Lyme & autoimmune & MS

Wow-THE SAME EXACT as myself-the thyroid issue, chilling sensation, muscle twitches, & tingling. Both my legs 'fall asleep' after only 5-10 mins sitting on the toilet & then are numb when I stand up. Oh also my left knuckles are getting bad-especially my middle finger, it freezes up.

I never did have a for sure positive Lyme test but have been on herbal Lyme abx for one year now. When I stopped the Lyme tincture,last Feb-April; symtoms came back!!!

Have you been tested for reactivation of HHV6? Or gotten heavy .metals testing?

Sweetpeaisme-

I have not tested for HHV6, this is the first time I have ever seen it mentioned. Has it been found to hinder lyme healing? I did however retest of Epstein Barr and it showed negative current infection with past infection (had mono as teenager).

Interestingly enough, I have read that Epstein Barr can lead to Autoimmune issues. It is mentioned on self-hacked.com:
http://selfhacked.com/2014/06/27/homing-fundamenal-cause-epstein-barr-reactivation/

TH1 and TH2 immune system types and their role in the various autoimmmue diseases are a big discussion on selfhacked.com. And you can also learn about it in Izabella Wentz's book " Hashimotos Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause"

http://selfhacked.com/2014/06/16/supplements-foods-exercise-right-type-th1-vs-th2-dominance/

Chronic infections such as lyme tend to lead to TH1 dominance. What a co-incidence (or not?) that RA, EBV, HPV, MS and Hashis (among others) also are found with TH1 dominance. The TH1 immune response is associated with inflammation and IgG2 antibodies like those produced in Hashi's.

It's really all one big cluster if you ask me. For me it seems to have been the perfect storm of genes + EBV + lyme + candida = leaky gut which then = some autoimmunity that brought everything down. Healing from all this sometimes seems impossible because there are so many layers that need to be addressed. I need my overactive immune system to help me keep lyme at bay, but I am afraid that because it is so busy destroying my own tissues that I remain in this vicious cycle. I know many of you are in the same boat, and man I feel for you. I am grateful that I have the vast majority of my cognitive function back. At least the 6 mos of abx knocked the infection down quite a bit even if it did contribute to other problems.

Hi Trav! Great to see you are still here!
I don't plan on going off thyroid meds again anytime soon. That was truly miserable. I just have this lingering fear that the longer I am on meds, the more likely I will end up needing them forever. But, I have to respectfully disagree regarding going of the meds due to feeling hyper. How would my own body kick in and produce thyroid hormone (causing me to become hyper) if it is being supplied from the outside?

According to my regular MD and my LLMD, thyroid antibodies are highly unlikely to reverse. LLMD specifically said there is a very good chance that with Hashi's I would be dependent on meds the rest of my life. HOWEVER, I know there are folks about the internet who swear through lifestyle changes and a strict autoimmune paleo diet, they have healed themselves. And I know you have had some success yourself. Do you no longer have antibodies?

I have to wonder though, because I was hypothyroid well over a year before antibodies were ever outside of the normal range. I even had instances of being hyper prior to hypo (symptoms once thought to have been lyme and co, I now believe my night sweats, heart palps, and chronic hives were hyper-like attacks on my thyroid in '13 and '14)

I do agree with you that there is some level of infection left, but unfortunately I am running low on funds and I really don't think I can do the abx route again. I do still have many herbals in my arsenal such as Jap knotweed, oil of oregano, GSE, Cryptolepis, Houttuynia. I also have a Lyme Tea with cat's claw in it. Can any of these be used in a protocol for another few months? I am not looking to "cure" lyme, but put it into remission enough to get my life back. I don't know that I believe there is really a cure.

In the meantime, my goal is to cut down on inflammation and remain on a very strict diet. Stress should be reduced a little more when the kids go back to school in a couple of weeks :)

Actually, Lyme is very much a part of MSIDS.

Yep! I'm still here!! LOL! They just can't seem to get rid of me!! LOL!!

That's correct, I no longer produce the Hashi's antibodies, although when my adrenals decided to take a vacation without me, my thyroid freaked out and I'm hypo thyroid now - but there was a period of 2 years from the time I healed Lyme & Hashi's and had Zero thyroid symptoms. So I believe that while Lyme may have weakened things, I actually healed from Hashi's and then my adrenals took a dive and took my thyroid with it - and my doctor agrees. But I will also say that I had to go through STTM's "Good Doctors List" in order to find someone that actually knew more about thyroid issues that I do!!
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-find-a-good-doc/

I know what you mean about actually "curing" Lyme. I don't believe that I will be cured to the point that I never have to worry about it again, which is why I fight so hard to try to get and stay healthy and keep my stress levels down.

Yes, those thing would be helpful, but why not go on the full herbal protocol? Buhner's site is very helpful and we are getting more and more people using it in this community.

And I believe the TH1 thing too. I've never had a cytokine panel done though, but I believe bacteria and viruses mutate our dna.