OMG I feel like my husband's rage..depression (!)..temper/aggitation...emotionless...and did I say depression is NEVER going to get any better?
Anyone else?
He's been off/on abx for a year and now has been rifing for about 3 months..
He is so up and down, and it is so hard to live with.
Has anyone actual improved of these symptoms?
Truly how much more can we take?
Help, Laura
Posted by polar blast (Member # 9142) on :
your husband has not in my opinion been treated long enough or on the right meds..you need an llmd that is hands on..he needs to know where the anger is coming from and to try to stop it before it gets bad..
Posted by ihatelyme (Member # 16309) on :
I got better. Part becaus of the treatment from abx. Othe part i tried to adjust my attitude, always distract myself to something else if I found myself slip into the darkness.
I like the chapter of healing spiritually written by Dr. Singlton. What he described is what i experienced. Medicine can be prescribed by doctors, Attitude can only be adjusted by ourselves.
Posted by laura miller (Member # 12703) on :
Tell me more. What do you mean the "right meds"?
He's been on: doxy, omnicef, zith, flagyl, rifampin and then rifing...
and what do you mean by a "hands-on LLMD"? when they are so far away? We have to dive 12 hours to get to ours.
Are there different meds for psych sx?
Thanks for your insight!
Posted by lymielauren28 (Member # 13742) on :
Hey Laura,
Yes! There is hope!! The psych synptoms were the worst for me - and I do mean the worst. I was the same way - so up and down I didn't know which way was what.
I've been on 600 mg of zith as well as malarone for five months now and it has made a tremendous difference. I felt so unstable for so long, and I finally feel like my old self again.
I too started rifing about three months ago, but have continued with my zith and malarone. Here's what I think:
I think rifing is excellent for Lyme disease and not so excellent for bartonella and babesia. Most psych symptoms are caused by bartonella and zith is excellent for that particular disease. Keep in mind too, that when herxing on Bart meds, you typically have a "psych" herx - all those mental symptoms get worse before getting better.
I was no fun to be around 80% of the time before treating bart...during treatment...uggh. I couldn't stand to be around myself, much less have anyone else around me, it was awful.
Has your husband been on a bart treatment for any extended period of time? You say on and off, so that leads me to believe he may have been jumping around from med to med and maybe not sticking to one thing long enough to see if it worked...
For me it took three months of zith day in and day out to knock a dent in the bart. The last two months I have finally gotten my old self back. It takes a while.
I also want to commend you for sticking by your husband and coming here and posting to try and help him. He needs your help, and he needs your support. I know it's hard, but try to remember that it's the disease and not the man you married. With a lot of hard work, time and effort, you will both get that man back!!
Talk to your doctor about aggressively treating Bart, and then do it. I garantee you in three to four months he'll be a different person.
Lauren
Posted by laura miller (Member # 12703) on :
Lauren,
Thank you for your ray of hope!
It is so difficult to be around him, he does not even seem like the old guy I know..so hopeless, sad, his face is so flat with no emotion...it is heart breaking for me to see him so down. I don't think he can see from the outside how sad he looks.
I also think he is herxing from the rifing he is doing. Yes he has only been on 1 drug for about 2 months the most.
Maybe he needs to take a break and go back to abx or zith for a while.
Thanks for your insight, every little bit of info helps! I think I'll go give him a hug.
Posted by Alexis (Member # 9656) on :
It does get better! It is really hard,though. My son was so depressed and angry and now it is like he is back. Your husband is fortunate to have a good wife.
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
Mine is still there to a certain degree, so I may not be the best person to get advice from, but then again I had severe psych symptoms of a genetic nature dating back to before I likely contracted TBD's.
Treating babesia helped mine some, but of course it could have simply been due to the Zithromax I took with the Mepron treating something else.
Note: I didn't have much of a reason to even suspect babesia before I got my positive FISH, but some people have false negatives.
Yes, these symptoms do get better with treatment, but sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right treatment for you, which can take lots of experimentation and trying new meds/things.
Posted by tickbattler (Member # 14873) on :
Hi laura, I would guess bart as well. You might consider asking your LLMD about levaquin. It has made a huge difference in my husband's mood and insomnia, which we attribute to bart.
I would also read Dr. Burrescano's slides from a recent lecture he gave. He talks about coinfections and treatment. Go to lymepa.org and you can find a copy of his slides.
Best of luck to you.
tickbattler
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
sertraline 100mg daily is what i take for my mood swings and really has helped.
i can tell if i forgot to take in morning!
yes, your hubby has been blessed with outstanding wife of compassion and understanding! give yourself a big hug! Posted by Radha (Member # 8464) on :
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
![[kiss]](graemlins/kissing.gif)