What to do next??

Hi mike - so great to hear you are doing well!

I hope that your tremors subside quickly and you can cross that last symptom off your list!!!

I don't think it's anxiety or side effects of abx. I think it is either a symptom...and needs a little longer on treatment - or it could be inflammation in the nerves left-over.

If it were me I would treat a few weeks longer - you've come this far...and are doing so well..would hate to see you relapse because of cutting short a few more weeks of antibiotics.

Let's see how you're doing after the 2 weeks abx you have. If you've lost those symptoms...knowing what I know now - I would treat a few more weeks -

The other thing you could do is add in some herbals - Japanese knotweed and Cat's Claw...and slowly titrate up - so you can remain on those herbs for a couple of months longer when you stop the abx.

You are really fortunate to be responding so well to treatment...

I know you don't want to be treating unnecessarily - but if you stop short - and your symptoms come back - next time around may not go as well...and you could end up treating for many months to years.
I'm not trying to scare you - but many of us here are treating for a few years because we didn't catch it in time...or we didn't treat it long enough initially.

I agree with both above. Wait the antibiotics to finish, then start looking for coinfection treatments.

Just in case, I mean. You can already start researching herbs or talking to your doctor now, so that there is no gap on your treatment after your antibiotics finish.

All symptoms should be gone, or you may relapse (in my experience).

Zero symptoms is the aim, I would not stop treatment until all symptoms are gone.

And when they are gone, I would still continue with herbs or homeopathics, or any other treatment, to keep my immune system working for about 4 months after being symptom-free.

If you don't want drugs, go into Buhner's herbs. He's got TONS of good advice.

I would never remain without binders. Dr. H, Dr. K, many doctors stress how important it is to flush the toxins off (or your immune system can go so down that other problems may appear...).

Bart and babesia are the most common coinfections to look into. The chances you have been infected by these pathogens in one single tick bite are not low AT ALL.

And after your abx is done, look carefully into re-building your gut flora: it is EXTREMELY important for immune health.

Really, I think investing in a healthy plan (diet, exercise, Buhner's herbs, prevention of candida treatment) for 4 months after being totally symptom-free is the best you can do for your health.

Good luck!!

I agree with the others, but you may have it covered with your new plan. Personally, I would encourage you to still do the herbs for the co-infections because more often than not, Lyme is not the only infection that a person has - but your symptoms at this point don't seem to suggest that you have other infections. What about taking the Horowitz questionnaire to help you see if you may have other symptoms?
www.tiredoflyme.com/horowitz-lyme-msids-questionnaire.html

This is because the co-infection testing is less reliable than even the Lyme testing is.

But, I do want to say Congratulations on the healing you've had!!! That is truly exciting!!!

I would then very much recommend that you not only finish your abx, but then switch over to an herbal protocol for a few months at least to hopefully catch the last of the infection and/or treat any other infections you may have. Because you said one of your remaining symptoms is shaking fingers, it could be just the last remnants of Lyme, or possibly Bartonella.

Take a look at the herbal protocols and start asking questions about them! Personally I like Buhner's when I'm recommending herbal protocols, but his is definitely not the only one out there -not to mention the other 'alternative' treatments.

If you wished to start Buhner's protocol, you could start with low doses (or tinctures) of Japanese knotweed and then add in low doses of Cat's claw as you tolerate it, and so on.

The most important part is that you want to be sure you are getting quality brands - that what the label states is what you are actually getting. There are some preferred brands though and we have a listing of companies on page 1 (about 3/4 way down the page) of the new to Lyme of these companies. Places like Sage Woman herbs - www.sagewomanherbs.com/

Woodland Essence: www.woodlandessence.com/

1st Chinese Herbs: /1stchineseherbs.com/

Monterey Bay Spice Company: www.herbco.com/

Mountain Rose Herbs: /www.mountainroseherbs.com/catalog/herbs

to name a few.

To start off, I would suggest tinctures and to start off on only one drop each day for the first few days to see how your body handles it. As you can tolerate it without herxing much, increase the dose. So after a few days, you would add in one drop in the evening. Then after a few days, add in a second drop to the am dose, wait a few days and add in a second drop in the evening. This will give you an idea of how you will respond to these herbs - some people (like me) herx horribly on some herbs and we must go slowly to avoid very serious herxing.

Most people start off with Japanese knotweed because it also has anti-inflammatory actions to it.

It's best to take binders regularly - not just when you herx.

You want to try to keep up with eliminating the toxins...not wait until you feel the symptoms (herx) - if that makes sense.