posted
Before I had Lyme about two years ago I started eating extremely healthy for me. Mostly whole grain foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. After I got sick with Lyme, it seemed I had trouble keeping my weight up (never thought I say that) and I've probably lost 15 lbs. But I don't need to lose more. I am having a hard time finding things I even want to eat. No appetite. Don't even care if I go out to dinner any m ore. And until I got Lyme I had not had ice cream in ten years but now it's one of the few soothing things I can eat. How well do all of you manage your diets? I'm having a rough time managing a good healthy diet. I just don't care.
Posts: 44 | From Oklahoma | Registered: Aug 2007
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Hey kiwi...
Sorry to hear about your appetite being so weird... and so little.
A few quick ideas... and I JUST saw the clock and I was suppose to be in bed long before now... so can't talk your ears off this time.. but...
Yeast. You will kind of crave sweets because of a yeast overgrowth sometimes. Sugar feeds the yeast.
Leaky gut syndrome. Please google it. It will affect your appetite. Your body doesn't want food because it knows if you have leaky gut.. the food is hurting you.. so it sort of shuts down the appetite to protect itself.
Babesiosis. With it can come a poor appetite.. sometimes to an extreme.
Hope that gives you some tips on where to start looking for answers.
Feel better soon!
PS... You said... "And until I got Lyme I had not had ice cream in ten years but now it's one of the few soothing things I can eat."
I AM the ice cream queen.. and I know what you mean.
Plus it is easy to fix... quick to serve when you lack energy... and it is nice to hug on the bowl.
So don't feel alone. There are others out there who are feeling the same.
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
Kiwikid,
I totally agree with Tincup on every point.
I would like to add the suggestion you find a doctor trained in nutritional healing of the body. www.acam.org is a good place to start.
Use this doctor to identify food sensitivities you may have. This will tell you which foods you need to avoid. This doctor can also help you heal your gut which certainly sounds like it is leaking.
A leaking gut allows things such as yeast into your body where it wreaks havoc. Cleaning up your body helps it fight lyme and co.
This can be done in conjunction with your LLMD treatment and together can bring you back to health.
It could be the healthy diet you were on was not so healthy for you.
All my life I have had a sweet tooth. Otherwise, I ate very well, but sugar was a part of my daily life.
No doubt this was due to yeast overgrowth. I had lots of strep throat every year of my youth and lots of antibiotics to go along with it. Back then, no one talked of protecting the gut from the antibiotics. Diflucan had not yet been invented. So I figure yeast was damaging my gut for years before I became ill with lyme and learned about all the things that could be contributing to my illness.
Your gut is considered your second brain and a study from Yale discovered that 70% of your immune system is in your gut.
Most chronically ill people have a sick or leaking gut and until it is healed, they can't be healed.
For 2 years, both my LLMD and my GP have worked to heal my gut and clean up my body from all the stuff that escaped my gut into my body. Their work has healed and continues to heal me. I am doing extremely well.
As for sugar, I no longer crave it. This is incredible for me!
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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I am 5'1 and weigh just 90 lbs. I try every day to eat-especially now since starting the Doxy-but I just have no appetite-I could care less and I identify with not caring about going out to eat either.
I used to be a vegetarian-very healthy and at a good weight-115-so....
Last night I dragged myself into the kitchen and made canned organic black beans and sauteed some mushrooms-and I cannot believe how much I enjoyed it!
I do not know if you like either but this will probably be something that I eat quite a bit.
Like you I have struggled with my appetite and for the last 2 weeks I have been lucky to take in 300 calories a day!
It just sucks when you know it is such a crucial part of you getting better and you can't do it!
Posts: 303 | From Jekyll Island, GA | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
Ive lost like 20 pounds since I got lyme disease. Maybe more by now. My clothes fit loose.
Basically I only eat because I have to take my ABx with food or I'll puke.
I feel like since I got sick NOTHING sounds good and I'd rather just do nothing then go get something to eat or cook. Its just another chore for me now.
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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lymie_in_md
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14197
posted
I totally agree with luvs2ride. It is a serious medical condition. Sugar feeds the problem and you are going to have to kill the yeast causing it. Yeast can be as tough as lyme. Lyme will lower your immune systems ability to fight and will give rise to yeast.
Your weapons :
probiotics and very good probiotics at that, vsl#3 is expensive but is a good start. There is a new one called align that's being pushed really hard, theralac, florastor. look them up to get an idea of prices and what they are and ask questions here.
candida diet -- look that up on the internet
candida cleanse -- again look that up on the internet
freeze dried garlic
activated charcoal / apple pectin for the toxins
There are lots more but you all are probably trying to budget what you can afford.
You can't fight lyme too well unless you get your gut in order.
It's important to get help for gut issues. You may need diflucan or nystatin to kill the yeast.
Unfortunately getting well with gut issues with how medicine is established can be a very tricky thing. My experience, you'll get know help from medical insurance.
posted
I'm glad you posted this. Ever since I got sick, before I even knew about Lyme, I lost my appetite to the extreme. Partially because I have so much nerve pain in my neck, I think I have an aversion, but also, I just have so much trouble finding something that sounds good.
If it doesn't sound good, I won't eat it or I will sit there and FORCE myself to eat because I know I HAVE to.
I'm a naturally skinny girl, I didn't need to lose weight, but I've also lost about 15lbs....actually more now that I think about it.
