August sucked. A lot.
I went through two really rough patches. One was brought on by my over doing the exercise. The other by a change in my medication.
I sort of covered the exercise issue in the post with the August symptom chart. Basically, I pushed myself too far. The result wasn't unexpected. In the back of my mind I knew I was overdoing it, but I wanted to see how much was too much. Now I know.
The drug switch was much worse. It really sent me into a bad place both physically and mentally. Dr. R took me off the Omnicef, Zithromax and Flagyl (I hated Flagyl) and put me on Biaxin (500x2) and Plaquenil (200x2). These two are supposed to be a good combination. I've read about several people who did well on these drugs. Plaquenil is a antimalarial drug that reduces inflamation and, when used in combination with a macrolide like Biaxin, has strong anti-Lyme properties. Something about changing the pH levels in key cells elements to annoy the spirochetes.
He also told me to "continue taking the Minocycline", but I thought he told me during our last meeting to go off it. So I started taking it again.
All of my symptoms peaked dramatically almost from day one of this new collection. Really horrible brain fog and tingling — the worst I've experienced. I also felt sick to my stomach and really fatigued. For the first time in treatment I had to cut back on the prescribed dosages to stay functioning. I called Dr. R's office to inquire if I wasn't perhaps experiencing side effects from the new meds, but his physicians assistant told me that my reaction had the "characteristics of a herx". She told me to go off the Mino all together for the weekend, but I only cut it in half, opting to take it at night so that I could sleep through the worst of it.
After about a week things started to come back to "normal" and I started taking the prescribed dosages of everything. It's a pretty potent mix, but I do feel some improvement. I've been having more good days than before starting the new meds and generally feel pretty okay. Pretty okay's not too bad, right now.
I've been working on doing my stupid anti-candida protocol as well as incorporating the "nutracuticals" that Dr. R wants me to take into my diet, but it's hard. And it's a lot of damn pills to swallow every day. Something like 25!
That's it for now. Next month will be my one year anniversary. Woo hoo!!
Comments