length of treatment - Lyme Disease Message Board

tiredpoet · 01-07-2008, 07:42 AM

Hello again all! I'm coming off a night of exactly zero hours of sleep, so forgive me--I'll try to be brief so I don't ramble! (Is insomnia a Lyme thing? I don't think I ever had such sleep problems before I started feeling bad).

As my appt with the LLMD draws near and I prepare to be treated for Lyme even with a negative ELISA and Western Blot, some things about treatment are making me nervous.

Today's question: How long on average have you all been treated? I read things about folks being on antibiotics for 10 years and it scares me! For anyone being treated that long, is that because you feel better on them but when you stop them you feel worse again?

Honestly, I know without a positive diagnosis, I won't do that. I have terrible issues right now that I feel are possibly a result of the years of antibiotics I took as a teen and in my early 20s for acne, and I don't feel comfortable being treated for years and years and years with antibiotics, but I'm wondering how long I should give it.

AquaticChic · 01-07-2008, 03:10 PM

Hi!

People get treated for Lyme until every symptom is gone. It could go away with 3 months, or it could go away after 3 years of treatment. It's different for everyone. I think that you are probably better off being treated then living the rest of your life sick. Since Lyme is an infection, it will get worse untreated. You are also going to a LLMD, so I'm sure you are in good hands. They are very knowledgable. Yes, Lyme can cause insomnia. I get that, too. I'll let you know if I ever find some relief of that.

Good luck at your LLMD appointment!

dynawg · 01-07-2008, 04:49 PM

I had Lyme disease that went undiagnosed for about 3-4 months before I was started on treatment. I was on multiple antibiotics in various regimens for about 10 months. I remember night after niight that I would lay there without sleeping, thoughts racing around in my mind and strange ringing in my head (didn't realize how bad until the ringing went away). Your LLMD may give you something like Ambien to help with the sleep problem. Mine did go away after I was on antibiotics for a couple months. Good luck.