aging and lyme disease

Yes, several people have told me that I look older than I am. I am thinking, thanks you loser! I feel like I have lost half my muscle in the last 5 months, and I am thinking, where is this going to go? I am thinking the same thing, who would want someone who looks like a holocaust victim (I lost 12 lbs and I am at 5' tall 116 lbs) and is sick as a dog? I told my friend that I am getting a face job when this is over!

Hi Jackie. Yes, I suffer form this too. I lost 40 pounds due to this illness, my skin has the texture of alligator skin, and my muscles are non-existent. I am a male and was very active and somewhat fit prior to the infection. I remember one time when a co-worker girl at work put her palm on my chest and said "wow, they are bigger than mine!" Now, they are pitiful. I also have the Bartonella streaks in my face, tons of liver spots, walk like an old man, poor vision, and at one time my hair had begun to fall off.

I admit that I enjoyed being "checked-out" and was vain before the infection. Now? I am so skinny and look so old that people stay away from me because they think I am contagious.

omg this is SO ridiculously SAD!

Yea I am trying to tell myself that… I don't know if it's working too well.

God you are scaring me. Like we don't have enough to fear being ill. I'm so sorry you feel so badly about your appearance. I am thought to have had lyme since childhood and am 37 and usually people think I look younger, I guess it depends on the day. What are you ages and how have people in your family aged? Did you avoid the sun and or wear sunscreen because that breaks down collegan big time.

I try to stay away from sugar but I'd be lying if I said I abstain. I don't eat gluten, I don't eat processed sugar, except Nutella sometimes. I still drink coffee which I know is bad but I can't function without it...... I put raw honey in it.

Most of the people I know say I look younger than I am (runs in the family), but I can see and feel the difference. Things have really been going downhill since I started treatment 18 months ago.

My muscles are almost all gone, what's left has no strength left in them at all. It's ridiculous. My skin is thinner and lost a lot of its elasticity, I have a lot of liver spots. My face is really pale My hair looks dead compared to before, it's falling out, but my hairdresser says she always sees a lot of young sprouts - I'm really happy it's growing back at the same time. I gained 35 pounds since I started treatment: swelling because of inflammation. That is the most frustrating part.

But the worst part is that I feel old. When having to get up after sitting down for a while, I need time to 'get' up straight, I'm bent forward and I can't walk straight, like a rusted robot, and it hurts. I'm walking like really old people do, with my hands placed on my lower back because of the pain and feeling blocked.

There is a large mirror in our living room, I start laughing at myself when I look at me passing by.

I avoid all chemical body products: mineral + organic makeup (I rarely wear makeup), organic or natural bodycreams/moisturizers (from Weleda, or pure shea butter, argan oil), I wash myself with organic Aleppo soap (laurel soap), deodorant without heavy metals/parabens, shampoo is difficult (I use a brand without parabens) and sun screen is even more difficult.

If I try something else, my skin becomes so bad it hurts.

I very rarely eat processed food, my parents taught me that, when I was a kid we never ate it. Never smoked, stopped drinking alcohol 9 years ago.

I'm practically a saint -

Luckely it's me and not my husband, cause he's so much more vain than I am - lol

 

Well, I can say that I finally look my age!! LOL! Actually, my daughter tells me I still look a lot younger than others my age - I know what most will think, but my daughter and I swore complete and total honesty quite a few years ago when I went through a horrid time with paranoia- I quite literally thought that my husband and daughter were "out to get me" although I couldn't explain what it meant or how they would do it - or why they would want to for that matter.

I lost muscle too, but it did come back. My skin is another story, although I'm doing better than my Mom did with small skin cancers that have to be burned off. I have skin cancer running through both sides of my family, I'm very fair-skinned (with freckles - Lovely, just lovely) with blue eyes, and I've always lived to be outdoors, even back before they knew we needed sunscreen.

I believe we are harder on ourselves than anyone else would be when we look in a mirror when we are ill and not feeling good. Remember, you are ill and we always look worse when we are ill.

I hope it does WW..., but it may not be so easy for some to exercise like they did when they were well. . I think it also depends on how the infection(s) affects the individual. Toby had ALS symptoms so he has to be careful. His balance is off and he has fallen a few times. He needs to take it slow. Age is another factor to consider. I agree that we need to be positive, but it may take more time than it did for you. I didn't hear anyone was saying it could or couldn't be reversed. We need to do what we can to promote healing and look forward to the day we can do what you are doing.