HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

another question from me! Please advise me!

Support Forums
>
Lyme Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/2/2013 2:15 PM (GMT 0)
hi again

I have a bunch of threads all asking varieties of the same question- essentially- what do I do?!!

I want to star a new one to bring it up to date.

Please advise if you think this will be okay!!!!! Thank you for any help this is so confusing to me.

Tick bite September 25th 2013

small rash, possible lyme. Never saw tick.

Did doxy for 10 days.

11 days nothing.

11 days cowden herbs.

finally realized today that I need to get on a serious dose of antibiotics just in case.

Starting amoxicillin today. (have some in the house as I asked for that when I got bad reaction to doxy, got prescription but never used it)

Will take amoxicillin for how long? not sure- please advise. 30 days?

Hoping I can handle amocxcillian better than doxy. hoping it is as effective?

Hoping doing this now (and realizing I wish I had just switched to the amoxicillin last month and not given this such a long time to fester but I was CONFUSED) will be early enough- been about 5 weeks since bit.

Was feeling no symptoms but as of yesterday and today feel Sick- I guess flu like, tired, just yucky.,

Hoping to hear form you all that it is STILL early enough- 5 weeks in- especially since I did the doxy for then days from day one- to treat this effectively.

Is this a good plan?

( I may also take serapeptase and grapefruit seed with the amoxi to treat the biofilm and cyst forms)

 

Posted 11/2/2013 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
also, I have been reading that sometimes for lyme amoxicillin must be combined with something else? Anyone know what I am talking about? what should it be combined with? I am so wary of doing doxy again as last time it was so awful for me.

Thoughts on amoxicillin?

Posted 11/2/2013 2:42 PM (GMT 0)
Kate, my advice is to go see an LLMD but take the prescribed amoxy in the meantime. Don't worry about cyst form and biofilm right now. You're early in the game.
Posted 11/2/2013 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
I cannot seem to find a llmd!!!

 I emailed ilads but got no response.

the natropath I saw close to me (who prescribed the herbs) is supposedly a llmd- although she is not actually an md. hmmm. And I don't trust her.

I guess I can continue to look for a llmd.

thank you, ToddPaul.

I really appreciate your straightforward advice, It is because of what you said that I am back on the antibiotics today. I had been feeling So unsure about the herbs anyway but what you said drove it home for me that I need to do the antibotics.

I just do not want to get sick! Obviously, who does right?

I have a young child and a pretty young marriage and all that- am just beginning this stage of life as mom and wife and I want to stay healthy!!!

thank you

Posted 11/2/2013 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
The mods on here can help you find an LLMD. Make a post requesting one or email Traveler or opugirl. You'll find one.
Posted 11/2/2013 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
Katebirch, Amoxicillin is usually combined with Clarithromycin. My doctor started me with 500mg of Amoxicillin twice a day and 500mg of Clarithromycin twice a day.

With the above dosage I saw 60% of my symptoms resolve within 5 weeks. I have continued to take the above and have increased the dosage to 1000mg twice a day of Amoxicillin and have added Bactrim DS.

I have Lyme, Bartonella, Babesiosis so I will need to be on medication longer and will need to take more than just for Lyme. I mention this because it is common to have a co-infection when biten by Lyme so make sure to ask you LLMD when you find one to have you checked for the other TBD infections.
Posted 11/2/2013 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, healing. Do you (and others) think the Clarithromycin is necessary for the early stages too? Is this commonly prescribed? ah, more confusion!!! I had finally settled on just taking the amoxicillin, but of course I do want to take whatever I need. what does the Clarithromycin do?

BTW I am feeling much better from whatever sickness I had for the last couple of days, thank goodness.

Posted 11/2/2013 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
Clarithromycin works by preventing bacteria from producing proteins that are essential to them. Without these proteins the bacteria cannot grow, replicate and increase in numbers. Clarithromycin doesn'’t directly kill the bacteria, but leaves them unable to increase in numbers. The remaining bacteria eventually die or are destroyed by the immune system. This treats the infection.

Your doctor will work with you to see what medication is best for you and what dosage will be most effective.
Posted 11/2/2013 5:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kate

I have been taking amox for some time now with good results. I would highly recommend kickin it up to 2000 then eventually 3000 mg at twice a day. I am also taking omnicef with it which has worked really well for neurological symptoms. These two medications have worked quickly and efficiently with little side effects. Amox is gentle and can be used by children and pregnant women, generally safely. I hope this helps and you are healthy real soon. :)
Posted 11/2/2013 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, everyone!
Posted 11/2/2013 10:09 PM (GMT 0)
Dr. Joseph Burrascano, in his paper, "Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease", says that because of Amox's short half-life and the need for high levels of it in the blood, it needs to be combined with Probenecid.

