These abx are just ruining me!

Lymebabe, I recommend that you consider consuming liquid protein in the form of a stew and perhaps a powder protein shake to keep your body from starving. lets hope that you don't have to be given nutrients via an IV but that is an option that you need to consider if the issue worsens.

You can also eat baby food puree which is easier to digest than whole foods. If you have a juicer that can be a great option for you as well. Masticating juicers are the most efficient at extracting the juices from the pulp.

I have found that bananas are great at helping the stomach from antibiotics. They are considered a prebiotic. The meat from the banana coats the stomach and protects the lining.

You may wish to discuss with your doctor the use of Carafate to help your intestine heal from the damage. It sticks to damaged tissue and protects against acid and enzymes in the small intestine so healing can occur.

DGL licorice tablets also offer some benefits in protecting the GI tract and is beneficial for Lyme sufferers. It helps with indigestion, heartburn, stomach ulcers, canker sores, menstrual and menopausal disorders and inflammatory disorders. Aloe Vera can also be helpful.

Probiotics will also affect your digestive system, at least until your body gets used to them so consider that as well.

When I was on Mepron and Zithromax, I literally felt as if I was going to die .....

Since then, I have been on Zithromax alone, and it wasn't too bad - I actually felt pretty good at times ......

It might be the Mepron

I agree with Trav. Some folks and antibiotics just don't mix. I was personally blown away at how well alternative things worked for me. Although I was lucky because abx helped me immensely too!

As far as evaluating what the next steps are there are many ways that people heal from lyme. Aside from abx which you have tried there is the buhner protocol, byron white formulas, jernigans protocol, zhangs protocol, just to name a few. If you ask about alternative methods you will get a lot of feedback on this site as many have done this.

Just something for you to consider. How are you feeling today?

I am feeling a little better. I got a take out at a restaurant (the best Lyme meal I could find) because I was too exhausted to make anything. It tasted awesome even thought I know that it was not the best for me but it was the best I could do given the circumstances. We will see how things go. Thanks for all the care!

Papaya enzymes that come in the chewable form really helped me while on the antibiotics when I was first diagnosed. I stayed on 3 types of oral antibiotics for 4 months until my stomach lining was so raw that I too could no longer eat and my digestion stopped. Hope this helps. They taste good and settle your tummy. Also there are perscription anti nausea drugs but they are drying and just one more medication to add to the mix. I too don't know if I want to get back on antbiox again. Don't know what to do.
Take care!

Traveler and Meadow Angel,

There is a product called "Gastrex" from Standard Process Laboratories that is taken with water about 20-30 minutes before meals. It coats the stomach and will help a lot to protect the stomach. When I had a nasty case of stomach ulcers, I would often have to run for the bathroom and vomit if i ate tomato based sauces or spices. When I took the Gastrex it greatly prevented that from happening. Anybody having a problem specifically with stomach issues might want to try it. Intestinal issues are another issue....

Don

Traveler,

I understand what you are saying, but there is a lot more to it than simply looking at bentanite as a "binder". All of the ingredients work together "synergistically" as it says on the label. Also it supports "normal tissue repair process". If a person is having severe Gi tract issues and malabsorption, the Gastrex may correct the problem that already exists if the stomach is the problem. Gastrex is a superb protectant of the stomach lining. The chief action of the 2 lightweight and relatively small capsules is not to coat your food, but instead they coat and protect the eroded mucosa lining of the stomach. That is why the label says to take the capsules 15 minutes before meals. If the intent was to simply cleanse the GI tract, then it would instruct the user to take well away from meals, but that is not the intended purpose of taking Gastrex. It does also act as a "binder" in that it binds to the stomach lining and to any toxic residue that may be sticking to the stomach lining. I perceived this as being true when I noticed that I no longer experienced nausea when i ate my food.

Our former nutritionist/ ND used the Gastex exactly in the way that I am suggesting here. The net effect was that it promoted stomach mucosa healing so that BETTER nutritional absorption took place, not worse. The net effect was the exact opposite of what you are fearing here.

My GI tract was in a mess. I passed a lot of undigested food through my system. After a few weeks of using Gastrex COMPLETE digestion started to occur, and my stomach was healed. Undoubtedly my absorption of nutrients improved as I had an overall sense of well being while using the Gastrex.

I agree that normally Bentanite is taken alone in much larger doses with the intention of binding and removing large quantities of toxic material from the GI tract. If it would be taken near the ingestion of food, then it would also bind to food and nutritional content. But that is not the case here. There is a very small amount of bentanite that is synergistically combined with other ingredients so that it binds with the stomach lining immediately before a meal is eaten. The 2 situations and outcomes are entirely different.

Please forgive my long-winded explanation! You know how I am, don't you?

Don

Post Edited (Heathersdad) : 1/9/2014 2:44:20 PM (GMT-7)

Thank you for that explanation, Don. Maybe that's why okra is the first ingredient? Anyway, we all know that I don't know it all!! So thank you for taking the time to post a wonderful explanation - as you usually do!!

I do hop that you, your family and especially Heather are all doing well!! We do miss you around here!



Vcast - the problem with lower doses is that then the concentration in the plasma isn't high enough to kill these bacteria. The different combinations of abx often help people, but why should we destroy our bodies in order to kill the bacteria when there are other ways to heal?

If what Lymebabe is saying is considered "Normal", maybe it's time to reconsider what "normal" should be??? No one should have to go through that if they don't wish to - and that's part of why I'm still on this forum. To tell people that there is another way.....if they wish to use it.

Having your liver shut down twice is an awful lot to go through just to stay on abx. Please do be careful.

Hi Lymebabe I kept looking for abx I could tolerate. I could not go above 200 on doxy, fell very ill. I was able to use amox at 2000 and Omnicef together. Amox id mild and given to pregnant women and children.
So if you cannot tolerate much else you may want to look into it. Good luck to you.

Personally, I think that the best thing to do is just to slow down. Take one pill a week, then move to two pills (ie two days) the next week, and etc.

Lemon water and Burbur help me the most. I put the Burbur under my tongue, a few drops here and there.

For your tummy, put a chicken in the crock pot overnight, cover it with water, and the next day, puree it with something like cooked carrots. After the soup has cooled down, add some kefir.

You can do variations on this for a week.

Hope I'm not giving too much advice.

Margaret

Now, I'm scared. Azithromycin is the next abx I start... tonight! I've been so lucky so far with stomach and digestion issues, I hope that it continues. I take a probiotic every night, drink kefir shakes in the morning for breakfast, and drink a lot of water.

Which infection/bacteria is the Azithromycin for? I've been on so many since starting treatment in November.

I've been on 1000mg of Tindamax (pulsing 3x wk), 1000 mg of Biaxin, 400 mg Minocycline, and 400 mg of Plaquenil for the last month. And tonight I make the switch from Biaxin to Azithromycin.

Sometimes I swear I almost feel worse on all these meds. Last week I was taken off of them due to a really intense herx, and started back up Sunday night. By Sunday, I was over the herx, and actually felt like I had a bit of energy. Monday I started taking the meds again, and BAM! no good. Whenever its time to take my meds, I always joke, "time to take the poison", because sometimes that's what it feels like.

I"m still waiting on results from recent labs, and if there is any issues with liver/kidney functions, I'm going totally natural!

MrsPallas, what you describe is your body not being able to detox well. You should be looking into helping it so that you don't feel so bad and your body can concentrate on healing instead of dealing with an overload of toxins.