posted
My daughter contracted Lyme very recently, within a week and a half, and has just started on a 21-day course of amoxicillin. The tricky part: she discovered she is pregnant almost at the same time. We have googled "first trimester Lyme disease" and the results are a little scary. Does anyone have any info or experience with early pregnancy and very early-caught Lyme? Advice? Hopeful news? Straight talk?
Posts: 3 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Aug 2014
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Pregnancy & Lyme -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Every good LLMD will know the importance of magnesium for anyone with lyme. With pregnancy, it is even more important for many reasons but anything will need specific instructions, of course.
GINGER is also very important to help control nausea and inflammation - and also safe during pregnancy. It helps in many ways. If possible, a LL ND can also guide with support methods.
When considering herbal / nutritional / adjunct methods, because lyme is so very complex & unique, as are possible coinfections:
if at all possible - because each person & each case is different - it's best to consult with an ILADS-educated LL ND (lyme literate naturopathic doctor) (or similar) who has completed four years of post-graduate medical education in the field of herbal and nutritional medicine -
- and someone who is current with ILADS' research & presentations, past and present, and has completed the ILADS Physician Training Program (see: www.ilads.org )
so they really know all they can about the science of lyme . . . how lyme (& other TBD) act and what we can do about that in various ways.
Many LL NDs incorporate antibiotics (depending upon the licensing laws in their state). Some LLMDs and LL NDs have good working relationships.
When possible, it's great to have both a LLMD and LL ND and even better when they have a long-standing professional relationship.
Herbal Safety considerations & reference books; etc.
Links to many articles and books by holistic-minded LL doctors of various degrees who all have this basic approach in common:
Understanding of the importance of addressing the infection(s) fully head-on with specific measures from all corners of medicine;
knowing which supplements have direct impact, which are only support and which are both.
You can compare and contrast many approaches with links to articles, books, methods . . .
BODY WORK methods / links (and why anyone who works on your spine MUST be LL to the degree they at least know to never suddenly twist neck or spine. Never. Ever. And that we should never be advised to do neck / head / shoulder stands.) -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Backing up, a 21-day course of amoxicillin is not going to be enough. As you will see in the first link above - and by additional searching, it will require constant treatment and monitoring throughout the pregnancy by an ILADS educated (and beyond) lyme literate doctor.
Combination treatment is usually required, assessing for other tick borne disease (TBD) that often travel with lyme and can also be passed along from mother.
Upon birth, cord blood is usually tested for lyme and other possible TBD (if the mother was dx with such).
With good care, many have had successful pregnancies and healthy babies. It just takes a very special protocol. Sometimes, symptoms ease up during pregnancy but then can worsen after the birth so it's important to think ahead for domestic / practical support at that time, too, and even beyond that.
Best of luck to your daughter as she works through the information and decisions. I hope she can find a good LLMD to guide her - and connect with other moms who have been in similar positions. -
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Sammi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 110
posted
Congratulations on the baby!
Three weeks is not long enough treatment. You need to be sure your daughter is on the proper antibiotic, many non-Lyme doctors undertreat. I recommend checking her dose against Dr. Burracano's Treatment Guidelines at http://www.ilads.org/lyme/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf Antibiotics and dosages are listed starting on page 18. He includes dosages for pregnancy. Lyme typically needs stronger treatment than many other infections.
Your daughter needs to be evaluated for all the co-infections. It is very important that she see a knowledgeable doctor as soon as possible. You can ask for doctor recommendations in the "Seeking A Doctor" section. Lyme doctors are often booked. I suggest when she calls for an appointment that she lets the staff know she is pregnant.
Tick-borne diseases can be transmitted through pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is important to learn as much as you can. Someone suggested having the baby's cord blood tested at birth. You can get the kit for this at IgeneX Lab in Palo Alto, CA. Realize the tests are not 100% reliable.
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