Depression Day Following Workout

I have the EXACT same thing. When I work out, it's like clock work, the next day I will feel very depressed. I've noticed that if you push through it for a few weeks it stops happening. But it comes back when you take a break from working out and then restart again. It's very demotivating to work out that way. Especially with Lyme Disease when you can't always consistently work out.

I work out in some way everyday either light weights and push ups with stairs or walking. Yesterday I ran short hills and did weights. Today I have not had a good feeling.

This seems to happen every time I push my system more than normal. Part of it affects mental, also.

i think you just have to pace yourself and gradually build up - if you are doing everything right your tolerance should gradually improve

lots of weird stuff happens in the bodies of people with lyme and co

like mitochondrial dysfunction - where using the muscles - especially aerobically - can lead to excess oxidative stress and damage / fatigue

i am doing quite well with fast walking each day and weights every few days - but if i try to run even for 100yards - then next day my fatigue is ramped up - i think its this mitochondrial function problem.

its known that short burst of aerobic exercise allow time for the antioxidants to rebound and therefore less damaging to those with impaired mitochondrial function - but in those with PEM ( post exertional malaise - which is what we are describing) we are very sensitive to overloading the oxidative stress mechanisms - walking is OK - as its below the threshold which causes antioxidant depletion and damage - aerobic exercise typically the worst

typically people with this issue are low in glutathione and maybe vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid etc and that shows up on things like an organic acid test - but typically also have signs of oxidative stress

hi Huddie

how much i can work out depends on how much i am treating - i am doing a long and slow treatment of bart and lyme mainly via buhner herbs and co-infection herbs - but a pretty strong cocktail - combined with methylene blue for bart persisters

its taken me 18months to build up to full doses and each time i step them up i would have more fatigue and sleep problems and workouts would be much harder to do consistently - i found methylene blue especially slowed me down - but i have built back up to doing a small workout every 3rd day and a fast 3-4mile walk each day.

currently i am doing around 80 bodyweight squats, 40 press-ups, around 40 dumbbell curls, 40 military presses and 20 dumbbell shrugs and maybe one other exercise as i see fit on the day. i have v limited equipment at home - everything is in storage at the moment - so this is a way of building my fitness till i either get a bigger place or join a gym. each time i do it i do try to push for more reps - and most times i manage it - which is s sure sign of progress. On the off days i do stretches

i do think teh strength excercises do something to the immune system to help it fight these stealth infections - did it all my life and even though it feels hard and horible now compared to pre-illness - i am glad to be able to do it and know that it is helping.

i think it can only help on its own - but i do think you also need to be treating the underlying infection - its an immune adjunct if you like but on its own i doubt it can cure anyone - that's kind of what i meant by doing all the right things - its multifaceted - no one thing will fix it - doing many things right will definitely move the needle ....
-diet was huge for me
-focus on sleep key also
-managing stress
-some form of treatment for the infection

hope this helps

Garzie,

I'm so impressed by your fitness routine. Question, and you don't have to answer if this is too personal but are you a male or a female?

Your mention of socializing, driving, etc... is really eye opening. I get the same thing but never thought they were related. If I socialize, especially at night, I am wired beyond belief and can't sleep and the same with long car drives -something stimulating about both.

I'm really going to think about what you have shared. I sleep, am super strict with diet (always have been), and still doing herbs, detox, etc... not sure what the missing piece of the puzzle with weights and pushing further is for me.

You have inspired me, and probably many others. Thank you.

I generally agree with the other comments here that exercise can make Lyme flare up and also depletes vitamin C and other vitamins.

However, the manic stuff is an adrenal effect. Insufficient cortisol increases ACTH and beta-endorphin, and the endorphin causes the manic/depressive effect. Generally this can be treated with hydrocortisone and naltrexone.

Huddie
i am male 52 years old - about 185lbs and used to be very fit and strong

i think what works is a highly individual thing - there are general do and don'ts but the magic sauce for one will have no effect at all on another so you have to kind of feel your way with lots of experimentation, rather than follow anyone's individual prescription - as we are all different - and probably the strains and bugs themselves are also different.

i was on buhners standard lyme herbs for years with little or no progress - and then around 2 years ago i started to get very systematic and added things from his extended protocols in his second edition Healing Lyme book - building up to a comprehensive protocol - paying careful attention to my reactions and adjusting accordingly - which was not a miracle for me - but i think started me down the track of recovery -

i then added a broad selection of co-infection herbs ( because i didn't know which co-infection i was dealing with with certainty ) and gradually worked up the dosage - going through various reactions and herx like effects along the way - but also gradually improving

i did antibiotics also - and they helped but after 6months i was not really improving at any great rate and my liver enzymes went high so i had to stop

i am also using LDN - as it also is thought to help both inflammation and the immune system - 2 things that fit for me

most recently i have added methylene blue to try and address bart persister cells - as my symptoms fit lyme and bart best of all and bart would at least explain the slow response to treatment

hope its of some use to you

Post Edited (Garzie) : 8/19/2021 3:26:44 AM (GMT-6)

Quin I have a few questions for you since my last reply.
Does the naltrexone increase cortisol or does it work through a different mechanism?
Can you tell me a bit more about the endorphin effect? I think it's fascinating.
Do you know why it seems to stop after steadily working out for a few weeks? Does the cortisol balance out?

It's so frustrating because every time I stop working out for a little bit, I know the first few weeks of starting again are going to be mentally very hard.

I want to thank you again Quin. This information is super helpful to me.
I pee a lot too. And rifampin causes me issues too.