battled much longer and harder than I have, but I am so down and out and anxious today..and I
just dont know what to do..I am on day 11 of
Doxy 100mg 2x/day. My stomach is crampy,( I do take probiotics and have done an Epsom salt bath and am drinking detox teas) Im tired
and I feel soo anxious and irritable at the same time.. I feel like a crazy person..I have never
felt so awful in my life! I just want to get back to who I was before all this anxiety/scary
thoughts. I will have a week or two where I feel great and then bam a dark spell.. I go to
counseling, Im trying CBT, Im on an SSRI and an anti-anxiety , I am waiting for my damn Igenex
results so I have some tests to bring to Lyme Specialist that I need to find as well as the
money to cough up and pay for one..I just dont know what I am doing with this Lyme...or is it
even Lyme I had one reactive 41 IGM band on my Quest lab and the last time I got tested was 6 years prior and the doctor just said "i was
barely on the positive side" What if the Igenex test comes back with nothing..will I still be
screwed from treatment..sorry to ramble..I am just so fed up...
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
i understand...i just posted a similar post in general support i am so darn fed up with the whole thing also........apart from the fact of not feeling well.....all the politics, paperwork and general...whats coming next feeling....so i completley understand.....
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
I understand. I was a mad woman looking for answers
and I found them here. I was even madder when I
found out my doc dismissed me with having one band!
They run the Elisa and if positive they run a WB. Good Luck.
Posted by Jason21 (Member # 16393) on :
My stomach also bothered me when I first started doxy, but then again I took it on an empty stomach as recommended by the pharmacy medication info sheet. Big mistake!
I had to go off doxy for a while so I could eat. I then started taking it with my large meals, and it did not bother my stomach.
However, I was on doxy and zithromax for 5 months before I started to see a reduction in my LD symptoms.
I then switched to Biaxin and Flagyl and got about 80% better. A year later I am still working on that last 20%.
I have always been a pretty easygoing person, but LD caused me to have anxiety, rage, and insomnia. SSRIs and sleeping meds (Ambien, Rozerem, etc.) made me worse.
You might want to try Buspar. It helped me a little with the anxiety.
Hang in there!
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Breath a deep breath ... and breath in slowly.
Now exhale.
One more time.
I know you think it sucks to be you right now.. but it WILL get better.
Lyme is a cruel disease.
It makes you THINK you are going to die.. and day after day you live with that fear and that trauma.
You decide at some point dying would be easier than living like this... so go ahead and take me.
Then it doesn't.
Then you FINALLY.. out of the blue.. have a good day.
Then a bad one follows.. putting you deeper in despair.
Some may call it the great imitator...
I think it is more like a roller coaster ride in a haunted house.
Hang in there.
It WILL get better.
I promise.
Posted by canefan17 (Member # 22149) on :
You're just herxing. I had similar reactions when starting doxy. and when upping the dosage after 2 weeks.
It's all worth it. I promise.
And this i coming from somebody in month 3 of treatment. I start flagyl tomorrow : )
I'm sure I'll be on here complaining in no time. haha
Posted by mixxster (Member # 22765) on :
Sounds like you will have to treat Bartonella. This is the scariest co-infection and is the one that causes the most anxiety, and the most neurological and emotional problems in Lyme patients.
I will tell you I never herxed on Doxy, I just don't think the stuff is very powerful on its own, in fact I don't think I've ever herxed on any treatment so far, don't know why. (though haven't done any cyst busting) But I did get pretty nauseous on doxy as my stomach started adjusting.
I'm 6 months into treatment. But I've been where you're coming from and still am not sure what to make of the test results, I too only have band 41 positive. I've been through the bart treatment and now my anxiety and other issues feel much more normal.
Bart and Lyme can cause some serious treatment resistant depression. SSRIs and mood stabilizers never did much for me. Doxy(for Lyme) and Levoquin(for Bart) were the absolute best neurological treatment I've ever had.
I do still take a small dose of Klonopin and it has helped more than anything for the anxiety.
You have a long road ahead, but it is a road of improvement, enlightenment, and understanding.
I still have the babesia road to travel, I still have chronic fatigue to deal with, but hope is the fuel that will carry you through. Please don't lose it.
Posted by jennie46 (Member # 20953) on :
I am so sorry you are going through this.
I too am feeling the same. I am into 4 months of ABX and think I cannot make it. I am dealing with yeast so early in my treatment that I don't know what to do.
I wish this nightmare could end for all of us.
Jen
Posted by Nicole_Denise (Member # 20620) on :
Hi mel,
Only having this for a short time could make it harder. I know, before I got diagnosed, I had trained myself to ignore my symptoms, and to accept them as my new normal.
Now, I can hardly remember what it was like to be healthy, so I don't miss it as much.
Also- I agree with everyone who has mentioned Bartonella. Bartonella gave me horrible emotional problems and anxiety. I also feel like a crazy person at time.
If you can afford the Lyme specialist, they will most likely rely more on a clinical diagnosis rather than the blood test- assuming the are ILADs trained.
Although Igenex is more reliable than other tests, not everyone tests positive. So if the test comes back negative, don't lose hope!
Nicole
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
Mel, sorry you've been forced to join the ranks here. Hang in there.
There are many peaks and valleys with lyme, but you're probably sick of cheery cliches by now.
But, seriously, I've been at this for a while now and it does get better. It's a bit of marathon and not the 100M dash.
Once you get into your LLMD and get on the right protocol, it will be easier to feel positive.
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