GETTING OFF CHOLESTYRAMINE

THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IN THE "GETTING OFF" SERIES

On Thursday, March 14 I stopped taking Cholestyramine. Cholestyramine was supposed to help with my liver. According to testing I had done in 2011, I have a genetic liver impairment that makes detoxing Lyme die-off and molds extremely difficult. It explains why my insomnia got worse as my Lyme treatment went on, and it explains why I developed a terrible allergy to mold along with Lyme disease.

I started Cholestyramine in August 2011. My insomnia improved, but I stayed on Cholestyramine far too long. I kept taking it at a half dose while I dealt with a mold issue in my apartment, and then went back on meds after a relapse of Lyme. I needed it to detox, the thinking went.

The times I tried to cut back, I slept poorly and got tense in a way I couldn't remedy with meditation or breathing or any of my other tricks. So I stopped trying to cut back.

But I lost weight on Cholestyramine, around twenty pounds. The last five pounds were not good ones to loose. I stopped getting my period and had next to no body fat. Cholestyramine was originally a cholesterol lowering drug, and it helps with detox by pulling fats out of your body. Great if you've got fat to spare. Not so great if you don't.

I stayed on it because I was just too afraid of insomnia and fatigue and of not kicking Lyme this time around if I didn't get the detox right.

I was doing OK on my Lyme meds, still running four miles several times a week and going for long walks. I didn't miss not having my period. But in January the fatigue expanded, not just requiring a nap, but also a rest after breakfast. In February the fatigue had cut into how much I could exercise. I was swimming less, running less, concentrating poorly.


As last when I got a haircut, I saw the back of my head in the mirror. My beautiful thick hair now looked pathetically thin. That scared me. It was more eloquent than anything else about I was feeling. I stopped taking Cholestyramine the next day. I was prepared for insomnia, allergy flair ups and more. None of that happened.

The fatigue even got a little better--better, but not gone. Dr. Ross ran tests, and indeed my hormone levels are all low. (I'll talk to him about the results next week.) My naturopath had already told me my lack of menstruation must have been linked to low cholesterol and low body weight. Meanwhile, I'm assuming my job is to get my good cholesterol levels up, fast.

Fried eggs, anyone?