He suggests that Amox be taken at 1 gram every 8 hours -or 3 grams a day - ("doses up to 6 grams a day are often needed." page 18) and 500 mgs of Probenecid every 8 hours.
Posted 11/2/2013 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
Is probenecid something I need to get my doctor to prescribe me? probably
Posted 11/2/2013 11:27 PM (GMT 0)
so therefore amoxicillin alone will not be effective?
Posted 11/3/2013 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
Please tell me what an igenex test is. This is another area I am confused about. I absolutely want to do a test to know if I have lyme, and I have wanted that all along. I was told there is only one reliable test- some blood test where they then do a culture and it is not covered by insurance and itcosts 600 dollars, is this the one you mean?

If anyone can clarify for me, please, the types of tests that actually give reliable results, I would appreciate it. And also how long does one have to be off the antibiotics or other medicines in order to take one?

Traveler gave me the name of a llmd near me so I will contact them on Monday.

Posted 11/3/2013 1:54 AM (GMT 0)
also- since you all are being so helpful and answering my many questions ( thank you!) I have another.

I posted a photo on another thread of my bite- one day after it showed up. I wish I would have taken a photo the day of the rash. silly that I did not. I thought of it one day later though.

I would like to post that photo on this thread to see if any of you have an opinion- ultimately what I really want to hear is- oh no, that is not a lyme rash! Don't worry I will not replace internet forum advice for going to see a doctor. As I have said I already saw three doctors and will see the llmd I was resomended

This is what the bite looked like one day after the bite/rash appeared.

The bite appeared first, and the rash appeared soon after. (I never felt a tick or saw a tick). the rash was maybe 2 inches across and was sort of an oval shape,not connected in a full circle but more like two halves. the bite was on my lower leg just above the ankle (yeah I hadn't shaved my leg).

When it appeared I called the natropath right away and went in that day. she said it looked like lyme and I started the doxy that very night. She later said the reason why the rash went away by the next day (which is when I took this photo) was because I started on the doxy.

The other factor is I do tick checks every single night. I was very aware of lyme before this started and quite fanatical with me and my husband and child about any time we are in a probable area, and really every night in the spring summer fall, we remove our clothing form the day and wash it, and do full body checks. So there is a part of me that is so confused about how I would have missed a tick.

Also, there is a part of me that hopes this was not a tick bite at all. Of course I have to treat it as one just in case. there WAS a rash, but do any other types of bites cause that rash? And does this look like a lyme rash one day later? Do lyme em's go away so fast, peraps is antibiotics are started right away?

Thank you for any insight. I appreciate it as this whole thing, as you all know, is quite confusing. thanks

added- however, looking around online it seems that spider bites ar quite rare and no other bites really look like tick bites so  . ugh, perhaps it was a tick bite and the rash was lyme. :(

Post Edited (Katebirch) : 11/3/2013 1:09:11 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/3/2013 2:57 AM (GMT 0)
me again-- obviously this whole thing is on my mind a lot!!! I just hope I am treating it early enough. It is kind of scary. I was quite aware of the need to treat it early right away yet stopped the doxy after 10 days-- anyway just processing here. I am hoping that the 10 days of doxy and 10 days of antimicrobial herbs were enouh to keep the thing at least at bay--- and that my treatment I do from this point forward will be enough to knock it out of me.

Thanks to this form, I emailed traveler and she gave me a local llmd. I really did not like the "lyme specialist" I saw already.

This one I will see looks more promising and hopefully more thorough. I will call her tomorrow or Monday and see her asap!

Meanwhile I will be on the amoxicillin until then. I really hope I can get this out of me before it is too far. This ispretty scary/.

Posted 11/3/2013 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
hsld I expect an increase in symptoms as I am treating?  Does this mean the lyme is dying off? I am having more knee pain today. Whil I wait to make an apptmnt w the llmd I am taking banderol samento gfruit seed serapeptase AND amoxicillin. And now my knee pain is increasing. :(
Posted 11/3/2013 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Igenex is a lab that does testing for tick-borne infections, among other things. This lab seems to have learned how to get the most reliable test results, but you do need to understand which tests to order. A Western Blot - no matter what lab does it - will still only catch about 1/2 of those that are actually infected.

If you are going to see a LLMD, don't order any tests until you talk with that doc or one of the nurses about what to order. Some docs want to be the ones to order the test.

Don't forget that you don't have to have had a tick attach in order to have these infections - they now can be passed by most any insect that can bite and survive to bite again - mosquitoes, bed bugs, fleas, biting flies, horse flies, sand flies, and more.

Yes, generally increasing symptoms while treating are an indicator that the bacteria is dying off and releasing toxins. These toxins can build up enough to increase symptoms and even bring on new ones for some people. This is why I push detoxing so much. It will help the body eliminate those toxins at a much faster rate, usually reducing the severity of symptoms.

Are you doing anything to detox yet? If not, now would be a good time to start.

Hang in there, Kate! There is a whole lot of info to learn, and not all of it is very clear cut. A lot of it is "well, if this doesn't work, let's try this" and "for most people". There has been so little research done on these diseases! Most of the people who fight for this disease has been spent on whether or not Lyme can be a chronic, on-going infection....in other words a big political fight- leaving those of us with Lyme disease trying to figure things out on our own. That's where these forums are good. It's a good place to exchange ideas and hints for what helped us to get through.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply