Until we move stuff around a bit, this will be the page that holds a brief discussion of my recommendations. I’ve gone long enough (and prospered enough) now to have a great idea what it takes to improve health over lyme. It’s not that impossible to improve, nor is it a quick fix.

Our bodies are made amazingly with all the tools to repair, recover, and rebuild, to return to full health. The lyme bacteria is a challenging one in that, in my opinion, most who have it are wrestling with a long-term condition, not having recognized the infection in those critical first days where they could be treated with antibiotics. At that point, the bacteria goes into deeper tissues, but not without its recommendations. As you may read elsewhere in this site, my own infection was discovered some thirty-five years later after the original infection(s). But on to the recommendations:

The very BEST thing we can do for our long term health is to do just that: be mindful of long term health. We all intuitively know what is healthier and not, though we may struggle with the implications. That being said, here are some of the things worth turning your attention toward:

On Health

Physical Exercise:

The lyme bacteria is an anaerobic bacteria. It thrives in a low-oxygen environment and dies off in a higher oxygen one. This is what some of the alternative treatments you may hear of for lyme include Hyperbaric Oxygen–the sitting in a tank with high pressure oxygen. This may be effective, but short lived for the long run.

One of the most significant turning points for me was the beginning of exercise. Indeed, at my worst, I couldn’t walk around the block. BUT, I was able to walk some of that block. I remember it well: The following day I was able to walk that block. But I had an interesting revelation by that second day; some of the symptoms had increased (headache, fatigue, and more.) Fortunately I was aware of the realities of the Herxheimer reaction, where a lyme bacteria die off will elicit worse symptoms. So I stuck it out and went further and further distances, eventually (long eventually) I was able to start to fast walk and get more aggressive. This reality itself had begun to reduce the bacterial load, and within two days, I was noticeably better. And so it began. Actually, I remember now that before that first day, I simply walked outside, sat down, and got a number of lungs full of fresh air. If you get any regular activity at all, work to do it, increasing in duration and frequency as you can. If you can’t, sit outside. 

Sleep:

Our bodies rebuild during the sleep cycle. Not only for muscle and tissue regeneration, but also for immune function. Studies are clear that one single night of a half-night’s sleep reduces immune function by 50%! One night! Yes, I’m well aware that broken sleep is a lyme problem, but part of that is because we haven’t done enough taxing work during the day–or perhaps worse, naps during the day–that our bodies don’t have the need to sleep as long or as deeply. So the above recommendation of Physical Exercise becomes very tied to this one. Work on the first, now you are working the two in tandem.

I don’t have to state the obvious, that anything that challenges (or assists) immune function, has major implications for lyme. Sleep is critical.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of sleep aids, but to begin to break this cycle, it may be beneficial to temporarily look to those aids such as Melatonin. –But, be aware, the body’s need for this is about one-tenth the amount that’s generally given in a bottle dose. And more is not better. 

Diet:

If you’re struggling to recover and rebuild tissues, nerves, and systems in your body, raw materials are critical. When I was at the worst, my diet generally consisted of Coke, hot dogs, and pasta with butter. And I liked to cook, no less. I think we all pretty much know what is a “better diet” and a “worse diet.” But pursue that first one, and you will find dividends. As I’ve gotten more an more attuned to what’s happening in my body, within a half hour I can feel the diminishment that comes from consumption of a soda, or sugar, or even chocolate. I’ll still take it, and pay the price; but I feel it. Good diet is a hard one, often requiring years of transition from hot dogs and coke to better protein and vegetables, and water. But one of my favorite mentors who trains athletes forwards this challenge: eat like a race car and not like a garbage truck. I still fail, but I keep that image.

Now as to the facts, protein is probably the most critical nutrient in the body. Every tissue, nerve, organ, and cell requires this for rebuilding. Those of us in this community are in need of rebuilding. This is the first foundational element–one that almost all of us are simply not getting enough of. I have some more specific recommendations, but I’ll try and flesh that out in a detailed category to the right. 

Stress

It was this one that caused my thirty-five year infection to come to the surface. Stress is very taxing on the body requiring tons of resources, in an often short-resource environment. It’s not easy (or often even possible0 to sidestep stress, but understand this is a part of the challenge. Do what you can with this one. 

By the time you’ve turned your attention to these four areas, you will have begun to understand what your body needs for recovery. Take a look at the blog category entries to the right (as I have time to put this there) for more detailed information on these and other areas.