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Posted 7/18/2011 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
A new week is here - I will complete the 1st stage of the 2-week abx pulsing my LLMD gave me when I visited her on Jul 6th - Ceftin/Biaxin. This Wednesday, I switch to Ceftin/Flagyl for 2 weeks, then back to the original. I also have been taking Chlorestyramine daily. Will have a return visit to the LLMD on Aug 3rd - hopefully, the results of the 9 test tubes of blood they drew will be in by then! Thursday last week, I had a major flare of dizziness for about 4 hours and it happened again Friday for about the same duration and hit at about the same time of day! about 3:00pm - very interesting. These episodes to me are very scary as it feels as if I am about to either lose it completely or whatever...uggh! The weekend was not too bad actually - Saturday I was pretty active giving a History presentation at the local university and then went to the beach (Atlantic Ocean) in the late afternoon and evening - I did wear down very quickly in the evening. I guess, generally, the point is that my symptoms ebb-and-flow fairly substantially and there is almost a predictable pattern to them.

Yesterday, I ran a fast 5 miles outside in the afternoon - it was hot but I felt VERY GOOD while running - afterwards, within 10 minutes, I felt very light headed and had to lay down for a bit until the feelings subsided. No doubt, more herxing...I had also quit taking the Chlorestyramine for Friday and Saturday due to my Thurs/Fri symptoms. I am back at it again now as I want to detox as much as possible and it's the thing to help do that!  Back at work today and taking things slow and steady so not to build too much stress.  I agree with folks here saying that we need to address this slowly, deliberately and monitor progress as we go. I have dealt with this a half-dozen times in my past without even knowing what it was! It takes time to restore your body's inner balance - esp. your immune system. To do that, we need to address stress, exercise, diet, sleep and supplementation - these are what helped me in the past before I even knew this to be Lyme-related! Now, that I know it's Lyme, I am also adding the abx's per my LLMD and detoxification to the "balancing act". Steady ahead is the course!

I hope all is well out this in forum-land!

Posted 7/18/2011 3:47 PM (GMT 0)
Thx Jess - Yeah, I understand the crying - I have felt like it many times as well and I am a big, strapping red-blooded man! Uggh. It's like what you say - I do not feel like myself. That is scary. I am normally VERY confident in my abilities at work, home and play but this really just depletes my confidence to only an easily-breakable shell these days. It sucks. But, I hold on to the fact that I have been here before several times in my life and I know I can get that back (even when I did not know it to be Lyme-related!), it just takes time and patience - but the patience is very hard to find when buffeted by all these strange symptoms!

5 miles to me was like a walk in the park - I was just about to begin training for my 5th marathon (26.2 miles) before I found out about the Lyme. But, not this year - I have backed off of that so not to strain my immune system too much. There's a balance that's required. My typical week would be 35-40 miles with short to medium runs during the week and a long run (at least 10-13 miles on Sunday and upwards of 20-22 in marathon training). But, now, I stay at 6 miles or under for my runs and only go 15-20 per week, again, so I do not compromise my immune system. Maybe I'll try again next year.

Today, I have fluctuated from feeling good to feeling anxious as HAIL and then back again - very weird. Part of it I am sure is actual real symptoms and part, my own worry about having the symptoms! Uggh! I have been trying to work on the latter with mixed results. My best to you, my friend!
Posted 7/18/2011 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like you are making progress, Yazzer, in both your treatment and the whole 'dealing with being this ill' !! Congrats! It's certainly an adjustment, isn't it?

If the anxiety becomes too much of job to handle, please seek out treatment. There are both herbal and pharma drugs that will work well for this.
Posted 7/18/2011 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thx Traveler - it's very challenging at times as I am sure you well know. I just had a major herx and/or anxiety attack episode - it's very hard to figure out what it was. My regular doc had worked with me back when, when I had these episodes years ago, and prescribed antidepressants which never worked. However, the anti-anxieties did work to some extent - I think they helped with the self-induced anxiety portion of the Lyme "experience." Well, when I had an anxiety attack one night back in June, I just so happened to have had an appt with him the very next day. He prescribed Xanax to be taken as needed (small dose - 0.25 mg and said I could take one or two at a time) - it worked for times when I would wake up at night agitated! I don't like to take any meds at all but did take about 8 of those pills over the course of a month. So, I am thinking I should also use them on days like today.

It is like I have VERY LITTLE stress tolerance right now. Even jobs/tasks that were very easy 3 months ago, add what seems like an inordinate amount of stress now...is this because of the system imbalance we are subject to with Lyme? When I mention that I don't feel like "me", it's exactly that - it's as if my balance and chemistry are totally haywire. Then I begin to worry that I'll never get that BACK....what an insidious disease! Okay, I am actually coming down from the recent episode - food seems to help. Again, probably, the 'balance' thing - food puts the balance back for a bit. Later all and thanks for the feedback!
Posted 7/19/2011 11:54 AM (GMT 0)

Miss Cranberry - It might be a chicken or egg scenario. Maybe depression has hit you in your life and Lyme has aggravated it. Or, maybe the Lyme triggered the depression at various times in your life.

My doc thinks that I have had Lyme for a long time and that the anxiety issues that came every 5 years or so were triggered by the Lyme all these years. Regardless, I do seem to add a level of 'extra' anxiety to the regular symptoms of Lyme. This is where the anxiety treatment helps I believe.  Maybe you 'add' an extra level of depression to your Lyme symptoms? Just a thought as you know your self the best. Whatever the case, as with Lyme in general, treatment usually seems to require a personal set of 'things'.

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