Feeling Great On Antibiotics, Hmm.....

[margiebee]

So the other day I was actually admitted to the hospital with really vague symptoms like extreme body/joint aches and severe fatigue. Well, come to find out I actually had a pretty raging UTI going on. Silly me. Doc says not everyone presents with urinary symptoms, some only present with things like fatigue and body aches.

Well anyone, they shot me up with some IV antibiotics there because of how bad it was, and then sent me home with a prescription for Keflex. Now I haven't taken antibiotics in years because I usually vomit. Well, I didn't vomit, and then around day two to day three, the exact opposite started happening. I felt GREAT. The aches started to go away, as they should. But then I started to feel more energy than I have in a while, my heart rate has actually been lower (!!!!) and today I was even able to wake up at 7:00 AM feeling fresh and ready to go. Honestly, even my parents have said that my skin has more color than they've ever seen it with before.

At first I was chalking this up to having had such a bad UTI for so long and forgetting what I felt like prior to that, but I couldn't have had the UTI for longer than 6 months or so and its becoming clear now that I haven't felt this good for years. So I'm really wondering what's going on. Any theories? I'm halfway tempted to pursue testing for Lyme now. I never thought that could be it, but now I'm very curious.

[Guest Alex]

Margiebee,

I had a similar experience with 2 rounds of antibiotics for an abscessed tooth. I tested negative for Lyme though a few months after I started having my tachy spells and none of the doctors I've seen lately has been willing to retest me.

No idea why it happened, but I'd be curious to hear if anyone has any theories.

Alex

[AllAboutPeace]

Count me in, too, as someone who feels better on antibiotics!

I found this older discussion about it with some interesting thoughts...

http://forums.dinet.org/index.php?/topic/15435-antibiotics-make-me-feel-better/page-3?hl=antibiotics

[margiebee]

I've heard you have to see a naturopath, not a regular MD or DO, in order to get the "correct" Lyme test let alone to be treated for chronic Lyme. I've always entertained the possibility, but never felt like spending the money since its not covered by insurance at all. But now that I feel that I have a little more evidence that it may help.....its much more tempting.

I think the most interesting thing is I can't say the bit about the inflammation markers in the blood does much for me, because mine are always normal but in the lower range. So I don't think I personally have any issue with inflammation.

[Chaos]

Wonder if you might also have other infections going on that you weren't aware of and the antibiotics are doing double duty? Have you seen a good immunologist to have a thorough work up of your immune system? There is a theory that a lot of us have immune system issues as well, so we run high viral titers and/or heavy bacterial loads (eg.mycoplasma pneumoia) all the time because our immune systems can't take them out. Finding a good immunologist with knowledge in this area is a challenge but may be worth your while.

[badhbt]

I was tested for Lyme through my normal lab, and it came out negative. I was then tested through my ND through Igenex and that came back positive for chronic lyme. It is so confusing to get a negative test through convientional testing and then a positive test through a lab that is not accreditied with the CDC. I did do antibiotics and noticed a difference. I am taking a break from them now to see where I am at.

I just wish it wasn't so confusing!

[Katybug]

The Lyme issue is hard. There is also a significant list of Lyme co-infections that can be tested for. A naturopath is not the only type of doc that will do the Igenex testing. There are MD and DO that are considered Lyme Literate Doctors that will perform additional testing and treat for chronic Lyme or the co-infections. If you would like to find out more or try to find a LLD in your area, you could check out the ILADS website. That's where I learned about chronic Lyme. I haven't been to the site in a while but when I first needed to find an LLD, the website was pretty new and didn't have any sort of physicians list, so I called the organization and asked for a list of physicians in my area that were members of this organization. I'm sure there are other ways to find LLDs, this is just the way I found mine.

[margiebee]

Thank you Katybug! That was super helpful! I definitely feel like there's something wacky with my immune system, but again until I had PROOF that something like that might help I was sort of like "eh, I'll do it some day". But now I'm nearing the end of my antibiotics and hoping this feeling will last, I just feel more "healthy", if you know what I mean. Like I would say I actually feel like a normal 21 year old right now haha

[looneymom]

Since we are on this topic, I thought I should add my 2 cents worth knowledge. It sounds like this could be autoimmune. If your body has had an infection in the past and for some unknown reason the antibiotics did not take care of it, it can cross over into the brain barrier. The infection left behind can create some unusual antibodies in your brain which in return can go against your body the next time you come down with a similar infection. This is what can causes PANS/Pandas in kids. From research, Adults do not get PANS/PANDAS but they can get it before puberty. A treatment of high dosage antibiotics, IVIG. and plasma exchange has been know to decrease or shut down all symptoms. After finding this research, I think that other diseases such as Lyme, may also fit this category. Seeing an immunologist would probably be helpful. From testing, I learned that my son's T- cells are low during an infection. It takes him longer to get over an infection.

Rachel

[margiebee]

I've always been interested in PANDAS since I have OCD, I know it only strikes kids but I'm not far off from being a kid and I've always wondered if its supposed to get better at a certain age. I definitely will look into seeing an immunologist, seems there are many possibilities.