No two people reacts the same way to meds, nor need do the same thing to navigate them (stay on, go off, taper..whathave you)

No two LLMD's have the same philosophies, exactly..but they are working with chronic Lyme patients to the best of their ability and experience. You need to partner with your Doc.

Also remember..people with chronic infections, such as TB..undergo heavy abx therapy when needed.
I don't think you should be scared, just informed and keeping and eye, in touch with Doc if anything strange is going on.

Best thing to do is try and eat well, drink allot of lemon water..
take some time..rest will only benefit you, especially in the beginning..
and note all symptoms in a notebook, and keep contact with your Doc..
any "intense" symptoms, check with them specifically on what they are.

Remember also that you may experience a "productive" herxing period..
when bacteria die they produce endotoxins..
so keep yourself hydrated and eat foods that keep you eliminating.

OR..you might just start feeling better, and go through flare up cycles later.

Check in with Doc to differentiate what may be going on..

First, make sure you have some sort of anti-inflammatory handy. I take prescription Celebrex and a vitamin shop product called theanine. Others say bromelain works well. Whatever you choose, it will help. The herx will still be over the top, most likely, but this could take the edge off.

Everyone is different but I doubt there are many that will report that a herx is a picnic.

I was really bad with a lot of neurological stuff so it was pretty extreme some days. Six months later it is getting easier and easier. The first three months I was not very dependable though.

I hope you have support of your family and you are able to just chill out for awhile while you go through it.

Herxing wasn't as bad as the cramps I used to get every month with my period and it was no where near as bad as the months I was in agony with a ruptured ovarian cyst!

You might not get severe herxes. If you do just remember you're killing the keets. Make sure you drink lots of water and consider some of the things that have given us relief, epsom salt baths, podi patches, sauna, water, more water. Stay hydrated all the time, keep the toxins moving out.

Wishing you the best.
hatsnscarfs

I don't want to tell you what to do but if you have any chance of getting better and you think the meds will help or your doctor does, you might want to consider taking them.

I have been through some pretty bad herxes and the doctor just backed me off of them and the pain eased up.

Just the other day I spoke with someone that told me that Riphampin helped her with the same kind of pain as me so I am going to try and deal with the herxes. The doctor told me if they are too bad to back off. He also said that the herxes would happen on the 4th day. Tomorrow is my 4th day but I have been having some pretty bad herxes already. If they get any worse, I don't know what I will do.

I'll cross my fingers for you.

Take care and good luck.