After pounding daily for 3 weeks on high does abx I took today off. Last abx was dinner last night.
All day today I felt dizzy, extreme fatigue and in pain. I don't think it was this severe while taking abx.
Anyone else find or give a suggestion to this worsening of symptoms when stopping abx?
I originally planned on being off abx until Easter Sunday.
Posted by riversinger (Member # 4851) on :
You are right at the time when you might expect to have a herx. It is the usual cycling of the bacterial replication cycle.
It may not be the best time to be taking a break. Most antibiotics will take a few days to clear your system, so you probably still have some coverage, depending on th edrug you have been taking.
Did you talk to your doctor about taking time off from the antibiotics? I don't know your story, but do know that you want to keep after the bacteria steadily if you can tolerate it. However, if herxes are too bad, your doctor may want you to take a few days off.
That's avery good possibility, that you had a "herxheimer" coming on just as you stopped. Another possibility is a co-infection, which comes back faster than the lyme when abx are stopped. It's true, though, that the blood levels of the antibiotics you were on should stay high for a while after stopping; hence it seems more likely it's the first ("herx"). Definitely a good idea to ask the doc, as long as he/she is "lyme-literate". (if not, take the answer "with a grain of salt".) (I had a "herx" when first treated after getting sick (by doc who was not lyme-savvy.). The response: "Must be 'something else' going on". (not lyme, that is...) DaveS
Posted by lla2 (Member # 2364) on :
a lotof meds, like rifampin for one can't be pulsed, or taken a break from or you get what is called 'flu like syndrome' which is a side effect from stopping and starting a med again...
you basically feel like you have the flu adn it can last for days...dependinig on what you stopped, that could be what's going on...