Can Lyme Disease make you have bad reactions to medications?
I had the typical bulls-eye rash from a tick and didn’t realize that it was Lyme until like a year later. At that time, I told my doc and he gave me 30 days of Doxycycline, however the side effects were terrible. Fast forward about 5 years, I have a tooth infection that went to my ear and was given Amoxicillin, Ery-Tabs, Keflex and had bad reactions to all of them (chest pain, rapid heartbeat, palpitations, high blood pressure). I asked this question differently before without mentioning the Lyme and someone thought it could be Mitral Valve Prolapse. However, is it common for people with Lyme Disease to be very, very sensitive to medications. I have also been prescribed meds for anxiety and depression and had a bad reaction to like at least 7 or 8 of them. Could the Lyme be fighting the antibiotics? Does that mean I should keep taking them, even though the side effects are that bad? I just got a new script.
July 16th, 2010 at 3:37 am
maybe you are allergic to a certain ingredient in those medications
without sounding rude – are you THINKING that you are going to have side effects? because if you anticipate side effects and start reading the label with side effects listed you can actually talk yourself into having one or all of those side effects…don’t read the label until you experience something irregular…I had Lyme in 2003 and I know it’s not tons of fun but I haven’t had any problems with any medications since then and never read the label because I am the type of person who can talk herself into believing I have every side effect listed
I also have Mitral Valve Polapse but I don’t think that effected Lyme in any way…your doctor can diagnose that simply by listening to your heart so next time you are at the dr ask…
former vet tech 3 yrs, current groomer 17 yrs
Report this comment
July 25th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
As any medication can cause a reation at anytime. Even if taken for many years. The body makes its own chemicals for combating issues at any time. But a reaction to this or even to medication types can happen. Best advice is talk to your doctor. Read up on the meds and effects. WebMD is pretty good for information.
former vet tech 3 yrs, current groomer 17 yrs
Report this comment
August 5th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Could be a couple of things going on here. Lyme bugs are spirochetes, which are known for something called a Jarish-Herxheimer reaction. When antibiotics start killing the bugs, the dying bugs give off a toxic substance in your blood stream which makes you feel MUCH WORSE than you did before. Folks with Lyme generally call this “herxing.” This requires a balancing act when it comes to taking your medications. You want enough to kill off the bugs, but you don’t want to herx too strongly, because that can be dangerous in itself. Those terrible side-effects you had when first treated with doxycycline might well have been a herx reaction.
Fast forward 5 years. You were given more antibiotics. If the Lyme bugs are still in your body (and they very likely are) you might in fact be herxing again from the new antibiotics. It’s also possible that you have developed allergies to some of these medications. Interesting that you are being treated for anxiety and depression. Lyme can cause anxiety and depression and other psychiatric symptoms. I just heard a presentation recently about psychiatric manifestations of Lyme. The doc said that psych drugs often have an antibiotic effect in addition to a psychiatric effect. He didn’t comment as to whether the psych drugs themselves could cause herxes, but it’s an interesting question.
Lyme is a complicated disease. I suggest you find a doctor affiliated with ILADS (international lyme and associated diseases society) because they have the most experience treating long-term Lyme. I also suggest you educate yourself as much as possible.
Good sources of info about Lyme disease:
http://www.canlyme.com
http://www.lymenet.com
http://www.lymeinfo.net
http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org
http://www.ilads.org
http://www.betterhealthguy.com
http://www.publichealthalert.com
http://www.freewebs.com/teenswithlyme
former vet tech 3 yrs, current groomer 17 yrs
Report this comment
August 20th, 2010 at 2:36 am
Yup! Sounds like Herxheimer reaction to ME. The abx you’ve been starting on can initaite a die-off the disseminated Lyme, causing ALL the symptoms that you mentioned. {I had 3 out of the 4 of those the 1st month I was on meds for my Lyme.}
The thing that stands out is you HAD the typical bullseye rash, which means you were nearly certain to have been infected with the Lyme borrellia. After a year, they are disseminated throughout the body where they might not cause problems if your immune system is keeping them in “check”. Or…odd pains may pop up here & there, possibly along with a feeling of being tired overall… atleast more than you were before the bullseye ring. HAVE your THYROID TESTED! (TSH level, etc.) It’s often affected by this bug.
Any doc familiar w/ the disease knows that 30 days of dyoxy at this stage in NO WAY will be the cure- or even the proper treatment. Dyoxy is bacteriostatic in that it doesn’t actually lyse (kill) the spirochettes directly but impedes them so that they die out by interfering with their ‘growth phase’, which- for Lyme bacteria- happens only once every 28 days!!.
It really sounds like you need to discuss all this with a Lyme-literate doc (often referred to as an LLMD) so he/ she can take in your whole history/ all med reactions & current symptomology and combine that with bloodwork run at a GOOD lab, looking for evidence of active Lyme infection. Then they can get you on a proper antibiotic program, which is often altered after a few months to attack the bugs from a “different angle.”
I was fine with a few meds (like dyoxy & Biaxin) in the years BEFORE I got Lyme, reacted strongly/ poorly to them after I was infected & tested + , but can now take them again w/o issue. This is a common story.
But follow the doc’s instructions carefully. You don’t want to dive into the abx too quickly. That can result in major “herxing” & you’ll end up in the E.R! (where they won’t really be able to do much for ya ANY-way.)
If you ARE diagnosed w/ ‘late-stage Lyme’, you’ll need to be on abx for several MONTHS. The GOOD news is that the herxing will get less & less (it usually comes in waves) over the many weeks, until the ‘ketes are knocked so far down that you’ll be feeling better than you’ve had for a lo-o-ong time.
As far as a M.V.Prolapse, that can account for an occasional heartbeat irregularity, but it doesn’t cause that chest pain, rapid heartbeat OR high blood pressure. THAT might very well be a “battle”going on inside you & you DON’T want to “withdraw” early! That’s how you end up w/ antibiotic-resistant strains of bugs. Good LUCK!
former vet tech 3 yrs, current groomer 17 yrs
Report this comment