My new boss of 1 month is so mean and abusive he acts wacky. One minute he's nice as ever and the next minute he's screaming at you in front of the entire office.
The last month my lyme has been getting worse and I have to think it's because of this situation. I'm job hunting but am only able to work part time due to lyme.
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
The immune system is affected by stress.
Sorry about your crummy boss.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
sorry to hear about your manic mean boss.
I guess its the immune system like lou stated. Stress effects my lyme big time.
Second only to having to have surgurys.
hang in there Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
I'm one of those people that almost always runs on stress. I got to a point last spring where I realized it was really impacting my health.
I work full time and go to law school. Right around finals, work was getting very stressful. My motor tics had been increasing because I had stopped abx for a while.
I got to the point where I realized the direct effect of becoming stressed leading to motor tics. I said that was it, and reduced my work schedule for a couple months.
I have since become very succesful at not letting myself get stressed. It's really psychological. I just accept that if something doesn't get done, it doesn't get done. This was huge for me. I didn't think it was possible, but it just suddenly started working.
I do yoga often which helps tremendously in reducing the stress. If you can't handle yoga, you might want to consider breathing exercises.
And check in with me in a month when I have drafts of 2 research papers due within a week of each other. I'll probably be crazy stressed then
-A
Posted by alliebridge (Member # 9103) on :
My story is so similar to Aniek's. I work full time and noticed that my motor tics and tremors increased while under stress, even while on antibiotics in my case.
I reduced my work to a four day week and also started a relaxation and wellness CD recommended by my lyme doc. It's specifically designed for people with illnesses. This CD really helped me increase my ability to handle stress.
Once in a while, I will still get stressed and so my twitches and tremors will be out of control. But usually, as Aniek stated, I just accept that if something doesn't get done, it doesn't get done. That's the only way to look at it(in order to get healthy).
We have to treat ourselves gently, with patience and understanding. I know that I can't work as hard or as well as I used to, right now, and I accept this.
Posted by LYMESCIENCE (Member # 9259) on :
Why does stress make us sick?
There is a specific receptor on our disease that recognizes the molecules involved in human stress reactions.
Why?
Life on earth is old, and we have seen this disease, or some form of it for a very long time in human history.
What reason is there for a disease to have a lock and key for human stress molecules?
Borrelia genus organisms share a feature common to more bacteria than had previously thought possible. This feature is known as quarum sensing. Basically, its a kind of language that bacteria can use to strategize and communicate about anything they need to communicate. This quarum gets stronger the greater the number of Borrelia one has.
Has this ever been proven?
Yes, Borrelia have been proven, and experiements have been repeated concerning the Lux genes present in Borrelia.
What is the clinical significance?
No one has directly tested this with the understanding they were testing this. However, Gary Wormser was an author on Erythomyacin resistance in Borrelia in 2002 which actually showed quarum sensing in action against Erythromyacin. He didn't realize that to be happening at the time, but, we didn't know as much about quarum sensing in 2002 as we do today.
What did Gary see?
Basically, Gary reported that while there were variants of clinical bacteria that were resistant to the antibiotic, not all of them were. However, if there were a certain number of borrelia growing, then the rate of resistance was exponentially greater.
What does that mean in simple terms?
Consider this example: when there wasn't enough for a quarum, say, 10 borreila are in a dish, then they can resist an antibiotic placed in their dish up to say 100 units.
But, if there were 20 borrelia, a quarum was reached. This meant that the bacteria were able to resist the same antibiotic, but this time, up to 10000 units.
Posted by LYMESCIENCE (Member # 9259) on :
Would Gary have done this research had he known that it would provide conclusive evidence of resistance which would be clinically relevant? Why would Gary indirectly peer review the science of geneticists who found Lux genes in Borrelia?
We don't know enough yet. Currently, it is thought that Gary ate large numbers of paint chips while growing up. Unfortuntly, it has resulted in severe stupidity as an adult.
Sometimes, he his memory doesn't work. Other times, he's fatigued. He may have added his name to the study even if he had relialized the implications.
But isn't that kind of research different from Gary's position?
Yes, that's why the most commonly held hypotheisis concerns Gary's usual diet of lead paint chips as a child. As a result, he has become mentally unstable, and suffers from amnesia, which is why he can be commonly reminded that he has changed his mind about the same topic on many occations.
What can be done to relieve Gary's suffereing?
Most people are generally happy Gary suffers.
Why would that be?
Gary's brain damage has caused the needless suffereing of many Americans.
What is the lesson to be learned?
Don't let scientists with brain damage have influence over the health of large groups of people..... let alone their own health.
Currently, behavior control therapy and antidepressants are the recommended therapy for people like Gary. An example would be his good friend Alan Steere, who, suffers from brain disease and painful arthritis.
It had been suggested that death with dignity should be an option for people like Gary and Allen, but cooler heads prevailed as it was understood that neither was able to comprehend their ignorance due to such severe stupidity.
As ignorance is bliss, they have continued to take antidepressants and engage in behavior control therapy.
Unfortuntatly, both Allan and Gary suffer from severe erectile dsyfuntion that has rendered them unable to engage in intercourse for many years.
Posted by sarahinnewyork (Member # 7179) on :
Definitely stress plays a HUGE role in our bodies ability to heal!
This is acknowledged by the medical community Look into the University of Massachusetts center for Mindfulness
google Jon Kabat-Zin, an absolutely brilliant Dr who has written some fantastic books on the subject
I have bought his meditation tapes (I'm not the new agey type- no offense to those that are)
most definitely encorporate stress reduction into your lyme fighting regiment-
Best- Sarah ( I'm no dr- but I do have atrocious hand writing!)
Posted by breezywings (Member # 9222) on :
alliebridge et al., can you recommend a relaxation tape or the one that you are using right now? I am always looking for them along with new breathing techniques for pain and muscle stretches.
