Aa
I have to eat crow
I have been very vocal about Lyme patients not taking steroids and that remains true except in extreme cases.
As I found out, a Lyme friend of mine had pneumonia and they gave her steroids while in the hospital. In her case, it worked out , she normally doesn't take it but to help her lungs she did. No need to reply, just wanted everyone to know.
As I found out, a Lyme friend of mine had pneumonia and they gave her steroids while in the hospital. In her case, it worked out , she normally doesn't take it but to help her lungs she did. No need to reply, just wanted everyone to know.
Oh I wish I could stuff the crow into some of the doctors' mouth, and making them taking their words back! *See my post about Rocephin*
Actually, no...not crows, they are cute intelligent birds!
Homemade "tick" stew, full of ticks, will do it!! Why not? :) In some culture, bugs is considered as delicacy!
Actually, no...not crows, they are cute intelligent birds!
Homemade "tick" stew, full of ticks, will do it!! Why not? :) In some culture, bugs is considered as delicacy!
You're entitled to over-react and freak out. It's Mother Nature's way of protecting you from going through those situations again.
Therefore it's not over-reacting. It's called 'survival.' And we're glad you're here!
Therefore it's not over-reacting. It's called 'survival.' And we're glad you're here!
It does stink! i can't imagine how terrifying your experience was! However, be consoled by knowing it will get better. If you really did have Lupus and Hashimoto's you would not get better. What I grieve is the time lost. I will be so grateful when I feel well again
I don't like crow anyway.
I read those blogs and info on adrenals and agree. As I have mentioned before, nothing will scare you more than waking up in the hospital with a breathing tube in your throat knowing you almost died due to steroids.
I just wanted to apologize for my overreaction to that word. I guess everyone is different.
Rico, I thought I might have cushings too at one point.
I so wish I had the energy to work, I am not old enough to do nothing but like my fiancée tells me, this is the hand we have been dealt and we have to deal with it.
But it ***** big time!
I read those blogs and info on adrenals and agree. As I have mentioned before, nothing will scare you more than waking up in the hospital with a breathing tube in your throat knowing you almost died due to steroids.
I just wanted to apologize for my overreaction to that word. I guess everyone is different.
Rico, I thought I might have cushings too at one point.
I so wish I had the energy to work, I am not old enough to do nothing but like my fiancée tells me, this is the hand we have been dealt and we have to deal with it.
But it ***** big time!
Not to get too far off track, but in the months when I was declining and had already seen a few doctors, I came across Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome in my research. I found a great chart that showed lists of symptoms for Addison's Disease (Adrenals barely functioning), AFS (part way to Addison's), part way to Cushing's, and Cushing's (adrenals are overproducing). I had all but one of the nearly 20 symptoms of AFS. For a couple weeks, I was convinced this was my problem, until I developed other symptoms, too.
Later I learned that Lyme likes to live in the Adrenals because they have lots of connective tissue.
Later I learned that Lyme likes to live in the Adrenals because they have lots of connective tissue.
and PS --
If anyone wants to read up on adrenal exhaustion generally, do a search for:
adrenal exhaustion christiane northrup
She's an MD who does TV interviews etc., which often makes me suspicious, but this article was helpful to me to understand the topic.
If anyone wants to read up on adrenal exhaustion generally, do a search for:
adrenal exhaustion christiane northrup
She's an MD who does TV interviews etc., which often makes me suspicious, but this article was helpful to me to understand the topic.
Sorry, we don't serve crow here unless it's deserved, and imo you don't deserve it. Here's why:
LymeMD (who keeps a blog that several of us here follow and recommend) has just posted in recent days a piece on this very topic -- adrenal fatigue in Lyme, and the uses and abuses of steroids to treat it. Here's a taste:
"The adrenal fatigue syndrome is associated with a plethora of symptoms: Total exhaustion. Lack of endurance. Anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Dizziness. Dizziness with standing. Aches and pains. Brain fog. Inability to cope with trivial stress. Fatigue more prominent in morning or evening. Second wind at night. Insomnia. Salt and/or sugar cravings. Weight gain. And numerous others."
And then he goes on to talk about how very small doses of cortisone can be appropriate to balance the issue, and *cortisone is a steroid.* Call it the exception that proves the rule.
I have recently begun dealing with this kind of extreme fatigue -- over the last year+ while the economy has been doing its swan dive, I have often been so stressed out that I am a vegetable, incapable of accomplishing anything other than sitting at my desk -- then often getting a burst of clear-headed productivity in the evening, as LymeMD indicates above.
