Lyme Disease Pain

[mul1998]

Does anyone know how long it might take to see results in relieving the pain of Lyme disease with the McDougall diet?

I have been on antibiotic treatment for almost a year. My doctor recommended a high protein, Atkins type diet, and I did feel better, but was afraid to continue because of all the bad press. I went to a more grain based diet, but included some dairy (doctor recommended organic yogurt) some animal protein (like stir-frys) and plenty of fruits and vegetables. All I got from that was great deal of intestinal problems. I did have a short two months where I started to feel normal again, before the intestinal problems began. I was on the Atkins diet then (maintenance level).

The doctor has done a lot of testing because of the intestinal problems, and said that I should avoid wheat due to gastrin levels until the other tests come back. As a result, I went gluten free as a precaution that the testing might bring up gluten intolerance. That gave me some relief from the intestinal problems, but not total relief.

Before finally being diagnosed with both Lyme disease and Bartonella (tick co-infection), I had been a vegetarian, but gave it up thinking that maybe that was why I wasn't getting well.

I'll be seeing my doctor again in May, and decided I would trial the McDougall diet for 6 weeks before seeing him. Since starting the McDougall diet (gluten free) this week, I've cured my intestinal problems. That's a relief! I do seem to be experiencing more pain, however, in my hands, feet, knees, sinuses, and have a headache. (The headache is probably from stopping coffee.) My question is has anyone else experienced more pain when initially beginning the diet? I feel tingly, almost like my tissues are being vacuumed or drained.

[SactoBob]

My own transition problems were pretty awful for the first 30-45 days. After that, the new diet is great and I feel much better.

The reasons for this are the subject of a couple of video lectures you might want to view. Doug Lisle has a video which can be viewed at the vegetarian society of hawaii, and Dr. Neal Barnard has a talk on the addictive nature of our typical American diet. You should be able to find that with google - I don't recall if it is at the VSH.

[f1jim]

Here is the link to the Doug Lisle video SactoBob was referring to. He and I agree it's one of the best videos for people making the transition. Doug is on the staff of the McDougall Center. Dr. McDougall has some real gems in Doug Lisle, Jeff Novick, as well as himself.
f1jim

[mul1998]

Thank you for the Doug Lisle video, which I viewed at the vegetarian society of Hawaii. My husband is a counselor and an expert in addictions. We talked about my odd pain last night, and said it sounded like withdrawal! I did have to finally resort to pain medication, but am feeling some better even today. Just knowing that others experienced similar problems is encouraging. The Lyme disease always complicates everything, so I want to do everything that I can do to get back to my old self again. I will look for the Neal Barnard talk as well.

Thanks again both of you.

[SactoBob]

Glad you enjoyed Dr. Lisle. Here is the lecture by Dr. Barnard.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 3069532942