switching to zith--afraid of herx?

[eljomom]

Just got back from another visit with Dr. L. Confident that my daughter is PANDAS and not TS. So we are switching to zithromax from augmentin (did 30 days on that without much improvement). She said zith. was originally created as an anti-inflammatory, but they found it also worked as an anti-bacterial. That being said, with my daughter's recent Lyme results being "negative" but suggestive of further studies, I am afraid that if there is an underlying Lyme, the zith. might cause a herx reaction. I really don't know what this is, but thought I read it somewhere, and I'm worried about it. ANy thoughts on this. We are having Igenix run the band 31 confirmation test, and then Dr. Harris (at Igenix) said if that's negative to move on.

[Worried_Dad]

Although scary, a Herxheimer reaction is actually a positive sign that the antibiotic is doing its job and killing off pathogens: the old "it'll get worse before it gets better" effect. SF Mom has posted some great info on this, like this thread:

 

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7800

 

So - even though a herx can be awfully tough on the PANDAS child and the caregivers - it's actually proof that the abx are working. Others on here can probably share better personal observations of what it's like to deal with this and how best to cope / minimize the impact.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Worried Dad