Fantastic Fixes for Low Energy

by | Oct 25, 2008 | THRIVE! JOURNAL | 0 comments

for those suffering from Lyme disease and other chronic illnesses

special guest

by Connie Strasheim


Piggyback Couple


ENERGY. WE SUFFERERS OF CHRONIC ILLNESS COULD ALL USE a bit more of the stuff, and every little blip in our internal and external environments alters how much we have at any given moment. Whether due to diet, climate, people, supplements, Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions or a symptom flare (to name just a few), it seems that sufferers of chronic illness are more vulnerable to reductions in energy than the average “healthy” human. We have less to begin with, so we must take precious care of what’s given to us in order to maximize the rations. Following are a few suggestions for keeping the energy flowing.

Addressing thyroid and adrenal function should be a foremost consideration, since hormone levels dramatically affect energy. Perform a saliva cortisol and thyroid hormone test and treat the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis with herbs, vitamins and natural or synthetic hormonal supplements (as described in my book, The Lyme Disease Survival Guide: Physical, Lifestyle and Emotional Strategies for Healing).

As much as possible, keep stress to a minimum, as this will help to balance your hormones. Then, examine your diet. I don’t know about you, but certain foods down shift my body into putt-putt gear, especially those containing gluten and sugar. Other foods, such as dairy and eggs, are less of a problem for me, but they don’t contribute to my energy bank, either. You’ll have your own list of such foods. Pay attention to what time of day you have the least amount of energy and have some Popeye greens or other brightly colored veggies along with a protein your body can deal with, and save the fruit smoothie or oatmeal for a time when your energy is greater. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many sufferers of chronic illness don’t look closely at how food affects their energy, myself included. For two years, I ate almond butter with celery in the morning and justified the post-breakfast fatigue with the half-truth that nearly everything I put into my mouth in the morning leaves me exhausted. I have since found that switching to brown rice and turkey sausage has helped to mitigate the fatigue.

Next, spend time every day doing an activity you enjoy and with people around whom you can feel relaxed and happy. Emotions have a tremendous impact on energy levels, sometimes more so than physical or mental activities. Stay away from negative television programs, limit your time with critical or whiny people and fill your mind with uplifting thoughts. Funny movies can be good energy-boosters, provided they don’t take your breath away because they make you laugh so hard!

Also, consider detoxifying your body on a regular basis. Keeping the organs working efficiently and the muck flowing outward with coffee enemas or toxin binders such as chlorella can provide you with an energy boost, as less garbage in the body means that everything functions better.

Supplements besides those that support the thyroid and adrenal glands can be helpful, but since the causes of fatigue in chronic illness are multiple, it may be difficult to discern whether additional remedies will provide benefit. Nonetheless, other supplements that have proven to be helpful include alpha ketoglutaric acid, co-enzyme Q-10 and cordyceps mushroom.

Finally, get some rest! Stop trying to do so much when you are ill and turn off that computer at least an hour before bedtime, since computer light stimulates the pineal gland and disrupts the sleep/wake cycle.

excerpted from: The Lyme Disease Survival Guide: Physical, Lifestyle and Emotional Strategies for Healing. Copyright 2008 by Connie Strasheim.

photo credits: Piggyback © Catherine Yeulet / iStockphoto


Connie StrasheimConnie Strasheim is an accomplished health care journalist and the author of The Lyme Disease Survival Guide: Physical, Lifestyle and Emotional Strategies for Healing. A Lyme disease sufferer, she maintains a blog on Lyme disease and other issues related to chronic illness called Lyme Bytes. Currently, she lives between Denver, Colorado and San Jose, Costa Rica.

Author

  • Earthwalker

    Earthwalker is the username that PT founder Julie Genser created for her online interactions so many years ago when first creating Planet Thrive.

    Julie's (Earthwalker's) life was derailed over twenty years ago when she had a very large organic mercury exposure after she naively used a mouth thermometer to measure the temperature of just-boiled milk while making her very first pizza at home. The mercury instantly expanded into a gas form and exploded out the back of the thermometer right into her face. Unaware that mercury was the third most neurotoxic element on Earth, Julie had no idea she had just received a very high dose of a poisonous substance.

    A series of subsequent toxic exposures over the next few years -- to smoke from two fires (including 9/11), toxic mold, lyme disease, and chemical injuries -- caused catastrophic damage to her health. While figuring out how to survive day-to-day, and often minute-to-minute, she created Planet Thrive to help others avoid some of the misdiagnoses and struggles she had experienced.

    She has clawed her way over many health mountains to get to where she is today. She is excited to bring the latest iteration of Planet Thrive to the chronic illness community.

    In 2019, Julie published her very first cookbook e-book called Low Lectin Lunches (+ Dinners, Too!) after discovering how a low lectin, gluten free diet was helping manage her chronic fascia/muscle pain.

    View all posts

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You May Also Like…

The illusion of control

The illusion of control

by Diana Rose Kottle | It is an illusion to think we have control over the outcome of anything and yet we are more powerful as creators of our own reality than we could even imagine. This is the paradox.

read more

empowering the environmental illness community