After going to the LLMD for the first time yesterday, I was bombarded with different diets, supplements, and treatments to try...
Anyone on pain free/nightshade diet?
Gluten-free diet?
Other? Vitamins, amino acids, etc.?
I'm on oral abx, which I know is the main treatment, but I'm feeling overwhelmed about everything else. I don't want to be grasping for straws, which I know a lot of Lyme treatment is...Any opinions on diets and supplements? Ones absolutely neccessary and some that you like, but may not work for everyone? My main symptoms are fatigue, muscle and joint aches...
While we're at it any opinion on IV abx vs. Oral abx?
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
Definitely look into going gluten free! Take time to research it and everything that goes into being 100% gluten free. It does take time and practice and WORK to be gluten free, but it's SO worth it! Everyone with lyme and illnesses, in my opinion, would benefit by going gluten free!!!!
Going gluten free has definitely made a HUGE difference in my treatment and how I feel. It helped a LOT with my neuro issues and a lot of cognitive problems.
I still have issues, but the percentage that going gluten free has lifted from me, was absolutely amazing.
Most people think that gluten intolerance or celiac is mainly a bowel disease, but it's NOT. Gluten intolerance can affect so much more than just the bowels. It can cause brain fog, huge neurological issues, etc.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Gluten free AND nightshade free has made a huge difference for me. If you have PAIN, going on both will eliminate quite a bit of it!!
Go easy. You don't have to do everything at once!! Go on the nightshade diet first and see if it helps. Then do the gluten free.
If doing G-free, be sure to go completely free or it won't work. Go to www.celiac.com for help. They have lists of OK foods and not-OK foods. You'd be surprised what is on the lists!!!!
Read up on the consequences of eating gluten if you are a true celiac. As disturbed says, it's about way more than the gut. It affects the things she mentioned, as well as making you susceptible to diabetes and thyroid issues.
You CAN get well on orals, if that is what you are asking. Doing so may save your gallbladder.
Posted by gatorade girl (Member # 24896) on :
What is the nightshade diet?
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Was this Dr. C with the hundred pages of handouts?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Nightshades are tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, spices, and potatoes.
If you are sensitive to those and eliminate them, you will have less pain.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Going gluten- and dairy-free for the last 8 months makes me visibly less inflamed and seems to make the meds and supps work the way everyone says they will work. I had not experienced the meds working like this before. Also my digestive sx have cleared up.
Posted by LightAtTheEnd (Member # 24065) on :
I have had excellent results reducing my inflammation, losing weight that I needed to lose, getting rid of indigestion and water retention, avoiding asthma, controlling insulin resistance and blood sugar, and preventing yeast on a low carb/high protein diet. I believe it probably has helped to keep my Lyme symptoms within bearable levels so that I have continued to work full time since I got sick 15 months ago, though I don't know that for sure.
That one is very simple to follow, though it takes work to cook most of my own food all the time.
Eat mostly meat and other protein sources with nonstarchy vegetables (the green ones and ones you put in salad), and a little high fiber fruit (strawberries, melon, apples).
Fat is good for you on this diet, except avoid trans fats (anything hydrogenated). Use real butter instead of any kind of margarine or "spread." Use coconut oil for cooking, and expeller cold pressed olive oil and walnut oil for salads or baking. Try for organic as much as you can--we already have enough trouble with this disease, trying to get rid of toxins, without adding more in.
Avoid sugar, refined carbohydrates, and anything made from grain. (If you do eat some grain, try for whole grain, and still avoid gluten.)
Use stevia for a sweetener, and almond flour to make biscuits, pancakes, chocolate cake, pizza dough, etc.
If you follow that, you don't have to count anything. If you eat anything that is not part of the diet, count your grams of carbohydrates, minus the grams of fiber, and try to keep them between 20-120 per day, depending on what works best for you, and to spread them through the day instead of eating them all at once.
If you do eat dairy products, prefer cheese (more protein and fat and less carbs), but whole milk is better than skim. You can eat plain yogurt and add stevia and fruit.
I have found it much simpler to follow this diet once I had only two principles to focus on--keep carbs low, and avoid refined carbs. The more complicated diet rules you have, the harder it is to keep up with.
Ideally it would be good to go both low carb AND gluten free, which is no problem if you cook your own food and avoid grain ingredients. However, most of the gluten free products in the store are very high carb, and many low carb products (which are scarce) contain gluten, so it is difficult to do both if you rely on any processed foods.
The low carb diet works very well for me, even if I don't stick to it perfectly. I don't think I could succeed at sticking to the gluten free 100%, and I don't have obvious reactions to gluten, so I have not tried to do gluten free, even though I'm sure it would be helpful.
Posted by LightAtTheEnd (Member # 24065) on :
Re: IV vs. orals, IV is ridiculously expensive and highly inconvenient (takes a lot of time and requires precautions). Meanwhile I am improving on orals, and my insurance is paying for them without complaint so far, and I have been able to keep my job and my insurance.
I am happy to try the orals first and see if they do the trick, and if not, then try IV later, IF I could find a way to pay for it, which is unlikely.
For some people, it works great when orals did not, and may be the only thing that gets them better. However, there is the risk of serious infection in the PICC line, and some people have lost their gall bladder to it. There are also people who have done many months of IV but did not improve, or improved a lot but relapsed afterward.
My own opinion is that I would prefer to avoid it unless I have no other choice. It is not a guarantee that you will get well.
On the other hand, it can be very powerful, and there are precautions that can limit the risks, so I think it is great if it helps, and even better if it doesn't bankrupt you in the process. I am not opposed to it, but I think we shouldn't be too distressed if it is out of reach, because there are plenty of other things to try. People have gotten well with it and without it.
Posted by Remember to Smile (Member # 25481) on :
The nightshade family of veggies is named for their relative, "Deadly nightshade," which is a native weed that with poisonous fruit.
All the nightshades can induce inflamation in sensitive people if ingested. Those are tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant... Cayenne pepper IS still recommended in place of black pepper which is hard to digest.
(Note that, according to the illustrious ILADS Dr. S of Va, fibromyalgia is caused by the sleep deficit brought on by untreated chronic Lyme neuroborreliosis.)
A GF diet is an exceptionally advantageous lifestyle choice for the majority of Americans. The food pyramid is a scam that lured us into a bad cycle of eating too much grain.
Most of us simply need WAY more fresh vegetables and WAY less processed foods.
A Candida control diet is best for general good health & wellness. A Candida control diet limits simple sugars, white flour, and processed foods. It's really all one thing.