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Feeling a little nervous and anxious!

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Lyme Disease
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Posted 12/31/2014 6:25 PM (GMT 0)
So, I need to call my doctor this week to tell him that the reaction to Bactrim has gone away so that he can start me on a new antibiotic. I am really nervous to start another antibiotic though because my stomach is finally back to normal and I don't want the constipation, bloating, and nausea to come back. Everytime I take an antibiotic (I used to take them often for sinus infections) I stop going to the bathroom for the full two weeks I am on them and I get nauseous. Obviously, antibiotics for Lyme and Bartonella are given for longer than two weeks and I am nervous that the constipation will last longer. I discussed this with my doctor before the Bactrim and he said that he would start me off slower (on a lower dose) than he normally does for his patients so that maybe my body won't react as drastically. I don't know, I know that I need these antibiotics, but I am really not looking forward to the stomach pain, nausea, and constipation. The reaction to Bactrim just made things worse for me. I was nervous before, but now that I have gone through the worst nausea and bloating of my life I am even more worried. Plus, I now have diarrhea because my body is trying to make up for the week and a half on Bactrim and the two weeks after that I was constipated. Sorry for the rant, but if you have any suggestions please let me know!
Posted 12/31/2014 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
Starting off at a lower dose is good.

How long did it take you after discontinuation for your digestive system to normalize?
Posted 12/31/2014 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
Well, it is not really back to normal yet. It took about a week and a half maybe to start "going" again, but now I have diarrhea. I stopped taking the bactrim about two weeks ago I thing? I don't know, time is becoming jumbled and I can't remember how long it has been. It feels like forever! Usually it takes about a week or two of going maybe once or twice a week and it slowly goes back to "normal", which is about two to three times a week for me.
Posted 12/31/2014 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hear of these issues!

A few thoughts come to mind.....

One is about magnesium - do you take it? Magnesium is a vital mineral that's involved in over 300 body processes and Lyme wipes out our magnesium stores. Adequate amounts of magnesium can often keep things "moving"....think milk of magnesia ;) Seriously, though, if you're not supplementing magnesium, you might want to consider it. And, if you are, you might want to bump up the dose until you hit bowel tolerance (are going too frequently). That's the gauge MD's often use when helping a patient identify his/her optimal dose of magnesium. The supplements that end in "ate" (magnesium citrate, glycinate, malate, etc.) are the most bioavailable.

Another thought I have relates to probiotics....those, too, can help our digestion. I would hope your LLMD told you to take a decent amount of various strains of probiotics in attempts to replace some of the good gut bacteria that our abx.

My final thought relates to your thyroid function. Have you had it tested recently? Low thyroid can cause constipation or less frequent bowel movements. You'd need the FreeT4 and FreeT3 tests to get an accurate picture. Healthy people have both of those levels in the upper thirds of their ranges.

Having all three topics properly addressed could very well ease some of those tummy troubles...
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