I can no longer lift weights/bodybuild.

[boardn10]

I just wanted to say goodby to everyone. I always thought I would lift for life and live to be a 100 in good health. I have been bodybuilding for years and thought one day I could enter a competition.

 

All of that was destroyed when I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and Babesiosis. Now, my life is a living hell of pain. I can't even do a push-up now. Lifting my daughter is hell.

 

Some days I really wonder the point of living. I mean, it is as if someone has taken over my body and long gone is the old me. I can't live as someone I am not. I am so depressed about this it is hard to make it through a day. I long for the days I cold lift, run, snowboard, be a happy person who was fun to be around.

 

Sorry to be a downer, but wanted to thank everyone over time for the conversation, recommendations, etc.

 

Rich

[Marcina]

Are you receiving treatment for Lyme disease?

[djshrew]

I'm sorry to hear about all of this! Are you receiving any type of treatment? I have to say that after reading your post I am more than a little worried for you, are you seeing anyone to talk about the depression you feel with these new issues you are facing?

I would really rather you not leave the forum! please keep us posted!

[Vegan Joe]

I would really rather you not leave the forum! please keep us posted!

+1

[MartinVegartin]

Very sorry to hear you are suffering so much, Rich. Don't leave the forum - you can always come here for a bit of emotional support.

 

James A. Duke used to be the head of the Medicinal Plant Resources Lab at the US Department of Agriculture. The following site has alternative/complementary medicine review articles and one of them about Lymes Disease is by him. In the search box type in Lymes Disease herbal treatments. You should find the article about Lymes by Duke.

 

In the search box at the top of the page, where it says 'Find Articles', type in the words:

Herbs with anti-Lyme potential

 

and you'll find an article with that name that comes after a couple of advertisements. You'll have to click on:

$result->getTitle()

 

to get to the article. Under that clickable $result link, you should see the following, to show it is the right article:

 

'By what authority do I, a botanist, venture to write a short contribution for this special issue of Townsend Letter on Lyme disease? Like many... '

 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/

 

It's worth a try.

 

Also, in his book, The Green Pharmacy, in the section about Lymes, he lists garlic, echinacea and licorice for their anti-bacterial actions.

 

In the book, he says that a 1995 survey by the American Medical Association found that only about half of those diagnosed with Lymes Disease actually had it. The others must have been other infections. I don't know if diagnosis has improved since then.

 

Good luck. Think of you daughter and your other loved ones, and how much they need you.

[tuc]

You'll be fine in no time, my dad got Lyme's disease some years ago (actually 2 different versions at the same time) and he had big pains for a while but he's totally fine now!

 

And hey, even if you don't get better soon, there's so much stuff you can still do. And you can wait for kick ass cybernetic arms and legs and such in the near future.

 

Get well soon!

[boardn10]

I have tried everything, but all my Babesia tests continue to come back positive. It wouldn't be so bad if I could use my left arm more. I get the pain in the right arm but it passes. The left arm gets worse by the day with no sign of let up. It is frustrating looking in the mirror and watching your body change and lose muscle.

The left arms also turns blue, the joints crack and pop and feel loose as do my knees and hips. I hope I make it through. Thanks all.

[MartinVegartin]

How long have you had this and has there been no improvement in anything at all? I know you said you've tried everything but have the medical people suggested any further treatments, such as intravenous drugs - or have you already had that?

 

I suppose if nothing's helping, all you can do is endure it with feelings of hope. I've had three periods in my life where I've been in great pain and discomfort. Two of those times, I was often in agony for long periods and when things were at their worst I could hardly believe that I'd ever get better. It just dragged on and on. Each day was frustrating and disappointing. And painful. But after what seemed like an eternity, I noticed things were getting better. During one of these periods I wrote down how I felt each day. I'd record how I'd slept, how I felt in the morning, what it was like when I had to go out, etc. As I looked back over the diary entries I noticed changes and improvements from how I'd been months before, and they gave me hope.

 

Keep going, Rich, and stay hopeful. I look forward to the day when you tell us that things are improving.

[boardn10]

Thanks everyone for the support.

 

As a result of the infection, they believe that is why I have MGUS which can in some instances cause pain and other symptoms. But, I continue to have positives for Babesea. My doctor increased my dosage.

 

do you all think it is OK to keep working out with what I can? I have been having some decent leg workouts but I can't do squats of course. I can still lift with my right arm so I am tempted although I will look unbalanced. I just hate looking in the mirror and watching the muscle fall off.

[VeganEssentials]

Sorry to hear about your health problems. Just wanted to make another suggestion, if you can't lift normally, are isometrics possible? If mobility or joint soreness from your condition makes full ROM more challenging, then perhaps some isometric movements in various positions would be beneficial as they'll cause less joint strain. Something to consider, as there are some people who swear by their effectiveness!

[boardn10]

I am playing around with isometrics or static hold exercises for chest but I can't do anything for the shoulder. I know chest exercises hit the delts a little but that's about all I can do. I can't support weight above me head or leterally out to my side. I can do a somewhat heavy seated press isometrically because I can get the weight into position. I come a little bit back off lock out and hold. Even chest flys hurt. I was able to get into a push up position last night at the top of the movement and come down almost half way, no more.

 

Free weights are sort of out unless I have a spotter. Wish there was more I could do for shoulders other than chest press isometrics.

[MartinVegartin]

Yes, isometrics might help.

 

If it hurts to do a lateral arm raise, try doing the opposite movement first - press down in an isometric action. Pressing down with straight arms will relax the portion of the deltoids - and any other muscles - that you will later use to raise your straight arms. This might lessen the pain. When I had pain in my left forearm (and to this day I still don't know what muscle caused the pain) I found relief by gripping my right wrist with my left hand and squeezing for about 8 seconds as hard as I could. This caused reciprocal inhibition. And then I could move my left forearm without any pain at all. The affect lasted for an hour or more. This will have been due to reciprocal inhibition - where antagonist muscles relax as agonists contract.

 

Or, if you can do a lateral raise but only get pain at a certain position, you could put your arms into that position and then lower them very slightly to a point that doesn't cause pain and then isometrically try to raise them up again. After this, you could find that you'll then be able to raise them further if you try. This will be due to post-isometric relaxation.

 

More than one attempt might be needed with one of those methods. The first time might reduce the pain a bit. Then the next time might reduce it a bit more.

 

These two techniques are used to loosen stiff muscles and joints but, as I found, they can be used to reduce pain. Your pain will probably be caused by inflammation from toxins but one of these methods is still worth a try if they don't cause any pain.

 

You could also try relaxation techniques/meditation/autogenic training, etc. You are under a lot of stress. Reducing the stress will help.