posted
So I added Bactrim to my Tindamax last night. Have been on the Tindy for a few weeks. Felt better on teh Tindy than I did before, but nothing major yet and no herx. Last night I took a Bactrim DS and didn't sleep AT ALL. Took the second one today and feel like I'm dying. Sore, woosy, stinging eyes, face pain, some of the speech stuff I've dealt with in past but not for a while. This is a herx and not a reaction, right?? Anyone have experience with Bactrim?
Posts: 342 | From Philadelphia | Registered: Dec 2011
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
This site tells you what to look out for with Bactrim:
I took Bactrim DS for 11 months. Plus I pulsed artemesinin. That's how I got rid of babesiosis.
The only thing I remember happening is that the Bactrim brought out a terrible babs flare every week like clockwork.
It would start at about 7 p.m. on Friday night and not lift until 7 p.m. Sunday night. It was totally horrible. I just lay there. I didn't move, talk, eat, go to the bathroom, drink, etc. I went in and out of consciousness.
I also had a complete feeling of doom. During the babs flare, I believed that I would always feel this way, would not ever get better, etc. It was totally awful.
I got this shortly after starting the Bactrim. When I went to my lyme doc the next month, I told him about these episodes. He said that babs has a 7-day cycle and that this is what I was experiencing. He called these episodes "flares."
When he added the art, the flares went down to nearly nothing the first week.
Just be sure you don't have mouth sores or any rash. I am sure the speech problems could not be a reaction to the Bactrim. So, it seems like the Bactrim is really hitting something for you.
My doc says Bactrim will hit babs and bart. So, you may be killing a lot of germs right now. I suggest you take the Alka Seltzer Gold detox remedy that Dr. H. of NY suggests. Here it is:
Herxheimer reaction (from 2010 Lyme Conference, Dr. H.):
Take-home message: DETOXIFY YOUR LYME PATIENTS!
It does NOT matter what antibiotic you give people, they will NOT get better without detoxification
For Herxheimer reactions: 2 Alka-Selzer Gold (no aluminum) in 8 ounces of water with lemon or lime followed by 6-8 capsules of glutathione or 1500 mg of oral liposomal glutathione.
70% will feel better in hours
On the topic of water: Dilution is the solution to pollution. This suggests that in order to help our bodies detoxify, we must drink more water
Also, drink water with lemons squeezed into it all day long. Per my doc, lemons are natural cleansers of the body and water flushes everything out. Make it your only drink. That's what I did throughout lyme treatment. I believe that is why I didn't have horrible herx reactions.
Let us know how it goes.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
I think it is probably a herx because I experienced pretty much the same symptoms with zith and rifampin on week four of taking this combo. That is just my personal opinion though. I am still very new to all of this and trying to learn.
Posts: 138 | From US Virgin Islands | Registered: May 2012
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posted
TF you describe my babs sx exactly!! The doom is brutal as is the air hunger. I've never had any drenching night sweats though I do wake up feeling HOT every single night.
I am so glad to hear bactrim cleared babs for you. I'm starting to get really depressed about this so that's great news!
Posts: 342 | From Philadelphia | Registered: Dec 2011
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Jessie, I agree that this is great news! Makes me happy!
So, if you are not already taking artemesinin, next time you talk to your doctor, ask about adding it in.
Keep track of these flares on the calendar. Then, take the art on the days you expect the flares. My doc said to encompass the flare with the art. So, I started taking it on Friday morning and finished taking it Sunday night.
I took it on an empty stomach twice per day. Totally got rid of the doom! All I got once we added the art was a need to sleep and a 6 hour flare on a Saturday! (Nothing happened on Friday night thanks to the art, and nothing on Sunday. So, immediately my sick time was reduced from 48 hours to just 6 hours!)
The flare was so mild, it was like nothing. Still, I kept track of it. Even when it jumped to every 14 days. Even when it was just an overwhelming need to sleep one afternoon while I was driving. (I had to pull over into a parking lot and sleep in the back seat. Hubby woke me in 15 minutes, and we went into the theatre and watched a movie. I was fine.)
The way my doc knew the babs was gone was when I reported that I didn't get ANY kind of flare symptoms anymore.
So, keep track of it all on the calendar. Make some notes also. Mark whatever day this sick period started, and the time. Then, mark when it ended. Then, make a note to look for it again 7 days from the start of the last flare.
My doc says babs has a 7-day cycle and a 14-day cycle. So, that's when it flares. Burrascano says it flares rapidly every 4 to 6 days. My babs was microti. It did the 7-day and later the 14-day cycle.
I am so, so happy for you! These diseases are wild, that's all I can say. Others have also had the feeling of doom.
Whenever I post about the doom, others will always say they got that also. So, you are NOT doomed. In fact, you are getting better. Praise God!
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
One more thing, do you think you can herx within a few hrs of taking bactrim? Also, how long before you felt confident you were seeing improvement?
Posts: 342 | From Philadelphia | Registered: Dec 2011
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
As soon as we added the artemesinin, I had great improvement. I was practically normal after that. (I was already rid of lyme and bart, so the babs was the last infection I had.)
I don't know how quickly a person can herx on Bactrim. How long were you on the Tindamax when this happened? Was it time for a babs flare anyway or a lyme flare (every 28 days or so)?
This could have happened for a different reason--not because of one dose of Bactrim. So, think about it.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
I started herxing Bart right away when I started Septra (same thing as Bactrim). It was the same day for me too.
Posts: 845 | From Northeast | Registered: May 2011
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Lymedin2010
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 34322
posted
I too took Bactrim (DS) with the hope that it would be the silver bullet.
Instead of getting better though, I gradually got weaker & weaker. As week 4 of Bactrim approached I would get progressively tired.
I went from getting really tired in a matter of 5-6 hrs, the next day 3-4 hrs, next day 1-2 hrs, then 1hr, 30 min, & then 5-15 min. Too tired to carry my body weight.
LLMD did not think I should continue. Who knows, maybe it was working with major die off for my body to contend with. I never had such a reaction to an ABX as with Bactrim. I take most ABX as if they are sugar pills, with no major consistent or identifiable herxing.
Only daily migratory pains and disturbances set the tone for the past few months.
Posts: 2087 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2011
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