the herx gradually crescendo'd.

i started the doxy on day 6 after snapping the tick.

after finishing the course of doxy there was a "reprieve" of a sort for about 2-6 weeks,during which time frame heart symptoms developed, and unpredictably cresceno'd in intensity,and occurence; for me, they were very scary.

see Burrascano's Guidelines 1998, and 2000 for medical name for the heart Sx; they have to due, in part, with conduction problem(s).

Main point(s):

1. if infected with lyme,and the degree to which your infected, the greater the intensity of the herx.

2. Usu., after FINISHING the doxy(any abx for lyme) symptoms can appear in 4-6 weeks, the time frame in between finishing the abx regimen and the onset of symptoms and signs.

One definite explanation for the
appearance of signs and symptoms,original ones, and new ones, is a rebound of immune system functioning,the infection(s), the abx, and, if any, other meds having suppressed immune system functioning.

400mg of doxy is a whopping dose, and the ABSENCE of signs and symptoms given this dose really piques my suspicion(s) about something being quite wrong; what i don't know. I could be wrong, but...if you didn't have any by now, AND you have lyme, then i'd anticipate some real heavy symptoms starting some time AFTER you finish the regimen. i suggest asking our doc ahead of time about what to take if your Sx get real intense, whether in crescendo fashion, or sudden onset.

one explanation for little, if any signs and symptoms may be because the doxy is generic, anad NOT brand name doxy.

once reason for some,most, if not all generics are not being as effective as the brand product has to do with the 3-dimensional molecular structure(arrangement of atoms of molecules in 3D space), and the idea of 'right-handed' and 'left-handed' orientation in 3D space of atomic arrangement of the doxy molecules.

this arrangement means the difference in amount/degree/extent between effective binding, and not so effective binding to the 'bug'.

when a drug comes out of the 'hopper' the 'pile' contains about equal amounts of 'left-handly oriented' molecules and 'right-handedly oriented' molecules.
Generally, one kind of 3D atomic orientation of the molecular structure of the drug may be more efficacious than the other 3D orientation which may have little, if any therapeutic efficacy;

secondly,
thirdly, the one, or the other 3D-oriented molecule of the drug may be harmful.

in case one, and definitley in case two, the company will separate the batch into left- and right-handed orientations.

most, if not all generic drug batches out of the 'hopper' are NOT separated into two different 'piles,' one reason being the expense involved in separating them.

Generally, most, if not all brand-name drugs are separated into two batches.

i've had both generic doxy and brand name doxy, and the generic did nothing for me, but the brand-name doxy did a whopper of a job. this is MY experience with generic doxy. this may NOT be the experience of others.

consider asking your doc about instituting an enzyme like bromelain to increase the effectiveness of your abx, in light of your over-all health--other conditions, medicines, etc. i would not institute high dose enzyme(s) without first doing considerable homework on their employment, AND medical consult/supervision.

quote:

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Originally posted by duke77:
I am not sure everyone has a herx.

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Right...some people never herx. [I have a name for those folks!! ]

The herx will most likely show up one day when you least expect it! It might be after 8 wks .. the second cycle...or maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones!

"Soap speech:"

In our world of "instantaneousness," we look to immediate results,the "microwave time" results, in a day(headache), or a week(tooth extraction), at the most;e.g., pain killers of whatever kind,and tend NOT to connect the intake of something that has effect(s) week(s), or more, out into the future as a result of taking a med.
E.g., rifampin and rabdomolyiasis(spell.off), or a symptoms weeks out after
finishing an abx. E.g., cardiac conduction symptoms, week(s) after finishing a regimen, or other symptoms that are a manifestation of our immune system at work, if not in overdrive.

this makes lit very difficult to differentiate between jarisch-herxheimer effects, side effects of a drug, and manifestations of healing, some of which can mean the very same thing, and others not.

main point: the temporal contiguity, the successive occurrence in time of an initial infection, or a therapy(-ies, their manifestations, esp. if the intake of something and its results are 6 weeks apart.

The Prednisone did nothing to help me, but the day after I started the Doxy I started feeling better. Now I'm almost 100% back to normal. No herx either, which was confusing me. From what you all are saying it sounds like I may have them later. Too bad!