by Dr. Dana Stallings
In October 2022, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease.
I had established with a new primary care nurse practitioner, and was complaining bitterly about how little energy I had. I’d get intermittent rashes on my body – especially across my chest and neck – and headaches. I also told her about intermittent numbness I was having in my fingers and toes. I’m not diabetic, so this made no sense. I was a triathlete and runner, but I didn’t have enough energy to get out of my own way. My joints would swell and hurt after every workout, even with low intensity. I stopped exercising and gained weight.
My NP ran a ton of blood work. At our follow up visit, she reviewed my results and dropped the bomb: “you have Lyme Disease. I was infected 6-12 months prior according to my IgG level. Plus, my CBC (complete blood count) showed high MCH and MCH levels, indicating low B-12 and folate levels – despite the fact that my B12 and folate levels came back “normal” according to the lab’s definition of normal range.
In addition, I told her about additional symptoms I hadn’t previously reported. I told her I couldn’t eat anything without bloating, diarrhea, or nausea. I also had such intense arch pain in my feet, that nothing helped: shoes, massage, Tylenol, Motrin, nothing. Finally, having never experienced UTIs (urinary tract infections) in my life, I had 3 or 4 back to back. Turns out, these are all evident of bartonella. This is a separate infection – on top of Lyme Disease – that is know to cause these symptoms.
She prescribed 4 weeks of doxycycline antibiotics. Fun fact: I’m allergic to doxycycline. I didn’t know this ahead of time, but after only 1 dose, my face turned bright red, felt like it was on fire, and within 2 hours the skin on my lips and chin started peeling. The next day, I started a prednisone taper pack to resolve the allergic reaction.
In the meantime, my NP told me to start taking the following Thorne supplements:
- B Complex #12
- Vitamin D3 – 10,000 units
- BioGest
- FloraMend Prime Probiotic
I continued the supplements for about 30 days before I started the next antibiotic: azithromycin. I felt almost 100% better on the supplements alone – so much so that I put off starting the antibiotics. I had more energy and slept better. Then my NP told me to take the antibiotics, I said “yes ma’am,” and I had no GI or yeast infection issues because I was taking the probiotic.
I completed the antibiotic and had a biofeedback session which showed my Lyme infection had turned “chronic” – meaning, it was almost gone! Because Lyme never actually leaves the body, I am happy with this. But … the biofeedback session also showed gut dysbiosis and a lot of really weird things that didn’t quite line up. Then, we figured out I was in perimenopause. New challenge! Read more about that here.
For Lyme, I continued my supplements and also visited the Good Feet Store . It’s pricey, but I felt immediate relief of my arch (plantar) pain with the inserts. I use them daily, including for running … which I have been able to do again! If any of this resonates with you, talk to your healthcare provider. I can’t tell you how many providers I’ve talked to that had no idea what symptoms like mine could represent. Which makes me all the more thankful for my NP!