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Herx Reaction?

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Lyme Disease
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Posted 2/20/2014 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all. I am a nervous wreck over here. I live on Long Island and went hiking in Dutchess county in october which has the highest rate of lyme in the country. long story short I figured out I have stage two lyme after being misdiagnosed by several drs ex fibromyalgia and post viral syndrome. Yeah right!! N My test of course came back negative so its a clinical diagnosis on my part. I convinced a walk in clinic dr to at least start me on doxy until I see a lyme literate specialist next week. I believe I experienced a herx last week and then felt much better. But now I am getting some of the old symptoms back that had initially gone away. I read that can happen but is there any way to tell if it is clearly a herx or if I should be worried that the meds are not working? I'm taking doxy 100mg twice a day. Thanks for any advice. I have a chance of beating this bc I caught it early enough I just am getting inpatient about seeing the dr and want to be on the right road to recovery.
Posted 2/21/2014 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Chapelle, It is normal to get inpatient when we feel sick. I have felt like that many times.

For some reason, we sometimes feel the old symptoms come back after feeling better. Not sure if it is a herx or if it is the bacteria burying itself deeper to escape the threat (antibiotics).

Has your doctor discussed the possibility of co-infections with you? Going through the list of symptoms is a good start to see if you might be infected with other bacteria, virus, mycoplasma, protozoan, or yeast. Not all antibiotics work on every form of bacteria. Some people need to take different types of antibacterials to treat the different infections.

Also, please don't worry about the medicine not working. It takes a while for it to make an impact. Even after the antibiotics do their job and bring the infection down, it takes the body a while to heal from whatever the bacteria has done to it. Some damage is permanent and we just have to adapt to it. I am glad that you caught it early enough where you might not have to be on antibiotics for a long time and that it is most probable that you don't have any permanent damage.

Please hang in there and let us know how it goes with the doctor's appointment. I suggest that you read the great post that we have at the beginning of this forum. it will give you information that you may want to discuss with your doctor so that he/she gives you the best treatment possible. Good luck!
Posted 2/23/2014 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your reply. This site has helped me so much in that I no longer feel alone. I see the doctor this Tuesday and that day can't come soon enough. I've been on the doxy for two weeks and although I feel so much better than I did I still have a ways to go. I will definitely post an update. Thank you again.
Posted 2/23/2014 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Chapelle, you prob did experience a slight herx. Good news is that the medicine is working. You will prob need higher doses for prolonged periods of time. I used high dose ammox and was able to tolerate it much better than high dose doxy. Best of luck to you.
Posted 2/23/2014 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks. Yes I am anticipating a higher dose when I go in next week bc of all the nerve issues I'm having. Thanks for the well wishes.
Posted 2/23/2014 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Oh and I meant to ask, what did you struggle with when you were put on a higher dose of doxy? Thx
Posted 2/23/2014 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Chapelle I'm on LI as well but was bit believe it or not in Nassau County twice. All the deer are out east so you would think it's only out in Suffolk.

Anyway, I can answer your question about higher doses of Doxy. At 300mg. I tolerated it just fine but at 400mg. oh boy. The nausea was so bad I couldn't eat a thing. Also had shaking chills but it was the nausea that prevented me from taking it at that level.

That's just me though. You may be fine with it as some people have no trouble with it at high doses.

If you do have trouble you may want to try something like Omnicef. I haven't but some on here have had good luck with it.
Posted 2/23/2014 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
Oh gosh nassau? Do you have chronic lyme or no? I hope not! Thx on the doxy info. I'm nervous bc I have always known to be allergic the the omnicef class of antibiotics. I went in for a blood test to find out. I hope not bc then that whole class is off the treatment list for me. I also don't know how accurate the drug allergy blood testd are. So much worry on my shoulders!!
Posted 2/23/2014 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Yes I have Chronic Lyme. I didn't catch it in time for various reasons.

I'm not sure if those allergy blood tests are accurate either. What Lyme specialist are you seeing? You can't write their full name on here but you can give their first initial of their last name and the town they're located in.
Posted 2/23/2014 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
oh, so sorry =(

I am going to the Morrison center in nyc - is that allowed to be posted?
Posted 2/23/2014 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks. Never been to him but hear he and his staff are very nice. Just make sure to get tested through IGeneX. Call and find out beforehand if they have the kits there so if they don't you can order it from IGeneX in advance and bring it with you.

Even specialty labs such as MD Labs are not as good as far as the Western Blot is concerned. I know from experience.
Posted 2/23/2014 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
ok, thanks for the tip, except I can't get it beforehand bc I am going in this Tuesday - not enough time. I am sure it will cost me a fortune, but I want to get the proper treatment with the hope of not ending up with chronic lyme.

and yes, I heard that you have to go to the right lab - I am guessing your initial lab results were false negatives? if you don't mind that I ask, how long was it before you were diagnosed?
Posted 2/23/2014 6:50 PM (GMT 0)
To help with any nausea, please be sure to eat just before you take your abx. We have to remember that these are very high doses of abx that we use, so we must protect our stomachs. We are the only one that will live with a damaged stomach if we don't!

If even with eating just before taking the meds, you experience nausea, ginger - as a tea or capsules - works wonders.

Also, please be sure that you detox!! Herxing is due to an overload of toxins, meaning that your body isn't processing them fast enough. The detoxing suggestions that we have in our "New to Lyme?" thread (near the top) work quite well for most.
Posted 2/23/2014 7:11 PM (GMT 0)
My case is a little complicated but here goes. I pulled a tick out of my arm about 20 years ago. A week later my knee swelled up and a week after that I had a fever. Thought Lyme right away so I tested three weeks after the bite but tested negative. Didn't question it and only had a few atypical symptoms in the years following.

Summer of 2011 was bit again by what I highly suspect was a tick because it crawled up my pants leg and left a mark which I saw the next day. I was in the backyard of someone's house and remember feeling a water dripping sensation on my leg but chalked it up to just sweating as it was very hot that day. The very next day I was so fatigued like never before but it only lasted a few days so I kind of forgot about it.

The months following fatigue came back and about 9 months after the bite started the daily headaches and flu-like feelings. It was then I started to really suspect Lyme so I got tested through MD Labs which only showed Anaplasmosis and Mycoplasma. More symptoms developed such as tingling/burning/heavy legs and others so I didn't believe I was Lyme negative and eventually tested through IGeneX and was very lucky to show positive on many bands unlike with MDL. I also know I have Bartonella from all the rashes and itchy little bumps I get including the streaked ones that come out during treatment as well as other Bart symptoms. So that's my story. Any other questions? LOL
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