issues when one has Lyme is actually fairly common, we just don't realize it. Below is a link to an article by Virginia T. Sherr MD - a LD researcher - about 'GI Lyme'. I have included a very small portion of her article as well. I would suggest everyone read her entire article as it is very informative!!


thehumansideoflyme.net/viewarticle.php?aid=62

*** Disruptions caused by GI borreliosis (Lyme) may include, amongst many others, distortions of taste, failure of other neural functions that supply the entire GI tract—paralysis or partial paralysis of the tongue, gag reflex, esophagus, stomach and nearby organs, small and/or large intestines ("ileus"), bowel pseudo-obstruction, intestinal spasms, excitability of gut muscles, inflammation of lumen lining tissues, spirochetal hepatitis, possibly cholecystitis, dysbiosis, jejunal or ileal incompetence with resultant small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), megacolon, encopresis and rectal muscle cramping (proctalgia fugax). ***


As for what to do? I eat a very high fiber diet, take stool softeners whenever needed and even use something like Milk of Magnesia whenever I had to. I used to use a high dose of Dicyclomine to help with the intestinal cramping, although it had a very limited effect for me. What has helped the most - believe it or not- was going to my Acupuncture/Chinese Medicine/Western Herbalist. She put me on a mixture of licorice, white peony and peppermint that has worked wonders for me.

Living with constipation actually hampers the body's ability to detox properly, so this can be a major issue for some. As 'stuff' sits in the intestines, the toxins will begin to be reabsorbed and so we are actually slowly poisoning ourselves. It is always worth while to do what one can to keep †hings moving through the intestines!!

Hey Jenn,
Have you tried ginger for the nausea? I had severe nausea - even my 'script for anti-nausea med wasn't enough. I started using ginger and now I can even read while in a moving vehicle!!

Try eating a few pieces of candied ginger, sipping ginger tea, taking ginger capsules or even sometimes try ginger ale. Start out with the recommended dose, but if that is clearly not enough raise your dose - ginger doesn't have any bad side effects until you start taking several grams of it at a time. As a reference, I take 3 grams a day - divided into 3 doses.

Also for a reference on the magnesium, I take 1,000 mgs divided into two doses (am & pm) daily. If you take too much magnesium you'll know - you'll suddenly have diarrhea!

Please let us know how things go!!!

Hello Trav, I have some mag. but its only 250mg should I be on more than that and it says to only take one a day. will it hurt if I take more than that a day.

I went for my ultra sound today and I will get my results next week. But I am feeling better today with no weird pain in my groin to back area and under my ribs. I am still not have a normal bowl movement every day but its better that last week.

I been doing a food dairy and watching what I eat. when you right down everything you eat you really pay more atttention to whats going into your mouth. and i noticed that I hardly ate the last two days and finaly ate more today then i did all week.

I am going to go back on my meds tomorow for my lyme since they were making me feel better but went off them cause my stomach was bloating and constipated. but they did take all that back and kneck pain away that I was having a few months ago when i was going to physicle therapy and it also took the cloudy dizzy weird feeling in my head away that I am having again and I dont want the pain in my spine to come back. Thats was the worst ever.

thanks again jenn

oh and i also notice that when i have tea it settles my stomach and I am able to go to the bathroom .. so hot stuff does help that :)

Hey Jenn,
Glad to hear that you are keeping a food diary! Like you found out, it's a great way to discover just how much of what you are eating! If you are drinking hot tea, try peppermint tea, as it is known for it's ability to help with nausea and to soothe the intestinal tract.

As Razzle said, yes it is okay to take more than 250 mgs of magnesium. Start off slowly, only adding 1/2 to 1 tab a day until you find 'your dosage'. The one that allows things to move without causing major diarrhea.

Finding your "gut tolerance" of Vit.C will bring on possible gas and diarrhea, as well, but it will help get things moving again.

Instead of colon cleanses, I use a gentle liver detox, as it gets the bile moving through your intestines. Once your intestines are moving - I wouldn't do this if things weren't moving at all, but I wouldn't do anything if my innerds weren't moving!! It was originally created by Dr. John Christopher. I use this liver detox 4 times a year and always feel better afterwards. It's actually pretty simple:
Each day for 10 days in a row I take 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, a 1/2 teaspoon of squeezed ginger (I put it through the garlic press), 1 tablespoon of Olive oil, and a mix of 2/3rds fresh squeezed Orange juice with at least one other citrus (lemon, lime, or grapefruit) to equal 1 cup of juice.

That's it!! If at the end of the 10 days, I don't see evidence of bile, I do another 10 days, or until I do see evidence of bile.

I don't do colonics, as I have read on reputable sites that those without a gall bladder should not do colonics. I have heard that the coffee enema works well for Lymies though.

Hope this helps a bit!!
Trav