Lyme Disease Support Group

I agree. I have gained nearly 40 lbs. noe since going my 2nd round of meds. It had been over 5 years sice I took abx , then went to one of those Fibro clinics by Dr. Teitelbaum and that doctor screwed me all up. I told him that I was exhausted due to reoccurance of Lyme well of course I did not know what I was talking about.
I had just lost 30 lbs. right before I went to him well with all the crap he had me on and now what i am taking for my Lyme I weigh more now then ever. I am so depressed about it oo. I try to eat right but I think that my thyroid is screwed up and no-one is catching it.
My Lyme doctor took me off of Synthroid the fibro doc had me and said he was shutting down my tyroid. It had been down hill since. I have tried everything and I don't know what else to do. So I know how you feel, I wish I was on the losing end of it :)

I've gained 20 pounds since I started treatment. And I can't say it's b/c of nausea, dang it! I think for me it has a lot to do with comfort food, and spending 6 months in my "day-time" pajamas. I, too, tried WW, and lost only three pounds. It was then that I mentioned my failed weight loss efforts to my LLMD and he ordered the thyroid test. And that led to the discovery of the Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
I don't know exactly how much I weigh right now -- don't want to get on a scale. But I am not eating well, either. Some of it, for me, is feeling that it's hopeless right now.
This isn't very encouraging, is it? Sorry.

If you're like me, I can keep myself away from bad foods unless it's too convienent...that includes people bringing it to you, so if that's the case tell them to stop! Maybe you could revamp your pantry...pull out bad foods and then go shopping and buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Avocados are my new favorite because they're the "good" fat.

Also, my teacher told me to make a meal on weekends and save some of it in the fridge or freezer for another time in the week. That way if you're having a tired or sick day, you don't have to worry about cooking...just pop it in the microwave. She also told her colleague that as far as exercise goes, just do small things like take the stairs instead of the elevator when possible...things like that and then work your way up.

Hope this helps!

I try to keep away from sugar because I know that it makes me feel bad too but I think I could eat salad all day without dressing and still gain weight. I dunno?? I guess just one of those lovely lymie symptom some of get. lucky us huh??

I really think it is a combination of the lymes and the meds. They had me on antidepressants and I had gained 30lbs in 3months. Did anyone of the drs ask if I had sudden weight gain, no all of them would ask if I had sudden weight loss. They said they weren't concerned about the gain, just the loss. Well I was concerned. Went off the meds and started to lose some.Back on them again now for fibromyalgia and gaining the weight back. It really is a catch 22.

Like I said it's one of two extremes, you either gain or lose. Right now I'm at 206 and going down slowly but surely(on purpose, should be around 185) this is from a high of 218. I think there are a couple problems with weight gain. First is feeling well enough to cook a decent meal. Second is depression, it's common for depressed people to want comfort food, almost all of which is high in fat and calories. Just my opinion.

What I've done is to tack something small onto my every day routine. 5 minutes on the treadmill a day, 25 curls with a dumb bell, just something extra.

Good feedback, thanks all. I do think there's a Lyme connection to gaining weight; not necessarily a direct connection, but as Lymie100 said, from being too tired, depressed, sore, or exhausted (last 2 were mine :) to do the work to eat properly (including groc shop, put it all away, prepare it, cook it, clean up, etc).

And then when I DO feel good enough to cook, it's one of our family favorites.....and typically comfort foods.

Adding something small, sure seems do-able. What I've been trying to do lately is to make sure I eat more veggies/fruit than is typically in my diet. Adding even a few minutes of exercise daily, well that'd be a good thing too.

I do take a karate class about 1x a week, and work my behind off. But that's not consistent enough to make a weight difference, and I know that.....

Again, thanks for the input.

Jenn

Hi Jenn, wanted to add my two cents earlier, but I felt sick this weekend- been on Mepron and clarithimycin (sp) for three weeks, and I think it’s a herx.

Anyway, I responded to Beth's post (Ugh) -perhaps give it a read? I recommended juicing to her.

I am a Juicer convert now. I started juicing just because it sounded good when nothing else did, and I really believe in the health benefits. I should have lost weight when I wasn't eating, but I didn't - mentioned it to LLMD and he said Lyme LOVES fat, and after I get rid of the Lyme, I will just lose weight.

At the time, I wasn't concerned about losing weight (I'd look better 5-10 lbs lighter) because I felt so sick. But then I started juicing for every breakfast and without doing anything different, or even trying to diet, I lost about 5 lbs.

I've found that when I don't juice for a few days, I gain weight.

I know it doesn't make sense, because I assume calories are calories, but simply adding the juicing makes me feel better and helps with not gaining weight. I try not to use much fruit because of calories/sugar.

Sometimes mid morning I'll have a snack, but I was surprised how the juice seems to stick with me- I'd say I usually make about 12+ ounces. When I first drink it, I’m still hungry, but after 10 minutes or so I am satiated.

When I was pregnant, I always felt like I needed to eat a bit, because I always was a little nauseas, and it helped- I wish I had known about juicing back then!

Plus, it’s healthy for the whole family. I use the dry pulp (juice comes out one side, and pulp the other- it is surprisingly dry) for making “Morning Glory”-type muffins, freeze them and I add some to my dog’s food (he’s the handsome pup in my photo). It is good for him too! I think most dog food is horrible.

Sounds like I sell these things, (but I don’t)!

Thanks LB, I may see if my father in law still has his juicer. I think he did that for a while some years back. I'm finding anything I eat these days makes me nauseous. It passes within an hour for the most part, but it's still a bit of a nuisance.

Jenn - I not only can relate, I am you! That is exactly what has happened to me. I can't fit into 1 piece of clothing from September. This thing is horrible - my life is shit. I have a 3 year old and I have to explain to him why I spend days in bed. I have had to give away tickets, miss outings, one of which is this Saturday and I can't go because my symptoms are so bad again, I must spend the next couple of days in bed again.