It is really tough to know —I don't know much about
your treatment or sx or health context. But here is the general theory about
treatment and why some sx change:
Most people need to be on antibacterial treatment for the spirochete, cyst and biofilm forms of the Borellia. So, you might want to ask your LLMD what he/she is doing for the other forms (I'm assuming you're on abx for the spirochete form).
But as you treat day in, day out, you are affecting the infection load. So, on a daily basis, you're killing the bacteria so there is dead debris and toxins from that death that takes awhile to process out of your system, which for some of us needs support because we don't detox well. But that's the point of detoxing—what gets killed must be removed. And this changes every day—you are killing a different amount of the infection from day-to-day, so it's all dynamic. Some days we detox better than others.
Also, for lyme, as it detects the abx, it starts to morph and transition into other forms, as a natural mechanism to evade the abx. So this is why you need to treat the other forms, which can also create other changes in your body—may affect some sx.
Also, as many here like to say, treatment is like pulling back layers of an onion, once your treatment progresses, or the ebb and flow of the infection dying and (or one layer is pulled back), sometimes other underlying issues surface or are more dominant. For most of us, our problem isn't just lyme. Some people are more genetically predisposed to being able to fight of lyme and others aren't. Some people tolerate the abx really well, in other people, the abx trigger other symptoms.
Additionally, since most all of us ingest treatment, our guts really take a beating. And since 70% of our immune system IS our guts, this can really create a roller coaster during treatment. Some days, our immune system function is stronger than others, which can also affect symptoms and the way in which our gut participates in dealing with the treatment.
Lots of other examples of how the process of illness, treatment and natural mechanisms within our bodies are constantly changing.
It is completely normal to feel exhausted some days… The abx could have killed an extra load of the infection that day, or your immune system could just be overwhelmed that day. Like you said, your body is vulnerable.
I think it takes a good couple of months or more to understand how our treatment is affecting us… and it's important to introduce one thing at a time, so that we understand our reactions (although for most of us, this is nearly impossible). So, it depends on how long you've been in treatment, and how your state now compares to when you started. Since I don't know your specific situation, I'd suggest that if you aren't a little better than you were 6 mos. after starting treatment or 6 mos. ago, or haven't had some measurable change in your sx, you need to re-evaluate. This could mean increasing doses, trying other abx, testing for other stressors on your immune system (due to co-infections, viral or fungal loads), problems detoxing, or lack of nutrition, changing diet, getting more or less exercise, checking hormone levels, etc.
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 7/24/2015 3:42:32 PM (GMT-6)