Wanted to say thanks for the encouragement to call my LLMD about the tendon pain while on levaquin.
I did - and it was tendonitis. Good call.
So I'm off the levaquin, and on doxy temporarily.
It's been over a year since I've been on doxy, and back then I couldn't tolerate 400 mg daily - so we'll see how it goes this time.
Thanks again, everyone!
Posted by Beverly (Member # 1271) on :
So sorry it ended up to be tendonitis, but I am glad you found out what it was. That kind of pain really stinks! I found pain meds didn't touch it much, but Lidocaine patches did help some.
I hope you have something that helps with the pain, feel better soon. Posted by Lisianthus (Member # 6631) on :
From my own experiences, and my families.....
Once you change a med or go back to it.... WE have found that you have to start slow and ramp up again.
My husband & son found this out recently....
My son (for example) was up to 400mg of Doxy a day then changed to Zithro & Malerone for awhile. Then went back to Doxy, and he thought he could start out at the 400mg again...... Oh no, bad mistake, he felt like he was gonna die! And he was doing fine on that 400mg a day with no problem.
He then (after that intial dose of 400mg) went down to 100mg a day and worked back up to 400mg a day. It took him a few months to work back up to that dose. But everyone is different, and has a different bacterial load.
Just start slow!
Good luck, Lisi
Posted by cactus (Member # 7347) on :
Beverly, you are so right the pain meds just don't touch it. I'm icing it, and gettin' through. Just glad to know what it is, mostly.
Oh, Lisi, thanks for sharing your family's experience! I never did make it up to 400 mg for any length of time, finally switched to other abx entirely.
Was hoping that maybe my bacterial load is lower now, so I could tolerate 400 mg... After reading your post, I'm going to ramp it up slowly instead of jumping right in. Thanks for the warning!
Posted by lymeladyinNY (Member # 10235) on :
Hi cactus - hope you're feeling better soon. I'm glad we could be of help.
After reading some of the posts I, too, have decided to go off levaquin pending a talk with my LLMD on Monday.
I now have tendon pain in my elbows as well as the backs of my feet.
My husband wants me to try something I've never heard of to combat the cyst form of Lyme - tindamax. I'll talk to my LLMD about it next time I see her Feb. 19th.
Keep up the good fight!
Posted by Jill E. (Member # 9121) on :
Cactus,
My poor Achilles Tendons send their sympathies to your tendons - but I'm glad you caught it before it progressed.
I'm glad you're icing - I have found that icing helps my Achilles Tendons more than anything, although I did have to go on Advil for a couple of weeks (with my LLMD's blessing) and I use some homeopathic cream.
But another Levaquin Lyme pal of mine and I both agree that icing has helped the tendonitis more than anything.
Take care, Jill
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Thanks for updating us. I'm happy you called your LLMD. Take it easy on the tendons that are inflamed.
You might want to try Bromelain. It's an anti-inflammatory supplement. Nothing that's a fast pain reliever, but might just reduce things.
Posted by cactus (Member # 7347) on :
Hi all, thanks for the good tendon wishes.
Lymelady - I'm sorry to hear your tendons are acting up more - ouch. I pulse tindamax once monthly. Have you used Flagyl? My reaction is somewhat similar.
Jill and Aniek - I've been taking ultracet for pain, but since it's not working have switched over to advil for the anti-inflammatory effect.
Aniek, I'll check into Bromelain (isn't that one of the beneficial components in pineapple? I think I may actually have here somewhere.)
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