A Thought About Cause of Low ADH/Dry Mouth in Lyme

I see ADH discussed very often in relation to mold illness, but have not heard it discussed much with regard to tick-borne illness.

I have HPA axis dysfunction, so that's a very familiar subject for me. It's fascinating to me how all the hormonal systems impact one another, and how one hormone being off by even a bit can throw the others out of whack, as they try to balance each other. I would not be at all surprised if ADH were affected by HPA axis dysfunction more broadly. It's one of those things that's very tricky to treat because adding the tiniest bit too much of a hormone through supplementation could make things worse and set off a game of hormonal whack-a-mole. Because of how delicate these systems are, my functional medicine gynecologist (also Lyme-literate) strongly encourages people to treat HPA axis dysfunction holistically before adding anything exogenous to the system. A lot of the initial treatment is common sense, but it's also the sort of thing most people don't actually do. Here's what she recommended:

1. Sleep 8ish hours per night, using good sleep hygiene, in a dark room, sleep and wake at the same time each day, no stimulants.
2. Move your body. Depending on your level of functionality, this could mean restorative yoga, more challenging yoga or pilates, walking, or whatever your body can handle without provoking a setback. For people who can't exercise at all, this could mean rebounding, massage, lymphatic massage, or craniosacral therapy.
3. Reduce stress drastically. (This is the hardest one, right?) Meditation, guided visualizations, mental health therapy, ASMR, acupuncture, earthing, art, music, etc. Actually getting your body to a state in which your parasympathetic nervous system feels safe enough to activate fully, and in which your mind is closer to peaceful. Getting centered, every day, more than once. Your nervous system has to be in good shape or nothing else will work.
4. Be in touch with your sexual self, however that best works for you (solo, partnered, fantasies, etc.).
5. Eat well. Healthy fats for conversion into hormones, including omega 3 fatty acids. Fresh, unprocessed food as much as possible. Avoid sugar and stimulants as much as possible. Keep your digestive system moving so that your liver isn't stressed. (Liver stress can inhibit some of the hormones that govern fluid homeostasis.) Be mindful of your microbiome.

If you still need more after genuinely doing the above for a while:
6. Adaptogenic herbs - starting very slowly, with the expectation that they affect people in divergent ways, so you might need to try more than one to find one that balances you favorably.
7. Glandular supplements, such as Dr. Wilson's Adrenal Rebuilder, which contain a variety of hormonal precursors (not just adrenal).
8. Supplemental hormones, preferably beginning with tiny doses compounded in a topical cream, and only after extensive specialty lab testing to determine which hormones are most in need of tweaking.

Maybe some of this will be helpful. Your thoughts on this do sound sensible!

Thanks, Bailey. I will read about those possible solutions today. I always have to make sure anything is okay with kidneys.