herxing vs flare

Hi guys,

I have an autoimmune issue which was triggered by lyme. I have ample evidence that my nerve pain is autoimmune, and also that i have exposure to lyme and it was probably triggered by lyme. These facts arent in dispute. I've been to see a very smart dr, probably the smartest i've ever met, in CT who believes that chronic lyme doenst respond to antibiotics because at its heart it really is an autoimmune reaction triggered by Lyme.

So last thursday i went for Ozone for the first time. It triggered a flare/herx which left me bedbound. Now i've spent a lot of time in autoimmune groups as well as lyme groups. What I've noticed is that everyone in the lyme groups talk about herxing, while those in the autoimmune groups talk about "flares". The flare/herx symptoms that I see both groups talk about are pretty much identical, so are the overall symptoms of the disease.

Has anyone considered that you may not be herxing due to die off, which would be a good thing, you may just be flaring your autoimmune issue, which would be a bad thing?

Yah that’s what I was thinking.

I feel like if you have an active infection you’re going to get a real jarish herxheimer reaction, with the fever and the sweating and all that.

But if you have chronic Lyme you just have an immune system which is shot to crap, and things line antibiotics or ozone or flu shots trigger it. So you assume it’s a herx from the Lyme dying like it is w an active infection, but instead you’re just flaring like anyone w an autoimmune disease does when you stimulate the immune system.

How are you treating it Christina? What are your symptoms?

dcd2103 said...
How are you treating it Christina? What are your symptoms?

Right now, I'm treating with Dr. J protocol which is mainly ABX. I also follow a strict diet (mostly organic, sugar-free, mostly gluten free, lots of vegetables and fruit and limited meat), do some herbs and supplements as well and probiotics.

I will mention that when I treated earlier this year (mainly ABX but also diet and some supplements/herbs), it seemed to eradicate a few of my symptoms. They have yet to return. I have a lot of current symptoms.

Some current are:

Dizzy, Feelings of off balance, foggy brain, very difficult to think,
Nerve numbness, tingling, and other sensations in limbs, face, sides, and pelvic area
Spasms in pelvic area and light hip pain or ache - some ache in legs also
Severely smell and activity intolerant (symptoms seem to increase in smells)
Have had air hunger and still have what I would call minor breathing issues
Harder/higher heartrate
Hot/cold spells
Fatigue
Stiff (sometimes sore) neck, tense
Warm, shooting sensations in various parts of body
Antsy, not able to relax well
Nausea (minor)
Minor itchiness here and there
Sore areas or light pain in trunk area
Sensitive to touch on part of back

Many of the above symptoms improved or disappeared while treating earlier this year, then came back sometimes in worse severity when I relapsed.

Symptoms that improved with the 4 month antibiotic and herbal regimen early in 2019 and have not yet returned at all or not in as great severity:

Soreness in Chest – still have some slight “shooting” pains in chest at times
Bloating
Black spots in vision
An even worse sensation in legs and arms
Extremely stiff neck – still have stiff neck but not as bad as was
Reflux – still have some but not anywhere near as severe
Squeezy chest – still have but not nearly as bad as before
Not able to breathe correctly – that is very minor now except occasional flare up
Air hunger – Have had quite severe in past but don’t have it very much now
Sore heels – not having at this time
Difficulty Swallowing/Lump feeling in throat – severe at one point when I was very sick, now I have minor feelings at times

Some of the symptoms will only appear in a flare.

Also, I believe since I've started with the Dr. J protocol, more symptoms have come out and been more pronounced. More pains, numbness, etc.

orbitingaround said...
Well when I herx if I take a detox bath or activated charcoal — it helps. When I have a symptom flare it is usually every 4-5 weeks, it is right before and the first few days of my period — and NOTHING helps, not a single detoxing method.

That is the difference I have noticed.

My biggest flares now come around the time of my period. In my case, smells or activity can also flare me so that puts another complexity into it all. Just makes it harder to know when I am actually herxing. Sometimes only time tells me.

Post Edited (ChristianWithLyme) : 12/10/2019 7:19:33 AM (GMT-7)