Topic: Anyone on an Antibiotic that makes you just feel better ONGOING and done Herxing??
DebAz
Unregistered
posted
I hear all our stories of ABX and herxing and all the therapies we tryt o get rid of these bacterias. The docs say hang in there you will feel worse before better. Who has gotten to the FEEL BETTER PART> I hear you have to stay on the ABX too to sustain. .Thats OK With me but.. I have not heard from anyone who is at that POINT??? ANy storeis appreicated. I am needing some hope. I have tried and tried therapies and doing as my doc says.> I herx most of the time and am Trying to Wait it out. He says. 2 months and then 4 months and then. it has gone on years? Anyone doing better than that? I surely HOPE so.
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TheCrimeOfLyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 4019
posted
Yeah.
There are tons of success stories. Some people take the time to post them in general and others just leave; they kinda don't want to hang around- they just are glad to be better.
I don't herx anymore, but I HAVE to take antibiotics or I backslide, but thats just me.
-------------------- You want your life back? Take it. Posts: 3169 | From Greensburg, Pennsylvania | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I would agree. I "know" lots of lymies that I've "met" through this board that, like me, are a lot, lot better on ABX treatment so we don't post or lurk much any longer.
Hang in there. Do what you can, when you can.
BT
Posts: 299 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Jul 2007
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DebAz
Unregistered
posted
Hi there.. THANK you so much for the posts. It does help to know. I sometimes after reading on here think that there are NO people who get to that point. I do not care if i have to keep taking ABX to stay well. I just can not get past that point of Herxing.. badly whlie on them.. HOw long has the average time been for others to get to that point???
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posted
I guess I would say that so far, knock wood, that I am one of those people who is feeling better and not really herxing anymore...or at least, Im not noticing it as much.
If you want the short story, I was misdiagnosed with viral enceph/menin, for over 18 mos before I was properly diagnosed with lyme. I was then on doxy for two months per my PCP, before I saw my LLMD and was onto an aggressive protocol. I was subsequently put on 3 different abx, and 8 different supplements. I was on that for a few months, and currently I am down to just 1 abx, at a lower dose, and the remaining 8 supplements. Its more hope that in a few months Ill be off abx, and then just taking supplements only.
From when my treatment started till now I have noticed some big differences in all areas... less brain fog, less headaches, less weird symptoms, more strength, better sleep, etc, etc.
I still have moments of oddities, but theyre not usually as strong, and they dont usually last as long. I think Im also to the point now that when they occur, I shrug them off and keep living my life as best I can.
I dont know what will happen when I am completely off all abx, but so far, so good, and I think you have to have a strong mental outlook that yes, you can get better. Sometimes I think thats more important then anything else in the fight. Its hard to know what residual long term problems I may have, but for now, Im just happy to have slowly regained a chunk of my life again.
Good luck and hang in there...
Posts: 514 | From . | Registered: Apr 2008
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bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
In my experience, if an antibiotic makes you feel better without the herx, then you may just be driving the spirochete into the cyst form.
What I think does help to avoid the herx is really good detox, especially including IV therapy of glutathione, vit c.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I have tried a LOT of antibiotics that made me feel horrible all the time.
One time when I was on antibiotics when this didn't happen was this: I did 3 months of Mepron and Zithromax, and then my doctor put me on HIGH dose Amoxicillin (private message me if you want the exact doses).
I got headaches, irritability, and tiredness while I was ramping up the dosage, that was not fun. BUT, things would level out and I would feel better, then I would up the dose again until I got up to the high dose my LLMD wanted me at.
So I don't know if this is just because the Mepron and Zithromax did me good once I finally stopped, or if it was the high dose Amoxicillin that did it for me, but I had many "better" (comparably) months while on just Amoxicillin.
However, it is worth noting that while I felt good on this, it wasn't any sort of magic bullet that cured me in the end. Perhaps it is because my coinfections weren't completely gone.
Now, I have recently started minocycline and rifampin. When I was on JUST minocycline, before I added Rifampin, I felt pretty good on this. Adding Rifampin has brought back that familiar tiredness.
But I once again did Mepron and Zithromax before this Mino/Rifampin. But I think the Minocycline WAS helping. For me it seems to be a good drug.
BUT, I am fighting to win, not fighting to feel good, so I'm willing to put up with this Rifampin for 2 months.
I think it seems like overall my LLMD's favorite two drugs for lymies are high dose amoxicillin and minocycline. (not together!). Many of his patients seem to do well on these. Whether or not they fully eradicate everything is up for debate, but if you can get your coinfections under control then switch to one of those, I think you stand a chance of feeling good or at least "better." Better comparatively....I am not going to promise either is a cure.
So to answer your question, for ME high dose Amoxicillin and later Minocycline actually made me feel good, but it is hard to know if this was because of what I took before them, etc. However, I believe that what makes you feel good differs greatly from person to person, so i think it takes a lot of experimentation on the part of each individual.
I know others have said once they got through the first couple weeks on Rifampin, they felt good.
Good luck, I know it can be hard. Don't stop trying though. Over time I have improved.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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DebAz
Unregistered
posted
Hi.. Bejoy.. Regarding your following comments.. Can you elaborate?? My concern and question is.. If your feeling well on ABX is it working and do you have to go thru a HERXZ to know it was a good one and HOW LOng etc..? I know everyone is different.. But.> overall there must be some science and answers..
In my experience, if an antibiotic makes you feel better without the herx, then you may just be driving the spirochete into the cyst form.
What I think does help to avoid the herx is really good detox, especially including IV therapy of glutathione, vit c.
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DebAz
Unregistered
posted
My point is.. really.. For example. On one ABX I feel horrible and can be HERXing for months and months and months.. On others I can Herx for only a few months and feel better but then things seem to come back.. And I just NEVER have Herxed for like 2 months and then felt ok and then maintained on an ABX .. According to my doctor that is the goal we are working on..
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bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
I think the reason people feel differently on different antibiotics is because we each carry a multitude of different pathogens in our personal tick soup.
Somebody might react strongly to an antibiotic not so much because it is killing lyme, but because it is also killing known co-infections, or a strep, staph or other infections they didn't even know they had.
Another person may feel poorly because the antibiotic is allowing overgrowth of a fungal or microsporidial infection that produces massive neurotoxins contributing to brain fog, fatigue, pain, and other neuro symptoms.
My personal experience was that my bicillin substitute made me feel great, and I felt terrible while pulsing metronidazole.
I made much progress on this regimen, but the backlash of fungal type microbes in my own case was almost as bad as lyme.
From my reading I have seen this pattern. People seem to feel better from penicillin injections, but get a lyme reocurrance again soon without using it with a good cyst buster.
Unless they are on a really good detox program they feel lousy, and unless they are on a really good antifungal program, the situation gets very complicated.
Currently I am most impressed with the biophoton nosode therapies, the homeopathic series remedies, and the bee venom ointment, but there are many good paths out of the lyme jungle.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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