seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I learned quickly combination therapy is a bit harder than mono therapy. I got to the point where I was taking 1,000 mg of Biaxin daily for 40 days w/o too much herxing.
Well, I decided to add 1,000 mg of Ceftin to the mix yesterday. Ouch. I feel horrible. Terrible head pressure, lot of anxiety, fatigue, heavy legs, left side of face felt kind of weak, right leg vibrating a bit and more. I woke up with my lungs very tight and it took 2 hrs to breate more freely.
MY eyes feel a lot of pressure and I felt off balance badly. I could barely see straight.
I handled Ceftin OK standalone at full dose before.
This is going to be hard I can tell. I dread every pill now. I'm trying to detox using charcoal, pysillium husk, lime water, lots of water, Yogi detox tea, green tea, etc. It didn't work much.
I don't feel like another ER trip. These are only at 1,000 mg doses daily. What would IV or higher doses do to me? Either I'm a wimp or have some issues with meds. It's kind of demoraiizing. I'm trying hard to push and hopefully get a few gains long-term. I'm desperate for improvement and better stamina.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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Abxnomore
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posted
Epson salt baths help to get out toxins. Put at least 2 cup in a hot bath for about 20 minutes and do it as often as you like. It's a great muscle relaxer, too.
It can be tough but hopefully it will subside. It usually goes in cycles but everyone is different. At least you know there's some die off taking place. That's a good thing.
Are you planning on adding a cyst buster to the mix at some point?
Posts: 5191 | From Lyme Zone | Registered: Jan 2009
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posted
Now THAT sounds like a real herx! So maybe the new combo is killing lyme in large amounts! That would be good news.
If so, the symptoms should subside in a few days. I think I've read where others worked in new abx slowly to reduce the herxing.
I'm on 4 abx, after a short while the herxing was down to nothing.
Good luck,
James
Posts: 872 | From New York City | Registered: Jun 2008
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Abxnomore, I tried an epsom salt bath before and felt like I was going to die. It set me back well over a month. I got very ill.
Yes, I plan on a cyst buster soon, but not with these two drugs. My LLMD doesn't Rx more than 2 drugs at one time ever. Could I even handle this anyway? lol.
I hope you're right JamesNYC. I hope the suffering leads to some payoff later. It's so weird my left side of my body always feels weak when this happens. It's scary. I've been through a full cardiac work-up 2x and it was clean.
Regardless, it's scary as hell when this happens. I hate this disease so much. It's not fair any of us need to endure such misery.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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Ocean
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posted
Seek,
Wow! An epsom salt bath??? I've had a few where I felt 'weird', but nothing that lasted more than a few hours.
I'm glad the 2 abx seem to be giving you a herx! I just finished a herx from a cold laser treatment last week and I was supposed to rife today and chickened out. It's been nice being able to walk around without a fever and aches!
seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I had no problem herxing in the past. In fact, I herxed every time I took Biaxin for 5 days before. It just got to the point where nothing major was happening on it at 1,000 mg.
I do feel like I made a teeny bit of progress on Biaxin (only drug really). I hope I don't set myself back doing combo therapy. It's kind of scary.
A few others here had horrid reactions to Epsom Salt baths - perhaps a sulfur intolerance?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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Abxnomore
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posted
It could be Methylation problems and inability to detox properly or even problems with Neurally Mediated Hypotension induced by the hot water?
Posts: 5191 | From Lyme Zone | Registered: Jan 2009
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I haven't been able to take Ceftin yet - the herx is unbelievable and lasts for days and days.
After two weeks of feeling like I was dying, my LLMD took me off it.
He said maybe we'll try it when I get stronger.
You're not a wimp!!!
Ceftin is a strong med - if you don't feel better in a few days, I think you should call your dr.
I know that you don't want to waste any time and you want to get better ASAP, but a herx that is too strong or lasts too long can set you back even further.
I hope you feel better soon.
