posted
I have been having the worst 3days of my life.
I think I am having a major herx. I guess a good thing, but don't know for sure.
It seems all of my symptoms have come back at the same time. My lymph nodes are swollen (feels like I am being choked), cough, vomiting, nausea, headache, urinary burning, ear pressure, eye pain, night sweats, fever, heavy chest feeling, muscle/joint pain, tingling in extremites, neck pain, etc.
I have been on malarone for 10 days, zith for only 5 then stopped. Ceftin for 7days at full dose of 500mg 2xday, then last 3 days I only took half of the dose. The reason I backed off zith and ceftin was I was having trouble with acid. Then everything just started happening the last 3 days. I am being treated for babs and lyme. I am not sure if it is a herx, seems like it. Don't know if I can take it anymore. I have 3 children to take care of.
Maybe I am being a baby concerning herxing, but how long should a really bad herx last?
Help, I'm at my wits end.
Karen
Posts: 151 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Nov 2006
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sixgoofykids
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11141
posted
It's my kids and husband that give me the motivation to deal with the herx. It would be easier to just crawl under a rock and die sometimes!
Does your LLMD know you stopped the Zith completely? I can see cutting back, but I'd worry about resistant strains cutting it out altogether.
I take either lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar in water for the acid feeling. I take Prolisec for reflux. They both help a lot.
I'm also treating Lyme and babs, since January. It's hard. I'm still far from being able to do anything ... hubby and kids pick up the slack by cleaning, cooking, and doing the laundry.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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I'm so sorry you're so miserable I would check with your LLMD and see what he/she's got to say. However, if for some reason you cannot get in touch with your doctor, the safest thing to do if the medication is causing such a severe reaction is to back off of it for a day or two and see if your symptoms let up a little.
I hope you feel better soon K-lyme
Posts: 227 | From CA | Registered: Apr 2004
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No, my llmd does not know I stopped the zith. I can't call him until Tuesday. He is only in this area on Tues and Wed.
What do you mean by resitant strains by stopping the zith? I also take prilosec. I have tried raw apple cider vinegar and DGL tablets. It is so hard to figure this damn thing out.
Maybe I should stop everything until I talk to him on Tuesday but then again, I don't want to waste what I have already been through>
So confused,
Karen
Posts: 151 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Nov 2006
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"Illnesses, hover constantly above us, their seed blown by the winds, but they do not set in the terrain unless the terrain is ready to receive them."---Claude Bernard. Posts: 131 | From US | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted
I am also on Mepron/Zith combo in addition to Doxy for potential Lyme. It is my 18 day of the Mepron and I have been on the doxy for over a month. The first 12 days a lower dose of 200 mg of Doxy a day and now 400 mg a day. I will tell you this is hell.
I am starting to think I am losing my mind because I didn't feel this bad to begin with. I am going for my bloodwork tomorrow to have my liver checked. Which is good, because I am having tenderness under my right ribcage. I am feeling very bad today questioning all of this.
I sympathize with you as this is extremely difficult to work through when you have kids. My joints are achey and I am so jittery. My right sinus hurts making me eye hurt. I am so emotional and I want to cry every second. I feel like I am wits end with this and I don't know who to trust and what to believe. Worst yet, I am scheduled to go for a lumbar puncture on Tuesday. With the way I feel, I am questioning if I should reschedule until I am off meds.
I looked back to see when it was that I started feeling lousy on the meds, it appears that it began on the 5th day. Honestly, it has gotten worse, not better. I have yet to get a telltale rash. I thought I should feel better. I have tested IgM positive for Babesia only. I did another test for Lyme thru Quest on Saturday (Western Blot) and I will be doing the Igenex one tomorrow.
Do you feel that the Mepron makes you extremely nervous and jittery? Do your muscle ache more? I expected a herx but not for 2 weeks straight and not to get worse as I went along. I take the IgM titer to mean that I was infected recently, so I wouldn't expect this to be this bad. I do believe you should contact your LLMD about stopping the Zith. That is why they give you the zith so you don't develop a resistance to the mepron.
Posts: 157 | From connecticut | Registered: Feb 2007
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groovy2
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6304
posted
Hi Karen-
Sounds like a herx to me--
See if you can find someone to help you with your kids-- It is Important that You get well-- so that you can take care of family later on-
Sick mom dose no good- so stay on the path to getting yourself healthy again--
Herxes dont last forever - it just seems like it-
Mostlikely sence you are being treated for Babs also -- your worst herxes will be at the begaining of treatment--
They Will Lessen threw time---
Make sure to drink Lots of water or tea-- makes a big differance in herx lenght-
Herxes can last anywhere from a day to many weeks-- Ouch--
If it makes you feel Any better - I am herxing now also-- Ouch-
Herxes are a Good thing-- and a Good sign -- Not a good party game tho --
Hope this helps--Jay--
Posts: 2999 | From Austin tx USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Herxes can last a LONG TIME, I'm sorry to say. You girls just hang in there, OK??
