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Lyme Disease
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Posted 3/31/2024 12:11 PM (GMT 0)
Have you found anything helpful to support your recovery? Other than the usual antimicrobials like antibiotics and herbs

Some things that I do already are PEMF therapy, red light therapy, infrared sauna, oxygen concentrator, grounding / earthing, castor oil packs, dry brushing, using a zen chi machine.

I also use supplements, take medications as needed, focus on sleep optimisations and nutrition / diet.

So I'm wondering what things you have tried that you have found beneficial?
Posted 3/31/2024 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
there are alot of them -

almost anything which can influence a persons overall health, physical or mental welbing - can help

but , the biggest single step forward for me in the shortest time was a ketogenic diet

i have written about it many times before

i was initially totally against the idea - i had always done well on complex carbs and it just seemed too extreme
- too much pain - not enough gain - or so i thought - until my partner did it.

she was sick with lyme and bart the same as i was - but had major mental health issues triggered by bartonella on top and was desperate to try anything that might help. she had read about it on Dr Myhill's website

at this point we were both so sick that we barely left the house - spent days on the sofa feeling awful - interspersed by regular flareup of her mental issues resulting in either rage or depression. it was grim.

i was not keen - but she went all in - had to go super low carb before the urine strips showed she was in ketosis - pretty much just meat fish eggs olives, green vegetables - nothing else

but within a week she was running 2 miles - and i was still struggling to get off the sofa to do the basics of looking after myself - after 6 months she was working 1/2 time - within 12 months full time - it was undeniable.

i went into it more gradually, and never had to be as extreme (is common for males due to more muscle mass ) - and i also had a significant benefit - fatigue reduced by almost half within 1-2 weeks - so i could literally do 2x more things in the day vs before - and my own recovery started at this point - all be it more slowly.

i think it works because it takes a dramatic load off the immune system - 80% of which is in the gut and is concerned with managing the microbiome and the food etc from the outside word -

in chromic Lyme we have typically lost control of this and so 80% of our immune system is preoccupied tying to deal with the chaos in there, leaky gut etc - so typically our guts are just adding to the problem.

cutting down the carb intake dramatically basically cuts down the food for most of the bacteria in there - meaning less overall quantity of bacteria and less of the immune activating compound they make - reducing this load allows the immune system to function better - moves the homeostasis more in favour of the host - and frees up resources to fight the infections.

i don't think i would have moved forward without this change - 9 months of combination antibiotics prior to this helped only a little - and i fell back afterwards

whereas any gains i have made since this point have stuck - and i can build on them

its more work than popping a pill - which puts a lot of people off - but i have not seen anything be as effective in as short a period of time - so particularly if you are struggling each day with fatigue - i say give it a go - after 3-4 weeks you will not look back.
Posted 3/31/2024 9:14 PM (GMT 0)
I enjoy threads about this topic!

Recently I was swallowing the magnesium glycinate that I've been taking for eight years since I was diagnosed with Lyme, and I could rattle off all the things it's supposed to be doing for me, but I can't honestly say that I have noticed any difference, regardless of dose. I have taken other forms of magnesium, and stewed for hours per day in baths with a quart of Epsom salt, and never noticed a difference. That doesn't mean the magnesium hasn't been serving some purpose, but I think it's important periodically to do an audit of the things we do because we feel like we should versus the things we're sure actually help.

The things that have been noticeably helpful:
- Curcumin and quercetin - these helped to resolve MCAS for me, but also helped to resolve neurological inflammation, post-exertional malaise, and dysautonomia. I don't even want to attempt stopping these!
- Ashwagandha - this adaptogen was one of the first things I started taking, and I worry that I have been on it for so long - ten years! - when there's not much safety data about long-term use. But it makes a difference in my ability to process stress.
- B complex - Energy improvement, helped stop migraines.
- CBD - Slows down my brain when it's overly frenetic, helps me sleep, helps with feeling genuinely relaxed.
- Limbic system retraining - Everyone here has seen me go on and on about DNRS, but it was a big deal for me to understand the extent to which patterns of the mind affect the body in chemical and physical ways, and to feel like I understood how to harness that connection to improve some things. Made a huge difference, especially in neurological symptoms and PEM.
- Yoga - Strengthening and bringing awareness to my body, committing to that time every day, and being present all are tremendously helpful for energy, pain reduction, circulation, muscle tone, and mental health.
- Vitex (a.k.a. chaste tree or chasteberry) - This made a big difference in pelvic pain, symptoms of hormonal shifts, cyclical headaches, and menorrhagia. Increasingly helpful as perimenopause inches along.
- Salt - Really improved POTS.
- Hydrating properly - I had been over-hydrating, making my POTS worse.
- Low-histamine diet - Stopped most MCAS symptoms right away, especially brain fog and digestive issues.
- Acupuncture - This put my gastroparesis into remission for two hours every week so that I could survive my years of gastroparesis without literally starving. Really sets things back into their optimal rhythms.
- Craniosacral therapy - Love this one. Fixes headaches and alignment issues, fixes unhealthy patterns of holding tension, finds areas that need attention, moves energy around, super relaxing.

Looking forward to hearing others' experiences!
Posted 3/31/2024 11:52 PM (GMT 0)
EWOT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKY74u0yXEk
Posted 4/1/2024 9:11 AM (GMT 0)
nice topic!

-lowcarb diet
-buhner herbs but chance them every 6 weeks rotating different antimicrob herbs
-parasite cleaning
-b vitamins, cordeycs and Eleutherococcus
-going out and getting fresh air
-ozon iv
Posted 4/2/2024 6:22 AM (GMT 0)
Although I didn’t get fatigue from Lyme - I got a lot of pain.

To settle the back pain I would take warm Epsom salt baths.
When I was herxing bad, I would have the baths a few times a day.
I’d sit there and cry.😿
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