Doxy question

Hi laineyk - welcome to our community.


Testing is not reliable enough to use to diagnose.

If you're continuing to treat with Doxy, you should be increasing to 200 mg twice daily...sooner than later.

How long did you have symptoms before starting this? I see you've been a member since 2013.

Band 31 is significant when diagnosing lyme disease. (It is almost always lyme disease - rarely shows a virus - eg. EBV)

I would listen to your LLND.

Feeling worse could be because you are herxing from the doxy.

hi - I don't understand the logic here - there is more of a chance of you testing negative than positive after taking antibiotics. This has been understood and my family's situation proved this right. My whole family had lyme, however, my husband and oldest daughter tested positive and myself and my younger two tested negative (although did show band activity). The three of us were on antibiotics shortly before we got tested and my husband and oldest were not.

as girlie said, you will need to go to doxy 100mg three times a day and then after a few weeks 200mg twice a day. That's what i did initially - I tapered up slowly. It took 2 months to get to that dose. I was very sick from taking the doxy - got new symptoms and herxed, but as i continued to increase the dose and took herbs and nutritioinals and detoxed, things got better. But things did not start getting a little better for 3 months. When i had more good days and bad I was at the 5 month mark.

as girlie said, sleep and anxiety can be a sign of a herx.

dont forget IND does not mean negative, it means the band is there but not at a high enough number to rate it as a positive.

were you taking any antibiotics prior to your igenex test?

I don't think there is good science behind this "abx challenge".

Taking it at such a low dosage is going to send more of it into hiding than kill. Taking Doxycycline by itself alone is a bad idea, I found out too late.

It's fine to increase abx dosages from a lesser amount to the full recommended amount, but 12 days of taking it a Low dosage as a way to push your white blood cells into recognizing it and reacting for a test seems risky.

well that's not good news...I was only given the Doxy for 30 days by GP because I insisted...he will NOT give me anymore..my ND can not write out scripts besides my insurance will not cover this

my symptoms have been so vast and many...and again how to tell what is benzo w/d and what might be Lyme?

so I am taking from this is that taking the Doxy at this amount for this time will do me no good?

shall I just stop taking it? and I will have to self treat with herbal protocol

my detox would be Epsom salt baths and drinking a gallon of water a day

my body can not handle adding other elements right now due to the benzo issue

My worst symptom is my brain...it feels so woozy and void...went to ER in June because I felt for sure I had brain tumor or meningitis (neck pain horrendous)

MRI was clear on brain and shown some herniated discs in neck

So that's that...no ABX for me because without a positive blood test my Dr will not treat me and I can not afford to pay for a LLMD...which there is none any closer then several hours away.

I AM SO LOST!!!!!

laineyk, take this test and see how you score. lymeontario.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Horowitz-Questionnaire.pdfp

I recommend printing it out so you have a comparison at a later date.

Lyme loves weak parts of our body and if the valium is making a weak spot anywhere, you can bet lyme will congregate there. Lyme is very opportunistic. Lyme is confusing. Lyme is different every day. Lyme frustrated the heck out of me with its migrating and ever changing symptoms.

I swear I never herxed but I had symptoms galore. It felt like lyme was looking over my entire body to try and find a place to hide where my treatment could not find it. I just kept on chasing it.

I used an herbal protocol and I detoxed ALL day long. Not just a glass of lemon water and a dry brush and a bath. Not enough!!!

Here is an example of what some of us were doing in March. www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3602759

I hope this is helpful. I can hear the frustration in your writing. Most of us have been there. Just don't give up and remember this is a great place that all of us once came to, just like you, looking for answers. There is a huge amount of brain power against lyme on this forum. So ask away all those questions.

Since money is an issue, I would suggest you switch to foot soaks - they use less Epsom salts - but do them daily.

Dry skin brushing only costs to buy the brush, then all it costs is your energy to do it. lol.

Activated charcoal is another thing that's not very expensive, yet is a very effective detox method. There are things you have to be aware of when using binders like activated charcoal though. You have to take it 2 hours away (before and after) from all food, meds/herbs, probiotics, or anything you wish your body to absorb, and be sure to watch for constipation issues, as that will only hold more toxins inside your body.

Apple cider vinegar is another inexpensive detox method. You can start with a high quality product that has what is known as 'the mother' in it - Braggs is a good one - and take only 1 tsp mixed with water to start. Some can build up the dose to a tablespoon mixed with water. I have to drink it just before I eat, otherwise it messes with my stomach because it increases stomach acid as well, but it will help detox the body as well.

Just a few thoughts.

laineyk said...
Peteza, thank you for the links...I have taken the Horowitzs test...read his book...it was overwhelming the host of symptoms I have

So I already do Epsom salt baths but not everyday

will Google Dry brushing

I have ACV so guess I will add that and put lemon in my water (except I have migraines & citrus is a trigger)

other then that I can no afford to buy all those other herbs etc I read on

so I will try to see what I can do

I walk everyday...no matter how woozy/dizzy I feel...always makes me feel worse but I do it anyways...3 miles outside when weather permits...30 minutes on treadmill

any other suggestions to detox that won't cost me $$$$

I have already spent so much with LLND..IGENEX etc.... On disability

I'm on disability as well, and got all the abx I could get, which as mono treatment was not thorough enough.

What I'm doing is ordering 2 herbs a month in tincture form, the smallest bottles available until I am on full doses and have the money to go from 2 ounce to 4 ounce.

Concentrate on one main issue at at time, along with maybe liver support. I am using Buhner's herbal protocol as a guide, but also integrating herbs suited to my own specific needs. I promise you that you can get by on less than $50 a month this way. If you start with low dosages and titrate up, 2 ounces will last a couple of months or so, so you're not replacing them every month, but adding new ones.

I think that's a good idea anyway, in case there's going to be a herx or other bad reaction, then you can figure out where it's coming from.

If you are overwhelmed by all the choices, write down your main symptoms and some here can help you with suggestions of what might help.