Saturday, April 30, 2011



(Tulips in our garden finally bloomed this week!)

Good news: For some reason, I'm feeling much better. I'd like to attribute that to the garlic pills, but alas, I haven't started them yet (don't worry, I'll get around to it).

I do not recommend doing this, and keep in mind, I'm not a doctor, so I can't tell you why this is happening. I also know it contradicts the "be on antibiotics at all times!" argument, BUT I've been experimenting. It started out as an accident. I fell asleep without taking my antibiotics, which I haven't done so far during the course of the pregnancy.

The next morning, I felt crappy, but not like hell, which is where I've been stuck for the past few weeks. I had energy to hold the baby and even do a few dishes.

During my last pregnancy, my LLMD took me off of all antibiotics for six weeks during the second trimester (stating that the most important times to be medicated are during the first and third trimesters), due to a bad allergic reaction to IV antibiotics. He wanted my system to clear out for a bit before we continued on oral Zithromax.

With that in mind, I figured that if I went Zithromax free for six weeks (looking back, that was the only time I felt GREAT during pregnancy). I could afford to miss a couple of days this time to see what happened. I've been "pausing" the antibiotics for four days now, (No, I didn't tell my doctor. Yes, I'm bad. I just want to make sure my theory is fully tested first) and I'm feeling pretty great. I have energy, I feel less "toxic," I've done chores around the house, napping less, and I even drove to the bank and planted a few seeds in garden this morning.

So was all of this terrible pain my body's way of telling me that it needs an antibiotic vacation? Not sure yet, but it seems too fitting to be a coincidence. On Monday I will start back on the antibiotics again. If I quickly decline again, I'm calling my LLMD immediately to say, "Hey, what gives?"

Again, I'm no expert, and I don't want to jeopardize the health of my unborn baby. I'm assuming I will be back on the antibiotics for the rest of the pregnancy, and I prefer it that way to be safe. However, maybe there's no harm done in clearing the system for a week or maybe even two when the pain gets to be too much? *This is a guess--I'm not sure.

The quick improvement is interesting to say the least, and I'm definitely enjoying this relief. Next week I'll either report back that I'm still feeling better even when back on the antibiotics, or that I've talked to my doctor about why my pain coincides with taking Zithromax (this doesn't happen on other antibiotics). Of course, I'll share his answers.

Ultimately, this little bit of energy has given me the optimism and hope I need to push through the next 11 or so weeks until our baby boy arrives. Regardless of setbacks, I can't believe how quickly this has all gone by!

3 comments:

  1. Maybe after the baby is born and you are settled in with another little one try switching to some herbs. I took myself off of antibiotics this winter and remained strictly on Byron White herbs and I have shockingly gotten better and better. It's been an experiment and I have had days that I ran to my drug drawer to pop some antibiotics but I didn't. I really wanted to give something else a fair trial run. It's worth thinking about. Especially when you take a break and do feel a bit better. Enjoy your last months of pregnancy. Bring on the flowers, sun, and warmth!

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  2. I'm glad that you are feeling better. Wow, you are an inspiration handling lyme disease AND pregnancy so bravely. I wanted to share a blog post by my dermatologist on Lyme Disease. It's really more for folks who discover early on that they've been bitten by a tick but I found it to be extremely helpful though scary. It's from Krauss Dermatology at http://www.kraussderm.com/frequently-asked-questions/lyme-aid

    I hope you and your readers find it helpful.

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  3. Hey, it's Hoos. I haven't been to your blog in a couple months (or any Lyme sites)....just now getting back. It's been a long psychological rollercoaster (the reasons why I've been gone).

    Very interested to read this, as it kind of echoes back to what I've been thinking/saying to myself, and what I've said some here, in the comments. Just that....if our bodies feel better off antibiotics, and being off antibiotics "feels right," then what do we do? It puts us in a conundrum (since we know, theoretically, that the abx protect baby. But then the question is, does it really, if we ourselves feel like crap?).

    I said here that I thought it was great for you to be on them, because they seemed to make your symptoms better in an obvious fashion. And now it's appearing that is no longer the case. Perhaps your Lyme is finally in remission?!? (at least temporarily, so I'm not exactly saying you are cured). Maybe it's from the pregnancy. Or maybe your body is finally just handling the Lyme.

    I will be interested to hear what you ended up deciding to do!!!! I wish you the best of luck in making the decision. I am definitely not trying to say what you should do....I am just a person like you, wondering what's right. When in doubt, protect the baby. But when in doubt (part II), follow your gut. So it's confusing.

    I have put some thought into this, and I figured if I do stay off antibiotics when pregnant, I may end up going on them for the last 4 weeks before giving birth. My theory on it is this: It would be a way to kill any Lyme in the baby's body (God forbid), without having to actually give the baby antibiotics after the birth, thus messing up the baby's healthy gut flora. (the baby doesn't start acquiring gut flora until going through the birth canal, or, once being "out in the world").

    But then I also figured....antibiotics don't actually kill every last bacteria, do they? They just help you get a hold on the infectious situation (right?). So if that is the truth, and the Zith or Amox doesn't kill every last bacteria anyways....what is the point? At that point, you are relying on good immunity anyways, and maybe that's best achieved by not giving abx.

    Those are my very uneducated thoughts. (I'm not a doctor!)

    Things have been very stressful for me lately...I will probably just write you a short message on Lyme Friends about it, because I saw that you wrote me awhile ago and I never replied (sorry! eek).

    Anyways, best of luck! You are almost there! Woo hoooooo!!!!!! :)

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