Monday 6/23/08

Today has been awful! Jessica is not feeling well at all today. I don't know if this is a normal CFS crash or if this is a reaction to the medication. We were told that there probably would be a "herx reaction" to the anti-virals which is basically a massive die-off of organisms in the body. A herx reaction occurs when an anti-viral or antibiotic kills off a lot of virus (or bacteria) all at once, and it moves out of the cells and into the bloodstream, causing a temporary worsening. This is actually supposed to be a sign that the anti-viral is working for her. From what I've read, it looks like it could last 3-5 days or up to a week. I believe that's what Jessica is going through, but it's rough! Her throat hurts, she's tired, her eyes are burning, etc. Like a horrible flu. She feels rotten!

Oh, and if anyone has any recommendations on how to teach her to take pills, I'd love to hear it! We struggled with that one this morning!