Does it seem like EVERY medication gives you a bad reaction?

Due to a number of clinical symptoms, this week my doctor tested me on a very low dose of Armour.   My Igenex test has confirmed Lyme, but since my quality of life is so horrible and all my hormones are low (but in the bottom range), he decided to give me a test run on this medicine.   Basically, the worse symptom was the feeling that any of my limbs could just be pulled right off my body with the slightest tug.  This is obviously not a normal side effect of the medicine.  Anyway, that is not the point.   At first I thought it was in my head, but after this test run, I am absolutely certain now that I am having severe, uncharacteristic reactions to 99% of all medicines and supplements that I try.   Even aspirin gives me a moderate reaction.   I also have become very intolerant to gluten, high levels of sugar, peanuts, alcohol, and chocolate. 

 

Does anyone else have this symptom?  I'm curious to see how many people with Lyme have this same symptom.  I guess it's worth mentioning that Lyme has affected my GI tract quite a bit. 

 

Hi Chris,

I can absolutely relate to what you're saying. I get strange symptoms from a lot of different medicines, foods, etc. My GI tract isn't good either, so I wonder if maybe that has something to do with it.

Hey Bella,

Thanks for responding. I would guess it might have to do with both the GI tract and the way the liver is handling the medicine in question. I've been tested in both these areas and everything is normal. Have you been tested in these areas?

Hi Chris,

I've had my liver function checked and it was normal, but I haven't had much testing in the GI area. My blood test came back negative for H. Pylori, which I had a lot of symptoms of. I think the next step would be an endoscopy to see what else is going on.

Hi Chris,

Just a quick note to let you know that food and chemical sensitivities seem to be common among "lymers". Also, heavy metal toxicity can also cause this. Conventional "western" medicine did nothing to help us, but the "alternative" med. world is trying to help us. The approach is to support the liver/gall bladder, the adrenals, the gut, and probably kidneys. Maybe a good naturopath or alt. med. chiropractor could help you with this. Best wishes. bablymers mom

Thanks Bella!

Bablymers...I have actually gone that route as well - Homeopathic. Unfortunately, I just can't get into their treatments. They always seem to want drastic things done like having all of my fillings out, take unsafe amounts of vitamins and minerals, take TONS of herbs and supplements I have never heard of before or that have very little scientific research behind them, or they want me to go to Mexico for 4 weeks to get IV's that will detox my system at $8,000 a week...apparently the "only way I'll ever cure the lyme." They also seem to use a lot of tests that just don't have enough scientific backing around them for my taste. I have seen at least 3 naturopaths that are considered very good doctors in my area.

I absolutely believe these doctors have something to offer, but I just need something more then blind faith and their word to undergo their drastic treatments. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Chris, you've had some bad luck with ND's. Anyone who tells me I would need to go to Mexico, would make me wonder as well.
I also did some homeopathy for lyme, but this homeopath I went to see was totally uneducated about lyme and she was a kook.

Yeah, I too have a lot of reactions to things, and have a totally messed up GI tract. You might look into NutriGenomic testing to find out if your body has genetic predisposition to process things differently than the average person. I've got one genetic polymorphism that causes me to need far less of certain medications than the average person, and if I am given full strength doses, my body acts as if I've been totally overdosed because the enzymes necessary for detoxing these meds can't go as fast as "normal."

On the fillings, if you aren't having obvious outgassing from them, then don't bother. The exposure during removal will be far more than what you're getting by leaving them in. I was told by a biologic dentist that most people don't have trouble with them, that it is only certain folks who do, and those are the only folks he takes the fillings out for - everyone else he just recommends good dental care and just replace the ones that need replacing when they need it, and that's it (obviously, the replacement fillings would be non-mercury fillings).

If you have no confidence in the Naturopathic practitioner you see, then you should find someone else. I've "fired" many doctors and Naturopaths, including a world-reknown LLMD, because of lack of confidence in them.

Most Natural/Complementary medicine does not have much peer-reviewed, double-blinded, placebo controlled studies backing it, mostly because not many studies have been done. Doesn't mean the medicine doesn't work or isn't safe, just means the kind of info you seek on it is lacking especially in the USA. Other countries are starting to do more and more studies on this stuff, but it still is outnumbered by traditional Pharmaceutical research by quite a bit. But you can do your own research on this stuff if you want to: http://www.pubmed.gov/ is the best site to search for medical journal articles about various things...this site ties in to the National Library of Medicine's archive of medical journal articles. Some of the article abstracts even have a link out to the actual article and sometimes they are available for free (most cost $15-30 or more per article).

Thanks everyone.  Its reassuring to know that I'm not the only one.  

Glad you found encouragement in PubMed about the essential oils.  Just make sure you get 100% pure theraputic grade essential oils.  The oils used for perfume usually are not pure enough for theraputic purposes, and many have been diluted or extracted with solvents, etc.  Most health food store brands are terrible, so make sure you do your research on the ingredients and extraction methods first...  Email me if you want more specific details.