I have only been on the doxy for about 3 weeks now, but last week I definatly saw a lifting of symptoms for a few days after maybe a bad herx.
I really thought things were getting better and now this week everything is returning a a vengance!!
Is this normal? Last tuesday I felt better than I have in a year.
Also is lymph node pain a side effect of doxy?? My lymph nodes on my ribs a nd groin have had shooting pain off and on for days
Posted by Tammy N. (Member # 26835) on :
It's normal for symptoms to wax and wane. It's especially difficult for women who have their monthly cycles.
It also has to do with the life cycle of the spirochete.
Here's a section from Dr. B's guidelines that explains it well:
It has been observed that symptoms will flare in cycles every four weeks. It is thought that this reflects the organism�s cell cycle, with the growth phase occurring once per month (intermittent growth is common in Borrelia species). As antibiotics will only kill bacteria during their growth phase, therapy is designed to bracket at least one whole generation cycle. This is why the minimum treatment duration should be at least four weeks. If the antibiotics are working, over time these flares will lessen in severity and duration. The very occurrence of ongoing monthly cycles indicates that living organisms are still present and that antibiotics should be continued.
With treatment, these monthly symptom flares are exaggerated and presumably represent recurrent Herxheimer-like reactions as Bb enters its vulnerable growth phase and then are lysed. For unknown reasons, the worst occurs at the fourth week of treatment. Observation suggest that the more severe this reaction, the higher the germ load, and the more ill the patient. In those with long-standing highly symptomatic disease who are on I.V. therapy, the week-four flare can be very severe, similar to a serum sickness reaction, and be associated with transient leucopenia and/or elevations in liver enzymes. If this happens, decrease the dose temporarily, or interrupt treatment for several days, then resume with a lower dose. If you are able to continue or resume therapy, then patients continue to improve. Those whose treatment is stopped and not restarted at this point usually will need retreatment in the future due to ongoing or recurrent symptoms because the infection was not eradicated.
Hang in there! Hope you get back to feeling better quickly! Tammy
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Sounds pretty normal! Hang in there!
Bartonella can cause lymph pain. Were you tested for that?
Posted by surfnjm (Member # 29296) on :
I was tested for Bart, but will not get my results until next week. I just want it to go away
Posted by lyme in Putnam (Member # 11561) on :