after being diagnosed about 9 weeks ago, I immediately started 100mg of doxycycline twice daily.
after three days, I began to feely noticeably better. I am now in my eighth week of doxycillin and appear to be going down more than up.
I have flu like aches and pains all over, fatigue, esp. in the calfs and feet. very light tingling in parts of the face, burining in the sinuses, heavy eyelids and am unusually tired.
this is really beginning to effect my job as a police officer and an athlete.
Any suggestions or opinions from my friends out there would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Matthew
Posted by lymebytes (Member # 11830) on :
You are likely herxing - worsening of symptoms of while in treatment.
I hope you are seeing a Lyme literate Md..this is important for co-infection diagnosis, (other diseases ticks carry) they also must be treated.
Take care.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
hi matthew,
you will get much worse and hit rock bottom before you start getting better.....
THAT'S GOOD; SPIROCHETES IN YOUR BODY ARE BEING KILLED BY THE ANTIBIOTICS you are taking; but it should be 300 - 400 mg DAILY! ***********************************************
please print this off and read/reread until you get a better grasp of things explained by retired llmd, dr. burrascano's ...
his 05 lyme treatment guidelines prepared for ILADS, intl lyme associated disease society ... our LLMDS!!!
our good friend, geneal, got lyme from katrina too; she and all of her family; hubby and kids!!
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Hi Matthew, you are on a very low dose of doxy. It sounds like it is working some, but you should be seeing some slow improvement between the herxes. The normal dose of doxy for Lyme is 300-600 mg.
I would suggest reading the Dr. B guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease at www.ilads.org. (the link is at the end of bettyg's post)
Posted by nancyb (Member # 10154) on :
In my experience with both my daughters, they improved with initial treatment but started going downhill. This was not herxing.
The reason for their decline was Bartonella. Bartonella is a serious infection and is very unrecognized. I believe that untreated Bart infections are the reason so many aren't getting better.
Both daughters improved on Bart treatment and one has been off abx for 5 months and is 100% better and the other is 90% improved after 5 months of treatment.
Just something to think about.
Nancy
Posted by Boomerang (Member # 7979) on :
Nancy, I'm so happy for your daughters! Would you mind sharing which bart treatment worked for your daughters?
Thanks!
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hi Matthew,
How are things in my old home town?
Sorry you arr having difficulties, but the timing is about right for a flare. I remember that Doxy always made me feel very tired.
Hang in there, and if this doesn't let up soon, please contact your doc, OK?
My best, M
Posted by Boomerang (Member # 7979) on :
Thanks for the PM, Nancy!
Matthew, I hope that you are feeling better soon..
Posted by nancyb (Member # 10154) on :
quote:Originally posted by Boomerang: Thanks for the PM, Nancy!
My pleasure, Boomerang - it's always great to share good news. Posted by Mathias (Member # 5298) on :
It is very common to lose faith and question things during a herx.
Chart your symptoms daily on a scale of 1-10. Look for small improvements in just a few symptoms. That will give you insight into whether or not the therapy is working.
200 mg is a low dose of doxy, it will only inhibit the Bb. Your immune system will have to clear it and that is not the easiest thing to do.
Hang in there.
Posted by hcconn22 (Member # 5263) on :
I might suspect or rule out co-infections as others have noted.
babesia bartonolla etc.
Also may need to add a cyst buster like Bixan or Plaqunal to the mix of antibiotics. Most have not gotten well by a single abx therapy.
Please look at the ILADS treatment guidelines.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Dear Matthew,
Help is close by!
What you are going through is normal and discouraging.
One of the hardest things to learn with this disease and co-infections is that
When you take antibiotics you don't feel better.
You feel worse.
Hard to deal with when all of your life when you were ill, they gave you medicines.
Then Presto! Illness gone. All better.
The 200mg a day really isn't enough to cross the blood brain barrier.
I herxed for 5 weeks straight on 200mg of doxy.
Really, really ill.
Wasn't until my LLMD increased the dose (yes initially felt worse) that I started to
Notice little things getting better.
Call me anytime.
Hang in there. End of the month is coming real soon.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Matthew, did you see the replies to your question??
Posted by matthew (Member # 16072) on :
Thanks to all of you for your insight and concern.
It means a great deal to be part of a community that actually understands rather than doubts!
Thanks again, Matt
Posted by nancyb (Member # 10154) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)