Last Day of Clindy IVs

[Fran]

Hi everyone!  I'm on my last day of Clindy IVs at home.  So far, its been uneventful.  I started on Sunday rather than Monday as I originally had planned. 

I've been doing fine on it but so far I don't notice the immediate benefits as originally when I had the Clindy IVs back in Aug. of 2007.

I'm wondering how many of you have herxed on Clindy IVs?  I didn't in 07 and am not sure if I am right now.  I don't know whether I'm just feeling the RA or whether I'm herxing.  I am not sure because I stopped my doxy on Friday and started feeling much better by about Monday/Tuesday and then by Wednesday I started feeling joint inflammation and soreness again so I don't know what I'm experiencing.

[Randy]

Hi Fran,

We are all different and respond differently to Clindy IV's.  I can tell you for certain that I do herx after my IV's (and I have lots of data here!), and there are other SD folks who say they don't herx.  I can herx as quickly as an hour after IV's and I can still be herxing up to 5 days after my IV's.  Typically I herx worse after my 5th day of IV's.  For example, currently I have 5 days (M-F) of 1200mg Clindy IV's every 3 weeks. So, I can certainly expect to herx on Saturday and to a lesser degree on Sunday. Also, as a result of recently going 5 wks before my last IV cycle, I had much more significant herxing than normal.

So the next question is “What are your herx symptoms?”

For me they are an exacerbation of my SD symptoms with some typical herx call-call signs.  Malaise is common and the associated non-motivation to do about anything; mild to medium headache; mild to significant chills; joint pains (where you have preexisting joint problems); irritability and easily angered; ….. some just off the top of my head.

Randy

Diffuse SD since Apr '07
AP since Feb '08
100mg Mino twice daily
Stopped Clindamycin IVs Aug 2019
"No one should profit over someone else's illness"

[mschmidt]

Fran,

I also get clindy iv's every month, and have for almost a year now.  The very 1st series I had was in January, and I ended up in the ER with PCP's, severe anxiety, and very low blood pressure.  I believe that was a herx, and it happened on day 2 of 5. (I went to Dr. S in Iowa, who did 900mg twice daily)  I felt fantastic for about a month afterwards, then started to feel bad again–although my skin was beginning to loosen up.  I started clindy iv's again in March with Dr. F, and do 1200mg 5 days in a row, every 4th week.  From March to June, I was in a constant herx–terrible joint pain, skin tightness, heartburn, dizziness, agitation, worsening of menses, etc.  Then, my extreme herxing stopped.  Swelling, joint pain, skin tightness, etc. went away, and has improved dramatically since then.  The herxing I notice now during my iv's is some water retention/swelling (which is common with Clindamycin), day 3 I feel some tightness in my mouth (nowhere else), and I have some surging going on in my body–hot flashes, and what I can only describe as a very mild shooting pain/sensation that's migratory.  I think the latter symptom is related to Lyme disease (which I also have), and it only happens when I get the iv's so, I'm assuming it stirs things up there. 

I completely agree with Randy–everyone responds differently to medications.  Like I've said in other posts, NO ONE could convince me I was herxing when I first started out because it felt like disease progression x 100!! I think sometimes it's hard to  be able to distinguish between the two.  I've always had a delayed reaction to every drug I've ever taken, and sometimes it just takes some time to feel the benefits of your treatment. 

In my opinion, you are experiencing a herx because you're experiencing some of your RA symptoms right now.  I just have a question regarding your doxy:  Why did you stop taking it?  Just curious. 

I have 1 day left of my clindy iv's (yeah), and it's been pretty uneventful for me as well:)

[Fran]

Maria-  I just stopped my doxy on Friday just to do the Clindy IVs.  I'll go back on doxy next week.  Dr. S just has me stop during IVs.  Although I'm not sure that doxy is helping me but I'm not able to take minocycline.

You are right–its so hard to discern what is herxing and what is worsening of disease!  I don't feel awful by any means compared to how I usually feel though.

[Author]

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