Hi Jolene,
I really don't know that much about
adrenal supplements yet, but I do know that you should stay far away from any steroids. It is my understanding though that the adrenals can dump large amounts of cortisol into a person's system then not produce enough later in the day. Sounds like you need to seek out someone that you would trust to help you through this part considering your last reaction.
Dry skin brushing alone only helps so much, but when combined with the detox soaks (either full bath or feet only), and eating right, they all work together to really help the body rid itself of those toxins.
Here is a link to an article about
Lyme toxins, written by a well respected Practitioner, who is certified in Botanical Medicine and has helped many Lyme patients:
www.encognitive.com/node/5768Most of us here have discovered that this is so true.
It's quite possible that you were trying to detox too much, too fast, and it sent your body into a herx (Jarrish Herxheimer reaction). I know that I had a lot of problems when I first started trying to detox!!
I would throw myself right back to severe symptoms and added in a massive two or three day migraine as well!
In some people, their detoxing pathways (bowels, skin, liver, kidneys & so on) have been compromised, or even blocked. These infections can create a situation where the body just can't detox well enough, and it takes some coaching to get them back to getting rid of toxins efficiently.
That's why I always encourage those who are really ill to take things slowly - very slowly! I could only tolerate 1 foot soak each week and had to start off using a wet washcloth to do the skin brushing and I couldn't even tolerate dry skin brushing! So take it as slow as your body dictates - remember it's quite ill!
Gabapentin helps some of those infected with these infections - it helped me for a while, but for a lot of people, it doesn't work real well. So if it's not working for you, then I would suggest that you see if you can get another pain med - not necessarily a
stronger one, just a different one.
I used abx for a full 12 months back in '07, but that didn't go so well for me. My LLMD wasn't familiar with detoxing and supportive care, so I didn't fare well at all. In the summer of 2010, I started seeing a Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture/Western Herbalist.
Since that time, I've been on all kinds of herbs to not only treat my infections, but to support my body functions until such a time when my body can take care of regulating everything again, which has been going incredibly well, albeit comes with plenty of frustrations as well!! LOL! It doesn't matter much which type of medicine a person chooses, it will still take time for our poor, over-taxed, infected bodies to heal.
I believe that I've taken both Cat's Claw and Japanese Knotwood, but they've always been in combination with other herbs, as I see a Chinese Medicine Practitioner, and they have a slightly different way of doing things. She has helped me to achieve an amazing amount of healing though!!
So, as tough as it sounds, hang in there!!! You need to find a Practitioner that you can put your trust in, but you can heal! It will take you making only very small improvements at first, but every little step is one step closer to having significant healing!!