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Doxy Experiences?

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Posted 6/24/2012 6:27 AM (GMT 0)
I start 100mg, 3x a day tomorrow. What was your experience with Doxycycline like?
Posted 6/24/2012 11:43 AM (GMT 0)
When I first started taking it 100mg 2x per day I herxed severely. I was very tired and ill all the time and this lasted over a month. The nausea was also pretty severe but after several weeks that went away. It's better to take it with food if you have nausea. Doxy hits me very hard. I have still been unable to increase the dosage and I haven't completely stopped the herx yet (but I'm on other meds as well).

I also got a terrible blistering rash on my hands from being in the sun on doxy. If you are in the sun, sunscreen will probably not be enough to protect you from the rash. I use the baby sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Even that doesn't work.

One thing I found to help is to use a very thick face makeup or concealer on exposed skin (especially hands if you can't wear gloves). Since wearing the makeup on my hands, I have not had any further burning.

I am not a fan of taking doxy alone because of its ability to speed up the process of turning spirochetes into the cystic form. Are you seeing a LLMD and were you evaluated for co-infections? Generally, my LLMD likes me on doxy, plus a macrolide like biaxin or zithromax and a cyst buster (tindamax, flagyl or grapefruit seed extract) to cover all bases when we are going after Lyme.
Posted 6/24/2012 1:18 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I saw my LLMD yesterday for he first time so I'm starting treatment today. I mentioned co-infections and he said we'll see in the next appointment. He also said doxy helps for some co-infections anyway. What happens when the spirochetes turn into the cyst form, they're harder to get rid of? I'm still kinda new to this and learning about Lyme.
Posted 6/24/2012 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
If you are seeing a true LLMD, you won't need to worry too much about the cystic form. He will likely add in something soon to prevent it. Sometimes regular doctors will just do the month of doxy alone at 200mg and nothing else after that. That's when I would worry.

The meds for the cystic form are sometimes tough to take. Flagyl causes some pretty bad herxing.
Posted 6/24/2012 2:50 PM (GMT 0)
I actually had a really easy time with doxy - I was taking Dorxy the majority of the time I was on it - if you have good insurance, sometimes staying away from generic will help with any side effects.

The bacteria are really smart (which is why our LLMDs have to be smarter!) so when you make their environment inhospitable (throwing doxy at them) they change from a spirochete into a cystic form to protect themselves. Doxy won't really be able to do its job, then. That's why most of us on abx usually end up on a combination of up to 3 abx at once, or switching from one kind to another.

I think most doctors start with something like doxy to kill the spirochetes, then later, if necessary (such as in longer term infections) they'll add a "cyst-buster" - a lot of people take flagyl, I took tindamax which I tolerated pretty well, and there are also natural approaches like grapefruit seed extract.

Make sure you're taking a good probiotic!
Posted 6/25/2012 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
Can you ask your dr for a different med? My dr was gonna use dixy but I love the summer and being outside so he changed m e to ceftin. Doesn't hurt to ask!!!!
Posted 6/26/2012 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
If you can be on a different med that would be a good option for the summer. Unfortunately I don't have the option of going off doxy I because my liver enzymes get very high when I'm not on it. When that happens, I can't take any meds. I have allergies to Keflex (a cephalosporin) so Ceftin would be very risky for me to try unless I was under medical supervision.
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