Ice cream. My mom has been very concerned about me eating, so she bought me ice cream. I need to go get some more. It's easy to eat. Soups sound gross to me right now. There's NO WAY I can eat a salad.
I don't like chewy meat. It's really hard. I just had some applesauce, I'm sure I wasn't supposed to eat it, (sugar) but I have to feed my body.
I'm in too much pain to search out exactly what to eat and not to eat. I'm kind of in the dark. I hurt too much to label read and also even go to the store. I have a hard time at the store, I used to love grocery shopping and now I hate it.
I can't think of what to buy so I buy the same stuff as I did before I was sick. This sucks because I used to always eat, and lots. I used to get teased about how much I could eat. Now, I literally have to force myself.
If I am able to get rid of my pain with something like xanax, I will eat and eat and eat. Make up for lost time. But I usually only take it like a week out of a month because I was building up a tolerance, and didn't want to get addicted.
It really helps with the appetite and with everything but it's too dang bad that it's not like a Tylenol or something. No stigma attached to it. No tolerance. No addiction. And you can just go buy it at the store.
Lyme makes EVERYTHING a challenge. The simplest things are hard. If I wake up and have to use the restroom at night, I have to lay there and think that if I get up, the pain will hit me hard and I won't be able to sleep, but then I can't sleep because I have to use the restroom. lol. I can't eat. I don't go out anymore. I don't like going out any more. Except for family, I'm very withdrawn now. This has completely impacted our lives and people just don't get it.
Ugh, now I'm crying. It's just so hard. This is one of the saddest diseases and people don't even know!!!! It's not "main stream" enough.
Sorry I high jacked your post. Grrrr. I just get so mad and sad about this! It's Saturday! I should be going out shopping and then going out to eat tonight or something. I didn't even celebrate my anniversary at all because I was in too much pain. AHHHH.
-------------------- "~*~My smile hides my bite~*~." Posts: 506 | From N/A | Registered: Jun 2008
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luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
Nessa,
I hear you on the diet issue. It is hard and I am dedicated.
You need to eat really simple, anti-inflammatory type foods for awhile. Might even be a good idea to puree your food in a blender so it is easiest on your stomach to digest.
No sugar. Throw out the ice cream. It will kill you in your condition.
Cruciferous vegetables. That's brocolli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage. Asparagus and carrots. Nothing fermented. No vinegar. Lots of olive oil and coconut oil.
You get the most nutrition eating them raw, but with your stomach as it is, go ahead and cook your food. Make it soft. Steaming retains most of the nutrients. Also, soups keep the nutrients in the broth. Don't buy canned soups. Even organic canned soups have too much salt.
Avoid animal products including butter, cheese. This is temporary until you get your stomach feeling better.
Leaky gut takes time to heal. I used to wish there was something like mylanta that I could drink to just coat the lining of the gut. But there isn't. There are supplements that help it heal like L-Glutamate. But honestly, I found Vit C to be the best healer. Frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh and much easier to prepare. I don't think they taste as good. Be sure you don't buy the ones covered in sauces. They are not healthy. Buy them plain.
Some things that are healing for the gut are aloe vera juice. Fresh veggie juices. Take probiotics. Later, when you can add animal products back, eat yogurt. Not the sugary sweet kind. The real yogurt. Activia might be ok. I am allergic to cow milk proteins and can only eat goat yogurt. I buy plain and add fruit to it.
Throughout, I ate fruit even though they say don't eat fruit if you have yeast. I had yeast but it cleared up even though I was eating fruit.
I ate fruit because I felt the benefits outweighed the sugar content. I did stick to the low sugar fruits like cherries and berries. I also ate apples.
Slice apples and cook them in a pan with a little water until soft. You do not have to add any sugar. They are great as they are. I use Fugi or Gala and I add cinnimon. Cinnimon is very healing to the gut as is ginger.
Unfortunately, no way around having to shop and prepare these foods. We have an organic store that has a deli called the happy belly deli. The food is delicious and all organic. I can tell them my food allergens and they recommend foods on the menu that are safe for me to eat.
I eat there many times and save myself some cooking time. White rice is very easy on the gut too but will feed yeast. Quinoa is better choice and just as easy to prepare.
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Luvs - You are very informative and I really appreciate your knowledge and the time you take to share with others.
I learned way more with your post than any doctor or anything! You sound VERY dedicated and that's so awesome. I feel so trapped, I'm having a hard time even thinking straight...so even the thought about being organized and healthy with what I eat seems impossible.
But if you can do it, then I guess I can. Thanks for the inspiration.
-------------------- "~*~My smile hides my bite~*~." Posts: 506 | From N/A | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
Thanks to all of you for your responses. Don't you just love that I wrote "How 'HEALTH' is your diet?" Good grief!! I saw that after it was posted. Crap!!!
I needed to hear this because it's such a struggle because I don't feel like going to the store, my husband does most of it and I never know what to tell him to get. But I do know I can't live without this wonderful man who tries so hard to understand.
Well, as I sit here with my butt on the computer at 8:30, I still haven't eaten. Just don't care.
Will try to take some of this wonderful advice. I will say I have been on a good brand of probiotics since the beginning of this ordeal. Again my best to all of you.
Posts: 44 | From Oklahoma | Registered: Aug 2007
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