Have any of you ever been told by a LLMD to leave off vit.D, B12, and/or Bcomplex? I went to a naturepathic doc recently who has had lyme himself.
He sounded pretty "lyme literate", and suggested that I leave those three supplements off while being treated for lyme.
Thanks in advance for any feedback on this!
Posted by canefan17 (Member # 22149) on :
Goodluck ripping my B12 sublinguals from my Kungu grip.
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
Just my opinion. But I think the B12 helps heal the nerves and the D may feed them as milk is used in
some spirochete cultures, and D works with calcium. I believe this is presumptuous and we need a lot
more research into the world of Borreliosis. The final point will be who will suffer the most
without these. The Keets or US.
Posted by joalo (Member # 12752) on :
My LLMD recommended that I take vitamin B12 and vitamin D3. In fact he had me on B12 shots for awhile.
Posted by jennie46 (Member # 20953) on :
My LLMD told me to take B complex. Did the naturepathic say why you shouldn't take it?
Posted by Ticked (Member # 24336) on :
Yes, but I can't exactly remember what he said. He seemed more concerned about the D3 than the B's, but recommended that I leave them all off.
I may call him back soon, as I have more questions to ask him anyway.
Isn't conflicting advice confusing? They can't both be right!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- You could ask him to share with you his reading materials so that you can better understand the basis for his recommendations. Then you can compare and contrast with other authors on this matter.
Some doctors think vitamins feed infection. However, infections such as lyme usually severely deplete patients of vitamins and nutrients that are vital to our cells.
I had received the (very bad) advice at first by a non-LL ND to stop all vitamins according to her theory of "Starving infection" - but it results in also starving our cells from life-giving nutrients.
After nearly a year, I realized that had been terrible advice and my brain/nerve tissue had suffered terribly from lack of B-12 and when I started back on it and all the others, I did better. There are better approaches than withholding vitamins.
D3, in proper amounts, is a wonderful help to us. You can be tested to see what your levels are so you know how to proceed.
This is included in Burrascano's Guidelines, but you may want to be able to refer to it separately, too:
Nutritional Supplements in Disseminated Lyme Disease
J.J. Burrascano, Jr., MD (2008)
Four pages -
Posted by Ticked (Member # 24336) on :
My D levels have been low, 31 at last check a couple of weeks ago. I was taking 6000iu daily of oral D3 for the last month or so to build the level up.It was at 27.
I have been taking oral B12 1000mcg for several months.
This ND seems to be "LL",but I do have several more questions that I want to ask him.
Posted by elley0531 (Member # 9434) on :
My docs, all them, including the LLMDs I have seen, tell me to take all three of these.
I love my B12s especially (sublingual with floic acid).
Posted by nefferdun (Member # 20157) on :
I think the debate about taking vitamins and minerals depleted by lyme is ridiculous. You might as well say we should stop drinking water as the bacteria needs that for survival too. What is the point of starving your body of the important nutrients it needs to stimulate your immune system and repair damage? Google the effects of B12 deficiency. It is very similar to lyme disease. And D3 is very important to prevent disease, even cancer. In fact breast cancer patients are 75% more likely to relapse if they do not supplement D3. Magnesium also needs to be supplemented.
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
Mine has me on b12 and vit d
Posted by Truesun (Member # 19735) on :
I also think we need to remember the B Vitamins are a big part of treating KPU which Dr. K is big on and I beleive in. Our detox systems are broken and we need to keep them working. I just kicked mine in a little to hard and had to back off the Core supplement because I had that metal taste back in my mouth. I know I can't take the D vitamin though. I've tried it repeatedly and every time it makes me worse. But we are all different.
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
That sounds extremely uneducated. Vitamins and minerals are essential to healing.
Posted by Ticked (Member # 24336) on :
Ok, I got my ND on the phone today. First, we're not SURE that I have lyme, but probably.
Also, I'm still "functional", in that I'm employed full time,and feel pretty good some of the time. Again, he said if I was crippled, had Bells Palsy, couldn't hold my head up,etc., that I'd need aggressive treatment NOW!
There's a couple of suspects in my case besides lyme. First,I tested positive for West Nile in Nov. '07, but it must have been a very mild case.(Never hospitalized, never extremely sick)
Secondly, I may have mercury toxicity. I've had a mouth full of amalgam fillings (9 to be exact) for 30+ years, and recently replaced 4 with metal-free composite.
I'm considering replacing the other 5, but decided to wait awhile and try to get some answers first.
Thirdly, I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and have just lately seemed to have gotten those levels somewhat under control.
So, my main symptoms could be coming from West Nile, mercury, hypothyroid, lyme, who knows???
The ND said the reason to leave off the BComplex was that the B vitamins are derived from yeast, and lyme patients do not need yeast.
B12, he says, is the exception to the yeast thing, but there's something else about it that makes him want me to hold off it for awhile, but may add it again later.
The D3 has something to do with the "Marshall Protocol", which you can Google and see. Something about avoiding all bright light/sunlight, and all D3 supplements.
He's not going that far to suggest that I avoid sunlight though, just the supplements.
The regimen he's got me on for the next 6 weeks is to help determine more WHAT is wrong with me for sure.
If the next few weeks and tests determine more definitely that I DO indeed have lyme, then we'll probably try to get more aggressive.
For the more aggressive route, he offers I.V. Vit.C, ozone, some kind of silver,vitamin/mineral cocktail, etc. and he can work with MD's to involve antibiotics.
Hope this clears up the confusion somewhat. I felt more at ease and better informed after our phone conversation today.
I'm still liking and appreciating those comments!!
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
Great to hear.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
There's quite a debate going on re Vit D supplementation. Some do the Marshall protocol and stay away from it. Others supplement with it bigtime.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Holding off on vitamin D, as in the MP is ONLY for those who are high. Not everyone is high. Some really need vitamin D and depletion can cause major problems.
It's easy to get levels tested. -
Posted by jennie46 (Member # 20953) on :
Sounds like B-Complex could have contributed to my yeast problem. I have been taking them for several months.
Posted by keltyl (Member # 14050) on :
My LD has me on both D3 and B12 shots daily. He told me B12 was a form of detox.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- The kind of yeast that is in B-vitamins is NOT candida nor can it contribute to it. B-vitamins will not cause a yeast infection. In fact, the most common substance in many B vitamins is a very GOOD for us - L. casei rhamnosus from "Nutritional" yeast.
The flaky yellow "Nutritional Yeast" is very good for us. It contains great probiotics, helpful to prevent c. diff, even and similar to Saccharomyces boulardii.
Now, if your doctors say avoid, then you must find an alternative brand - check out some of the liquid forms or shots. It is simply not an option to avoid B-vitamins for someone who has neurolyme.
Find the very best brand (or several so that you can rotate brands) but it it is important to take your B's - or at least be sure to get them all in your food at the levels recommend by Burrascano and other LLMDs who have spent hours figuring this out for us.
---------
L. casei rhamnosus is what is in "nutritional" yeast (sometimes wrongly called "brewer's" yeast). "Brewer's" yeast is not good for us but if it's called that and is really the yellow, flaky "nutritional" yeast, that is excellent in many ways.