Can a headache be a herx?

sounds like it could be a herx....maybe the Rocepin is working after-all.

Thanks. I'm pretty miserable right now. Maybe I'll try an Epsom bath.

I'm bummed the Motrin didn't work. Hubby is an osteopath, so he did some head adjustment techniques, and it did help a little. This really is a whopper. :(

It could definitely be a herx.

First of all, I'm a bit jealous of your hubby being an osteopath! LOL!

And the headache may or may not continue on - if you can get the toxins lowered back down far enough, the headache should at least ease up. Detox like crazy - activated charcoal and all the other techniques you can do.

I'll try a heating pad.

Must have drank my weight in water today! And, not only did I get rocephin, but I had IV glutathione, Meyers cocktail, and a 40 minute infrared sauna. I was the detox queen!

I'm gonna grab the heating pad and make my hubby do some more osteopathic voodoo on me. Lol

Thank you, ladies, for helping me.

Xoxoxo

Headaches can also be a side affect of rocephin too though. Either way it will likely go away as your body adjusts to rocephin or removes toxins.

I would think yes. I had headaches when i started on the Chronic Tonic and they disappeared after some time on the treatment.

yes, of course, headaches can indicate a mild brain herx. Ammonia and other toxins in the brain. Not going to make you feel good for sure.

Brain herxes should be avoided, IMHO, i would lower the dose until i only have mild symptoms. The brain is a very delicate organ, neurons have a very limited amount of self-repair capacity. And brain herxes can get very very bad. When i was on 300mg/day mino i thought im going to lose my mind. A combination of headaches, panic, depression and insomnia. It went away after a week or so and then i felt the best in years. The world around me looked sharper and more clear. Hard to explain.

Thanks for the encouragement...it helps. I do believe I need treatment. I'm not getting better, despite support. I am leaning toward herbal treatment which will be expensive... I could probably have antibiotics paid for by health insurance. Money is an issue at the moment. Definitely have much to learn and big decisions to make in the next couple of weeks.

After reading a bunch about Lyme I am convinced I had a herx from the initial osteo tx. I receive regular massage/body work (2-3X monthly) and have never experienced anything like what happened after the first osteopathic manipulation. I had forgotten how bad it was...I found emails with my osteopath from June that describe the experience: (back and forth)

Q:The osteopathic manipulation was very, very powerful. I was sore and very tired yesterday and today I feel as if I can barely move, and I feel exhausted. In addition, I'm diuresing like crazy...I've lost 2 lbs since this morning! Is this a typical response? I read that treatment reaction is not unusual...bring it on! It feels like something finally shifted!

A:Sounds like that isn't a treatment reaction but a really deep
treatment. I am pleased. Sounds like big shifts are happening. Your
system may continue to treat for 72 hours afterwards... and new
cellular programming can happen over several months. Get as much rest
as you need and drink lots of fluids. If for some reason you don't
start to feel better, please let me know and we will get you in sooner
for another treatment.

You may take vitamin C 1000 mg twice daily. This is a great
antioxidant and detoxifier. It can cause diarrhea if you get too
much. Magnesium can cause diarrhea too if too much. Turmeric is an
amazing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

Too much vitamin D can deplete your intracellular magnesium. The dose
that you have been taking should have bumped you up quite a bit. Why
don't you go "au naturale" for a bit and get some sun. We will keep
track of this.

Stop your adaptogens for a short while and monitor how you feel. We
will do the adrenal evaluation and see what that shows. It is all a
balancing act.

Let's see what your MTHFR status is before we make a decision about b
vitamins--eat your greens!


Q: I am having a very difficult time; this is most unusual. I haven't felt well at all for several days...bad body aches, extreme fatigue, chills, weakness to the point that I can barely do anything. I have 3 clients due in June so I had to pack up for the month and go North, where I am now. It took a Herculean effort to get here. It's almost too much for me to even get up and make a meal.
I've been taking a lot of Imitrex (twice a day, relieves the headache some) and Ibuprofen (which I rarely take) and a homeopathic remedy for the headaches but nothing has stopped the headache completely. I've been unable to sleep at night. Been up from 2-7 for 4 nights now and unable to catch up/nap during the day.
I was thinking that this was related to the treatment. The only thing that's different is that I stopped Vitamin D supplement and adaptogens...but I didn't do that until Sunday and these symptoms started Friday evening.
Hoping you can shed some light and offer some suggestions. I don't feel as if I'm up to attending a birth right now... this has never happened to me before.

A: It sounds like you have a nasty virus. However, just to be safe, resume your vitamin d and adaptogens.
I don't have all of your labs back yet but your dhea is low (35--should be over 150) You should purchase this otc. I think it is usually 25 mg. Break it in quarters and take 1/4 tab twice a day.
Try some Epsom salt baths with ginger if you have a tub. Good for magnesium (headaches) but also good detoxifier.

Q: I took an epsom salt bath last night (ginger is a new one...will try it!)
Good to have validation that things are off. Been feeling a little crazy.
I'll get the DHEA in the AM. Hope it helps.

A: Your reverse T3 is a bit high. Your free T3/ rT3 ratio is 18 and it
ideally should be over 20. Stress can affect the ratio. Everything
else looks ok, with the exception of the DHEA, which I had mentioned
previously. Your lyme testing is negative. Tell me how you are
feeling right now? Fevers or just tired and achy?

