I'm disappointed to hear that the pill only increased your sx...I was going to try the pill.
My fatigue and muscle pain go through the roof during my period. I've started getting migraines the day before my period, too.
I've noticed that these sx have gotten worse with tx, also.
I don't have any great coping tips. I basically get in bed for 5-6 days and take loads of ibuprofen (4 pills 3 times a day).
I hope some other women will post things that have helped them because I'm desperate for some relief!
Kim
-------------------- Misdiagnosed with CFS for 7 yrs. Diagnosed by LLMD in 2009. Aggressive treatment for 3 years with minimum improvement. Posts: 120 | From FL | Registered: Jun 2009
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posted
Toradol for pain. Sorry, no recommendations yet for other symptoms. >year of IV ABX didn't help.
Posts: 204 | From ma | Registered: May 2007
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posted
My LLMD gives me Rx naproxen and it takes some of the edge off for me.
The fatigue, though, I can't offer any advice.
I often miss 1 or more work days each month due to my period-induced Lyme flares, sad to say.
Posts: 455 | From Was in PA, then MD, now in the Midwest | Registered: Nov 2008
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
bio-identical progesterone cream. Find an airtight premeasured pump that is USP certified. No yams.
Use it from day 12 (counting the first day of your period as day 1), and use it until day 26. Your period should start within 48 hours.
Due to the stress this illness places on our bodies, the progesterone is the first hormone to be used up.
Progesterone heals the mylein sheath on nerve endings. It is stored in the brain.
Put the cream on the soft parts of your body, chest, butt, inside of arms legs. Rotate the application sites.
Put on clean skin. Do not use any lotions with petrolatum/mineral oil as this puts a plastic coating on the skin.
Do NOT use the birth control pill. It will further add to your estrogen imbalance. The progestin included will cause your body to reject it.
The birth control pill actually puts your body in a forced menopause.
Give the cream 3-6 months. Your estrogen receptors have had nothing to oppose them for a while, and when they wake up, you may have PMS symptoms. This is normal.
posted
The birth control pill has helped many so don't give up. I guess my body just didn't like the synthetic hormones and rejected them.
Yikes...you mean even tx doesn't improve these sx? I can't imagine going through life in [more] agony every month.
Thx everyone for your replies. Isn't it wonderful being a woman?
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Kelmo, it's that time of the mth so you lost me. Where can you get bioidentical cream from? Rx'd by LLMD? If not which stores carry it? (PM if you prefer).
posted
Nope, never tried black cohosh - where do you buy it?
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
black cohosh has estrogen properties, so it may not work for you
You can get bio-identical progesterone cream at health food stores, websites like JohnLeeMD, vitacost?
When you start your period, count that as day one. When you get to day 12, start using the cream. I use it in the am and pm as your body will use it up in 12 hours.
You can't overdose. An overdose would be the entire bottle at once, and only then it will make you take a nap.
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Thx Kelmo for that info...worth giving it a try!!
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posted
My LLMD put me on continuous packs of the pill - no period until I'm showing some improvement.
-------------------- Take care -kelly --------------- Posts: 330 | From TX | Registered: Mar 2009
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nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
For a voice from the other end, my PMS symptoms have improved a lot since starting lower dose Ceftin treatment last May. I am still ramping up my doses to tolerance, until I can take full dose, and then add Flagyl. I still get a Lyme flare, but my actual PMS is much MUCH better.
A couple cycles ago I actually was *painless*. You know the pain I mean. Cramping all over, aching, that kind of thing. It used to be unbearable, but remarkably, there was nothing. I had a little pain last time, but barely worth a mention.
Also, my cycle has completely normalized now with treatment, when before it had gone from normal to completely unpredictable when I crashed from Lyme a few years ago. I was skipping 2+ months at times. Once I went on the Ceftin, it went down gradually each month, back to about 28-32 days each cycle.
As for Lyme flare symptoms a week or 2 before period, I still get them, but again, not nearly as bad. At the worst, I was getting bad heart symptoms (sent to ER for abnormal EKG/ECG at walk-n clinic, another time was admitted at ER, etc.), air hunger, seizures, level 10+ pain, meningitis so bad I would roll around on the floor crying and yelling/moaning.
I am a different person now, comparatively. Now on average, I might need a part day or 2 in bed due to meningitis pain and flu-ish aches and sick feeling, and I can get overly sentimental, vs. my Lyme rage and emotional outbursts before treatment. I can still post here and am coherent and present. These were impossibilities before.
So, to answer your question, I lucked into finding a treatment modality that is working for me at present, and it has helped those symptoms a lot. Still not well, but I've come a long, long way.
Good luck. One thing I can recommend is always getting to bed at a regular time, get plenty of sleep. Do NOT do anything you don't absolutely have to. If I do too much, I tax my system and end up having neuro symptoms, including insomnia, which worsens my symptoms and starts a vicious cycle.
Also, have a very careful diet. Beyond that, meditating or conscious breathing helps the pain sometimes (beyond my script, which is basically useless). Sorry this was so long, just wanted to give you some hope from someone that saw improvement with this.
I wish there were a golden answer for us all, beyond just trying to find something that will knock down the Lyme with time. It took me a loooong time to get here, with a lot of doubtful moments on the way, but it was worth it, and is worth it. I'll treat as long as I need to and am able.
posted
Nenet, thank you so much for your inspirational post. I'm sure many will read it knowing that you understand *exactly* what it feels like to have Lyme *and* your period.
So glad Ceftin helped you with this problem, even if it was to reduce the severity of sx. Yay!! I've lost hope for any "magic bullet" but maybe with continued tx I might find something that helps.
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