posted
So when I was first bitten, it took about 4-5 months for symptoms to become noticeable. Now, I've stopped treatment and it again took 4-5 months for sx to get a head of steam, so to speak. Does this extended time it takes for symptoms to reemerge indicate anything?
[ 09-08-2012, 07:59 PM: Message edited by: thomasx ]
Posts: 386 | From Southeastern PA | Registered: Oct 2007
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Yes, I believe it means that lyme disease is your only problem.
If you also had coinfections, you would relapse a lot sooner. Even after 2 years of lyme treatment (however, without cystbusters). I never could go more than 2 weeks off antibiotics without relapsing. After 2 weeks, I was just as sick as I was before starting lyme treatment at all. That is the clue to an untreated coinfection.
Lyme has a long reproductive cycle--28 days. So, it takes more than a month to relapse with lyme--usually a few months.
On the other hand, the coinfections reproduce much more rapidly--there is a one week cycle for babesiosis, for example, per my lyme doctor. I certainly experienced that cycle when he started treating me for babs.
I think bart is even quicker than that.
It probably also indicates that your immune system is able to fight the lyme for a few months before getting overwhelmed.
So, all in all, I would say that you are likely not going to have to treat lyme much longer in order to get rid of it. You probably just need agressive lyme treatment for a little while.
When I got to my final lyme doctor, he treated my lyme for just 2 months. He moved on to treating the coinfections in the second month. That's all I needed to get rid of my lyme totally.
Also, it may be that you need to do the Burrascano exercise program (1 hour of weight lifting every other day). He says this is a necessity in order to clear lyme and prevent a relapse.
"Despite antibiotic treatments, patients will NOT return to normal unless they exercise, so therefore an aggressive rehab program is absolutely necessary. It is a fact that a properly executed exercise program can actually go beyond the antibiotics in helping to clear the symptoms and to maintain a remission." (page 31 of Burrascano Guidelines)
From page 26 of Burrascano:
lyme--"Likewise, if treatment is ended too soon, an initial period of well-being will gradually, over a few weeks, be replaced by a return of symptoms."
bart--"Rapid response to treatment changes- often symptoms improve within days after antibiotics are begun, but relapses occur also within days if medication is withdrawn early."
babs--"Symptoms cycle rapidly, with flares every four to six days."
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
Thanks TF. I think that my previous LLMD may have been a little too casual in my treatment. I never really had anything but some monotherapy with supplements. I want to more aggressively deal with this now.
I did have fairly predictable 4 week cycling, by the way.
Interestingly, my initial symptom set is replaying itself. This is exactly how I felt previously only at the outset.
[ 09-11-2012, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: thomasx ]
Posts: 386 | From Southeastern PA | Registered: Oct 2007
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beths
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
I was just off abx for 2 months and symptoms started coming back-however, my babs test was positive after being negative a few months ago.
I believe babs can re-emerge a few months down the road Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Jan 2009
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Well, if you were treated for babs, Burrascano says that it can reoccur, even years later:
"Babesia infections, even mild ones, may recur even after treatment and cause severe illness. This phenomenon has been reported to occur at any time, including up to several years after the initial infection!" (page 23)
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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