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When do I start to feel better

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Posted 10/25/2016 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
I have been doing tx on antibiotics and supplements for two and a half weeks now and I feel no better. When does the majority start to feel like tx is working
Posted 10/25/2016 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
It really varies from person to person, as we're all dealing with different issues in different ways, and our bodies will respond at different rates. We all expect and hope to feel better in that time, because with usual illnesses that would be enough to be recuperated.

But Lyme and Co., are so different, as do not respond like anything else, so I'm afraid, depending on how long you were infected before starting treatments, to not see much difference for 3 or 4 months. Some people take much much longer to notice a positive difference.

Even on early infection treatment, we're told to keep treating for 2 months past our last cessation of symptoms.

Hang in there!
Posted 10/25/2016 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
cb1234 I ask the same question. I got infected 8 years ago and only got diagnosed and started treatment 6 months ago. I am worse off now than before I started treatment. At least then I had some breakthrough times where I felt at least functioning. From the very beginning I had tachycardia and shortness of breath off and on but no one could understand why. 10 months ago, the tachycardia returned and never went away which is what pointed my new primary dr to test for lyme. So I have been incapacited for 10 months....6 months on treatment.

There is no functioning going on now. I take my dog for a walk everyday. I drag myself through her walk and collapse when I get home. That is all I can accomplish. No strength to even shower everyday.

I asked my dr when I can expect to at least begin to have some good days. I get no answer.

I thought by now I would at least start to see some improvement. He suggested I go see Dr J in DC for a second opinion. I am not sure if I am not giving him a chance to get me well or not but I don't want to waste time, I've lost so much of my life already. Is the correct thinking that if you had it as long as I have without treatment it will take longer to see some improvement? Should I take him up on his offer to refer me to Dr J?

If anyone wants to chime in and give your personal time line to send the rest of us some hope or at least help us decide if we need to change course of our treatment.

I have been on doxy, azyth and plaquinel for the first 4 months then doxy, azyth and mepron for the last 2 months. My dr wants to stay this course.
Posted 10/25/2016 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
Are you fairly close to Dr. J? If I was close, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

But, I'm not.


So, even though you 'feel' worse...have any symptoms improved...or left?
Do you have a list of your symptoms...that you look at every few weeks...or months?


It's sometimes difficult to see improvement when our worst symptoms are still hanging around.

For me, it's the nerve pain/vibrations...that are sticking around...even though many symptoms have resolved...so I often don't 'feel' any better.
Posted 10/25/2016 10:12 PM (GMT 0)
It definitely varies person to person. But one thing is for certain, it takes more than 2.5 weeks.

A realistic time table for recovering enough to the point you can live a "normal" life again, from all the anecdotal and personal research is anywhere from 6 mos to 3 years. It's a gradual healing process.
Posted 10/25/2016 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie - Yes I am close to Dr J. Three hours. I can take a train to avoid the nightmarish DC traffic which could turn a 3 hour drive to many many more than that....one never knows on the beltway there. My current dr is 2 hours away not available by train but there is no traffic. I live in southeast PA.

I originally wanted to see him but there was a three month wait and since I had heart involvement I needed to be seen asap. So I went to see this other dr. He is an ILADS dr and brilliant. He can refer me to dr J and said there would be no wait if he calls Dr J and sets it up.

My hubby wants to take him up on that.
Posted 10/25/2016 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 3 months into abx treatment and feel zero difference
Posted 10/25/2016 10:31 PM (GMT 0)
Oh Girlie, I forgot the rest of your question. I have some symptoms that left but it seems new ones have come on, like worsening of cognitive function. Also, it also feels like before treatment when stuff went away but new stuff surfaced. Its like that. Also a return of old symptoms that I even forgot I had. For instance I had lost my voice for a few months at one point right after I got infected. I am now losing my voice again, but its been going on a few weeks and doesn't seem tied to a herx.

But there is some positive too. I tore the ligament in my elbow and tried pt and steroid shots for a year. This was before I knew I had lyme. Then I had surgery to repair the elbow. A year went by and still my elbow would not heal. The nerve was screaming in pain. The elbow was swollen and I could not sleep due to pain and could not bend my elbow at all. Until I started lyme treatment. After a month on doxy the pain went away and the swelling went away. Elbow is great now!! YAY!
Posted 10/25/2016 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
Lyme and its coinfections aren't like the flu or a bladder infection. Treatment is more like TB treatment: protracted.

Those who are feeling worse off after starting treatment are usually overburdened with dead bug toxins.

We all need to find a balance between killing the bugs and clearing the toxins. If the toxins aren't cleared, they can get reabsorbed into our tissues and wreak further havoc.

An effective detoxing protocol can help us manage treatments better. Here's some info:

www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html


Just as has been said by the other posters on here, everyone has a different timeline for healing. It all depends on the condition of the body when treatment started, the infections one has, the body's ability to detox and more.

I got to 90% after 5 months on abx. It's took me 18 months to get to 99% (yikes). Maybe I'm at 99.2% now lol

My symptoms have always been mild and that's the reason my LLMD didn't prescribe aggressive treatment. I'm not so sure he did me any favors.

I was pretty much on my own when my LLMD took me off abx - he told me to start an herbal protocol but knows nothing about herbs. I wasn't inclined to see another LLMD at that point - too much money and I thought I was almost "done".

I have had non-stop "life stuff" happening since starting treatment....along with a misbehaving thyroid. It's been quite the process to heal.

I've been fully functional for a long while now but have some lingering issues such as mild twitches and various manifestations of facial numbness.

Lyme loves the nervous system and infects it within 12 hrs. of the tick bite. I'm not surprised about my situation and just keep treating ;) It could be worse.
Posted 10/25/2016 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
CD37,

your recovery is almost spot on with mine. Lyme was never debilitating but bad enough. Now, 90% recovered 6 months into treatment. Still some lingering symptoms. I always heard that last 10% is the hardest. But 18 more months? Eek!
Posted 10/25/2016 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
You may have something else going on as well. My LLMD diagnosed me with severe sleep apnea after ordering a sleep study at the same time he diagnosed Lyme !
Posted 10/26/2016 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
I was mostly herbal (one short round of bactrim). It took 2 months before I noticed improvement and I felt worse before I felt better.
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