I thought ibuprofen was metabolized by the kidneys? I'm doing the hot/cold packs, but my LLMD is iffy about herbal remedies, he said it's dangerous to take too many non-FDA approved supplements since there's no way to know if there's an interaction with other meds.
One more thought on your Advil... taking the max dose for an extended time can do liver damage quicker than you'd think, especially if your liver is stressed out from Lyme and various medications. If you're up to the max dose and you're still in a lot of pain, it sounds like it's not working anyway.
I personally would stop taking the Advil and try other non-harmful remedies, such as hot or cold packs and herbal anti-inflammatories. The last thing you want to do is overstress your liver when you want it to be doing a good job of detoxing your body.
To help reduce my inflammation, I take Meriva Curcumin, Omega 3, Arginine, and the building blocks of glutathione - N-AC & Alpha Lipoic Acid. I'm even on 2 anti-histamines to reduce inflammation in those particular pathways. Every bit helps.
I also recommend going gluten free and dairy free. Dairy is probably the biggest trigger of inflammation in the gut, and you need to reduce inflammation. Look up detoxing and see if you can find some supplements or foods that you can take/eat to help your body detox. You might be surprised and how much they can help. It can take days or up to a month to notice a difference.
Amoxicillin is pretty good for early stage Lyme, but you'll need another drug to go with it, or a more powerful drug at some point.
Low carb or no carb diets help the inflammation a lot, as well as slowing down the reproduction and motility of spirochetes, whose favorite fuels are sugars/carbs. You should ask your doc about trying an herbal protocol, such as Cowden, Buhner, or Byron White. Try to lay low on the dairy as well, and stay away from high fructose corn syrup.
I don't know what happened to the rest on my post, but I also said that I've eliminated carbs from my diet over the past week and it does seem to help with fluid retention and swelling.
The one leg comment was in regards to how I get in my bathtub lol
I've got one leg that works
"how in the world can you get in and out of a tub when your knees won't bend or support you? "
The answer? You can't. I can only take showers now but I would love to soak in a tub with Epsom salts.
And Megan (and others) - how in the world can you get in and out of a tub when your knees won't bend or support you?
The solution to my knee pain (which has changed from pain to stiffness) was 14 months of antibiotics plus herbal supplements from my LLMD. I doubt I'll ever be as active as I was before the onset of Lymes, but I'm grateful the worst seems to be over. Now if only I could kick-start my energy levels, I'd be in great shape.
You should find an LLMD. Sometimes they are listed as Integrative Medicine or Naturopaths. They should be able to find a better combo of ABX for you, but sometimes they cannot take insurance because they like to keep a low profile. Remember, this is a highly politicized illness, still commonly misunderstood. There's no good medical consensus on proper treatment other than the original 4-6 wks of ABX, so insurance companies can dispute further treatments. What they seem oblivious to, is that they cannot dispute the possible eventual diagnoses and more expensive treatments of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, POTS, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimers, bipolar, and all the pain meds and sleeping aids you'll need if you don't find a good way to send this thing into a good remission. Just do some research on everything Vietnam war vets went through trying to get help for dealing with the effects AGENT ORANGE had on them, and you'll realize what a misunderstanding of the potential an illness can have on those suffering from it.
I'm only on amoxicillin right now. I've tried doxy and Zithromax but I had bad reactions (not just herxing) to both. I assume he's going to try a new one next time, but for now I'm doing what I can.
I've been taking magnesium for the past 6 months and I do detox baths every chance I get. I went to my pcp but he wasn't helpful.
Pipergirl, did you ever find a solution to your knee pain?
You should seriously try to find an LLMD that knows a good course of antibiotics for you. Otherwise, you're only treating the symptoms, which will probably weaken your whole system and only make you worse. Ask them to find a combo of antibiotics that will target spirochetes in the joints, and try to limit the pain and sleep meds as much as possible. I know it's tough, I have a lot of trouble sleeping myself, as well as migrating pains everywhere, which seem to be at their worst when my left knee or neck gets sore.
That's exactly how my Lyme started out. Are you on antibiotics? I would have loved to take an Epsom salt bath, but I couldn't get into a tub with my knee. Started with one and then spread to both. Hope you start feeling better.
So sorry about your problem. The first advice I would say is you should be taking magnesium. I take a lot on the Dr Cowden Protocols but many protocols have magnesium.
You could also bathe in Epsom salts bath. That is great for muscle symptoms. It is a common problem in Lyme but if all else fails you could check with your doctor.
Feel better.