By keeping a careful diary of our symptoms of illness whether it be ME/CFS, Arthritis, or Neurological it helps us to discuss with our doctors and can highlight patterns in our symptoms.
One of the occurrences with Lyme disease, that is well documented, is the Jarisch Herxheimer reaction.
'Several days after the onset of appropriate antibiotic therapy, symptoms often flare due to lysis of the spirochetes with release of increased amount of antigenic material and possibly bacterial toxins. This is referred to as a Jarisch Herxheimer-like reaction. Because it takes 48 to 72 hours of therapy to initiate bacterial killing, the Herxheimer reaction is therefore delayed. This is unlike syphilis, in which these reactions can occur within
hours.'
The above is an extract from the Burrascano Guidelines there is also a link from my sidebar into these Guidelines.
In an earlier post I mentioned that it was an improvement in my Arthritis and Muscle weakness symptoms that led to my diagnosis, but it is important to realise that that improvement can be followed by Herxheimer reactions as mentioned above and can also fall into a cycling pattern. Many patients reactions, if extreme can be thought to be an allergy to the medication, so this is something to research and carefully discuss with doctors.
For those with ME/CFS, Arthritis or Neurological illnesses it is important to be aware of the above patterns when treated with antibiotics, who knows like me it could be an indication of an underlying infectious origin such as Lyme Disease.
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