“It would be ridiculous for me to say I am unlucky, but, like any other family and any other girl, I've had my ups and downs.”
- Poppy Delevingne
Ahahaha, I say, because yes. Though maybe not in the way you're thinking.
Penicillin and its variants (amoxicillin, bicillin, etc) are the "to be tried first" treatment for Lyme.
Except I'm allergic to all those medications. One doctor I had (and hated) wanted to see if I was "still" allergic, as I hadn't had any of that type of medication for 15-ish years. He wrote a script for a pill of penicillin and told me to take half.
And, just like when I was a child, I broke out in a huge rash and had to immediately take benadryl. I chewed him out, too, and told him I did not like his attitude towards my allergies, nor the way he implied he wouldn't continue to treat me if I did not do this trial. I also asked my parents to let me switch doctors; my mother would not let me until this doctor left the practice in DC, where I was living at the time.
Instead, I take minocycline. But the thing is, you can't JUST take medication to kill off Lyme. You have to take medication that burst the cysts, or protective bubbles around the Lyme spirochetes (aka bacteria), as well. Or the medication to kill the spirochetes cannot get to said spirochetes.
Plus, please remember, I do not just have Lyme; I also have bartonella (the one that could kill me) and babesia (the one like having malaria). These three infections work in a very strange way, so that when one infection is strong, as a side-effect, it "protects" the other infections; it makes it harder to kill them off.
So, even though a medicine to kill Lyme may technically work, if the bartonella is too strong, there won't be any (or any good amount of) die-off from the Lyme. If the babesia is too strong, the bartonella cannot be killed off. Etc. It's a nasty, pain in the ass cycle. And I hate treating the babesia more than anything, as it results in horrible, chronic sweats and hot flashes. I can have them for up to a week at a time, and in addition to being horribly hot and sweaty all the time, it leaves me utterly wiped out.
Not good for attending classes. Or having...any sort of a life, really.
But more of that for the co-infections post, I think.
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