GI Lyme anyone?

I keep getting gastric ulcers and have GERD, even though I am very careful with what I eat and don't drink or smoke. Dr says its all related to my Lyme and not the antibiotics, also I do not have H-Pylori.

I suffered from this problem before I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme, I think anxiety has a lot to do with it plus I don't absorb food properly, all to do with stomach acid.

I find the best thing which heals the gastro tract from top to bottom is cultered gabbage juice (not regular juiced cabbage) and probiotics.

This has also stopped me from getting candida.

I have had abnormal biopsies at some point or another from every part of my GI tract. In 2006, I had flattened villi in my small intestine (at one point, it was suspected that I had Celiac or Whipple's Disease, but biopsies were negative for these). There is usually some inflammation somewhere in my gut every time I'm scoped, but non-specific to any one diagnosis. I also have significant motility issues throughout my entire GI tract. And have developed more and more food intolerances and allergies as time has gone along (it is thought that I've had Lyme since about age 4 or so). Symptoms seem to have periods when they are worse, and periods when they are less severe.

For me, the GI stuff started with stomach issues (nausea, fullness) and constipation. Then the inflammation was discovered when I got a parasitic infection (amebic dysentery) in 1987, and because I also got a fistula with the parasitic infection, was diagnosed with Crohn's-Colitis finally in 1988...but after treatment for the parasite, I have never had another fistula or round of bloody diarrhea since, and I do not believe I actually have Crohn's but rather a nasty gut infection with Lyme (I didn't know this was even possible until after I got diagnosed with Lyme in 2007)...the Crohn's diagnosis never "felt" right to me...

I have also had several bouts of being completely unable to eat anything at all - the first was in 1987 (severe nausea, no diagnosis), the next was in 2002 (severe nausea, diagnosed with Gastroparesis), and then again in 2008 (unable to swallow anything...now able to swallow some solids, but not as easily as prior to 2008, and still choke on liquids).

Esophagus issues (dysphagia, inflammation) didn't start until 2008, though I have never been very successful at swallowing pills (probably a muscle coordination and ultra-sensitive gag reflex thing, which may or may not have anything to do with Lyme).

My gut symptoms get worse if I eat things I'm allergic or sensitive or intolerant to, if I eat meat (not officially allergic, but it sure does a number on my gut), or if I inhale sulfur dioxide fumes (air pollution, car exhaust...I'm allergic/sensitive to sulfites). I also tend to be chemically sensitive, and exposure to chemicals I'm sensitive to will often trigger nausea.

I also get pretty bad abdominal distention, reflux (non-responsive to PPI's), what feels like reverse parastalsis (pain, burping up stuff I'd eaten long ago), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea/constipation, stomach spasms (can watch my feeding tube tilt to one side...it's kind-of freaky to see), narrowing/stool impactions in small intestine, internal hemmorhoids, strictured rectum, alterations in taste or smell of foods, swelling in my mouth, indigestion, weight loss/gain issues (without trying to do either), etc. I had to get my gallbladder out in 1999 due to multiple large stones, and when I woke up from the surgery, I was free of a variable amount of constant nausea for the first time in 15 years! But I don't know if gallstones were caused by Lyme, since there is a strong family history of gallstones.

I have also had a lot of trouble with malabsorption. At one point, my Vitamin B12 level was severely low (67...normal is >200), but not from autoimmune pernicious anemia...so now I take B12 shots. In 2008, the ER told me I had ketoacidosis - not from diabetes, but from severe malnutrition thought to be from malabsorption (and a limited diet due to food intolerances/allergies). This was in spite of me taking an elemental formula as a supplement...this formula is supposed to be complete meal replacement...so I am pretty sure I don't absorb much of what I put in.

Right now, I am also dealing with fatty liver (caused by TPN), which has caused low albumin, which has lead to significant water retention throughout my body. I'm currently trying hard to get off the TPN, and am taking various liver-support herbs (Milk Thistle, Artichoke, Dandelion Root, Burdock Root) to help remove the fatty buildup in my liver.

For more info on what Lyme/coinfections can do to the gut, check out the following links:

Lyme and IBD
http://www.canlyme.com/crohn's.html

"Bell's Palsy of the Gut and other GI Manifestations of Lyme and Associated Diseases"
http://www.thehumansideoflyme.net/viewarticle.php?aid=62

Lyme and GI diseases
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/nothing/what-does-lyme-diseas-4297

It is also thought that Lyme can trigger a form of gluten sensitivity. Being that I have one Celiac gene, I suspect I was well on my way to developing Celiac when a stool study showed elevated anti-tTG antibodies & elevated IgA anti-gliadin antibodies (even though blood tests only showed elevated IgG anti-gliadin antibodies) in 2005...Once I went gluten-free, every time I have been exposed to gluten, I get dysruptions in my female hormones (menstrual cramps & migraines with any menstrual period within at least 6 weeks of gluten exposure...but can last months if I get a big enough gluten exposure), my stomach feels heavy, and sometimes I get diarrhea. It can take weeks or months for these symptoms to disappear if I get exposed to enough gluten...even airborne gluten. The connection with Lyme and my gluten sensitivity (I don't call it Celiac, since biopsies were negative) is unknown, given my genetic predisposition for Celiac. For more about gluten sensitivity, check out http://www.theglutenfile.com/ and http://www.enterolab.com/ (I have no financial connections with EnteroLab or Dr. Fine).

So in a nutshell, my gut is a mess and it is primarly thought to be from Lyme.

I have many GI symptoms, food intolerances and allergies. Are they from Lyme? Who knows. I know I vacilate between bloating, nausea, poor digestion, etc, etc...I use LOTS of digestive enzymes, and probiotics. That makes me almost normal, but if I forget to take them? Ugh. Not good.

Raw runner,
By necessity, I take fiber that I mix in with my coffee or whatever in the morning & have to stick to a very high fiber 'diet'. Have you tried adding more fiber? Are you drinking plenty of water?

For me, Western medicine didn't (or maybe it's that the docs wouldn't??) hold any answers for me with my intestinal issues. I have found great relief with Acupuncture & Herbs - most specifically ground ginger root (@ 5 grams/day) and what my acu doc calls her cramp formula - which is licorice, peppermint, and white peony. I took 40 mg of dicyclomine 4 times a day & it was just barely doing it's job. Now, I have very little trouble with nausea, bloating & keeping 'regular'.

Doc - Maybe you are either allergic or sensitive to one of the ingredients??

Hi!

I hope somebody still reads this forum. I have some GI issues since 2007, and my only real diagnose is IBS, and some mild chronic duodenitis (inflammation in my stomach). But it can hurt like hell.
My problem is that I was diagnosed with lyme for other reasons too not long ago, and I started to get antibiotics that worsen the GI symptoms - especially the pain in my stomach. I think antibiotics are not the best in such cases... If somebody has experience with stomach inflammation and lyme, how he/she treated this, I would be glad if I get some info about it! Is it possible to heal from it? What antibiotics should be avoided? THX!