Posted by bleauberry on April 17, 2018, at 8:27:03
So this happened to someone I know last week.
The person is healthy and productive. They've had some random 'crashes' before. They resolve in a few weeks and then return at random. The crashes are a mixture of dark depression, suicidal thoughts, feelings of worthlessness, unexplained fear, dread, easily agitated, and panic.
Everyone here who knows me probably can guess what I was thinking as I observed this person. They do have other symptoms - most of us do - besides just psychiatric. And it paints a picture.
The person was asked if they would try an experiment. They said they would do anything. The person took one pill of Rifampin and one pill of Doxycycline.
Within 24 hours the person was about 70% improved, engaged in life again, and clearly not in the crash anymore. And totally exhausted from it all. Again 2 more pills. The next day 80% improved.
That person has since hooked up with an LLNP (Lyme Literate Nurse Practitioner). The person may have more crashes before remission - Herxing or 'die-off' is as nasty as the original symptoms. But they are clearly on a path to restoring wellness, not merely managing disease.
Managing disease would mean psychiatric meds for the symptoms, with no regard to why the symptoms exist in the first place. Any other doctor would have diagnosed this person as bipolar. I know this person. They are not bipolar. But it sure looks bipolar. It isn't. It is an unsuspected stealth infection impacting the brain. The rapid response to ABX was the confirmation.
In my case, years ago, my initial response to ABX (antibiotics) was nowhere near that dramatic. But I definitely felt a few hours on day 2 and day 3 where I could honestly say, "I still feel like crap but I feel better than I have in longer than I can remember."
FYI
poster:bleauberry
thread:1098191
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20180331/msgs/1098191.html