-------------------- Take care -kelly --------------- Posts: 330 | From TX | Registered: Mar 2009
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posted
Seek, try to stick with it, you are killing two different forms of the borrelia, that's probably why it's different than mono-therapy with either drug alone.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Don't worry about the left-sided weakness. The muscle weakness has a neurological cause. In other words, the lyme hits the nerves which serve the muscles, so the muscles feel weak, but they aren't really.
You know yourself that a muscle is not going to bam get weak in one day.
Same as when someone wakes up with bells palsy on one side of their face. (I had a mild case on both sides of face. Lasted 3 1/2 years. That is called "facial drooping" in the lyme literature. One day, it went away.)
Lyme is basically a neurological illness, and muscle weakness was my major symptom for years. All gone now!
Don't worry about the heart, etc. as a cause.
Hope you feel better very soon. My herx was 3 days feeling bad and 4 days feeling half bad when I was first put on 2 antibiotics (one of them flagyl).
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
Seek,
Duh! Yes...I forgot about the sulfate aspect...I'm sure that's probably it!
It's interesting because my brother was on Biaxin for 3 months and has just added Ceftin (Biaxin dose was 1000 mg/day, not sure about Ceftin)...we'll see how he does!
posted
Seekhelp do you think you might be severely low on magnesium? I wonder because you had that reaction to the salt bath. It might be a good idea to try taking a magnesium supplement slowly and see what happens. If you've been low on it for so long then finally get a large dose your body and immune system would start working to kill the lyme(and whatever else) a lot better so that might've been what happened there. Just a thought.
Posts: 499 | From Indiana | Registered: Oct 2007
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Pryorka, all RBC Mg blood tests were high normal. Regardless, I supplement with 800-1,200 mtg of Mg Glycinate from Carlson Labs daily.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
dear seek--i used to die after epson salt bath. I felt like my adrenals crashed afterward... Found I was extremely low on adrenal hormone aldosterone. I'm on .1 mg Florinef. Has helped immensely. I also take isocort for adrenals. I still herx bad on meds, but with adrenal support, i can handle it. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. Helped me with figuring out adrenals.
Posts: 68 | From chicago, illinois | Registered: Jul 2009
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sutherngrl
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posted
I also had horrid reactions to epsom salt baths. I now can do them, if the water is only slightly warm with only about 1/2 cup of epsom salt. Don't know if that does anything or not. I hardly ever do them, but sometimes just soaking in the warm bath feels good.
Good luck on your added med!
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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My story is exaxtly the same...9 months in on Biaxin two herxes one mild one extreme but both early on. Just added Zith in June and within 24 hours it was like i went back in time to before tx so much stuff worsened and some new symptoms crept in.. Almost everyday since has been like this..although today i'm doing pretty good.
Dave
-------------------- On my journey to wellness - One day at a time. Posts: 989 | From NJ | Registered: Sep 2008
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ping
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6974
posted
quote:Originally posted by seekhelp: Yes, I plan on a cyst buster soon, but not with these two drugs. My LLMD doesn't Rx more than 2 drugs at one time ever. Could I even handle this anyway? lol.
Oh seek, thank God and greyhound for your LLMD's good sense! Careful with too many supps, but take that acidophilus like crazy! So glad to hear the good news!
ping "We are more than containers for Lyme"
-------------------- ping "We are more than containers for Lyme" Posts: 1302 | From Back in TX again | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Be careful about warm/hot baths. The temperature tends to promote more blood circulation, which means the abx can better get into your tissues, thereby actually promoting more herx.
Posts: 727 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2006
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Burrascano on testing blood for magnesium levels:
"Magnesium deficiency is very often present and quite severe. Hyperreflexia, muscle twitches, myocardial irritability, poor stamina and recurrent tight muscle spasms are clues to this deficiency. Magnesium is predominantly an intracellular ion, so blood level testing is of little value.
Oral preparations are acceptable for maintenance, but those with severe deficiencies need additional, parenteral dosing: 1 gram IV or IM at least once a week until neuromuscular irritability has cleared." (p.7 of the Guidelines)
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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I'm trying to detox using charcoal, pysillium husk, lime water, lots of water, Yogi detox tea, green tea, etc. It didn't work much. 
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