Posted 7/28/2019 2:05 PM (GMT -5)
I should add this is mostly for newbies, as this is not new to most “Lyme veterans”.
Im convinced once this balance gets messed up with long term lyme, it takes a long time for improvements, but does happen. Those effected might never be the same though, but you have to take into consideration of years gone by, and decades for some of us...ageing happens. I supported the endo and nervous systems with supplements before, during ABX treatment and now less.
All of the below is interwoven, but treatable individually and some overlapping treatments with herbs, sometimes meds too.
-Thyroid
- get a full thyroid panel tested and the two antibodies associated with it. , not just TSH. If off, you might need thyroid replacement hormone. If your thyroid antibodies are high, Gluten free diet is a must, fact here, not an opinion. I take less thyroid now that my antibodies have improved. A nodule dissinigrated too, yippie. There are supps that can support the thyroid if its just a little off. If that does not work, you realy need replacement thyroid med. Low and high thyroid can create anxiety and brain fog.
-Adrenals and blood sugar
l- get all the testing you can. Conventional Drs have blood tests for AM and Noon, 24 hr urine and ACTH which measures cortisol and the signal from the Pituitary gland. Some Drs have individual saliva testing for a certain time of day. NP / chiros have 24 hr saliva cortisol (for a look at levels four times a day). You can target with supplements for different times of the day, as some are short term. Holy basil is strong, but short lasting. Ashwagonda takes time to build up in you. Both will lower blood sugar, via less cortisol. More cortisol = high blood sugar and vice versa. Some may have low cortisol and low glucose at all times of the day, dont take these two herbs then, there are others when you read up on adaptogens. Likewise, some may have "flipped" adrenal rhythm- more at night vs day. The short lasting adaptogens can be used in that case- opposite adptogens at opposite times of the day.
-High BP, anxiety and insomnia
-all also influenced by adrenals!!!!!!. I took an old school BP med that helped this by action of adrenal control. I take 2/3 less today. High BP runs in my family, but most of it in my case was from infection and high adrenals from it. Hashimoto also can cause this, not uncommon.
Brain fog, anxiety, sleep-
All related together and related to the above, as well as infection. The above conditions may be why you cant sleep. You can address those and find your sleep will improve. It will improve, but if you still need help, then there are plenty of "sleepy" herbs, magnesium glycinate and even benedryl before trying an RX sleep med. I did all of it for about one year lol.Do whatever you need to get REM sleep. After the lyme toxins left my body, I started to sleep a LOT, TOO much for about 6 months. Today 6 hrs works with a 15 min shut-eye sometimes after a full time job before I do my own evening shop projects for couple hours.
Since this is all related, you need to look at all of it. Just treating lyme will not support these other systems and just makes more work for your immune system....which might be permanently impaired after these infections. Genetics / genes can have something to do with this too.
From a conventional medicine view point they rarely get this. And if they do, they wont accept lyme as the initial landslide that started the avalanche.