It's my understanding that because the spirochetes replicate slowly, and because zith lasts for several days in the body after stopping it, there should be no problem stopping meds for a day or two.
That said, Please check with your LLMD!!
If I hadn't stopped the meds when things got too rough, I don't think I'd be sitting here at the computer.
PS...One good thing about briefly stopping the meds is then you will know for SURE if it was a herx.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I am into my 17th week of Mepron/Zith and am herxing (I hope) again.......
The first herx was really bad and each on is bad but better.
Some of the symptoms with the first herx were new ones...inner (core) tremors so bad that I couldn't walk, headache worse than ever, neck pain,eyelids drooping,loss of sight, glass like feeling in eyes, and face pain.
With this latest herx I still feel bad but the symptoms are not as severe.
Even when I am not herxing I still have numbness and weakness in my legs.
The numbness and weakness had stopped while I was on Plaquenol/Biaxin last year for about 4 months.
LLMD switched to Mepron/Zith because I was loosing my sight and having such pain in my face.
I am waiting for results from my CD-57 test taken a few days ago.....was 36 in Nov!
The Mepron/Zith has definately worked because when I am not herxing I feel 95% better now...I even have ambition and a zest for life again.
It just gets very depressing to be feeling so well and then to herx again....even though I know the die off is happening...it still makes me cry.
Hang in there! I wouldn't stop taking the meds...you're defeating what you started.
-------------------- Margaret Posts: 103 | From CT | Registered: Feb 2007
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Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
Karen, what Lymetutu said is true -
According to one of the docs at the Greater Hartfored Lyme Conference last summer, zith stays active in the cells for 2 weeks.
That is both the good news and the bad news, because if you herx on it, you are sort of stuck with the herxing for awhile.
So, just bear that in mind when evaluating why you may be continuing to feel lousy even after stopping the zith.
Tracy
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Hi all, I am on malarone not mepron which I believe works the same as mepron, correct? I was on mepron at the beginning of treatment a year ago.
I am putting in an emergency call to my llmd. I do believe this is a major herx but it definitely plays with your mind. I know I have had all these symptoms at different times with no real diagnosis. I think I'm just loosing my mind. I feel like I have a uti, but then again that is how I felt before off and on with no diagnosis.
Stomach upset, nausea, acid, loss of appetite, saw gastro doc with nothing that showed except excessive acid, took prilosec and went away eventually.
See what I mean, there is definitely a pattern here but it is hard to handle because it all happens at the same time. Oh well, just knowing I can vent and realize I really am not dying is making me feel better.
It definitely is a horrible cycle, sometimes feeling like there is no end in sight and feeling like there is no one to turn too. You people are amazing.
Thank you,
Karen
Posts: 151 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Nov 2006
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
Hi Karen
I am sorry to hear you are herxing so bad. Herx's can last days or weeks. I hope you are able to contact your LLMD today. DO you have someone that can help you for now with your family?
It's rough at first but does get easier over time as your germ load comes down.
Be careful of the cider/vinager. For me I can't do vinagers of any kind they flare my yeast stmptoms.
Make sure to detox as much as possible so your body can eliminate the toxins created by the die off.. Please discuss any detox methods with your doc becuase some of the detox tea ect.. may interact with your meds.
Good advice by groovy to drink lots of extra water. And also make sure to tank up on pro-bitotics as well.
Hang in there herxing isn't forever like others have mentioned but none the less feels like it & is very hard to go threw. But this to will pass.
Blessings Dana
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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I did talk to my llmd and he was happy for him and sad for me. He feels like the malarone is doing what it is supposed to do. He wants me to stay on just the malarone for 1 wk and then call him. We may have to look at iv abx because of my stomach.
He also told me that unfortunately for some people, getting well means staying in bed during bad herxing. Given my history with him, I have to try to just let it happen and not think I am going to die. He is a very compassionate caring doctor and I really do trust him. Sometimes I just need reassurance.
I forgot to ask about detox but I think I will try the charcoal that someone had suggested until I talk to him next week.
Herxing is awful but a necessary thing to get better as we all know.
Thank you to all of you. I will keep you updated.
Love and prayers to all of you
Karen
Posts: 151 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Nov 2006
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
Hi karen
Glad you had a good talk with your doc today. herxing can be really horrible, but keep in mind it will eventually pass.
I just wanted to talk to your doc first about the charcol & be careful with the charcol. Space it out as far away from your meds & supps as possible. There is an sbsorption issue with taking too close.
Hang in there hope you can feel better soon Dana
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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herxing is awful. I feel slightly better today. I was able to take a shower and move around a bit. Thanks for the advice. I hope this doesn't last too long.
Karen
Posts: 151 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Nov 2006
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I would check with your LLMD and see what he/she's got to say. However, if for some reason you cannot get in touch with your doctor, the safest thing to do if the medication is causing such a severe reaction is to back off of it for a day or two and see if your symptoms let up a little.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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herxing isn't forever like others have mentioned but none the less feels like it & is very hard to go threw.
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