posted
My daughter is 6 and has had bad allergies/intolerances to foods, chemicals, meds, vaccinations etc since birth.
But.....I always noted it didn't happen on the first exposure. In her brief history (prior to recent Lyme Dx) she reacted to zithromax, keflex, augmentin, and amoxicillin.
She reacted with skin and behavioral changes for the most part, but with coughing and vomitting with amox and augmentin (these are also her signs of anaphylaxis.
They always occurred after 3 to 4 days worth of doses, not immediately as on would expect from an allergic reaction. I always assumed that it took a while to build up in her system.
Since she was just diagnosed, I now realize that these "reactions" were HERXES! That is so crazy.
Do you think that that is what they were?
Right now she is tolerating Zith OK, except the first day I was ready to pull the plug. She says it makes her feel better, though she could not define how and she had only been on it about 5 days or so. Have not started omnicef yet at all.
All this time her med reactions were probably herxes. Unbelievable.
-------------------- Tick bite in 2006, bullseye rash, treated with 2 rounds of 2 weeks of doxy. (once in 2006, once in 2009) Dx with chronic Lyme May 2011. LLMD April 2012, Treating with omnicef/zith Lots of supplements! Posts: 640 | From Connecticut | Registered: Apr 2011
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Catgirl
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posted
She could have a methylation issue. I think it's common with people who cannot tolerate chemicals (I have this). Has she been tested for MTHFR gene? It would explain why she can't tolerate the abx as well.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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poppy
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posted
This is a definite possibility. My first herx was after dentist prescribed zithromax, before I was diagnosed with lyme. He and I both assumed it was allergy to some of the dental material he used. More than a year later, it became apparent what the episodes of numbness and tingling were....a herx.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Just be careful. Interpreting things as herxes that are not herxes can do damage. And even if the reactions are herxes, maybe her MD can suggest ways to make them gentler at first, by pulling back on the dose, pulsing, or whatever regimen he or she uses. I think herxes can be tough on a 6 year-old's brain and nervous system.
I wish I had been more careful with my own child.Our LLMD kept saying that her psychosis was a herx, but actually tetracycline triggered lupus (with many positive lupus tests showing severe autoimmunity going on, most likely in the brain). I am not sure she has ever recovered fully from this tetracycline treatment, since she still has autoimmune problems. The LLMD kept her on the tetracycline way way too long, telling me that it was the "bugs being stirred up" and telling me to keep going w/the meds.
With your daughter's history, obviously something is awry with her immune system (and possibly her GI tract). It may be a complicated mystery that is not explainable by current medical science.
If something is making a child really sick, it is counterintuitive to continue it for long. Follow your gut feeling.
Posts: 108 | From US | Registered: Apr 2012
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Catgirl
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-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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TF
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Member # 14183
posted
Well, I am thrilled that she is saying she is feeling better!!! That is fabulous.
Some improvements ARE hard to put into words, especially if it is a general malaise that the medication is improving.
Looking back, we can often make discoveries. I can go along with the idea that in the past she had herxes to these meds since we are positive that she has lyme disease.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Razzle
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posted
Allergic reactions to medications seldom occur on the first exposure. It takes at least one exposure for the body to learn what the stuff is so it can make antibodies to react to it...
So that means it is common for allergic reactions to drugs to occur on second or third exposure, or even after taking a medication for weeks.
So I agree that it could potentially be dangerous to assume all these symptoms are from herxes.
Consult an allergist for testing - they can confirm whether or not she is reacting allergically to antibiotics or not...
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Haley
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posted
There are certain things that would indicate allergy such as - itching, swelling etc.
The first time I took meds (before I knew I had Lyme) I felt like a new person, fabulous. No herx just felt cured of whatever was ailing me. Of course, that didn't last. After about 1 1/2 years was a different experience. I took meds and felt very sick, what I now know was a herx.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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WPinVA
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posted
I don't know - is vomiting a Herx? I too would want to fully explore the allergy angle. My son is allergic to Zithromax and one of his reactions is vomiting.
If she reacts to Amox and Augmentin perhaps she has a penicillin allergy? And these allergies or sensitivities could still be caused or at least magnified by the Lyme.
Do you have an epi pen at home just in case?
Posts: 1737 | From Virginia | Registered: Aug 2011
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Lymedin2010
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posted
My 6 yr old daughter had taken Amoxi with no problems before Lyme and after a tick bite. No reaction.
2 years later she developed tummy aches and head aches and we had her back on Amoxi. After the 2nd week she developed hives, rashes, and joint swelling. I think it was a big die off.
We tested her for Amoxi thereafter and she tested fine with no presence of allergies. Again we tried Amoxi and this time within a week the rashes appeared.
We did not take any chances & her symptoms are gone with Zithro or Biaxin, and now she's on Cefdinir and Zithro. Her feet burning also went away as well and no allergy type reactions.
Posts: 2087 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2011
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Let me be clear....I will not be giving her augmentin or amox. Both of these caused more typical allergic reactions (coughing, hives, vomitting)
The others, especially zithromax gave her some skin flares (wouldn't call it hives) and made her more irritable. This was when she was a toddler.
I feel the allergy angle has been fully explored, she just seemed reactive to the others in a way that was different from amox and augmentin.
Therefore, I was wondering if those could have been more of a herx. She is tolerating the zithromax now and I started her on a half dose, up to full doese now, and haven't yet added the omnicef (will give it another week).
It's just amazing how things look different looking back.
-------------------- Tick bite in 2006, bullseye rash, treated with 2 rounds of 2 weeks of doxy. (once in 2006, once in 2009) Dx with chronic Lyme May 2011. LLMD April 2012, Treating with omnicef/zith Lots of supplements! Posts: 640 | From Connecticut | Registered: Apr 2011
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She is anaphylactic to peanut and egg and reactive to many other foods. She has also had some "unexplained" anaphylactic reactions (and vomitting plus loss of blood pressure/passing out are her key symptoms). Gave her the epi last August most recently.
Thanks again everyone for your input.
-------------------- Tick bite in 2006, bullseye rash, treated with 2 rounds of 2 weeks of doxy. (once in 2006, once in 2009) Dx with chronic Lyme May 2011. LLMD April 2012, Treating with omnicef/zith Lots of supplements! Posts: 640 | From Connecticut | Registered: Apr 2011
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posted
Just to be cautious, I would wait and hold off more than a week to be sure she's tolerating Zith, given her reactions in the past. I would wait a month before adding a new med. Then you will know if there is a herx, to hold off until she can handle the die-off and it subsides.
So glad she's feeling better on the Zith. I remember feeling better after a while on treatment, but not really knowing why either. Just didn't ache or feel as sick any more.....hope that she feels that way too!
Posts: 964 | From san diego | Registered: Oct 2009
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