Lyme and the occasional glass of wine

I think this may be a stupid question and that I should have known better, but I wanted to ask -- I see from reading here and on other online sources that alcohol is not recommended for people trying to recover from Lyme. But I have never been much of a drinker (I ordinarily go many months without a sip of alcohol), and so I just never focused on this issue before.

I am still pretty new to the whole Lyme journey -- it was just a few months ago that a doctor suggested Lyme might be the cause of some symptoms I was having. (Previously, the theory was that it was autoimmune -- I was having dry mouth, fatigue, mild sporadic joint pain, a wonky knee.) She started me on some herbal treatments for Lyme and bartonella. I also was eating a version of the Autoimmune Paleo diet (gluten-free, no grains except white rice, no dairy, etc.).

I had a couple of very good months, where the fatigue and joint pain and knee issues disappeared. Aside from the dry mouth, I felt almost normal. At the same time, I started dating again (I'm a single parent), and would sometimes have a small glass of wine, once or twice a week.

about 3 weeks after starting to have wine again, I noticed mild, sporadic incidents of joint pain again, mostly in my wrists and fingers. It was so mild and sporadic that I just assumed it would go away again. After a month or so, it got worse, and I started having backaches and random body aches.

A couple of days ago, everything suddenly got significantly worse all at once, as if every symptom I'd ever had suddenly appeared again at the same time -- joint pain in my hands, wrists, ankles; body aches all over; even the wonky knee reappeared. (A few days ago, possibly coincidentally, I was diagnosed with a UTI, for which I'm taking Macrobid. But I can't imagine a UTI, which usually seems so localized, could cause all this discomfort.)

I feel stupid for not realizing before now that I shouldn't be having ANY alcohol. My question is: could this relatively modest amount of alcohol (1-2 small glasses total per week) have been the cause of such a dramatic deterioration? Or should I also be looking for other possible causes for how bad I'm feeling?

If it really is just the wine, I feel so stupid and foolish -- I set back my recovery dramatically for such a stupid reason. I really hope I can get back to where I was. Sorry for such a long post, and I appreciate any advice.

Welcome, Lilypanda.

It could be the wine causing those symptoms.


Are you doing enough to detox? This is crucial when in lyme treatment. We need to flush out the toxins that are created by the die-off of bacteria.

Also, you mentioned dating....you didn't ask...but...be careful about passing it on to someone. It is thought to be passed on sexually.
Protection is important if you do 'engage'.

for those who read the 23andme question, from getting my dna tested I found out I had two detox related gene mutations under NAT2. as a result I am encouraged to take, you guessed it..

molybdenum, B2,B3,B5 and NAC.

In other words, alcohol may be more toxic to some people depending on gene expression. if you don't have the gene mutations, your liver works ok, but don't over drink

Post Edited (caramba) : 7/15/2017 1:02:04 PM (GMT-6)

I appreciate all these replies so much -- not just how informative and on-point they are, but also how kind. From what everyone is saying, it seems that even small amounts of alcohol can trigger a dramatic increase in (or even the beginning of) symptoms. I really regret that I did this to myself, but I guess that I now just have to focus on trying to get better again.

For people who've had the experience of an increase in (or reappearance of) symptoms due to alcohol -- do you think this is just a bump in the road, and that it's possible to "undo" the damage? Having gotten to a really good place a couple of months ago, I'm so upset to be feeling so bad right now -- and really hoping that I can undo whatever damage I did.

Thank you again. (And also thank you for all the specific advice, all of which I have taken to heart.)

LilyPanda said...
I appreciate all these replies so much -- not just how informative and on-point they are, but also how kind. From what everyone is saying, it seems that even small amounts of alcohol can trigger a dramatic increase in (or even the beginning of) symptoms. I really regret that I did this to myself, but I guess that I now just have to focus on trying to get better again.

For people who've had the experience of an increase in (or reappearance of) symptoms due to alcohol -- do you think this is just a bump in the road, and that it's possible to "undo" the damage? Having gotten to a really good place a couple of months ago, I'm so upset to be feeling so bad right now -- and really hoping that I can undo whatever damage I did.

Thank you again. (And also thank you for all the specific advice, all of which I have taken to heart.)

LilyPanda - Don't worry. You haven't done anything 'extreme' - you just had a few drinks is all.
You may have allowed a Candida infection to take hold...or your lyme infection may have gotten worse...all treatable...

Hello -- a quick follow-up and question. I saw my doctor today and explained my situation (how I had been doing very well for a few months, but had recently started having joint pain again, and how every symptom suddenly reappeared with a vengeance last week). I explained my theory that maybe it had to do with having had the occasional glass of wine starting about 6 weeks ago.

I also mentioned to her that, about 10 days ago, I was scratched by a cat at an animal shelter. She said "cat scratches are always a concern," but nothing else about that.

She checked my tongue and said that it looked like a candida issue. She said that this could explain the joint pain.

My question is -- could candida really explain all these symptoms? For the past 6 days or so, I've had
* pain (some sporadic, some constant) in my fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, and left shin. I'm not sure if it's joint pain or some other kind of pain;
* a backache and a stiff neck;
* a weird feeling of instability in my left knee feels unstable, as if it's going to pop out. (This is a symptom I had months ago, and which just reappeared.);
* fatigue

I was already on daily Nystatin (pill). She wants me to start on Diflucan for 7 days, and I think also berberine. She said I may feel worse at first. I didn't think to ask about what I could do for possible detox or die-off issues.

None of this is incapacitating; I am still going to work, etc. But it's unpleasant, and I feel like I'm 100 years old, and I hate taking Advil every day because I know it's not great for me. But if she's right, and it really is just the candida, I guess maybe I'll feel better soon.

Thank you. I'm a little nervous about having to make more changes to my diet. For a while, starting in late 2016, I was following the Autoimmune Paleo diet. (This was back when we thought it was just an autoimmune issue.) So I was eating just vegetables, meat, no grains, hardly any fruit, no legumes, no nuts or seeds.

It was very rigid and I was hungry all the time and started losing weight. I am a little underweight to begin with, so eventually the nurse-practitioner who had been guiding me through this gave me permission to add in small amounts of white rice and other carbohydrates (e.g., a small amount of fruit in the green smoothie I was having every morning, more starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes).

I was doing well on that diet for a while -- including the few months where I had no joint pain or fatigue and felt almost normal. I think, once I added a glass of wine in 1-2x/week, that I must have thrown things off. I'm hoping that I won't have to restrict my diet much more, because it's already pretty narrow.