I am 26 in Late stage Lyme. I was very very active before this. I started Antibiotics two months ago. My most severe complaint is the joint pain. Sometimes it lets up so i will try low impact exercises in the pool, or pilates. However, it never fails that i am in pain for the next week, or i cause some sort of new joint pain to pop up. The exercises i am doing are really low impact though. I want to stop muscle atrophy but am at a loss as to how. Are there any online resources with physical therapy exercise recommendations? I cant afford a real PT. Any exercises that could help my muscles stay strong?

This is my second go around with the Lyme. I was off of all my medications for a whole year, and felt fine. I was active, I was running (and playing ice hockey!), life was good.

I got sick again in February, and was back on the IV. Now insurance won’t pay for that, and it’s back on the usual antibiotics.

The first time, I went the ‘get lots of rest’ route. I’d do a bit of VERY low intensity, tai chi style exercise. But for the most part, I rested. I honestly think this resulted in me getting worse, in fact once I had recovered from Lyme, I had to go to physical therapy to rehab my neglected muscles.

I don’t want to be in that position again, but all the advice I can find consists of ‘get lots of rest, low intensity, etc. etc.’ Except for yours. I realize that I can’t just follow what you did and expect it to work for me, it is a very individualized disease, but it makes me feel like I’m not crazy for trying to do it this way.

I’ve read nearly your entire blog at this point, it’s been helpful and inspiring. Thank you for taking the time to put it out there.

To answer your question… I was wiped out seriously for about 3 weeks. Then, after starting abx for what my doc felt was strep I started to feel better. Got to 75%, but stopped there after the 10 days of drugs ran out. It took me 6 months to end up with a Lyme diagnosis and start on treatment. Like you, I basically diagnosed myself. I ordered a kit from Igenex, took it to my doc and had her send it in.

After reaching the 75% point I held off for another 2 months. After that I started playing with some different exercises. I tried tai chi and some yoga-style stretching. After about a month of that I moved to cardio. It was hard and I really had to adapt thing, but it’s helped me A LOT!

I really think the only way to know is to try it out and see. Stay tuned for the coming post for tips.

Thanks for the response. I did some research into the matter and you are correct, it does depend on your current state of recovery. My only fear is slipping back into a non-functional state. While being miss-diagnosed for about two years, I too was forced to give myself a final diagnose. I ended up asking my local clinic Doc. to sign the consent and have some blood work sent out to IGeneX for testing ( my second Lyme test). The screening was positive and Western BLOT’s did so signs of Lyme. With the help of my doctor, I have been treating myself with supplements and various antibiotics for about 5 months now. As of late, I have been feeling about 75 percent on good days and about 55 percent on bad days. I believe I have reached a plateau in my recovery and feel exercise could help me to heal even further. I live in Florida and there is a big shortage of LLMD’s in my area. However, my general practice Doctor has suggested that exercise will help the antibiotics work even better.
I am currently working on weekends as a server and taking care of my two kids during the day. I feel really drained on Mondays, but not to the point where I can’t function. I have tried to exercise in the past but would often suffer some increased headaches, and joint discomfort. However, lately I have been doing some daily Yoga, lifting some light weights, and feel better because of it. I am wondering if it is time to add cardio without jeopardizing my immune system.
My question is, “at what point in your recovery did you feel you were ready to begin your training again?”
Thanks – Cleveland

The answer to the aerobic exercise question depends on how sick you are. From what I’ve read, if you’re very sick (in bed or housebound) it’s detrimental because you body needs all the energy it can get to repair itself and fight off the infection. However, if you’re highly functioning and you can do it without feeling wiped out after or the next day then it’s beneficial. The infusion of oxygen helps kill off the bugs. I also feel that it helps push the antibiotics in to places that it might not reach otherwise… but that’s just my opinion, not medical fact.

I’m going to touch on your diet question in an upcoming post.

Hang in there and feel well!