Hope someone can help me or share their experience with Bartonella and Levaquin.
I have lyme ( recent infection according to doc) and have been treating with 300 mg of doxy for the past 3 months. my doc and I decided to add levaquin (500 mg) to treat a possible Bartonella infection even though my test came back negative.
I have no body-joint aches or pains at all. My Only symptoms are: fatigue, irritability, insomnia, burning shoulders (not painful but feels like sunburn under skin), brain fog, and occasional eye floaters. My doctor seemed to be pretty convinced that it was the Lyme only causing this, but he agreed to try treating anyway.
So i started levaquin (500mg) 3 days ago and I am much much more fatigued than usual, there is pressure in my head (like someone is squeezing my brain almost), and im in a more of an intense fog than i was prior. My questions are:
Do my symptoms sound like they could be caused by Lyme only or does it sound like Bart as well?
Would a herx be hitting me after 3 days and have symptoms lasting all day long?
Is there any way to differentiate a herx from an antibiotic side effect? Will the herx resolve in a few days?
Not sure what to do and how long to give the levaquin, ive heard some scary stuff about this antibiotic. Hope someone can give a little advice or insight... Thanks in advance - this site has been so great and informative for me - really gotten me through a crazy few months!
Posted by Beachinit (Member # 21040) on :
From Dr. Burrascano's Treatment Guide:Levofloxacin is generally well tolerated, with almost no stomach upset. Very rarely, it can cause confusion- this is temporary (clears in a few days) and may be relieved by lowering the dose.
This may explain the brain fog, as to the headache if you have Babesia you could be hitting that organism slightly as some quinolones do have anti-malarial activity.
Can't say for sure, which is generally the case with this Lyme business.
Posted by SScott (Member # 30415) on :
From my experience Bart caused head pressure, someone compared it to wearing a helmet. When I treated I herxed after a week and the pressure was one of the things to ramp up, the other being emmotional outbursts. To me it sounds like you are hitting Bart.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
quote:Originally posted by sa123:
Would a herx be hitting me after 3 days and have symptoms lasting all day long?
This was very typical for me. My herxing for bart treatment lasted six weeks, continually. Posted by sa123 (Member # 32276) on :
Thank you for all of this info.
sixgoofykids - was your Bart Herx symptoms just your typical symptoms worsened or did you have new/ different ones? What happened after 6 weeks, did you see any indication at all that you were improving in that time?
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
After six weeks I started seeing improvement and was switched over to Rifampin at 12 weeks. Sometimes between 6 and 12 weeks I was even able to ride my bike again.
My symptoms were so bad I couldn't tell you honestly whether any of them were new. By the time I got diagnosed I had over 45 symptoms. I know that the Levaquin was one that made me feel absoluately horrible. I was completely incapacitated and in a tremendous amount of pain.
But it's all relative. I was disabled already when I started taking it.
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
I too had good success with Levequin. I remember the first time I was put on it, I came here to see what others had said about it, but so often you will hear the horror stories but not the good that has come.
You do need to be aware of tendon issues with this medication, but most don't tend to have an issue with it.
The testing for the co-infections aren't any better than the lyme testing, so you are lucky to have a doctor that is willing to treat based on symptoms. Until we get rid of the co's, we don't can't seem to get rid of the lyme, so I would say you are on a very positive and good path.
Hang in there and keep fighting. There IS light at the end of the tunnel.
Cathy
Posted by sa123 (Member # 32276) on :
Thank you very much for all of these posts - very reassuring!
sixgoofy - i hope you are all better now and at the very least can ride your bike just as you did before this silly lyme thing! very encouraging - hope your better and better each day!
tdtid - thank you. Yes ive heard about tendon issues with this as well and im staying alert! I know there is light at the end of the tunnel and I feel fortunate that i found this network and read about the strength of others. My symptoms pale in comparison to most of the stories ive read. Thanks to all!!
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