Q: My headache was very bad Wednesday afternoon. (I hadn't slept in several nights and the headache was unremitting) so I went to the ED. They gave me IV fluids, Toradol and Decadron (didn't help) and an Rx for Ultram. The Ultram may have helped slightly but it made me very sick. I vomited and went to bed. I finally slept on and off Wednesday night but when I woke up yesterday the headache was horrible. I tried another Ultram and vomited, so I went back to the ED. They gave me a shot of Toradol, a shot of Phenergan and a shot of Fentanyl. That helped. The headache went away for a few hours. My assistant picked me up and I went home, but the headache returned. I took Imitrex and Motrin and was finally able to sleep...slept most of last evening and slept pretty well all night. The headache returned this morning but it seems more like the usual headache and it did respond to Imitrex. Today I've been in bed most of the day...napping on and off. Achy, no energy, no appetite, but much much better than the past few days...I was able to do a little work. I took an epsom salt bath too. I have a slight residual-ish type headache and (this is weird) the top left of my head is very tender to touch. (Maybe because I've been putting ice packs on my head?)

I don't know if this is some sort of progression of whatever has been going on with me or some sort of horrible bizarre virus...I keep thinking I might have Lyme or one of the co-infections not easily diagnosed.
It feels so scary because nothing has ever gotten me down like this.
Forgot to mention...fevers...don't know...no thermometer here. I took my temp at the beginning of this and it was 99.8. I do sweat after I take Motrin. I do still have chills on and off.

A: Hard to tell what is going on. I can order you tests for ehrlichiosis etc. I would prefer not to throw an abx at you unnecessarily. I would be happy to try to see you. I know you are a couple hours away. I could try to see if I could get in early tomorrow morning (Sunday)if you are interested. I could give you a full osteopathic treatment and see what your system is doing…


Addendum: I was in BAD shape last summer...after this experience I went on to other worsening physical symptoms which led to a diagnosis of cholecystitis...I wound up having my gallbladder removed. Interestingly, the pathology report said there were no stones in my gallbladder...just inflammation. None of this made sense, because they had "seen" stones on xray/ultrasound. Postoperatively the surgeon said that I had stones remaining in the common bile duct that needed removal (not done at the time because it could have caused increased morbidity and I needed to get right back to work) I had an ERCP done later that summer...also no stones found during that procedure.
I felt as if I were dying. I spent half the summer in bed.
I ended up with more questions than answers after my experiences with the medical industry. My symptoms were atypical (especially the extreme insomnia!)...which is why I've been suspicious that they're related to Lyme. I recently started reading about the possible relationship between Lyme and gallbladder and found this:
http://lymemd.blogspot.com/2008/06/lyme-and-gallbladder.html
http://lymechick.com/2011/04/07/the-correlation-between-lyme-and-gallbladder-issues/

Fortunately I felt better after the gallbladder surgery. I was improving until a couple of months ago when my joints started swelling and I couldn't walk for a while due to extreme pain in my knee/ankle.

This has been such a challenging experience...Yet I feel lucky that I'm as functional as I am...I've read so many horror stories about people suffering from this disease.. I'm trying to piece this together and figure it out...I guess I'm still trying to build a case for a Lyme diagnosis. I think I have had it for years. I've told several doctors this for a while now. I feel like I finally have proof.
Thanks for letting me share my story and thanks for being here.

You are a huge help already...reading back through this list I'm learning plenty. I'm sure I'll have many more questions.

I don't even remember what the results of the saliva test were...my midwife friend, who has a holistic wellness practice, did the saliva test. The results did not come through on my computer so I can't review. I think we agreed that I needed to continue the adrenal herbal supplement that I was taking. (still taking)...Gaia herbs.
I do need to explore the thyroid issue further...sometimes things get missed. I requested MTHFR testing last summer...I didn't get that done until last month. (Homozygous c677t...not detoxing too well!)

I think about all of the practitioners that I told "I think I have Lyme." I wasn't taken seriously and it wasn't pursued. (with the exception of my current MD-DO and NP). When I think about all of the clients that I have personally seen throughout the years who had symptoms similar to mine...they may have had Lyme! It's endemic in the Northeast...I should have been more conscious of the issue...especially with pregnant women.
Huge lesson for me.

Won't beat myself up but my consciousness has certainly been raised.

I seem to be running into many good people that are trying to help others...it's wonderful.
A midwife friend who has studied herbalism says she met Buhner at a workshop... "he's the real deal"...she was impressed with his knowledge and dedication. She recommended this site for some hard-to-get remedies: http://www.woodlandessence.com/herbal.htm

I met a nutritionist who studied the supplement industry for 2 years. She said many are garbage. She gave me a short list of supplements that she recommends. She said that Gaia herbs are "THE BEST". I am taking "Gaia Adrenal Health" which contains Siberian Rhodiola, Holy Basil, Ashwaganda, Wild oats milky seed fresh, Schisandra berry.

FYI...she also recommended "Peak EPA" fish oil. I have been taking Nordic Naturals which she said was considered the best for many years but recently they have had problems with rancidity.
She said to avoid chemical supplements...she only recommends food supplements and the brand she likes is "Nutriplex Formulas". http://nutriplexformulas.com/our-products/
For probiotic the best is "Natren" brand. ("terrible website, excellent product.") https://www.natren.com/ABUS.html
I am taking Alpha Lipoic acid. She said that I should take at least 600mg daily.

Hope this helps!