off week

Flagyl face, taken last Thursday.

I didn't feel well at all last week.

I'm on 3 weeks of Biaxin/ 1 week of Flagyl (both antibiotics) for my Lyme. It's done wonders for me, and the combination of those drugs really pushed my body past being on the losing side of the bacteria, to feeling almost back to the original Lisa.

My health has been great this summer. I've accomplished so much, from getting the bathroom redone, to landscaping and gardening outside, to attending everything I've been invited to, without having to stay home because I was herxing too bad to go. Sometimes I even forgot I had Lyme; and believe me, I've barely forgotten for a second for over three years.

Anyway, I was trotting along my "new normal" Lymie life, and took the first dose of Flagyl on Sunday. By Monday I had crazy tinglies in my legs and feet, exhaustion, mild nausea and no appetite, depression, blotchy/rashy face, and a dull constant headache. I looked up the side effects of Flagyl, and all of those are listed. The trouble is, they're also Lyme symptoms. But they didn't quite feel like Lyme. Kind of, but not really.

I didn't know what was going on. I panicked. I was going to miss the bachelorette weekend in Vermont. An upcoming weekend on Harsen's Island. Sarah's wedding. I was going to miss the rest of summer, my house was going to fall apart again, and the Lyme would slowly take me over again. I was losing myself, slipping away into that dark heavy place. It was all so familiar, and I hated it.

I felt so awful, so scared, my brain running a million miles an hour. So around 8:00 p.m. I couldn't stand myself anymore, so I took an Ambien and went to bed, sleeping for almost 10 hours. I woke up feeling a bit more sane. I decided to keep taking the Flagyl, see how the week turned out, and monitor how I felt when I went back on Biaxin.

Friday I went to RCP to help pack (we're moving to a new location) and didn't tell anyone how rotten I was feeling. On Sunday, the first day off Flagyl and back on Biaxin, I felt so much better. My parents drove down to spend the weekend here, and we finished putting baseboards on my back two bedrooms, did a little work in the yard, went downtown to the Greektown Casino and then to dinner, and I was able to keep up. A herx doesn't turn around that fast.

I have many things to discuss with my Lyme doctor next time. The most important of which is - was that a herx, or the Flagyl? Has my time with that drug combination run its course? Can I try a different drug? I still can't go off antibiotics because I'm not completely symptom-free; I still have mild chest pressure and the infuriating tingling/pressure/twitching/vibrating neurological legs.

Ergh.

But I feel better this week, so we'll just go with that!