I was on Amoxicillin for 9 weeks and went off prior to testing.
I felt like I was getting better with adrenal supplements and whey protein... But then went to a LLMD here in the midwest and started Ceftin.
Im scared to death of the abx and what they will do to my body. I feel only after three pills I have already done major organ damage.
I went back to work and was feeling pretty decent the last couple weeks. But yesterday after only my second pill at work I became very tired and felt like my heart had slowed, when I checked it it was normal pulse.
The other weird symptom I had was I was out with some friend and I got a feeling like everything in my body had just stopped, heart, everything, when I checked it it was fun but rapid with palpitations more than likely because I had just freaked out. Neither instance any dizziness or nausea or anything just anxiety.
I feel more tired and achy today but its my day off from work.
I just wish I didnt have to take these drugs im so afraid of damaging my body with them or something worse.
I really have no one here for support parents think its all in my head and dont help with the fear of taking abx cause they tell me im going to kill myself with them. Girl friend well we fight about everything.
I guess my biggest fear is that this is all just a big anxiety issue im blowing out of proportion.
Posts: 286 | From St. Louis | Registered: Dec 2009
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dmc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5102
posted
you can only do what you feel comfortable doing.
posted
You have a positive test. Do you have symptoms?
It sounds like you might be herxing from the meds. That is what we used as confirmation of my daughter's lyme because her tests were equivocal.
As mentioned, there are herbs that can help, too.
If you were sick with a bacteria infection like strep throat, syphilis, or staph, would you take abx? Lyme is also a serious bacterial infection and unfortunately takes longer to treat.
Many use combinations of herbs for detox and some for killing bacteria along with pharmaceutical meds.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
I hate taking ABX, however, I am more afraid of the effects of undertreated lyme. Like Dr B says..."treat seriously"
Posts: 747 | From Utah | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
I know the fear of what antibiotics can do but right now you can do a lot to support your liver and all the other organs.
There is NO support for the brain when the bugs have been feasting on it for a few years.
I know
As kimmie quoted "Dr B says..."treat seriously""
-------------------- 1999 CFS, 2002 CMV Myco pneumonia 1 year antibiotics on and off 2002 EBV, 2009 Positive Igenex Borellia and Babesia, Brain mri severe white matter disease Monoclonal Gammopathy. On and off antibiotics since sept. March 9 started iv antibiotics Posts: 328 | From somewhereelse | Registered: Apr 2009
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It all started returning from a trip I had really bad fatigue for about two months, then I had sharp pains in my head and the beginning of constant pressure in my face. Following this TMJ, tingling and anxiety about everything.
The thing that finally got me worried was after a night of lifting I began walking up the stairs and got horrible heart palpitiations.
Only help has been amoxicillin which really got rid of a lot of the mind stuff.
Main symptoms now... fatigue/ tiredness Pressure in face... I still have my wisdom teeth anxiety which increased on the Ceftin some heart palipitations came back on ceftin stiff shoulders.
Like I said im really scared of what the abx will do to my body. I feel the body should work on its own without help of abx, supplements and other things if we fuel it with what it needs.
I dont really have pain besides every now and then...
Posts: 286 | From St. Louis | Registered: Dec 2009
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posted
Based on the timing, it sounds to me like you are herxing (not a medical opinion). It is common to have a herx reaction within 3 days to 4 weeks of starting a new antibiotic. My worst herx was 3 days after I first started doxycycline.
That means the antibiotic is killing the bacteria, and the dead bacteria is giving off toxins that is causing your symptoms. In that case, the Lyme is damaging your body, but it is also dying so that it will hurt you less in the future. If you don't keep treating until your symptoms are gone, it can keep coming back and making you even sicker in the future.
A possible problem from being on antibiotics for a long time is a candida (yeast) infection. To prevent that, take probiotics while you are on antibiotics (but take them more than 2 hours apart). Probiotics are "good bacteria" that replace some of the good ones killed in your gut, so they don't leave an opening for bad yeast or bacteria to flare up.
Are you seeing an LLMD? Your doctor may have suggestions for how to relieve the symptoms of a herx. Anything used for "detox" may help reduce the toxins from the dead bacteria. Sometimes you need to stop the antibiotics for a short time and start again at a lower dose, and then gradually increase it.
Anxiety is also a symptom of Lyme and/or coinfections. When you herx, you can have a lot more anxiety than normal. On top of that, it is normal to be really anxious when your body is going nuts and you don't understand what's happening with it. Lyme causes us so many ups and downs and changing symptoms that we never know exactly what's happening, so it's difficult to get used to.
