This morning I woke up feeling only mild pain and fatigue. By early afternoon, however, I was in desperate need of ice packs and a nap. I anticipated exhaustion from the recent increase of doxycycline. I spent most of the day in bed napping on and off. I didn't anticipate the shock of SI joint pain that hit suddenly and stopped me in my tracks. I had big plans to drag myself to Target but quickly realized that it was out of the question. By this evening, I had a fever of 99.7 and felt pretty wiped out. This is shaping up to be a pretty classic Herx reaction. My hope is that I can use this 3 day weekend to get through some of the worst of it.

I haven't written anything in a few days because, frankly, I forgot all about it. Here's a recap of the last few days:

Yesterday marked the end of an exhausting week. I went out more than I planned to or should have. As 5pm approached, I started feeling the kind of exhaustion that is impossible to shake or power through. I went straight home, ate dinner in a hurry, and was asleep by 6:30. The next thing I knew, it was 11:30 and I was just emerging from a "nap". A few hours later, I went to sleep for another 10 blissful hours. I suppose I really was tired.

On Wednesday, May 20th I increased Doxycycline from 100mg to 200mg per day. Of course, anytime you start or increase an antibiotic you can expect to have a Herx reaction. It was not until I swallowed the second pill that I realized that I must be a masochist to increase Doxycycline while I'm still adjusting to Flagyl. And while I haven't ruled out that possibility entirely, I have a pretty good idea of why I did it. I thought about the two different effects these antibiotics have on the bacteria. Flagyl is one of the only antibiotics that can break open the cyst form. The cyst form is essentially just one or more tightly coiled spirochetes inside of a protective covering. When they are broken open with drugs, the spirochetes uncoil becoming symptomatic and vulnerable. Doxycycline can kill spirochetes in the blood stream but has no effect on the cyst form. The combination of the two drugs can be very effective in fighting Lyme. So I decided to increase the Doxycycline now to maximize the infection fighting power of Flagyl.

I have also upped my detox regimen to minimize the amount of neurotoxins in my system from fighting the infection aggressively. I alternate days with Burbur and Parsley tinctures and continue to take several hundred milligrams of Chlorella every day. 

The deep, intense SI joint pain that started on Monday was much better by Wednesday. I am still using ice packs every day but have not needed any additional pain medicine. I always worry about unprovoked pain because I am limited enough as it is. I am already so careful about controlling my movements and being as gentle as possible on my joints. When the pain is still unreasonable with all of my coping mechanisms and preventive measures, I get scared. 

I slept terribly last night. I passed out with the lights on, in my jeans, in a really uncomfortable position. Despite my frustration with missing a decent night's sleep and the fact it is responsible for the intensity of the pain I am in today, there is an upside. Last night I fell asleep, late as it was, without the help of sedatives. I honestly cannot remember the last time that happened. 

The pain is hanging out at just above reasonable today. The majority of it is in my left hip joint and the surrounding nerves and tissue on that side. It is already prohibitive and I haven't really done anything yet. It feels like a combination of a strained muscle and a stinging pain in the joint itself. Add that to the deep growing pain-like sensation that has been hanging around for the last few days and you have a recipe for ice packs and staying in bed. 

I'm still experiencing frequent tachycardia. My resting heart rate has reached 115-120 at least once a day and has stayed there for 10-20 minutes at a time. All I can do is monitor it, use breathing to try to control it, and push up my next dose of Atenolol by a few hours. If this continues, I'll probably have to stop Flagyl, again.

Today I don't feel quite as bad as I had anticipated. I woke up early on my own. I feel pretty tired but not unreasonably so. It was a long, busy week at work and I intend to use this weekend to rest and recover. The pain, so far, is only mild/moderate. It can be hard to gauge the pain when I'm laying in bed where I feel the most comfortable. We'll see how it goes when I venture out to the pharmacy or try to do launry. I'm still taking the full dose of Flagyl, 250mg every day. The last few days, I have felt very weak. It is making things like folding laundry pretty frustrating. The weakness is one of the Lyme symptoms that started suddenly a few years ago. It hasn't improved at all with treatment or time. It only drifts back and forth between moderate and severe. Anyway, the last few days it has been especially bad.

Later in the day...I have a low-grade fever and my heart rate has been about 115 for a while now. It doesn't seem like it's going to stop on its own so I will take my next dose of Atenolol (beta-blockers) a little early tonight. The fever isn't really a problem, it just makes me feel achy and clammy.