Hi Lyme wife -
I'm so sorry your husband is suffering like this. I'm glad the LLMDs and psych are engaged. I also experienced really strange symptoms when I started IV abx - both with Rocephin and Vancomycin. Mostly, I experienced very extreme psychosis and cycling through various neurotransmitter symptoms like extreme anxiety one hour, then morose sadness, then rage, then I'd go completely blank, then, panic... constantly for 24 hrs. This lasted about
2 wks at the highest intensity than took about
2 more wks to level out for the most part.
Those types of symptoms are known as neurological-psychological or neuro-psycho sx, like the anxiety and depression he's experiencing. For the most part, the abx just had to get past the blood-brain-barrier and get to the infection in the brain and also gut imbalance or infection the abx reaches in the gut can also cause imbalance in the gut, which can cause neurotransmitter problems (blood vessels connect both GI and brain). Two things really helped with these types of sx
- detoxing gut with a binder (like charcoal - maybe he should increase or add another binder like bentonite clay or even better is pure cholestyramine); and
- detoxing brain with herbs that help process toxins out of the brain - try Nutrimedix Pinella and Bur Bur tinctures.
The burning sensation could be from the toxins from the antimicrobial process or another thing to investigate is a viral load. My scalp feels like that when my immune system gets overloaded and I know it's time to increase my antivirals. It is very common to have either reactivated viral loads or sometimes, there are viruses that can be transmitted along with the bacterial infections. So please talk w/ your LLMD about
an antiviral - I had to cycle through 3 different Rx to find the antiviral that worked for me.
And bartonella likes the head/neck. When I started IV Vancomycin, my head felt like it was in a vice but my scalp burned again. It took time but the vanco did work through this.
So those are a couple issues to consider.
Last, I want to suggest that while I completely understand not wanting to stay on the oxy - the pain intensity can be incredible, as you both know and that, itself, can be incredibly stressful for the body - when he's already coping with so much. So perhaps it's OK to rely on the pain meds for now until he can make more progress with the abx.
One option is to reduce dose or frequency or try Rocephin. In some cases, the treatment just needs more time and it's helpful to support the body while he makes progress with the Lyme treatment. I don't know what the time threshold is for when you change the antimicrobial meds but I was on IV Rocephin 2 yrs and I'm still on the vanco for 1 yr now. I started making considerable progress last year.
Please also try more detoxing - gentle and more intense soaks (sea salt/epsom salt/hydrogen peroxide/heat), red root and dry brushing to improve circulation, and anti-inflammatories like turmeric and japanese knotweed.
Please let us know how he is doing and if you have questions please don't hesitate to ask.
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 5/28/2017 6:57:25 PM (GMT-6)