Hang in there, and don't abandon your treatment without the advice of a good LLMD. Untreated Lyme is more dangerous than antibiotics.
I know of a couple of people who have been on antibiotics for years--a decade, in one case--for rosacea or acne, and have not suffered any ill effects from it. And there are plenty of people who got better from chronic Lyme by taking long term antibiotics.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
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17hens
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 23747
posted
LightAtTheEnd,
(was lookin' for a thumbs up but couldn't find one. hope you don't mind a polite cheek kiss?!)
-------------------- "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:26
bit 4/09, diagnosed 1/10 Posts: 3043 | From PA | Registered: Dec 2009
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sutherngrl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16270
posted
I would be much more afraid of what Lyme Disease would do to my body, then what antibiotics will do.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Well, I hear ya. I hate taking antibiotics and I am aware that long-term antibiotic therapy is not "ideal".
However, as one who has had Lyme for 23 years (most of the time untreated), my experience has been that untreated lyme is more toxic to my body that antibiotic treatment.
It takes a while to figure out the antibiotic combination that works for you. I had to switch doctors because he insisted I continue taking an antibiotic that I felt was liquefying my guts.
Now I work with a doctor who prescribes medication that works with me. That being said, it is still a long haul...long way to go, wish I didn't have to take my pills...but the memory of a neurological relapse (which, after 22 years of Lyme was my first experience of what folks here know as neuro hell) keeps me taking the medication.
Nothing is perfect in life, use the tools you have to get better (herbs as well), detox, and remember you are on a path to health. I really believe that having a positive mental attitude is very important although it can be hard some days.
The positive side effect of taking antibiotics for me have been an increase in energy, resolution of many (not all) neuro symptoms...and having my life back...still working towards feeling better every day.
I also do alternative therapies, but after 23 years, for me, the best results have come with the use of antibiotics.
probiotics and good nutrition are key.
Keep on the road to health, learn all you can, and work with your llmd.
Posts: 172 | From ohio | Registered: Feb 2010
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'Kete-tracker
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17189
posted
Welp... you may have to *accept* a Lyme diagnosis. The 31 band IS Lyme-specific.
The 1st time on a cephalosporin, like Ceftin, you Will encounter fresh die-off, hence a Herxheimer reaction.
BTW, 3 pills won't cause "major organ damage" I assure you, though you can & should have your LLMD run a liver enzyme level test in a couple weeks or so, though to see how you're handling the treatment.
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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Pinelady
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18524
posted
Yes its pos. It took me 3 mth.s of treatment to break out in a rash. It was well hidden in my system.
Don't give up ---you may or may not get a lot worse but if you do get worse it is a good thing not bad...
Most people think--"The meds only made me worse maybe I should quit."
With the reality of this disease should be the idea, I hope I get worse so I can get over it sooner.
You have to know your enemy and it ain't nothin like anything else.
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
Thank goodness you KNOW you have it. That's half the battle.
And like others have said, NOT TREATING IT is far worse. Untreated Lyme can have devastating consequences, such as cardiac problems for one. I understand your hesitation to use abx, but there are things you can do to keep your GI tract in shape while on abx. There are also other treatments beside abx to consider.
Someone also said that anxiety can be a symtpom of Lyme. I agree. If it's severe, ask your doc for help.
Don't let fear or opinions of others deter you from getting treated.
-------------------- You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'
---Eleanor Roosevelt Posts: 748 | From somewhere | Registered: May 2010
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I don't think any of us enjoy taking abx but it is necessary for recovery. I personally do not believe seriously infected people can recover any other way.
I quit my abx, because of the exact fear you are talking about, and quickly relapsed. Not being able to sleep, feeling completely out of it with brain mush, anxiety, depression, horrible headaches, pain - everything coming back - I got up in the middle of the night to restart it. I came to the realization that, worst case scenario, if I had to chose a way to die, liver failure was far preferable to the slow miserable decline of lyme and coinfections.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
When I expressed the same concerns over long term abx to a friend who is a nurse she said "think of all the people that are drug addicts and alcoholics who quit and go on to live healthy lives". That kind of put it in perspective!
And people with acne and repeat UTI's get put on antibiotics for years at a time no questions asked.
-------------------- unsure445 Posts: 824 | From northeast | Registered: Jun 2008
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