Stopping antiobiotics to help Detox?

My doctor has decided to stop the antibiotics I have been using to treat Lyme Disease with the hopes that I can help detox. She believes that the active Lyme has been killed, and what will help improve my health is stopping the antibiotics. I have also been taking detox supplements. Has anyone heard of this kind of idea, and maybe some more logic behind how it could work?

I have been treating Lyme Disease since September 2010, and I have been on numerous supplements as well as rotating antibiotics. When I first started the treatment I felt so much better for two months, and then symptoms started coming back. Doctor has been trying to detox for a while as that is the reason believed for sore muscles, fatigue, brain fog. I haven't felt as good as I did those first two months in a long time, and it just seems like this idea of stopping medicine isn't going to work.

Thanks!

I have been using alternative medicines as well.

Question - Is it possible to start herxing when stopping the antibiotics, and would that be good or bad sign?

Thanks for the reply, and articles.

Couldn't the body still detox without the antibiotics, making it a good sign that feeling worse is happening because showing body is detoxing?

To be clear, I haven't felt very good for about 3 months, and I took Igenex test and showed after 5 months of therapy that much of the lyme was killed, but not all.

So when I say feeling a bit worse, its not like it was good before I stopped the antibiotics.

thanks

nymetts, I felt the same way, and have been treating with abx since 9/10 also. I just stopped my abx as well, because i simpy felt SO toxic despite doing all sorts of detoxing. My body just felt so poisoned...and I was not feeling any better. AND, I think I was just taking so much period, betw. the supps, detox stuff, and abx my body simpy cried *Uncle*.

I stopped taking EVERYTHING and decided to start over, but this time coming at things from an immune system angle first. I am taking LOW doses of some supplements, along with treating my thyroid and adrenals and trying to repair my ravaged gut. In a few months, I pan on gradually adding in a few herbs to continue to treat the Lyme/Bart/Myco.

But you know what? I have not felt this good in MONTHS. Makes me wonder....I do not believe I am *cured* but I certianly wonder what I was doing to myself before...

I would say a month? BUT that was about 2 weeks of NOTHING, not one single supplement, then I added back in some immune system supplements. I never stopped doing my epsom salt baths, drinking lemon water and coffee enemas, but I did stop TAKING any detox suppements.

I am not 100%, but I would say I am about a 6/10 wich is HUGE from the 3-4/10 I was...

There are a lot of different things that can bring on a herx. Taking abx causes a herx because it kills the bacteria, increasing our toxin load. While we're not on abx, though, once our bodies have detoxed whatever toxins are floating around, all the toxins we have stored up in the nooks & crannies of our bodies - which are what's causing many of our symptoms - are free to recirculate so they can be eliminated, so it is possible to herx while detoxing alone.

From what I understand, the flu-like feeling is the result of our immune systems sending out cytokines to attack foreign substances - bacteria, viruses, toxins, etc. While this is technically a good sign because it means your immune system is doing its job, cytokines also mean inflammation, which means feeling crummy.

It's always a tough call and pretty difficult to tell when it's an active infection or leftover toxins causing symptoms - I suppose that's why many LLMDs follow the rule of continuing treatment for 2 months after symptoms go away just to be sure. Unfortunately a lot of medicine is still trial and error. With chronic infections, there's usually a lot going on, and it can be addressed from different angles. Some people treat the infections first, some people target the immune system, some people put more emphasis on detoxing than others, etc. There's no simple path from point A to B that works for everyone, although it'd be great if there was!

For those of you who are primarily concerned with detoxing, have you considered adding detoxification aids, such as cholestyramine, activated charcoal, or bentonite clay? Personally I only have experience with cholestyramine, which binds to toxins that are getting reabsorbed instead of excreted in the gut (supposedly due to a genetic anomoly that many people with chronic Lyme have) - I can say that I have found it helpful, but as it does get rid of toxins, it usually leads to more herxing as toxins come out of hiding in tissues and cause a little chaos!

I know how you feel being full of questions - I just wish there were easier answers to all of them!

I think it probably depends on the person and what the individual body can handle. Everyone has a different opinion on herxing and how to deal with the toxin load. There have definitely been times where I've wondered if I'd benefit from taking some time off of antibiotics and just working on healing from another angle, but other than a few days here and there I haven't really tried this. Antibiotic resistance is also something to consider. I think it's important to listen to what your body is telling you to do, but not without discussing it with your doctor first.

That's the thing - as far as I know, at least, there's no way really to know. I hit a plateau in treatment a while after spending almost a week off of antibiotics (the pharmacy messed up - it wasn't my choice!) but there's no way to know if that had anything to do with it. I think for me it was just that I had been on the same meds for so long and I usually need to change things up.

HI Godlives,
I'm so sorry to hear of what you've been going through!! Your LLMD took you off of all meds and just turned you loose?

Anyway, here's what I would suggest. You do need to start detoxing - very slowly and gently. When I first started detoxing, I was just barely not totally bed ridden everyday and when I tried to detox, I set off a really bad herx. So you will want to go slowly as I said.

Is your skin really super sensitive? If not, start with dry skin brushing every day. If it is, then there are other ways to get started, just let me know.

Next, you have to set a goal to drink 64 ounces of water every day, don't worry about not getting there right away, but you really have to keep yourself hydrated, or the body will slow down the healing in order to deal with dehydration. If you don't have much trouble with muscle spasms and muscle twitches, then add some fresh lemon to your water as this will help in your detoxing.

Eat just as healthy as you possibly can. I don't know if you have to fix your own meals, meals for a family, or if you have help with this. Just do your absolute best. Add in detoxing foods too. Things like raw carrots and fresh green leafy veggies are good.

Next comes foot soaks. Same as the full body soaks with Epsom salts and peroxide. I use a 1 & 1/2 gallon dish tub. I put in 2 cups of Epsom Salts and 16 ounces of hydrogen peroxide. Add warm - not hot water. Ease your feet down into the water and be sure to only stay there for about 7 minutes. Dry off your feet, you are done for this time! You probably won't notice a difference right away and you shouldn't do this every day to begin with. Start off with only doing the foot soaks once every three or four days.

You need to ease your body into detoxing. If you try to rush it, you too could experience a bad herx from it, so go slow. As the tortoise in the race, slow and steady will win this race as well.

Of course rest as much as you can. You are still trying to work, so just do your best. If you have the opportunity to sneak in just 20 minutes of 'quiet time' during a lunch break or whatever, you'll be amazed what even that can do!! Just get to a quiet, dark room where you can hopefully lay down or at least sit in a comfy chair. Close your eyes and stay very, very still for the full 20 minutes, 30 if you can.

This is how I would make it through the day when I was sooo bone tired I couldn't function, and couldn't nap thanks to the Lyme and other infections. I would take these little quick cat naps a couple to a few times a day.

Please be sure to let us know if this helps or not.