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Happy Herxheimer!!!

Okay, ‘fess up – have you ever even heard of the Herxheimer Reaction? Or perhaps you’ve heard it called Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction, JHR, the Herxheimer Effect, the Herxheimer Response, a Herx Reaction, Herx or Herks. I’m sure you know all about it!

Yeah, right… if you do, I’m impressed. I’d certainly never heard of it, though strangely enough, it turns out I have dealt with the problem. However, I was dealing with sheep, not people, and I’ve never heard it given a specific name.

So what exactly is it? The Herxheimer Reaction is an immune system reaction to the toxins that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off, and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough. The released toxins make the original symptoms worse, or create new ones.

It’s also referred to as a healing crisis, a detox reaction, or die-off syndrome. I’ve seen it in critters when they’ve had a really bad infection or parasite load, and once the medicine takes hold, the toxins from the bacteria or parasites dying off make the animal even sicker. Sometimes the animal’s system is already so weakened they don’t survive.

Fortunately, with people it usually just causes flu-like symptoms, making a person think they’re getting worse, when actually, it’s an indication the treatment is working.

So why am I interested? Well, when I got the IV therapy with meds/supplements at the clinic Tuesday, I was told some people feel better right away, some people don’t see any change for a while, and some people actually feel worse at first, due to the Herxheimer Reaction.

Bet you can guess which category I fell into! Yesterday I was so out of it, just breathing seemed like a tiresome effort. Thankfully, today I’m feeling better, though I'm certainly not ready to run laps around the house just yet.

So even if I feel lousy, if this is really a sign the treatment is doing some good, guess I should say "Happy Herxheimer!"

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