Getting the flu- A good thing?

I remember reading a post a while back about someone who was healed from lyme, and they were celebrating getting the flu.

The idea being, that with lyme, your immune system is so depleted, your body cant even give a normal immune response to a yearly seasonal flu. And when you get over lyme, you can get the flu once again.

Personally I thought this was BS, and another questionable way to diagnose Lyme or 'prove' a cure.

But I just wanted to say, I am now experiencing this first-hand.

I have been healed of Lyme since May, and am now in the best health of my life, even better than pre-lyme.

This week i started noticing a slight increase in fatigue, nasal congestion, stuffiness, and a productive cough. It all felt so foreign to me. What was this? Going on facebook and reading about my friends who have children, they are ALL complaining about the rampant flu in in the area in the past 2 weeks. Then it hit me. I was getting the flu for the first time in 4 years!

It was really strange for me, and I had to sit down and think, the last time I remember getting the flu was the winter before I got Lyme. I havent had any form of flu in 4 years.

And now i have a mild one, and its good to know for me.

Our bodies are supposed to slightly fluctuate between health and light illness from time to time.

With lyme, you are under a constant flu, a constant illness, so there is no fluctuation, no contrast.

I just found this to be very interesting and wondered if anyone else has had similiar thoughts or experiences.

I have heard this theory tossed around the years I have been here, but it never made sense to me and hasn’t been my experience. I am not remotely healed and yet I have been sick at least once a year with something for the past 3 years. Been sick the past 2 weeks with the worst cold I have had in years.

Last Christmas I, along with 2 others in the household, was gifted with the strangest 10 day on-again off-again stomach virus I’d ever had. The Christmas before I was on abx for a sinus infection following the Thanksgiving cold that got better and then worse. Same thing a year prior to that.

Quin was the valproate covered by your insurance? I have HSV2 and would love to find a treatment.

Girlie - you asked the same question on another thread. It is a fact that the elderly are more at risk of developing complications from the flu such as pneumonia (which is the leading cause of death from the flu in elderly, I believe) because they have chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and COPD. Lyme patients are not comparable to the elderly. Lyme patients have immune systems that are overwhelmed by lyme. The elderly have older and weaker organs.

There are some people who just don't get sick much. For example, my husband. He tested postiive for lyme, but had no symptoms. In this case, I believe his immune system was strong enough to keep lyme from causing any issues. He does get "regular" sick from time to time, but not nearly as much as I did over the years.

On the other hand, when I first got lyme, I kept getting sick over and over again. I was only 4 months in when started treatment, but I had the classic initial "flu" symptoms earlier on. Then once I finished treatment, which was 8 months later, I would get sick every time I "over did it" with exercise.

So I guess I never experienced what you guys have experienced as far as not getting sick, but i still understand what you are saying and agree -

Logmoss - are you doing anything at all to keep lyme at bay? how long did you treat for? congrats on your success!!!

Thanks Quin that’s interesting.

1000 daisies- I thought it was maybe you that made the post I was referencing. I guess it was another member.

Whats fascinating is the flu symptoms arent caused by the virus itself, but by your body's immune reaction. The stuffy nose, coughing and fever are all ways your body tries to rid itself of the disease.

So the theory is that Lyme patients are still technically getting the flu, but their bodies are just too overburdoned to mount any real immune response.

And Chappelle - You hit the nail on the head in bringing up over-exertion. I didnt initailly put 2 and 2 together, but the day before I got sick, I had the most intense workout ive had since getting well. 3 hours nonstop HARD workout with very hard cardio and "supersets" meaning you RUN from one machine to another without resting at all in between.

I was so happy to be back to full health, I was celebrating and trying to see what my new limits were.

Buhner and others warn about this. Saying some people are so excited to have health again, they overdo it and cause a relapse!

Luckily it wasnt a relapse, but it taxed my immune system to the point it could be vulnerable to this flu thats going around.

The good news is I'm already better after taking some raw honey and echinacea, tumeric and ginger tea before bed just 2 nights. The herbs are now a forever part of my repetoire, and its great to see how quickly I respond to them.

But Ive taken 3-4 days off from the gym too. I just need to watch getting too excited and overdoing it. My mantra should be always leave at least a little bit in the tank!

And this brings me back in my mind to my original infection. I was in such excellent health when I got infected in summer 2015. I always wondered how my immune system didnt beat the infection. But looking back, I was doing 4 hour triathalon style workouts 4-5 times a week. I was pushing myself to my limits every single week, and eventhough I ate very healthy, I now look back and realize that the overexertion in the gym was at least in part to blame for the severity of my initial infection. Overexertion seriously taxes the immune system, and my immune system was probably compromised just enough to allow those particular tick bites to become problematic, even after being bitten by ticks many times over the years without issue.

The immune system is extremely fascinating, and we all still have much to learn about it.

Dr. Kinderlehrer talks about disulfiram and herpes and HIV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8cfbga5brq

about 12 minutes in.