Exercise

Dr Burrascano doesn't recommend cardio but weight training - yes.


I do a short time of cardio on my Elliptical machine - just to get the blood flowing prior to my resistance bands, weights...etc.
I also do walks - as they don't get my heart rate going. Also, swimming short distances.

If you have muscle weakness/atrophy - I think it's important to exercise.

You don't want to do so much that you wear yourself down...that would be counter-productive.


I am now starting to increase my cardio (after over a year of PT) - so short bike rides is what I do. and am slowly increasing the duration of the rides.

On the other side of the spectrum, I contribute heavy exercise to my recovery. I pushed myself through a lot of uncomfortable hours Aat the gym, but it helped and gave me more progress then any llmd.

If you can handle it push yourself, but know your limits. Otherwise there is nothing wrong with light exercise. Sedentary on the couch is unhealthy.

Girlie said...

Lymepilot said...
On the other side of the spectrum, I contribute heavy exercise to my recovery. I pushed myself through a lot of uncomfortable hours Aat the gym, but it helped and gave me more progress then any llmd.

If you can handle it push yourself, but know your limits. Otherwise there is nothing wrong with light exercise. Sedentary on the couch is unhealthy.

So, you didn't have much improvement with the treatment that your LLMD prescribed?

wow - what was he prescribing?


The physical therapy has helped me...but it certainly doesn't replace the treatment to kill the bacteria.

In my opinion I was embalmed with more antibiotics then needed. Before I even saw an LLMD my Non LLMD ID had me on for weeks doxy, three Amoxi and another four of IV Rocephin. I believe in my heart of hearts that the infection was no long active and the issues I dealt with in the coming months were from damage caused by the infection and the only thing that was going to pull me through was time to heal.

The LLMD's tried to get me to do another picc line, lots of mino, rifampin, ceftin, etc. Also told me to fear sugar, not to exercise etc.

When I started doing the opposite (exercise, and eating whatever I wanted) and stopped being a slave to lyme 24/7 that's where I personally showed the most improvement.

And my diagnosis is not questionable, textbook em rash + positive western blot x 2 + c6 from non igenex and mainstream labs.

Exercise is an essential component of any Lyme disease treatment plan. "Despite antibiotic treatments, patients will NOT return to normal unless they exercise, so therefore an aggressive rehab program is absolutely necessary," states Lyme specialist Dr. Joseph Burrascano, Jr.

I totally believe in listening to your body. For months I did absolutely nothing physical. I slept all day long and night for hours. I was so fatigued. It was a major chore for me to get up and get a drink of water.

At that point, I did nothing. As I began to feel less fatigued (due to treatment) I walked around the perimeter of my house. I rode my stationary bike. I swam 110 yards. Little by little getting I got back to normal, which is swimming a couple of miles and mountain biking half a day.

My advice is to listen to your body and don't overdo anything.

Here is another article -- www.tiredoflyme.com/exercise.html

And this is exactly why I continue to further distance myself from the craziness of the online community of people who believe they have Lyme disease.

It's exercise, stop over thinking it. What's next, water and sleep? SMH.

I dont know if this really qualifies as 'flaming' Lyme Pilot is simply voicing his frustrations with some of the cooky suggestions you find online as it relates to Lyme, and I have to agree. It's hard to argue that there isnt a lot of craziness going on in all sides of the Lyme argument. He is criticizing a stance or an idea, not an individual. We spend a lot of time criticizing the stances and ideas of the CDC and IDSA, but that doesnt mean we are 'flaming' Flaming is attacking or insulting someone personally. He didnt call a forum member crazy or stupid, he is saying that many of the ideas and theories that are extolled online when discussing Lyme are a little crazy. This is just a fact. I dont even think he directed his comment to any one member here, I think he was just speaking in general.

Also he is backing it up with his personal experience. His LLMD's recommended NO excercise and he disagreed, and it sounds like he has had good results. I think he is basically saying dont overthink everything when it comes to Lyme, as we often tend to do with this disease. "Dont overthink it" is advice. Just like suggesting people should detox more is advice. I value his advice as one of the few forum members we have here that have actually reached remission, and still continues posting. Maybe he's on to something. I think we should be able to disagree with doctors and amongst ourselves in the 'Lyme Community' without being accused of flaming. Discourse and divergence of opinion are important to make some progress with these diseases. Lets get some healthy debate going, as what we've been doing hasnt worked so far. Even if it's not all friendly hugs and lol's, that doesnt mean it's flaming. It's just blunt, straightforward advice.

He has a different opinion, which I personally find refreshing. If people dont like his opinions they can always 'thumbs down' him and never see his posts again. I have done this with a few members, not because they offend me, but because their advice and opinions I do not find to be helpful, as they seem to repeat themselves over and over and offer the same generalized suggestions no matter what question is posed, and dont offer any real substance or progress the topic any further.

Bottom line is that strong blunt personal opinions are good to move the debate forward, whether we agree or not. The forum should allow us to hash out these differences and explain why we agree disagree.
I wish there were more strong opinions here and elsewhere as so much advice in the Lyme world is so 'wishy washy.'

ALL THAT being said, back to the original topic...

When it comes to exercise, personally I was a fitness fanatic before Lyme. I worked out 4-5 X a week for 3 hours per session and also walked 5-6 miles a day. This is one of the many things that Lyme has taken from me, and I pretty much avoid exercise now because of crushing debilitating fatigue and exhaustion, and changes in my heart rhythm that scare me from pushing myself too much physically. This is one of the things that lets me know I am still sick, as the old me used to crave exercise. Nowadays I can barely get into the gym once a week and only do 30 minutes of very light cardio and hit the sauna. It has been this way for me since I got sick 2 years ago.

I am hoping that like Peteza's experience I will be able to slowly incrementally make some progress in treatment that will allow me to shake this fatigue and slowly get my desire for exercise back, rebuild my stamina and build back up from there. I do believe its a complementary process, as treatment will improve exercise abilities, and exercise will help with treatment. As others have pointed out, Burrascano claims that exercise is absolutely crucial, and after outlining his antiobiotic treatment protocols in depth in his guidelines, he then outlines a specific exercise regimen and even goes so far as to say that antibiotics alone will not lead to remission without the exercise component. Distance running and extreme cardio are probably not a good idea especially early on in treatment.

When I feel the need to exercise, I lie down to the feeling goes away 🤣 at this point of the game and with a bad back injury that just happened, I'm not doing much but just walking around a bit when I can. Walking I see beneficial even on small-scale. just be careful and don't over do it. You'll feel it the next day if you do and it will set you back.