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Hi 257108!
Welcome to our little spot! I am sooo very sorry to hear about your daughter having this dreaded disease, but I'm sure glad you found us! It's so heartbreaking when your child is ill, but you've come to a great place to help you both through all of this!

If you haven't already, it would be beneficial for you to start with reading through the thread at the top of the forum titled,"New to Lyme?...Start here!!", as it is packed full of relevant information, symptom lists and informative links that have been put together by our members here! Most of those who have read through it have said that it was very helpful!!

We also have a pretty good search function on this forum to help you narrow down your search for information from past posts. We must be our own health advocates now and the best thing to arm yourself with is knowledge about our infections and the different ways to treat them!

Some people with Lyme find they have a gluten sensitivity develop during the time they are infected, but not all. If your daughter seems to do better with a gluten-free diet, then by all means stay away from the gluten. There are a number of websites that can help you with understanding what a gluten free diet entails. I would suggest that you start off with this one, as it's for those with Celiac Disease, so they must stay away from all gluten.
http://www.celiac.com/

Is your daughter detoxing? This is crucial to her healing well. We have a great post that explains what you need and how to go about detoxing when a person has Lyme in our "New to Lyme?" thread. It's at the bottom of the second post.

Thank you so much for your replies. Her regular MD (as you know) doesn't have a clue. We did find a Lyme doctor and she has suffered with the disease. From what I read, it sounds like once you have it....maybe you always suffer from it. All I know right now is that I'm looking for "how to help her" and this is a wonderful sight. Her MD put her on 3 different antibiotic for 3 weeks and then took her off for a week. She had an appt with him today, but decided to wait and go to the new doctor tomorrow instead! Great idea...and I have all her medical records to take also.

I think my main problem is how to cook for her. I don't have a clue what dillweed is...or all the artificial sweetners she isn't supposed to have, etc. So right now she's drinking water and eating fruit.

I've looked for lyme disease recipes online and they either say different things, or they cost a fortune. We already have to pay $450 tomorrow. Again, thank you all for your responses. It means so very much. Should she be taking herbs, and eating organic food? Am i understanding right when I read no sugars and low carbs? Again, let me say God Bless you all if you've felt, or continue to feel as badly as she does. I will continue to read everything on here.

May I shorten your screen name to 257 when answering you? Thank you in advance!

There is a lot of confusion about what diet is best to follow. There has been so little research into this set of infections in any way, so what's the best diet to follow is left for Doc's and their patients generally. Many of us - including me- just eat as healthily as we can. Those that can afford and have it available eat organic, some go gluten free, some even go to a Vegetarian Diet. One thing for sure, your daughter will need good nutrition so that her body is capable of fighting her infections.

One thing to watch for is food sensitivities with your daughter. If she starts feeling bloated, nauseous, itching, diarrhea and such anywhere from a few minutes to an hour after eating any foods. It would be best to keep a food diary too. That way you will know for sure what she ate or drank. For me I have to watch how much yeast and dairy I get, but other than that I just eat as healthy as I can afford to.

Have your daughter put a little lemon in her water, and to drink plenty of it. Many of us do this as lemon will help to keep the body in a more alkaline state - viruses and bacteria love an acidic state in the body.

Dillweed is just the spice "Dill" that can be found in almost every grocery store around. The best piece of advice I can give you - as her mother - don't make yourself crazy! If nothing else, just get her eating a good healthy diet for starters. Most college students don't remember what that is! LOL! There is so much going on for the two of you right now, and finding a good LLMD for her is pretty important...and something you have to do on someone else's schedule. You can modify her diet a little bit later, unless she has sensitivities - those foods you need to eliminate from her diet altogether.

Generally speaking sugar isn't all that good for us anyway - but now that she is dealing with Lyme, sugar isn't good either. Some people can just eliminate it from their diets, others - like me- find a natural substitute. I use Stevia, others use agave juice, or Xylitol to name a few. Stay away from things like Aspertame and other artificial sweeteners though.

There really is a lot to learn, but we are here to help you and your daughter get through this. We have different opinions on many things here, but that's what makes this such a great site! You can hear from different 'sides' and see what fits you and your daughter's situation best!

Keep on asking those questions - not only here, but at the doc's too!

my computer died so I don't know if my other message went through.  Thank you all again....My daughter's MD that tested her for lymes said she tested reactive to one strain...on the others she tested non reactive.  Does this mean anything as far as if she has or doesn't have the disease?

Your daughter should try Almond Milk. It is dairy free and is very yummy!! I actually prefer it over regular milk now.