posted
Dr. changed me from 400mg Doxy/day to 4000mg of Ammox/day on the 8th of November. About 10 days after I started the new abx I found myself in a good bit of pain.
My arms in particular hurt immensely, my legs on and off experienced the same pain. The muscle weakness continued and the fatigue was overwhelming.
I haven't ever experienced a "Herx" - how long should I expect these symptoms to persist? Should I expect to feel better? And will my neuro symptoms dissipate? (Muscle twitches, feelings of electricity through my body, muscle jerks?)
Thanks for any info. I appreciate your time in reading this post. Michelle
Posts: 64 | From Pittsburgh | Registered: Sep 2005
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NP40
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6711
posted
quote:Originally posted by prvbs31girl: Dr. changed me from 400mg Doxy/day to 4000mg of Ammox/day on the 8th of November. About 10 days after I started the new abx I found myself in a good bit of pain.
My arms in particular hurt immensely, my legs on and off experienced the same pain. The muscle weakness continued and the fatigue was overwhelming.
I haven't ever experienced a "Herx" - how long should I expect these symptoms to persist? Should I expect to feel better? And will my neuro symptoms dissipate? (Muscle twitches, feelings of electricity through my body, muscle jerks?)
Thanks for any info. I appreciate your time in reading this post. Michelle
Hey Michelle, very common for lymies to experience a herx anytime they change meds. When you herx, you know the abx is working. Over time, the herx's will get less severe. There's light at the end of the tunnel, it just takes a while to get there.
One day, those symptoms will disappear. Posts: 1632 | From Northern Wisconsin | Registered: Jan 2005
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char
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8315
posted
Hi Proverbs,
Sorry that you have had so much going on physically. Sounds like herx to me.
They say that when the "germ load" is high, you have strong herx. Then they become less severe as you continue on abx and get the germ load down.
For us the beginning was the hardest herx-wise, so hang in there! Also, talk to your dr. to see if it would be good to cut back abx a bit if it is too much to bear.
I go slower on the abx because I have my kids to take care of.
I have been on abx for 9mos and I am feeling miraculously well.
posted
Thanks for the encouragement. Gets tricky trying to figure all of this out. Still wondering why the pain in my arms tends to be worse in the evening (I guess from use?)
Or why I have overall muscle weakness that is worse at different points. Like this morning- no reason why- just got out of bed and took and long hot shower and now my arm and leg muscles are shakey.
The idea that this is a long road is no more encouraging than the abundance of symptoms that occurred following my Abx change. Endurance is the key I guess...
You sound just like me. You want to figure it all out and figure out what each little pain is. I've only been doing this for about 4 months and every day there seems to be something different.
One day I may have a lot of muscle pain, another day I may feel like I have the flu, one day I may feel less pain but so fatigued I can hardly walk from point A to point B.
Just like Char said, you have to be able to function during the day so there are times you may want to lower your abx until you get used to it. When I first started, I had to cut it in half and am now ramping up slowly on it.
I know it isn't encouraging when people say it is a long road but when you come to terms with it, it will help you tremendously.
You may not be out buying fields, working with your hands with wool and flax, and your candle may need to go out early at night (Proverbs 31) for a time. Encourage yourself that this too is for a season and in God's timing, you will begin to see the other side.
Michelle M
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7200
posted
Hi Michelle. The other Michelle here! I'm so sorry you are having a bad time. I had a similar regimen when I started treatment - Doxy first, at your dose, then Amoxy + Probenecid (keeps the amoxy in your system longer). Just as I had come to terms with the Doxy, the Amoxicillin really kicked my butt. It continued to do so, relentlessly, for 17 days before I got a breather.
During that dark time I may have posted something like "Help - Headache from Hel1!" -- in hopes someone would offer some encouragement that it really WOULD let up. Eventually, it did. To my amazement. It will for you, too. Today I take Amoxy every day, only with new stuff added in, and don't even notice it. So will you.
Hang in there. Don't be surprised at new symptoms that may crop up. If any get too scary or you're having too hard a time, call your doc - the point isn't to kill YOU, but the bacteria! And believe everyone when they say it will get better. It's hard to hang onto that at times, but it really does get better, little bits at a time!
Michelle
Posts: 3193 | From Northern California | Registered: Apr 2005
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