For those with swollen bellies

[Susan LymeRA]

Maz,

I was looking seriously into beekeeping as a hobby for a number of reasons. My reaction surely stopped that idea. I now carry an epi-pen. I thought the severe reaction may just be more sign of my over-active immune system. I had a wasp sting this summer and I thought I had a bad reaction to it, but it was absolutely nothing in comparison. I didn’t feel any need to seek medical attention with the wasp sting.

Now you give me a new idea. Could that honeybee have caused a reversal of my RA????

My doctor runs RA bloodwork once a year and she just ran it this past August. My sed rate and CRP reaction have all been really good normal levels for a long time. It is the R Factor and the anti-ccp that continue to be very high. I forget what the RF was this last time (too lazy to go look) but the anti-ccp was 172. 20 being normal and anything over 60 being severe.

Funny thing about the 7 mths of Mepron is that before it, my numbers were nearly normal. This had been true from the outset. But I had pain symptoms. Right after starting Mepron, my numbers jumped through the roof. Since the Mepron treatment, my flares have been minimal to non-existent but my numbers have remained high. She continues to target parasites. I have had all negative Babesia Ducani tests since tx and it was always positive before. However, I keep testing positive for other parasites and she thinks my pets and horses are reinfecting me. I’m hoping she is wrong about that. I don’t kiss them anymore and wear gloves most of the time and use waterless hand soap a lot. Still got intestinal parasites. We are going through cycles of treating for them. I do believe a really damaged gut from years of antibiotics as a child is what got me into this mess to start with. Trying to heal the gut while needing antibiotics makes the healing process slooooow.

Still, if I can’t be 100% healed, then 100% painfree is second best option!

She would not mind that I stopped Enbrel when I was sick. What she will not like is that I am still off of it. But gosh, no pain, no motivation to take such a toxic drug.

Agree with all you said to Blondie. It really is a small tradeoff and yes, we do forget how bad the pain was. I never have yet stopped marveling though at me recovery. Everytime I do anything, like mounting a horse, grooming a dog, peeling a potato, I remember when I could not do any of these things.

I sure hope God used that bee to heal me!

Susan

[Maz]

@Susan Lyme/RA wrote:

Now you give me a new idea. Could that honeybee have caused a reversal of my RA????

My doctor runs RA bloodwork once a year and she just ran it this past August. My sed rate and CRP reaction have all been really good normal levels for a long time. It is the R Factor and the anti-ccp that continue to be very high. I forget what the RF was this last time (too lazy to go look) but the anti-ccp was 172. 20 being normal and anything over 60 being severe.

Funny thing about the 7 mths of Mepron is that before it, my numbers were nearly normal. This had been true from the outset. But I had pain symptoms. Right after starting Mepron, my numbers jumped through the roof. Since the Mepron treatment, my flares have been minimal to non-existent but my numbers have remained high.

Hi Susan,

Yea, you sure had a pretty explosive histamine reaction, but maybe the bee sting also modulated immune function somehow? I wouldn’t stop carrying the Epi-pen (just discovered they expire after one year) either! Maybe even worth looking into allergy therapy to desensitize yourself to bee-stings?

I had a similar experience while on Mepron in combo with zith and seemed to go backwards in progress with my RA labs, too. This is a pretty peculiar thing, because I’ve also had minimal flaring since. I can only guess that treatment of the protozoan somehow caused a “clearance” for my immune system to wake up and start recognizing bugs hidden in bio-film…a kind of rebound reaction? I have no explanation for it either. I’ve been tested for the new Dr. F. protozoan, Protomyxozoa rheumatica, and discovered I have it (ho hum) – they send a magnified pic of the protozoan holed up in bio-film under magnification in your blood. So, this is what we’re treating now, using the Ivermectin. Treating this little blighter is taking me forward again, which is great. Here is info on it, in case you haven’t seen this yet. Maybe it will be of help in some way:

http://www.betterhealthguy.com/joomla/blog/243-dr-stephen-fry-on-fl1953

Happy holidays to you and yours!

