LDN and Doxy

[Fran]

Ugh!  I started LDN one week ago today.  I added it to my doxy and I had 4 days of feeling really good/ energized and low levels of inflammation.  Yesterday and today I feel like I'm in cement again and movement is hard and painful.  Its just a complete bummer.  Has anyone else had that experience with LDN.  I'm starting at 1.5 mg for 3 weeks and then move up to 3.0.  I had such high hopes and after 4 days of feeling really good I'm so down that I feel horrible again.  :headbang:

[Maz]

Hi Fran,

I experienced a similar “honeymoon” period when I started LDN and then backstepped, too. LDN temporarily blocks endorphins at night for a few hours and then the brain compensates by producing a rebound effect of higher levels of endorphins, which help to modulate immune function. With the immune system working more effectively, more bug-killing takes place…hence herxing. I decided with my doc to only increase my dose by .5mg every month, starting at 1.5mg in Feb. So, I'm currently only on 3mg and will be increasing to 3.5mg in a couple weeks. Like AP, a low and slow approach is probably the best way to go with hypersensitive RAers, like you and me. 😉

Hope this helps…JFR (Judy) was a great help to me when I started LDN. I hope she won't mind me speaking for her, but I haven't seen her in a while here. You could try PMing her, though. She actually started LDN before finding and starting AP, which is kind of the reverse to how most folk here, already on AP, begin….but her experience of LDN alone is quite revealing. She mentioned going through a period of herxing after starting LDN, as well, which was a bit unnerving, but she stuck with it and, later, when she added AP, she was able to reach remission.

Peace, Maz

[Fran]

Thanks, once again, Maz for your insight!  I really do appreciate your help and all you do for this board.  Waking up feeling so horrid yesterday after 4 whole days of feeling like a new person was just the ultimate bummer!

Are you still herxing?  I guess just not knowing if this is herxing or a flare or what is going on is the worst. 

The ironic thing here is that two weeks ago for my job I started getting in the warm water therapy pool to help clients rehabilitate from strokes/ brain cancer.  Prior to that, I did it on land but just recently started getting in the therapy pool with them.  Well this week I am breaking out into a rash all over and I don't know if its the LDN (cuz it coincides with starting LDN) or I'm developing an allergy to the chlorine in the therapy pool.  I haven't heard of anyone else talking about skin rashes with LDN but given my track history with medications, I seem to react to everything!  Either way, I'm bummed about this development because both the LDN and the therapy pool are beneficial!

This darn disease!:doh:

[Maz]

[user=123]Fran[/user] wrote:

Are you still herxing?  I guess just not knowing if this is herxing or a flare or what is going on is the worst.  

 Well this week I am breaking out into a rash all over and I don't know if its the LDN (cuz it coincides with starting LDN) or I'm developing an allergy to the chlorine in the therapy pool. 

Fran, I understand…it is a bummer to get a few clear days and start the herxing all over again. You'll know if it's herxing, if when every time you increase your dose you experience the same thing. It's only in retrospect I have been able to discern the difference between a herx or flare. There really isn't a good deal of difference, symptomatically, between herxing and flaring…both are the result of release of toxins from bugs. It's just that a herx should be more transient in nature with some improvements experienced after the worst has passed. Flaring just heralds continued worsening and progression.

Does your LDN prescribing doc have experience with LDN? If so, you might want to check in with them to ensure all is okay. What kind of rash is it? Itchy and hive-like? I guess the only way to know if it's the LDN or chlorine is to stop both and re-introduce each thing, one at a time once the rash has cleared. Another thing you can do is get your esoinophils checked…they're usually elevated in an allergic reaction.

One thing that can be a problem, I've read, with LDN, is if there is a pre-existant candida issue. If you have an overgrowth of candida, it will prevent the LDN from working and may even erupt as a candida rash. This is something you could ask in an LDN support group to compare notes with other users.

In answer to your question about LDN and herxing…yes, each time I increase my LDN dose, I herx a little for a few days. This is why I've gone really slow, as like you I'm also pretty sensitive to stuff.

Any luck locating a Lyme doc yet, Fran?

Peace, Maz 

[Anonymous]

Fran,

I have been using LDN 3.5 since last Aug. Until just recently had excellent results which is why I started looking for an alternative therapy. The joint pain is returning and impeding my exercise and energy level. Waiting for a reply to locate a doctor who will treat Psoriatic Athritis with AP. I hope that you are able to find a solution to your LDN questions.

[Author]

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