posted
Lyme & coinfection treatment ongoing 8 months and physically feeling better but not mentally. Motivation is totally gone. Falling into a rut. Already take an antidepressant. Do the neuro symptoms take longer to improve? Can they get worse during treatment? Can the meds combination add to or cause depression?
taking Minocycline, plaquenil, azithromycin, rifampin lots of supplements and probiotics
Posts: 17 | From Maryland | Registered: Feb 2011
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nefferdun
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I wonder if you are missing an infection such as babesia. It is the only one you are not treating. I had no motivation but it is returning after 3 + months treating babesia.
Today I cleaned out my cabinets. Before I had no motivation to even clean off the counter.
Babesia also sucked up all my energy which makes wanting to do anything impossible. It affects my mind making me so unable to focus that I just don't have the ability to follow a thought or plan anything. You need to be able to plan to have motivation to follow it.
It also made me very depressed and anxious. I felt despair more than weepiness. Very much like clinical depression.
I think all of the infections cause serious brain fog and emotional problems. Bartonella can also cause lack of motivation.
I tend to get sicker in the winter and come out of it in the spring. Each time I treat something I recover enough in the spring to half way enjoy the summer - only to get sick again in the fall.
I knock one infection down and have another one emerge. Hopefully I will eventually hit them all.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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sparkle7
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re: I tend to get sicker in the winter and come out of it in the spring. Each time I treat something I recover enough in the spring to half way enjoy the summer - only to get sick again in the fall
People with Fibromyalgia also get worse in spring & fall. Maybe it has to do with leaf mold or pollen?
---
Sometimes, you just have to rest & relax when you are ill. I know it's not fun but sometimes it's like that.
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TerryK
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I am normally a very motivated person but while I was on IM ceftriaxone I became very unmotivated. I *wanted* to be motivated but just could not force myself. I was depressed and fatigued more than with other abx as well. Ceftriaxone brought the most improvement in my condition. I hope that happens for you too.
Spark - have you checked into Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? I have no idea if this is part of your situation but seems like it might be worth considering.
Terry
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Lauralyme
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For a moment I thought I was writing this post.
I did feel better today after a FIR sauna and going to the gym
Maybe that could help you if you are able to exercise?
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
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jackie51
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Have you ever treated Babs?
Do you have other neuro symptoms besides the no motivation and depression?
I found that the Babs treatment was a Godsend for the motivation and depression. Though, my doc isn't sure if I really have Bart too, which I thought I had taken care of long ago.
Keep a record of these symptoms. If it has peaks and valleys with specific timeframes, this may help you identify the coinfection.
Posts: 1374 | From Crazy Town | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
I have very little motivation. It takes a lot for me to get going. I thought I was going crazy for the last 2.5 months.
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sutherngrl
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I have come a long way physically, but the mental stuff is still in full force. I have mild to moderate depression which results in no motivation; and I experience a good deal of anxiety.
Not sure what is causing it. I am calling it the aftermath of the trauma of being ill for so long.
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gwb
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What are you doing for detox? I was experiencing that too until I started doing more detox. A detox bath with epsom salt and hydrogen peroxide perks me up and at the same time relaxes me. Coffee enemas have also had the same effect on me.
When I don't feel motivated, if I'm physically feeling well, I will force myself to take a walk around a couple blocks. This is often invigorating and helps to get me motivated.
Just a couple of ideas to consider. Hope you start feeling more motivated soon.
posted
thanks all for the useful information, personal insights and suggestions. How to give more helpful information?
nefferdun - MDL did a full round of testing originally and was negative on everything but lyme but I have wondered along the way about a coinfection getting missed. I also had heavy bart confirmed by Fry labs. Two of my children have been confirmed by Fry for the protozoa FL 1953 and that wasn't looked for when I was tested so there could be that or something else out there untreated that's holding up my improvement? Your symptoms sound close to mine.
Sparkle 7 - i've thought about checking mold and pollen for effects and will see if anything changes with spring coming.
Terry K- you hit on it "want (desperate)to be motivated but just can't force myself....I hope it's the Bart/Rifampin battle going on and to get a glimmer of improvement as the bart gets treated would be a big deal.
Lauralyme - with the physical and mental aches and pains eased a little I've tried to start exercising despite my brain really fighting it. I've walked more than a mile several times in the past week. it just seems like a chore and there's no sense of satisfaction or accomplishment. I'll keep trying.
Apljack - see above thinking about babs, I have other neuro issues, poor memory and attention, cognitive function. I need to get motivation to track symptoms as I know they are changing, some better some worse.
mainelycute - do you think it's meds or meds killing bugs? has it gotten better over time?
sutherngrl - you described where I am almost exactly. I'm hoping when the physical heals to a certain point our bodies will have the energy to work on mental healing some.
gwb - I've stepped up my detox in the past weeks after the rifampin caused a multiweek herx killing bart and hope to not get that beaten down again. I've got detox pills two three times a day, detox drinks am and pm and 2-3 epsom salt baths a week.
I think forcing the walks while I'm physically capable is the next step.
thanks all, follow up appreciated.
you all convinced me to go for a walk!!
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sparkle7
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I always make sure to take a walk & get some sun everyday. Where I am is very sunny most of the year. It's great... I'm not overly depressed but my life is stressful. I try to meditate everyday, too. It helps.
My main symptoms are pain & insomnia. I think it's "normal" to feel anxiety from chronic pain. I try to "check my mind" when I'm going through it. It's the pain that is hard when dealing with a question of motivation - in my case.
It's hard to do much when I am in pain. I don't know if that your issue, flyingtreefort. Pain meds can help.
I heard the spring & fall thing at a Fibromyalgia support group at a hospital. They told us that there... Seems that's what they observed with Fibro patients.
Going for a walk really does help!
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Haley
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If there is one thing I've learned, it's that all of this medicine can really affect your mood. I have had times that I was very down and I noticed that my mood would get better when I backed off on the meds. It just comes with the territory. As others have said, Detox!
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nefferdun
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I don't have any pain so no fibromyalgia. There is no question I am affected by the winter gloom.
flyingtreefort (wonderful name), maybe your LLMD would agree to a combo like Bactrim DS and zithro because it is effective against bart and babesia (although it does not cure it).
Zithro will take care of the intercellular form of lyme. I think you have to take doxy or something for the blood form. You could pulse flagyl or tindamax for cysts.
When I was in the pits of babesia I could not walk 50 feet , much less a mile. It caused me to feel exhausted and breathless. But I did not experience this until it took over.
Bart can cause lack of motivation too. One of the most noticeable emotional symptoms was irritability with bart - explosive at times. But I also felt down although that could have been from the babesia.
I hope you had a good walk.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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Lymeorsomething
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Always check the hormones too. When any of the sex hormones tank, you can start losing motivation. Of course, lyme and co's play a big part here...
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 2062 | From CT | Registered: Jul 2008
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