Thanks in advance. Posted by LYMESCIENCE (Member # 9259) on :
the relaxation thing really is a good idea. It will help you in more ways than stress reduction. It will also help to balance the abnormal qEEG levels many Lyme Disease patients have.
Furthermore, many Lyme Disease patients have been found to have an imbalance between the right and left hemispheres implying a lack of communication which makes sence considering that this is mainly a white matter disease.
White matter is the matter within the brain that provides interconnectedness among nuerons. Women gennerally have more white matter, while men have more gray matter, on average.
Posted by LYMESCIENCE (Member # 9259) on :
PS: I really was serious about Borrelia having a receptor for our stress hormones. Bioligically speaking, it makes them more evolutionairily fit.
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
Stress..physical and/or mental -> cortisol (from the adrenal glands) released. "Fight or Flight"
Down goes DHEA.
Up goes calcium. Heart rate goes up. (Think of a near-miss car accident.)
Muscles contract.
(Cortisol levels rise with the onset of labor to make the uterus contract.)
Too much stress for too long = adrenal exhaustion.
Cortisol, the primary *adrenal* glucocorticoid hormone produced in the middle cortex layer
exerts an anti-inflammatory effect.
This action inspired the development of cortisone (synthetic cortisol) drugs.
Cortisol also serves as a "stress hormone," causing the *release of glucose* to fuel a response to danger.
Our WBCs need glucose. A day's worth is stored in the liver.
Less understood is its role as a regulator of the immune system.
The liver uses cortisol to regulate many enzymes and to synergise with proinflammatory cytokines that trigger the acute phase response.
Cortisol attaches to cell proteins called glucocorticoid receptors, regulating the ability of NFkB (an enzyme) to stimulate cytokine production. Up goes TNF alpha (in lyme).
In chronic diseases it is believed NFkB is not "shut off" so inflammation goes on and on - unchecked.
Tyrosine is one amino acid that is supposed to INactivate NFkB.
In lyme, there is a tyrosine-tryptophan "defect" due to low levels of Mg which is "dumped" for many protective reasons at the outset of lyme.
It is wise you look elsewhere for a less stressful position. You don't need the "extra" stress of dealing with that horrible boss right now.
Posted by alliebridge (Member # 9103) on :
Here is the link to the CD I use. I think it is truly the best of those on the market.
quote:Originally posted by breezywings: alliebridge et al., can you recommend a relaxation tape or the one that you are using right now? I am always looking for them along with new breathing techniques for pain and muscle stretches.
Thanks in advance.
Posted by Lymeindunkirk (Member # 7118) on :
When your body is stressed because of work or due to a chronic infection, such as lyme the adrenal glands (hormones) will not produce the correct amount of hormones.
Most times your body produces too much cortisol which will cause adrenal fatigue. A good book to get is Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by james L. Wilson. Chapter 5 gives signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue. I'll list them. I'm sure you will recognize some of the symptoms.
1. Difficulty getting up in the morning. 2. Continuing fatigue not relieved by sleep. 3. craving for salt or salty foods. 4. Lethargy (lack of energy) 5. Increased effort to do every day tasks. 6. Decreased sex drive 7. Decreaed ability to handle stress. 8.Increased time to recover from illness, injury or trauma. 9. Light-headed when standing up quickly. 10. Mild depression 11. Less enjoyment or happiness with life. 12. Increaed PMS. 13. Symptoms increase if meals are skipped or inadequate. 14.thoughts less focused more fuzzy. 15. Memory less accurate. 16.Decreased tolerance. 17. Feels better after evening meal. 18.Decreased productivity.
Ask you doctor to do a saliva hormone test.
Posted by happygirl (Member # 10318) on :
Prior to becoming ill I "thrived" in a stressful environment. Now I find not only does stress make my symptoms worse but my abililty to deal with stress has been very seriously compromised. It is the ability to cope with stress or not cope with stressful situations that I find very difficult these days.
Posted by Andie333 (Member # 7370) on :
I'm so sorry you're having to deal with that situation! I've had a similar boss and, like you, I believe the stress of handling that exacerbated all my Lyme symptoms (this was prior to my dx).
I used all the tools I could think of to cope there before I finally ended up leaving. Two that helped me a lot were meditation and affirmation.
Now after a year + of Lyme treatment, I can see an almost immediate correlation between stress and the exacerbation of my symptoms.
Sometimes the smallest stresses trigger huge reactions. I try to do everything I can to minimize those types of situations and to stay as calm as possible. Not always do-able but definitely better for my peace of mind.
I've arranged my schedule with some flexibility, so that on days I'm feeling a bit depleted (like today) I can opt for a day off.
Again, I'm really sorry you're going through this. I know how disspiriting it can be, but maybe it would help to remember it's this wacko person and NOT you...
Andie
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
Bb is triggering acetylcholine (over)production.
The "counter" is for the body to increase norepinephrine which converts to many other things...ultimately cortisol.
Fat? Hair loss? Osteoporosis? Can't tolerate fluorescent lights? The list goes on and on...too much cortisol...ongoing.
Research IN DEPTH !!!...far infrared.
You are going to be blown away.
Posted by MommaK (Member # 10376) on :
Ask you doctor to do a saliva hormone test. [/QB][/QUOTE]
I asked 2 drs to test my dd's hormones! Both said we would have to go to a Gyno for that! Asked Gyno to test hormones (I had a list of hormones to test like cortisol), he said no need to spend all that $ on tests, (isn't that what's insurance is for?) to just try BC pills to see if that helped regulate the hormones! Stupid me second guessed myself again and said he's a dr, give it a try!
Can any dr do a salavia test or just certain kinds? I want to follow up on this!!!
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