my boring story

Ay. I have Lyme disease. Where do I even start? This blog is meant to educate others but also somewhat as a log of stuff I have learned, tried, accomplished, failed, I really don't know yet. But I guess I have to have some sort of intro post since I can't very well just start writing about how Lyme affects your kidneys or whatever.

Things started getting all fucked up in like 2012, when a bunch of events led me to basically just stop sleeping. I was put on a bunch of psych meds and put on a ton of weight in the process which led me to an eating disorder which is another story. I went into recovery the following year and that's when shit really hit the fan.

During "recovery", which was basically just weight restoration, I gained 10 pounds in a month. Which is not uncommon for people with eating disorders. But what wasn't common...I kept gaining. And gaining, and gaining. I went to a nutritionist each week. Within about three months I had gained 20 pounds over my initial "goal weight". I continued to gain weight for a year (!). All the while eating healthy, unappetizing food, which was just infuriating and exceedingly depressing. I got to my highest weight ever and never stepped out of the house. I refused to see anyone except my nutritionist. I couldn't even walk anymore I was so heavy. And I developed the paradoxical symptom of weight gain with exercise/exertion. This can happen when your body is inflamed, believe it or not. Most people did not, and told me that would help me lose weight. Even my own family. Definitely did nothing to help that eating disorder voice which never left. As if I weren't already trying every damn thing to lose it. Anyway.

During this time I was diagnosed with PCOS, and someone suggested I might have Lyme. I'd never gotten bit by a tick to my knowledge but I was at my wit's end with the lack of answers. So I went to the only LLMD in my area, and after taking two tests from Igenex, I was given the confirmed diagnosis. I tried antibiotics and they didn't seem to make a dint, so he considered me a complex case and sent me off to another (very expensive) doctor two hours away. She tried a few different things and gave me a diet to follow. Ultimately I treated myself using the Cowden protocol, and the diet cut almost all carbs out so I did end up losing most of the weight. Both of these things got me about 75% better. Timeline-wise we are in early 2015. It was around this time I stopped treating.

I started adding back in things to my diet, and over time it became somewhat unhealthy by Lyme standards (a big no-no is sugar, which feeds the bacteria). In summer of 2016 I ate an inordinate amount of sugary cereal for a few months. The end result was about 75% of my hair falling out. It continued to break off and fall out for about a year, in spite of reverting back to a (somewhat healthier) diet. Weight crept up over time but not nearly as much.

By mid 2017 I was diagnosed with legit hypothyroidism. I went on natural desiccated thyroid medication, after gaining over 10 pounds in a month. During this time I was eating out of taco trucks which I admit was not the best, but I was nowhere near eating an amount that could account for that gain. I have a theory the taco meat had parasites in it which I'll get to later. Yeah, disgusting I know.

By early 2018 I was back in a routine of exercising. I did hot yoga for a few months, got sick with the flu (probably due to over exertion to an extent), but picked it back up and went a few times a week for an hour. Flash forward to around July of this year. Somehow my digestion and metabolism took a nosedive, and my weight kept creeping up while my calories kept creeping down. I'd gained five pounds over the span of about as many months. Not a lot, but definitely too much for my taste, especially given the fact that last time this happened I became overweight.

So that's still where I'm at now. I started treating again several months ago with Buhner herbs to no avail, gave up on those, and started seeing my LLMD again in August. I've increased my thyroid hormone, decreased the variety of food I can eat (due to intolerances causing poor digestion/more weight gain), and have been treated for SIBO. Right now we are kind of at a loss as to what to do which is pretty damn discouraging. I no longer can walk very far, let alone do yoga. I cannot work for similar reasons. I have trouble with insomnia, still, and fatigue. And I've struggled with depression throughout this whole ordeal.

At the moment that's where my story ends. I'm going to use this blog to inform everyone things I've learned so far, as I said, and hopefully you'll learn something or benefit somehow or, I dunno, it won't be a complete waste of time at least. Thanks for reading this long-ass post if you made it this far.