On Friday, I had an appointment with Dr. K, my Lyme-literate MD/ND. Since I've been on Doxycycline for my Lyme Disease treatment for over a month now, I was fully expecting him to increase my Doxy dosage and add in one or two more meds. As always, he started by asking me how I've been feeling. I told him that I've been completely exhausted and have been experiencing terrible muscle fatigue. It takes even even effort than normal to lift my arm to get something or to walk across the room. Even talking takes so much effort. I explained how my restless leg syndrome seems to have spread up to my neck, effecting my legs, arms and core to the point that my arms and legs will sometimes twitch or jerk involuntarily. I told him how bad my brain fog has gotten, where I can't remember what I was talking about mid-sentence or ask the same question five times and have no memory of asking the previous times nor the answer received.
Dr. K's response was absolute: "We are backing off your treatment. Your body is telling us it is too much. We need to build you up with nutritional support and then we can try again in a month or two." All at once, I felt a mixture of emotions: sadness that we seemed to be going backwards, relief that I may have a month-long reprieve from the stronger symptoms, and confusion...isn't herxing a good thing?
He went on to explain that what was happening could be compared to a traffic jam. All of the different roads in my body were getting congested and it was causing one big traffic jam...one that could, if left unchecked, cause damage to my organs. "If I put you on another antibiotic right now, like Flagyl or Tindamax, you would be calling 911 with every part of your body,"' he explained.
Now, I like Dr. K for many reasons: He cares about you. He does research to learn how he can better help you. He respects and listens to the clues your body gives and responds accordingly. He knows the body needs to process the die-off of the bacteria and the die-off process can dangerously effect the organs and systems in the body. He knows you may suffer some through the healing process, but when he can help prevent it, he will. And most importantly, he figured out what was ailing me after many other doctors couldn't.
So, we are cutting my Docycycline dose from 200 to 100 mg per day. He has added in 5 new supplements to help build my system up and has recommended IV nutritional support as well. At $100 a week, we may have to pass on the IV support, so hopefully the oral support will be sufficient.
Dr. K gave me a word of warning: "The fact that you had this kind of response right off the bat means you have a very, very, very, very, very high bacteria load." I laughed. "YAY me!" I thought. And out loud I said: "Well, at least 26 years worth!" What he didn't say, but I inferred, was: this could be a lot longer journey than we'd anticipated.
Even before I started treatment, it seemed like a tremendous uphill journey. I had committed to it wholeheartedly, knowing I would need to take it slow, one step at a time. Well, it seems I need to take a seat on one of those steps for a short time, a brief pause if you will, so that I may store energy and better prepare for the long, long journey ahead. So, my mission for the next 30 days...
...to find peace in the pause.Be a Fan
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder