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Herx reaction scientific proof?

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Posted 3/13/2015 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, I've posted here once before, and would now like to start treating my possible lyme disease. To recap, I had developed a bullseye rash days after being bitten by a tick maybe 5 years ago in my tick and lyme infested state of New Jersey, was given a 2 week stint of antibiotics. Since then I have been getting some worsening lyme-like symptoms. I tried cat's claw and had what was suggested to be a herxheimer reaction. I felt awful - heavily tired and fatigued, extremely depressed, insomnia, continuing for several days after I stopped taking it.

I'm wondering, how established is the herx reaction to be a factual scientific thing? Could someone point me towards somewhere I can read up on it? Is it accepted by the mainstream medical community, studies and such?

Thank you for help, I very much want and need to improve my situation, I'm sure people know what I'm talking about! And I think people should be made more aware of what can happen after going to a park with ticks in NJ, lots of people go with their children to the same park (Cattus Island), they shouldn't have to suffer with this disease.
Posted 3/13/2015 7:54 PM (GMT 0)
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=jarisch-herxheimer+reaction

Try that for a start. A simple google search of Jarisch-Herxheimer will pull up a lot of results.

Sounds like you are definitely on the right track in your self-diagnosis. Let us know if you need help finding a Lyme Literate Doctor.
Posted 3/13/2015 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, that is exactly the sort of data I was hoping for. Looks very legit, as far as I can tell! I have a lot of reading to do on this illness, don't know very much. Finding a doc is the next step? Is there much that conventional medicine can do for the disease beyond antibiotics? I haven't looked into it as yet because I thought that it was mostly in the realm of supplements and such and that doctors are not familiar with things besides antibiotics. Am I wrong to think this?
Posted 3/14/2015 2:57 AM (GMT 0)
Oh yes, CublicleClown, there are many different paths to take.

Finding a Lyme Literate doctor is a first step. Your location can determine how many options you have because some areas have more Lyme Literate Doctors than others.

If you have a lot of choice you can decide whether you want just antibiotics, antibiotics and herbs or just herbs. And there's more! For example, Chinese herbal therapies, for one. Some therapies are more questionable than others. But when common approaches don't work, people go looking for answers.

The best thing to do is to find an LLMD associated with ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Disease Society). Please avoid Infectious Disease doctors (associated with IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America)). Already confused? That happens.

An ILADS doctor will probably start you on antibiotics with supplements, add in herbs and switch things around until you find a good curative therapy. The thing about this disease -- actually diseases, because it is very common to have more than one tick-borne disease -- is that your treatment needs to be tailored your situation and your response to the treatment.

And, yes, read a lot. Your best bet is to learn as much as you can so you that you understand the disease and the treatment process, and how to help you body heal itself.

If you need help finding a doctor, start a new thread entitled "Looking for LLMD near (name your nearest big city or region you can travel)".
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