posted
Hi all, Ive been on Abx for the last year with no breaks. I have been improving but by no means better. My LLMD wants to take an abx break, to let my body rest and just use herbals and other stuff for a while. I'm nervous.
I know if I start to crash big time to get back on the meds ASAP. My main symptom is brain fog. I guess I'm just scared I'll get way worse and I think the biggest thing is to me-- it feels like were not fighting anymore....I know thats silly.
Do you guys take breaks? For how long? Did you die--lol?
Posts: 844 | From CA | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
My son will be starting a 3 weeks break next week and doing a detox cleanse. He has been on doxy/rifampin since October/November. We are good with the decision because as he was getting better, he is definitely showing signs of a need to detox. I will post how it goes for him at the end of the 3 weeks.
Posts: 54 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
my doc put me on abx for lyme, saw there was something slowing progress within a month.
she then addressed parasites, h.pylori and now she is going to hit babs since during the lyme tx she noticed my babs symptoms came to the forefront.
for babs i'm on Byron White Formula A-Bab, its herbal. 1 month of babs and then we will re-access. sick as a dog right now, but i think it's just a plain ole virus of another sort. backed of babs tx just to be sure.
after my doc hits hard for a month she switches to something gentler and herbal to give my body a break and she always addresses candida issues in between.
posted
I'm taking a break right now, going on 5 weeks with no antibiotics, only herbals. I've been treating 2.5 years, with only one prior 3-week antibiotic break during the first year.
Some symptoms have lightly returned (some foot & ankle pain, evening chills, mild headache), but all hell hasn't broken loose, fortunately.
I took a break to try and detox kidneys and liver, although my toxic symptoms haven't fully abated. I'm seeing my LLMD next week and am not sure if I'll return to antibiotics until I feel more detoxified.
In the meantime, I'm trying to do some diet work during this break by avoiding identified sensitive foods and trying to go low-fat for biofilm dissolution (per Dr. F). Can't tell if either is helping much, but I have noticed that I don't have twitches when avoiding sensitive foods...
Hope your break goes well if you decide to give it a try. I was really scared to take a break, and it honestly hasn't been as bad as I had feared.
-------------------- Increasingly ill over past 10 yrs; treating since October '08. Posts: 180 | From Philadelphia, PA | Registered: Oct 2008
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Wonder it the IDSA's 30 days of doxy also has this effect?
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I took a break the first year thinking I could keep things under control with herbs. Perhaps the break was too long - five months - but I plummeted.
So off to the LLMD and got diagnosed with bart- put on levaquin. Got tendonitis five weeks into it. Another break from abx, this time for 8 months. I took massive amounts of herbs ($$$).
Sick again. This time I stayed on abx (Bactrim DS/zithro) for nearly a year. Feeling good again I decided to try four days on and three days off.
One month later I plunged again. So back to another LLMD and put on Mepron/zithro. Four months of that and I added in the Bactrim to boost things.
I do not think I will ever take breaks again. Not until I am symptom free for two months. I will also test.
I feel no Bb but my CD57 was in the 50's so it is lurking and waiting. When/if that jumps up I will have more hope.
I remember now I decided to take breaks from Bactrim because it was giving me insomnia. I thought a few nights of sleep would be good. Since I started Bactrim again, the insomnia is back but this time I am taking a drug to knock me out.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
Yea, I dont plan on this being a Long break. No longer than a month MAX. I will be really careful about any symptoms coming back.
Brain Fog and GI stuff really are my only symptoms so I guess that makes it kinda easy to monitor.
Posts: 844 | From CA | Registered: Apr 2010
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desertwind
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25256
posted
Yes, I have taken breaks and they have helped so much with giving my body a break and being able to better detox.
I usally would only take a week or two break but once did a one month break and that was a mistake.
The shorter breaks worked well.
Right now I am on week 3 of my break and plan on staying off until such time I become symptomatic again - or rather IF I become symptomatic again.
Posts: 1671 | From Tick Infested New Jersey | Registered: Apr 2010
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
Yes. I'm currently on an abx break. Have been off abx for more than a month. Symptoms weren't going away after 2 years of near-constant abx (mostly IV). At first, I was ok but now the brain fog, inability to deal with stress, joint pains, etc. are coming back strong again...and my stomach likes to stop functioning too when I'm off abx. Thinking of going with a different LLND, but $$ is an issue for me right now. I wish I could find a part time work-at-home job but I'm soo sick and can't even keep up with stuff I need to do (bills, etc.).
So be careful with the break and monitor your symptoms...keep in close communication with your Lyme doc.
Good luck,
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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