30 days of Doxy!

[jed850]

Hi Everyone!

I was diagnosed with Lyme in January after a visit to my family practitioner for severe back pain. During the examination, I asked if the back pain could be a result of Lyme disease. My Dr. asked if I had been bitten by a tick and I told him that I had probably had in excess of 100 tick bites this past summer alone besides numerous bites prior to that. He stated that he doubted that I had Lyme but he would order blood work just to be safe. The back pain was treated with muscle relaxers, anti-inflamatories, pain medication and with physical therapy. During my follow-up visit 2 weeks later, my Dr. explained that the blood work indicated that I was positively infected with Lyme and he then ordered an EKG and heart echo to rule out cardiac involvement. He also put me on a 200 mg per day script for Doxy to be taken for the next thirty days.

I finished the Doxy last week but have noticed an increase in the amount of back pain and also increased pain in other joints (knees, hips, ankles, and wrists). I have also experienced a recurrence of the headaches and vision problems I had last fall. Could these issues be a herx reaction or are they an indication that my Lyme is more advanced than originally thought? I have a lot of faith in my Dr. and have an appointment in 3 weeks for follow-up care.

Any suggestions would be appreaciated!

Thanks

[Bill S]

200mg of Doxy is not enough to kill the Lymes. You need 300-600mg/day. 200mg a day is a "bacteriostatic" dose; not a "bacteriocidal" dose. 30 days is not enough either; many Lyme docs use at least 6-12 weeks of treatment if it's caught very early. Many use the criteria of treat with abx until no symptoms and then 2 months more to be sure...

I would suggest getting with a doc who knows more about Lymes, or if you are very lucky you can try to educate your current doc. Read here, from one of the best Lyme docs in the country:

http://www.**********************.org/drbguide200509.pdf
If you need a Lyme doc referral, check here:

http://www.**********************.org/Doctor_Referrals.html

I was put on 200mg Doxy for 3 weeks when I was diagnosed. Helped a little, but I wasn't feeling too well. I convinced the doc to try it again, and it helped again a little, but he pronounced me "cured" and sent me on my way. 2 years later, I finally found a doc who didn't have his head in the sand, and he put me on 400mg/day for an extended period of time, and I experienced great improvement.

I did have a drug reaction to the Doxy, was put on Minocycline, same deal, so my new doc put me on Cefzil (similar to Ceftin), and that has done the trick...combined with some other meds (Tindamax to kill the cyst form, Benicar and Vit-D supplements to reduce inflammation).

By the way, avoid steriods like the the plague; they're very bad for Lyme sufferers because they suppress the immune system.

As for increase in pain, that is normal if you are killing spirochetes. I get a significant increase in symptoms every 4 weeks (Lymes has a roughly 4 week growth cycle, and the antibiotics mainly kill it when it tries to reproduce). The process of killing the spirochetes releases toxins/surface proteins, which can irritate the tissues/system. So once you are on a proper dose of antibiotics, increases in symptoms is actually a good thing; it means you are still killing spirochetes.

[silentstones]

hi jed i too have had back problems with llyme . also finding out i was wrongly treated with doxy 200 30 days .going many yrs unteated ((16yrs) finally being sent to nero surgen . the biggest mistake of my life .i ended up with ddd DEGENERTIVE DISC DISEASE . I allowed him to fuss 9 disc in my back OUCH all because the llyme was misteated I am only 45 i also have a lot of confidents in my dr (and still do ) but went it comes to llyme if drs are not lyme litterate they simply do not know they are mistreating and causeing llyme to accually grow in stength. causing more damage . surgery allowed the llyme into my spinal cord and nervious system . back surgery also made my back worse .i would advice finding a lld . after all what do you have to loss but your health .there are a lot of helpfull people on this borad im sure they can help you find a lld in your area hope your feeling better soon god bless debi

[jed850]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

I'll discuss your suggestions with my doctor during my next visit. I'm not a complainer but this illness is not affecting just my life but that of my wife and daughter, my friends, and my co-workers. After a day of work, I'm tired and cranky and just don't feel like my old self. With spring and summer just around the corner, I know that I've got to get to feeling better soon. Our daughter is active in sports and I dread thinking of sitting at the ball-field for practices and games especially if I'll still be taking antibiotics at that time.

My wife has been coming to my Dr. appointments with me and I can count on her to let the Dr. know of any new or continuing symptoms.

Thanks,

Jed

[jojo]

Hi Jed...sorry to hear you are feeling horrible...

You would be dong yourself a big favor by getting to a doctor that can test for co-infections and get you on the right dosage of antibiotics. G.P. will only treat you for 30 days and say you are cured...this is NOT true...if it were all of us on here would be cured and not on this board. You need a much higher dose of antibiotics and for a MUCH LONGER time especially for chronic Lyme...

You might want to post for a Lyme specailasit in your area on a new thread. They are called Lyme Literate Medical Doctors....

There is are people that claim they have spread it to their families....I know of one doctor that got lyme and now his wife and 4 kids have it...

This disease needs to be treated aggressively....

Good Luck to you....