I just have started doxy 200mg bid for lyme and ehrlichiosis. I probably have babesia as well, awaiting WA-1 test results.
I started the doxy a week ago and sure enough about 72 hours later started feeling horrible which I guess is a herx. I have felt horrible since then. Now I have nausea pretty consitently and don't know if it is from doxy or from herxing. The nausea didn't show until 3 days into taking doxy. You would think that if doxy was going to cause nausea it would have done it from the start.
Is this nausea a herx or from doxy?
I have been taking prevacid, theralac probiotics, watching my diet closely, lemon water, drinking ginger tea.
How long do herxes last with initial treatment of doxy? Is nausea a common herx?
Will the doxy wipe out the ehrlichiosis or will other meds be required?
When should treatment for babesia be started?
I think that I have lyme for 1.5 years and then got reinfected in Sept 06. Symptoms started in late Oct 06 with dizzy, nausea, numbness tingling in arm and leg, headaches for 6 weeks strait, ringing in ears, noise sensitivity, floaters in eyes, disautonomia, gi problems, sob, high bp, high hr, really sick and flet that I was slowly dieing.
Now I finally have a dx due to my own persistance of doing research and knowing that there was a medical answer as to what was wrong with me. This was after seeing 14 MDs and a couple trips to the ER.
So as you can see this disease is all new to me. It is so unfortunate that we all have to deal with this ulgy process. I also wonder if I will ever get better or have to deal with this constant worse hangover ever feeling every day for the rest of my life.
How long before one starts to feel better after starting abx?
My next visit with LLMD he said that we will probalby srart art.
Any of your insights are helpful as this site has given me a tremendous amount of info and assisted me in finding my dx.
Doom
Posted by csperanza (Member # 9613) on :
i found the doxy to be very hard on my stomach, lots of nausea. i had to take it with food and watch my diet, not take it before lying down, etc. major heartburn, too.
my llmd later put me on adoxa, which is another versin of doxy but i think has a coating to help minimize some of the stomach problems. maybe something like that can help if you have decent prescription coverage.
you should try using the search function because i bet there are a lot of older posts dealing with nausea.
good luck and hang in there, C
Posted by ESG (Member # 4816) on :
Are you taking your doxy with food and in the middle of eating: eat some, take the pills, eat some more: bury the doxy in the food as it goes through your stomach.
You might have started off slowly - 1 doxy for 2 days, then 2 doxy, ect. and you can go back and start all over again. You can also stop for a day, get some rest, start again slowly.
I take 2 doxy in AM and 2 in PM, and no meds at lunch at all so my stomach can recuperate (I take my vitamnins at lunch): that made a big difference for me, taking the doxy or any antibiotics only in AM & PM.
Some foods will still leave me feeling nauseous and things what will coat your stomach help: meat, cheese, peanut butter, thick soups. Not fruit or salads.
People do cut back on their meds when they are herxing badly so they can give their body a rest - I also stop meds when I feel sick, i.e. flu or bad cold, and then start up again after a few days.
There is Minocin, a cousin of doxy, which does not cause stomach upset: it works great for my daughter. I did not like how I felt on it & went back to doxy.
We have lots of ginger in this house - chewing on dried ginger helps a lot with nausea!
Hope this helps until others chime in.
ESG
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Remember to drink lots of water with doxy, especially when you take it.
Also don't lay down for at least an hour following taking doxy.
Hope this helps.
Geneal
Posted by Doomer (Member # 11013) on :
I have been taking my doxy 200mg capsules with breakfast at 8am and then again with dinner at 6:30pm. I have been very diligent about taking the doxy in the middle of the meal when there is food in my stomach. I drink lots of water thoughout the day and have noticed the reflux issue with doxy.
I still can't figure out if the nausea is from doxy or if it is a herx. I had profound nausea months prior to my dx when I was really sick causing a 30lb wt loss in 12 weeks. I was so sick, thought I was dieing.
I appreciate all of the info provided. Perhaps I will call LLMD on Monday if still persisting and ask for something different? I'm at the beginning of treatment and just don't know what to expect.
Posted by ESG (Member # 4816) on :
I found that drinking a lot of liquids with the meals/pills caused the reflux/nausea to worsen.
I now drink less (the minimal amount to swallow the pills & a little at the end of the meal) when I eat & take my pills, then drink more fluids later - the nausea lessened when I figured that out.
Eating small meals helps too. Digestive enzymes might be something to consider - I take some with my 'heavier' meals.
ESG
Posted by CaliforniaLyme (Member # 7136) on :
Usually SIDE EFFECT not Herx!!!!
If you eat starchy foods with dosage that is what helped me- otherwise I would puke!! Yuck!! Salads and fruit would not work- had to be oatmealy, potatoey, starchy bready stuff!!!! (To soak up bile*)!>? I dunno!!!) But Doxy= nausea without that for me!!! BIG time. Yuck@!@!