[fastspinW]

@Susan Lyme/RA wrote:

Winston,

I chuckled at that statement too. Of course they are unhealthy. That is why they are taking antibiotics. But I do not chuckle at the 30 lbs I put on when I started Mepron in March 2009. Mostly in my belly. I am very active. I do not suffer joint pain anymore and ride horses for a hobby. Not a passive sport. I was very trim until this weight gain. Unfortunately, the weight did not fall off after the Mepron stopped.

I am always trying to figure out why.

Susan

Susan,

Somehow missed seeing your reply until today… Interestingly enough I take doxy and have experienced an increase in belly fat as well. Given that I am a type 1 diabetic on a very tightly controlled diet and have been for more than 40 years gaining and maintaining weight has always been my problem, not losing it. Suddenly a few years ago I began to gain, particularly in the belly area. Presently I weigh 159 lbs. which is about average for my height and build, but in the past I usually weighed in at around 140. Admittedly, that left me looking rather a bit like the skeleton that hung in the science lab at my high school, but I was never really able to gain no matter how much I ate.

Up until now I’ve attributed this weight gain to a metabolism slowing with age (I’m 65 and getting older every day). Additionally, I am not as active an outdoorsman as I have been due to a variety of physical problems that make it impossible to engage in many of my outdoor pastimes. Still, on can’t help but wonder if there may well be some sort of connection here between doxy and weight gain…I don’t think I had the belly fat problem when I was on Minocin.

By the way, you don’t need to worry about me thinking horse back riding is a low calorie activity. I raised horses for many years and worked as an assistant horse trainer on and off until in my late 20s. Most folks are astounded to learn this, but riding a horse at a trot burns 442 calories an hour…and some of the race horses I exercised as a kid would make you burn more than that their trot was so jolting…. To put that in some sort of perspective, competitive tennis burns 476!

So get out there and trot!

All best,
Winston

[Susan LymeRA]

Wow Winston, that is impressive! I would hate to think how much I would weigh if I did not have horses to keep me moving. Speaking of which, I am meeting the vet today as one of my horses has a swelling under her belly the size of the palm of my hand. It is hot to the touch and my attempts to treat have not been successful. Guess what they suspect? Lyme Disease!

I met with my doctor on Thurs and my latest bloodwork for tickborne pathogens was 100% negative. I am one who always test positive for just about everything, so this was a real boost. They want me to do a liver flush and 1 week later run the tests again. If all is still negative, we will start weaning off the meds and see how I do.

Praise our Almighty Father!!!

[PhilC]

@Maz wrote:

Hi Susan,

Yea, you sure had a pretty explosive histamine reaction, but maybe the bee sting also modulated immune function somehow? I wouldn’t stop carrying the Epi-pen (just discovered they expire after one year) either! Maybe even worth looking into allergy therapy to desensitize yourself to bee-stings?

Considering the potential therapeutic value of bee stings, I think that is an excellent idea, especially since Susan has expressed an interest in beekeeping.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[Susan LymeRA]

Where would I look into this kind of allergy therapy?

[judy cash]

susan,
Good to hear from you again,its been a long time… I have been doing really well since I started minocycline almost 3 years ago. But like you, I have gained about 25 lbs. mostly in my belly… Its really hard for me to except . I like you, would rather be pain free and have the extra weight, than have pain and no extra weight.
I’m glad that you are doing good. Judy

[PhilC]

Hi Susan,
@Susan Lyme/RA wrote:

Where would I look into this kind of allergy therapy?

You would see an allergist. However, I should add that you are probably not really allergic to bee stings, you just had a severe reaction. Only if you started going into anaphylactic shock could we be certain that you are allergic to bee stings.

When you were stung, was the stinger left in your skin? It usually is, though not always. Do you know how to remove the stinger so as not to inject yourself with a full dose of venom?

This is worthwhile reading:
What would be considered an allergic reaction to a bee sting?

It’s a discussion by beekeepers about the varied reactions they have to honeybee stings.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[Susan LymeRA]

Phil, That is very interesting. Thanks.

