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Suggestions Please?
My Lyme Target was found and treated on Oct 19th 2012. I had one dose of IV Rocephin in the ER, was on Doxy and Keflex by mouth for one week, but could not tolerate it. Then I was on Zithromax and Ceftin by mouth for another 3 weeks. I thought I would feel so much better off the meds. When the meds stopped I got headaches and aches again. Now I am on Amoxicillin 500 mg, 3x day for another 30 days. My bloodwork came back highly positive for Lyme at the end of the Zithromax and Ceftin???? Why?? What can I do to make sure I get this devil out of my body????
I was able to find a LLMD who I saw yesterday. He gave me two antibiotics and a specific way to take them. Fiber first, wait 10 minutes, antibiotics, then a full meal. He said two meds are needed because Lyme "Morphs" itself and can get away from the drugs. He also told me I was not on meds long enough and Amoxicillin is not a drug of choice. I am on Doxy and Omnicef. Supplements have to be taken also. So I am hopefully on the right track. The recipe to take them is a way to avoid all the GI symptoms. So far so good...He also told me about probiotics & yogurt. Wish I had met him first, but feel blessed to have met him after just 6 weeks :)
(part 3)
Yogurt should be taken at times away from the antibiotics (several hours away from the meds), because the antibiotics will kill the 'good' bacteria in the yogurt too. And try to stay away from yogurt with sugar in it -- the sugar just feeds the yeast.
I'm not real happy when I'm around grass and trees and bushes either ... it's a natural reaction to having gotten slapped around by Lyme. But hang in there -- you're headed in the right direction.
Let us know what the doc says -- we're happy to spout off our experienced by non-medical opinions.
(end)
Yogurt should be taken at times away from the antibiotics (several hours away from the meds), because the antibiotics will kill the 'good' bacteria in the yogurt too. And try to stay away from yogurt with sugar in it -- the sugar just feeds the yeast.
I'm not real happy when I'm around grass and trees and bushes either ... it's a natural reaction to having gotten slapped around by Lyme. But hang in there -- you're headed in the right direction.
Let us know what the doc says -- we're happy to spout off our experienced by non-medical opinions.
(end)
(part 2)
(part 2)
A positive Band 34 on a Western blot test means that your immune system has made antibodies to kill a particular protein found on the outside of Lyme bacteria, meaning that Lyme was indeed found. An IDSA doc may or may not be willing to treat based on one positive band, and amoxicillin may or may not be effective; others here can speak to that.
After six weeks, you are moving into territory where the Lyme bacteria may begin hiding in areas where the antibiotics can't reach them, and additional meds (sometimes called 'cyst busters') may be required to break open their hiding places (slimy shields called biofilms) so antibiotics can do the killing.
You can also ask for Diflucan, which is a strong antifungal drug your doc may be willing to prescribe for you to take care of an established yeast infection. I have the sense from what I read (and have experienced myself) that there can be a low-level fungal infection hiding in the body that rises up again when antibiotics are given, because all the 'good' bacteria are wiped out by the antibiotics (along with the 'bad' Lyme bacteria), and the yeast moves in and takes over again.
(see next part below)
(part 2)
A positive Band 34 on a Western blot test means that your immune system has made antibodies to kill a particular protein found on the outside of Lyme bacteria, meaning that Lyme was indeed found. An IDSA doc may or may not be willing to treat based on one positive band, and amoxicillin may or may not be effective; others here can speak to that.
After six weeks, you are moving into territory where the Lyme bacteria may begin hiding in areas where the antibiotics can't reach them, and additional meds (sometimes called 'cyst busters') may be required to break open their hiding places (slimy shields called biofilms) so antibiotics can do the killing.
You can also ask for Diflucan, which is a strong antifungal drug your doc may be willing to prescribe for you to take care of an established yeast infection. I have the sense from what I read (and have experienced myself) that there can be a low-level fungal infection hiding in the body that rises up again when antibiotics are given, because all the 'good' bacteria are wiped out by the antibiotics (along with the 'bad' Lyme bacteria), and the yeast moves in and takes over again.
(see next part below)
(part 1)
That's good news.
A cautionary note: If you see an infectious disease (ID) doc, don't be surprised if he's not interested in diagnosing you with Lyme or looking into whether the tick also gave you other infections that need separate testing and treatment from Lyme.
There is a split in the medical community, and most ID docs hold firmly that Lyme is rare, hard to get and easy to cure with a couple of weeks of antibiotics, and that any continuing symptoms are your immune system simply overreacting to the now-gone infection. ID docs are often not interested in testing for any co-infections, which are separate diseases the Lyme ticks carry about half the time.
This is the long-held view of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), the main voluntary group of docs who treat infectious diseases. Unfortunately, due to internal politics, the IDSA position on Lyme is that it is hard to get and easy to cure with a couple weeks of antibiotics, and any symptoms remaining after that are not a continuing infection.
(see next part below)
That's good news.
A cautionary note: If you see an infectious disease (ID) doc, don't be surprised if he's not interested in diagnosing you with Lyme or looking into whether the tick also gave you other infections that need separate testing and treatment from Lyme.
There is a split in the medical community, and most ID docs hold firmly that Lyme is rare, hard to get and easy to cure with a couple of weeks of antibiotics, and that any continuing symptoms are your immune system simply overreacting to the now-gone infection. ID docs are often not interested in testing for any co-infections, which are separate diseases the Lyme ticks carry about half the time.
This is the long-held view of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), the main voluntary group of docs who treat infectious diseases. Unfortunately, due to internal politics, the IDSA position on Lyme is that it is hard to get and easy to cure with a couple weeks of antibiotics, and any symptoms remaining after that are not a continuing infection.
(see next part below)
Today my labs were faxed to a Lyme clinic in this state. Wish I knew more about what the reactive bands mean. I have 34 bands in Blot IGG. An infectious disease MD will review everything including Dr. notes and then contact me. I have been on Amoxicillin for a week now with not much progress. I also keep taking daily probiotics and yogurt. Oral thrush is nasty and I don't want it again. My plan is to keep at this thing until it is over. I continue to network with anyone who will listen. This is week 6. By the way.....How hard was it for you to go outside and enjoy nature again??? I know I will never be the same..............
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