Life Can Cause Lyme Flare-Up

For some of us, life after Lyme is a bumpy road.  I am feeling good, terrific energy, optimism, pain-free and think – this is it.  I am better.  Then I wake up, feel like crap and need to rest. I ask what caused my Lyme flare-up? 

Did I do something? So many factors can trigger Lyme’s symptoms. Track flares to understand your susceptibilities and how to sidestep triggers.

Initially, theorists suggested that all chronic Lyme or post Lyme syndrome was the result of new infections. Do I think that some people may get reinfected absolutely.  But, this does not explain the 10 to 20 % of people who continue to display symptoms after antibiotic treatment.  Now new information shows that a subset of Borellia survive antibiotic treatment and can cause problems down the road.

Common Triggers For A Lyme Flare-Up

New Infection(s)

Either a new tick bite from an infected tick, a scratch from a cat with Bartonella, or potential other exposure can infect you and send your symptoms into overdrive with Lyme or co-infections. Put a tick bite prevention strategy in place with precautions and inspection to minimize your tick exposure.

Another source of new infection post-treatment is parasites.  Specific parasites host Borellia.  When they die, they release a new supply of Lyme bacteria into the body.  This can feel like a Lyme flare-up.

Lyme Persister Wake Up Calls

“Persister subpopulation” is the term used to describe the form of Lyme that goes dormant and survives antibiotic treatment. These pathogenic bacteria go dormant for quite a while.  Then an alarm goes off, they wake up to become active, multiply and cause symptoms. Here are my top 7 wake up calls.

Stop Taking Medicines or supplements

When you feel good, you think maybe I don’t need to take all these pills or do all this stuff.  You cut back on the pills, the detox, and self-care.  And you feel okay for a while, the population of Lyme in your body regrows and bam a sick again. Get advice from your health care team before you change medications or supplements.

Resumption of Bad Habits

Junk food, pro-inflammatory eating, drinking, smoking or burning the candle at both ends deplete a Lyme patient already already on the edge. This stuff drains your reserves and depresses immune response, leaving you vulnerable to Lyme symptom flare.

Holidays

Celebration can involve a trifecta of challenges, travel, food and stress. In the week before Christmas to New Year, it can be party after party.  Even drinking mineral water and eating lightly the sugar in your diet and inflammation goes up.

Hormonal Shifts

Hormone levels change over the day to wake us up, eat, digest and sleep.  More significant cycles occur during different times of the month and life.  Men’s hormone change during puberty and male menopause. Women undergo changes in hormones each menstrual cycle, during and after pregnancy and during menopause. Lyme will take advantage of these changes. Substantial fluctuations in hormones lower immune system response.

Stress

Chronic Stress lowers ability to fight infection.  The number of foot soldiers in the immune system like natural killer cells and lymphocytes go down when you feel ongoing tension and anxiety. https://www.apa.org/research/action/immune

Illness

Illness of any kind from a cold to the flu or bacterial infection alters the terrain of your body.  Your immune system activates and generates inflammation.  You may go after Lyme for strongly and feel symptoms from the die-off.

Anything that increases inflammation, or alters your immune response can trigger a flare-up of symptoms. With all these ways to initiate a Lyme symptom flare, what are we to do?  With Lyme disease information is power.  Pay attention to your body when change happens.  Get help pronto to minimize the impact of a Lyme symptom flare on your life. For me, the point is to use information and awareness of my body to stay as healthy as I can, live fully and joyfully.

The purpose of this article is to share and educate on Lyme disease recovery strategies. The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment, or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.