Update from tick report

that is good news!

this species of tick is associated with very low or zero transmission of lyme disease according to the literature on the subject

it is known to transmit "lone star fever" - on occasion - a Tick Borne Relapsing Fever Group spirochete - but even here the incidence is low

much lower risk than the normal family of ticks that transmit lyme disease - eg Ixodes ticks like the deer tick - Ixodes scapularis

Huddie said...
Hi Garzie!

You made my day. I'm so happy. So impressed by how much you know. I'll get full results tomorrow but you have lifted my spirits and I'm now more hopeful. I'm not exaggerating when I say last year was the first year my son felt completely normal. He needs more than a year! Don't we all.

Heartfelt thanks to you

you are very welcome - and thank you for the kind words - i guess i have just been at this game a while!

article here for reference

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc6459681/

weights ? sure -

when - not sure how you mean or relative to what - as everyone's story is somewhat different
in my case i was undiagnosed for over 5 years after getting ill with what turned out to be lyme and bart
i had tried to keep as active as i could in this time and made myself walk every day even when it was like dragging sandbags around and feeling half dead - but sitting at home all day every day didn't feel like a good idea - and being outside in nature was a bit of a lifeline in dealing with the illness for me also

around 6 years in i started to get very systematic in everything i did, doing things to try to help my body, and especially my immune system, to support it to fight the infection better by doing things that help improve health and resilience no matter what the problem.
so the things mentioned in my signature - like focussing on sleep, changing my diet to Keto to help my gut, actively managing stress and emotional wellbeing, and starting to be systematic in my exercise.

i could do very little in terms of exercise to begin with 10 or 20 body weight squats and 10 or 20 pushups 2x per week
but i started there and very gradually built up.
i already knew anything cardio/aerobic beyond walking would cause me to crash for days afterwards - so they were out - and i focussed on gentle strength exercises - listening to my body and only gradually increasing or adding new exercises

i was actually very surprised that i could improve at all - given how awful exercising felt now compared to before i became ill - every movement wasn't just hard - it hurt - and i was prone to injuring myself if i strained too hard on a new movement or lifted too heavy a weight or just did it wrong
but i was gaining strength and also movements became less painful over time - so i was gaining mobility too - so i pressed on - but very gradually and systematically

there were of course setbacks - flares, COVID etc that set me back and i had to start over all over again - but i just followed the same gradual process - and it was easier each time.

i got up to doing pretty decent workouts of 160 body weight squats 70 or 80 pushups and a few sets of dumbbell exercises every other day - probably 400+ reps total per workout 3-4x per week ( i found an all over workout every other day worked best for me - longer breaks than this made it had to start a workout/too daunting - and shorter breaks as in exercising every day is likely to be a bit immune suppressive for a sick person)
in any case - my goal is not to be a competitive body builder - or develop that perfect beach body - but to help my immune system fight a chronic disease - so everything is tailored to that - doing enough to stimulate the immune system and increase metabolic health to aid recovery - rather than lift the heaviest weights etc
i track how many total reps i do as a measure of my exercise capacity - and try to keep that v gradually increasing
as per Burrascano in his Lyme guidelines - i do believe its very hard to get well from lyme without exercise as part of your regimen - they key is to start low and be very gradual and systematic

i had made a few posts in the past on it and i will find and post those below in case its helpful

some of my old posts on the topic in case it helps
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Exercising safely with Lyme

good idea to help motivate people to exercise

i think exercise has helped my recovery significantly.

obviously exercising with Lyme is not a straightforward proposition
many will feel they cannot possibly exercise at all - and overdoing it is all too easy, and can actually set you back with more fatigue and adverse symptoms.

i didn’t think exercise beyond maybe walking was a possibility for me despite exercising most of my life - due to feeling so ill with Lyme.

however, i have been surprised to find that even when feeling pretty weak and awful - i can not only start to exercise (if done carefully) but actually gain strength and physical capability - despite how uncomfortable exercise feels now - vs before i got Lyme.

not only does this give me all the benefits that exercise normally gives people:
better mood, sleep, overall health, self esteem etc
but it has actually increased what i can get done in a day - vs before i started
in other words it has helped me move my recovery forward in measurable ways

i thought i would post a few words i put together on how to exercise with lyme (as someone who experienced chronic fatigue, PEM etc)
much of it is in line with Dr Burrascano's guideline
but adds a bit more specific guidance.

========

Dr Burrascano talks about this in his 2008 guidelines for lyme treatment - see the sticky post at the top i think its in there somewhere - its well worth a read

basically we each have an ideal window to exercise in - whether sick or elite athletes

the bottom of the window is defined by the minimum amount we need to do to send a signal to our system to repair itself stronger in preparation for the next challenge
the upper end of the window is defined by the level beyond which we do more harm than good

the issue is that with lyme, especially in the beginning the lower end of the window is very close to the top end of the window- and such is a very narrow margin between doing enough and doing too much

also aerobic activities ( activities like jogging or HIT) seem to trigger much worse responses than anaerobic ones like resistance training. Dr Burrascano highlights this also - and it has been my experience too.

he also says its the strength exercises that are the most important for the immune system and essential to get better from lyme - so its good that you are looking into it.

as an example, I can walk 3-4 miles at a fast clip and be fine the next day - but if i try to run for even 100yards i will have ill feelings and extra fatigue the next day. yet I can do resistance exercises - like press-ups and dumbbells as long as i am careful. i had to build up very gradually at first though.

my advice:
-keep up the walking - its a great basic form of exercise and doesn't seem to trigger PEM unless you overdo it

-add in gradually some form of resistance training
- so weights, isometric etc - whatever works for you

-work out where you tolerance is - deliberately do too little to begin with and work up to find your limit - then back off a little.

-be systematic - keep records and have a target for each workout - make only v small increments each workout to avoid PEM reactions

-you will likely need longer recovery periods to begin with - so - esp if you have issues with PEM maybe only exercise 1x per 5-7 days

-later aim to gradually bring this down to 2-3 days in-between - and eventually every other day

-it will be slow at first - do not be discouraged - momentum will build

- focus on recovery as much as the actual exercise part

---diet ( your body needs good nutrition when fighting this thing and exercising) to recover well

---sleep - this when your body rebuilds itself best - the better you sleep, the better you will recover from exercise and the faster you will progress

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i am following the above plan and am now able to workout 45mins every 3rd day and am getting stronger almost every workout ( something that hasn't really happened consistently since my mid 20's) - despite also treating lyme with antimicrobials at the same time.

i'm not saying exercise will feel good - it will not to begin with - but stick at it - be systematic - increment slowly - and you will be surprised how much you can do.

good luck!!