[Parisa]

Hi Susan,

Somehow this thread escaped my notice. I’t so good to hear that you are doing well. Nothing beats pain free.

When my husband was really ill, he was a walking skeleton. I told him I loved him whether he was skinny or fat. Well, he’s no longer skinny and now has a bit of a belly. You know what I definitely like the belly better than the skeleton because he’s happy and healthy again.

[fastspinW]

Folks,

While waiting for some images to download from my camera tonight I decided to check out the Internet for a link between belly fat and antibiotic use. I was a bit taken aback by the number of links that turned up after a brief search in Google. Although I haven’t really checked things out yet it would appear that there is a well known link between antibiotic use and both appetite increase and belly fat. It seems that antibotic use increases Ghrelin levels which in turn “stimulates the brain in such a manner that leads to not only increased appetite, but also particularly leads to the accumulation of fat in abdominal fat tissue.”

While the positive effects of AP certainly seem to outweigh the potential for weight gain, as a type 1 diabetic I must admit to being concerned about this. Fat stored in the abdominal area has a well known tendency to promote insulin resistence which in turn can make management of diabetes (both type 1 and 2) a good deal more difficult. Soon as I get some time I am going to follow up on this and I am hoping others will as well. At first glance it would appear that there are steps that can be taken to lose belly fat or prevent it from forming in the first place and soon as I can figure things out I plan on taking them.

All best,
Winston

[Susan LymeRA]

Hi Parisa, So GOOD TO HEAR about your husband!

Winston, I’m going to research that closer too. At one point, when I was almost 100% vegetarian, I kept having blood sugar issues and was tested twice for diabetes. Fortunately, I tested negative but I was very concerned and couldn’t understand how I could be having issues when I was eating a very healthy plant based diet. I read the book “The Metabolic Typing Diet” and it seems I need protein in my diet. That did help stabilize my blood sugar. But the belly fat remained.

Susan

[judy cash]

Winston and Susan,
Thanks for all this information. When I was carring my last baby, I developed Ges. Diabetes. as soon a I delivered the baby it was gone, but was told that it can come back later in life, so this scares me a lot. If you come across more info, please let me know.
Judy

[fastspinW]

Judy,

Gestational diabetes can – if you look at it through a Half-full glass – be a blessing. It gives you a warning that if heeded can make a huge difference in your life. Many folks who eventually develope diabetes have no warning whatever that they are prone to do so. One day they are fine, the next they are diabetic.

Those like yourself, on the other hand, have been given a warning: “Down this road lies trouble!”

If you heed the warning by watching what you eat, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting plenty of healthy exercise you will never become a member of a club I’ve been trying to quit for 40+ years.

Just as is the case with RA most of the True Belief surrounding diabetes not only won’t serve you well as you work to stay diabetes free. In fact, it will get you in a ton of trouble! Let’s see now, according to the American Diabetes Association the best diet for a person with diabetes is one high in carbohydrates. Wait a minute, given the fact that diabetes is defined as a disease in which the patient can’t process carbohydrates, that simply makes no sense. No sense at all! In fact it’s made millions of folks very ill.

The way to stay diabetes free is to eat a diet free from simple carbs, low in complex carbs, and relatively high in high quality protein. The Atkins diet is an example of this approach and there are others like it. If I were in your shoes I’d put on my researcher’s cap and take a close look at the available info on low carb mealplans and then follow one of them. Could be one of the most important things you ever do in your life. And don’t forget the exercise!!!!!!!!! Cheaper than doctors and much more fun! In fact, once you get over the initial hurtle of couch potatoeness it becomes highly addictive. Just ask my wife.

All best,
Winston

[judy cash]

Winston,
Thanks very much for the info… I know I must do this. Your post lets me know that I better get on the stick and change my diet. I have a friend since grade school who has Type 1 diabetes, and I have watched her with great sorrow go through so much. She also lost a brother this last year, who was only a few years older than us. He just would not take care of himself. He just gave up on life….so sad. Thanks again for taking time to post this.
Judy

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