Famous Last Words/ My Rifampin Die-Off Reaction

I spoke too soon: yesterday, Rifampin kicked my ass.


It's hard for me to describe the experience of a die-off reaction, but I'll try.
Sometimes it feels like the flu, with aches and pains and a feverish feeling (usually because I have a fever).
Sometimes, like yesterday, it feels like . . . I'm toxic: My body is a vat of biohazardous waste. And I can't drink enough water or choke down enough chlorella to remove the toxins fast enough.


The feeling of toxicity is accurate. According to this page, "The Herxheimer Reaction is an immune system reaction to the toxins (endotoxins) that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off, and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough. Simply stated, it is a reaction that occurs when the body is detoxifying and the released toxins either exacerbate the symptoms being treated or create their own symptoms." 


Not everyone experiences a die-off reaction, but some people experience very harsh die-off reactions that can be dangerous, especially if there is impairment to the organs/organ systems responsible for the elimination of toxins: the liver, the lymphatic system, the kidneys, the colon. 


I seem to fall somewhere in the middle; my die-off reactions don't last for weeks at a time, and have never, to my knowledge, been dangerous. When I feel especially toxic, I drink a ton of water, lemon water, detox teas, and apple cider vinegar (ACV). I take ACV and epsom salt baths. I eat handfulls of chlorella and other binders, like activated charcoal. One of the ways I can tell my body is overloaded with toxins is an increase in my chemical sensitivities. For example, I can be in my bedroom with the door closed and detect that my mother, behind the closed door of her bedroom, has sprayed a drop of perfume on her wrist. And that drop of perfume makes me hide my head under the covers so I can breathe more easily. It's incidents like that which make me realize I've been slacking in keeping up with regular detoxification. 


For times when I'm very chemically sensitive but have to be out in public or around people who wear synthetic fragrances, I have a mask. It's not exactly fashionable, but it works. I carry it everywhere with me, just in case.