Herxheimer reaction..what is it like for you?

Hi Peetzax,

For me, my herx rxns were rarely similar. Initially when I went on ceftin, my rxns were much more neurological and also I was stupid thirsty-to the point I called my doctor because I thought something was wrong with my kidneys. I was drinking over a gallon of water a day and I only weighed about 90 lbs at that point.

I also remember (you will have to excuse me, this was some time ago) I would get sharp pains underneath one of my shoulder blades. I think probably my most severe herx rxn was to Houttuynia (for bart). I believe I backed off of that one. My husband had to carry me upstairs to bed because my stomach hurt so bad I couldn't move.

Ironically that is an herb that now I could easily take 3 tblsps/day and that I think was from 1/3 of a teaspoon. I would say more severe herx symptoms for me lasted 2-3 days usually and even then I usually could at least get out of bed and make it to work by 11am or so-I wasn't bedridden for too long. Pretty sick and useless but not bedridden.

For me, my herx rxns and symptoms in generally changed very rapidly with the exception of a handful. I was also fortunate that my treatment was considerably short compared to many. There were some that I thought were symptoms...I had heart issues and I always thought they were symptoms and but they were the result of hormonal imbalance that would go away with time.

I don't know if that helps or not, it sure as heck was frightening and annoying. Hopefully others will be on here shortly to chime in!

Herx should follow within minutes to days of starting a new abx dose and usually resolve with time. I've found that if my dose is too high it can be catalytic and just get worse.

The thing is though that a herx IS your symptoms flaring so the only way to really know if it's a healing crisis or just plain old getting worse is how well it correlates to your abx dose. Sometimes there are some subtle differences but that will be highly individual. Hard to explain but for me a herx feels like the pain aspect of my symptoms. But a true relapse feels the same except with a "toxic" quality.

As far as specifics herxes for me are mostly muscle, nerve and abdominal pain and sometimes cardiac. The abdominal pain is not a normal symptom for me which is a bit of an anomaly but it came and went like all the others so I eventually just brushed it off. I suppose some symptoms can be a bit below the surface before treating. But a herx shouldn't stray too far from your normal symptoms