What do you do for a flare up?

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear you are feeling worse again Shinji. I think it's a personal choice whether or not to keep treating or go back on treatment during a flare.

For myself, I wouldn't be comfortable going off treatment, knowing that I'm still having a lot of Lyme symptoms that could progress drastically. I have not gotten to the point of feeling better yet though.

If abx seem too harsh, you could consider some herbal protocols. I think a lot of people with serious, long-standing symptoms of Lyme end up re-treating and keeping Lyme in check off and on for most of their lives (whether it's through diet, herbs, abx, alternatives etc.).

Shinji,

What type and strength of antibiotics were you taking, and for how long? From what I've learned those are two factors that are very important.

If you seem to be having a flare then I would guess that the treatment wasn't enough to kill off the spirochetes. I know you will Et more educated answers than mine. I haven't started treatment yet, but thanks to this group I have learned a thing or two about the best way to treat it.

Maybe if you could research this topic a little more you could discuss it with your doctor. Are you seeing a Lyme literate doctor?

If not maybe you could schedule an appointment with one. More antibiotics doesn't sound like fun, but maybe if you get the proper type and dosage then you could be free of a lot more symptoms for good! I've also heard that how long you need to take abx can vary from person to person. There is also the possibility of co-infections. Did you get tested and/or treated for any of these? If not, this could be why you are still feeling so sick.

It's just a thought. I'm sorry I don't have better advice, but I hope you start feeling better soon!!

It all depends on what other conditions you have, if you have any of the co-infections and how deeply the bacteria has gotten into your tissues, joints, organs and brain. The testing for co-infections is as bad as it is for Lyme, and Lyme doesn't usually occur by itself. There is almost always at least one co-infection. Many people are in treatment for years - it's been 2 1/2 years for me.

The more knowledgeable LLMD's say that a person needs to stay in treatment at least 2 or 3 months past the time that all symptoms are gone. Although, like you said, that doesn't include things like nerve damage or Lyme arthritis damage that may have been done. You will have to separate out ongoing symptoms of the disease and the other yourself.

Your doc was right about one thing - no one can actually be "cured" of Lyme disease. The spirochetes (the Lyme bacteria) will always be hiding somewhere in the body from all the reading that I've done. It is quite possible though to push this disease into full remission though, and that should be the goal.

I can tell you though that taking abx on and off for any amount of time won't push these infections into remission, though. These are incredibly complex infections and if you don't get the right treatment the bacteria lives on doing it's damage. So try not to think of how long you must be in treatment as a bad thing, but what it takes to get your life back.

LOL! Most all of us gets whiney from time to time at least!!! This isn't an easy road to travel - even though we must!

Have you had your adrenal glands and your thyroid checked? They are often compromised when one has these infections, and they are a common reason for weight gain. Here is a site that explains about the adrenals and thyroid glands, although the site has nothing to do with Lyme - www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Lyme causes all kinds of trouble with hormones of every type! That's why your adrenal hormones drop like they do - you should look into adrenal supplementation or something though. Your adrenals are supposed to keep that level steady all day long.

This site has many good articles about Lyme and how it affects the hormones: www.lymeinfo.net/hormones.html

If you are wanting an alternative to the pharmaceutical abx, then I would heavily suggest that you use herbal protocols. The best way to get started would be to find an Herbalist, Homeopathic, or other Holistic doctor that understands Lyme, although it's not necessary that they know all about Lyme, as they will bring the body back up to such a high level of functioning that it will be able to help in the fight against Lyme and the other infections as well. You will need a little help from just the right herbs is all, which there is plenty of information on.

There is the option of treating yourself with the herbal protocols, but you don't get the benefit of someone helping you decipher what all may be going on and no one to help you get your body balanced back out and functioning well.

If you would like more info on this, just let me know. Of course there are others on here that can answer these questions as well though!