posted
My reactive hypoglycemia symptoms seem to relate to this disease.
I often hear about people talking about adrenal fatique too, but would love to hear the role of this disease with lyme.
Posts: 319 | From nj | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
I have it. Was diagnosed about 2 and a half months ago but apparently its been going on for a while.
I have autoimmune antibodies against my adrenal glands.
the current thinking of my doctors is that my body was fighting Lyme for so long that my immune system spazzed out and started attacking my adrenal glands.
Unfortunately it wasn't caught until it got very bad, so now I am on hydrocortisone and florinef.
This is different than adrenal fatigue-Addison's implies that your adrenal glands are close to if not dead. There are specific tests to see how much function you have left.
I have issues with hypoglycemia but not as much since taking the hydro. I also watch my diet, no sugar, 5-6 small meals a day consisting of mainly protein and veggies with some good carbs like quinoa and berries mixed in. It helps.
Posts: 594 | From NJ/NY | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
well for a couple years it was mainly fatigue and msucle aches-I didn't pay much attention to either since that is also brought about by Lyme.
I had a tendency to get dizzy if I stood up too fast, and stress was getting harder for me to deal with. Basically an overall lack of motivation. I started bringing up these symptoms to my doc at the time but they were shrugged off.
Also started to develop stomach issues. not digesting properly, nasuea, etc. Symptoms were also shrugged off by docs.
In December I got a virus from my fiance, some upper respiratory thing. I stayed home from work for it for two days. Went back to work Friday, tired, but overall ok.
That night I was watching tv w/my fiance and had what I thought at the time was a panic attack. It lasted 5 hours, severe derealization/depersonalization, freezing cold, tingling.
Eventually this stopped and I was able to sleep. Woke up the next morning with bad anxiety. Over the next few days the anxiety increased-I had no control over it-and it also felt like I was losing my mind. I broke up with my fiance, moved out of my apartment. My whole life felt foreign and surreal. I was also throwing up 5 or so times a day, could barely keep down water, no food. Fatigue isn't even the word for how I felt, and every muscle hurt.
I had no idea what was happening at the time. I ended up in the hospital for a week-my sodium level was at 123. I was put on IV sodium chloride but everytime I was taken off the IV my sodium would drop.
The hospital was useless and never even looked into my adrenal glands. I ended up seeing my new primary care doc two days after being released from the hospital. He immediately suspected an adrenal problem and I had a bunch tests done, proved that I had Addison's full blown.
It really can sneak up on you, but what happened to me in december wwas what is known as an Addisonian Crisis. My body was flooding itself with adrenaline to keep me from slipping into a coma and it has now been confirmed that I was having simple partial seizures and thats what that original "panic attack" was.
I am back with my fiance and at my apartment but I am plagued by that month-it was terrifying, I thought I was losing my mind. Would hear voices when I would try to sleep, blacked out at night, terrifying.
Luckily I have a good psych who has helped coach me through some of this and explained that I am going to be dealing with some post traumatic stress for a while, and my fiance and I need to get couples counseling. I will also be starting cognitive behavioral therapy. The hydrocortisone and florinef have helped greatly and I've come a long way, but it was insanely traumatic and it will take a long time to come out of it. It also brought my Lyme to the forefront again and I am now on Biaxin and Plaquenil and doing well on that combo.
I know this is more than what you bargained for as far as responses go-and this isn't the same experience everyone has-but I just like people to know how bad it can get.
I went from feeling relatively stable, content, and in love-over all comfortable-into a living hell literally overnight and it really stings to know that this could've been prevented if my symptoms hadn't been written off leading up to this mess or even if the hospital had caught it-it would have spared me another week and a half of being without hydrocortisone.
My blood sugar during that time was all over the place, but I was also throwing up and not able to eat.
Posts: 594 | From NJ/NY | Registered: Jun 2006
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Yes, I was dx with Addison's by a LLMD but, back home, my GP didn't accept the tests and because I'm heavy, said that just didn't fit the picture. However, while most Addison patients are thin, some can be heavy. That is explained in links below.
My GP wanted me to do a "challenge" test with steroids and I knew my body just could not handle that (other than very low dose Cortef, steroids can make lyme much worse. They can also stick around the body for up to six months).
Still, I had not have any treatment lyme yet at the time the tests were done - so whether I had "true" Addison's first, or as a result of the lyme is not clear. I think the lyme blew out all systems (See the Potbelly book below).
So, I hope you have a good LLMD as you can't treat Addison's in a lyme patient unless the infection is being treated on all levels.
And a lyme patient with Addison's won't get better with just anti-infective measures. Adrenal support must be employed.
First, you will find MANY past threads on the very topic. You can search here:
The Potbelly Syndrome: How Common Germs Cause Obesity, Diabetes, And Heart Disease (Paperback) - 2005
by Russell Farris (Author), Per Marin (Author)
Much about stress reactions here. - you can read customer reviews at the link. Attention is given to lyme and other chronic stealth infections however, it does not go into details about solutions.
Adrenal articles - explaining much (but not specifically in regard to lyme patients):
===================
Being GLUTEN-FREE can make a huge different with endurance and mood related to adrenal exhaustion. Many LLMD require their patients to be gluten-free, for good reason. Being gluten-free also tremendously helps to balance out blood glucose and lessen the harsh glycemic drops that can come with Addison's. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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