I never realized till this happened to me how debilitating it is and also how common. Previously in life, people close to me had commented on how a ton of stress that would have laid them out flat had just the opposite effect on me: it made me more focussed and energetic, and I actually enjoyed it, like people who get a thrill on a rollercoaster.
Or I did enjoy it, when the adrenalin rush jazzed me up instead of laying me low. A couple of months ago, after suffering for a *year* through long days of uselessness at my desk (only to have a better evening almost every day), I talked to a wise friend who recommended herbal approaches, and after a bit of experimenting, I found that a particular kind of ginseng makes an enormous difference for me -- it's a bit touch-and-go on some days, but overall I am nearly my old focused self most of the time, after the tea kicks in.
Lyme MD mentions Siberian ginseng, but I found a different formulation that works better for me. It's about half Asian (=Siberian?) and half American ginseng with a few other things thrown in. Not sure why it matters to my body, but everyone's different.
So how does this relate to mojo's mea culpa above about steroids? Acc. to LymeMD, the medical solution for adrenal insufficiency (rather than the herbal solution I am using) is small, small doses of DHEA, which is a *steroid*.
This fits within mojo's carve out for steroids in extreme cases, but I wouldn't call it extreme, just a different set of circumstances.
So. To sum up:
-- Steroids as used by nonLLMDs to treat Lyme are intended to suppress your immune system, which is the opposite of what needs to be done in a bacterial infection like Lyme.
-- However, in the situation LymeMD describes, adrenal fatigue (where your adrenal glands are under-functioning due to Lyme) is best treated by small, small doses of DHEA, which happens to be a steroid.
Please go read his post if this is of concern or interest to you. The post is not terribly long, and it's quite well written.
Y'all take care, now.
LymeMD (who keeps a blog that several of us here follow and recommend) has just posted in recent days a piece on this very topic -- adrenal fatigue in Lyme, and the uses and abuses of steroids to treat it. Here's a taste:
"The adrenal fatigue syndrome is associated with a plethora of symptoms: Total exhaustion. Lack of endurance. Anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Dizziness. Dizziness with standing. Aches and pains. Brain fog. Inability to cope with trivial stress. Fatigue more prominent in morning or evening. Second wind at night. Insomnia. Salt and/or sugar cravings. Weight gain. And numerous others."
And then he goes on to talk about how very small doses of cortisone can be appropriate to balance the issue, and *cortisone is a steroid.* Call it the exception that proves the rule.
I have recently begun dealing with this kind of extreme fatigue -- over the last year+ while the economy has been doing its swan dive, I have often been so stressed out that I am a vegetable, incapable of accomplishing anything other than sitting at my desk -- then often getting a burst of clear-headed productivity in the evening, as LymeMD indicates above.
I never realized till this happened to me how debilitating it is and also how common. Previously in life, people close to me had commented on how a ton of stress that would have laid them out flat had just the opposite effect on me: it made me more focussed and energetic, and I actually enjoyed it, like people who get a thrill on a rollercoaster.
Or I did enjoy it, when the adrenalin rush jazzed me up instead of laying me low. A couple of months ago, after suffering for a *year* through long days of uselessness at my desk (only to have a better evening almost every day), I talked to a wise friend who recommended herbal approaches, and after a bit of experimenting, I found that a particular kind of ginseng makes an enormous difference for me -- it's a bit touch-and-go on some days, but overall I am nearly my old focused self most of the time, after the tea kicks in.
Lyme MD mentions Siberian ginseng, but I found a different formulation that works better for me. It's about half Asian (=Siberian?) and half American ginseng with a few other things thrown in. Not sure why it matters to my body, but everyone's different.
So how does this relate to mojo's mea culpa above about steroids? Acc. to LymeMD, the medical solution for adrenal insufficiency (rather than the herbal solution I am using) is small, small doses of DHEA, which is a *steroid*.
This fits within mojo's carve out for steroids in extreme cases, but I wouldn't call it extreme, just a different set of circumstances.
So. To sum up:
-- Steroids as used by nonLLMDs to treat Lyme are intended to suppress your immune system, which is the opposite of what needs to be done in a bacterial infection like Lyme.
-- However, in the situation LymeMD describes, adrenal fatigue (where your adrenal glands are under-functioning due to Lyme) is best treated by small, small doses of DHEA, which happens to be a steroid.
Please go read his post if this is of concern or interest to you. The post is not terribly long, and it's quite well written.
Y'all take care, now.
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