posted
I was told by an LLMD a while ago that, if an antibiotic is going to be effective, I should begin to feel better in four weeks or less.
Has anyone ever improved on a certain medication in less than a month? In the improvement I have had in the last 4 years, it has taken me at least 2 or 3 months after I started a new med to notice any positive changes.
So I am wondering, is it "normal" to notice improvement that quickly, or have I just not found the antibiotic that works for me yet?
Thank you Posts: 151 | From SW US | Registered: Feb 2009
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Well, I think it's possible, but that LLMD has a simplified view IMO. I do feel better on Biaxin most times within several days. It hits my neuro issues. Moreso, it suppresses many.
I think rotating drugs every month is a dangerous game personally. The only way you stay on them is if you 'think' they are helping. Well, with drugs like Mepron which you are supposed to be on for 4+ months, many don't notice improvement until long into it. Under his philosophy, you'd be off it in 30 days thinking it is useless, right?
Even the most educated patients need a doctor's guidance as to duration/decisions. That's why we pay them. Leaving too much to patients is a nightmare waiting to happen. Some patients are lucky and find a magic bullet quickly. I'm not one.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I had to take IV Rocephin for 4 months before it started to work. I am glad I stuck with it. It took over 3 months for the IV clindamycin to work too. The rocephin got me out of a wheel chair and the clindimycin cleared my foggy head. I believe it takes months for some to work and you won't necessarily see any changes before then but all the sudden things start to clear up.
Posts: 303 | From green bay, wi | Registered: Mar 2009
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Hambone
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29535
posted
quote:Originally posted by momofthree: I had to take IV Rocephin for 4 months before it started to work. I am glad I stuck with it. It took over 3 months for the IV clindamycin to work too. The rocephin got me out of a wheel chair and the clindimycin cleared my foggy head. I believe it takes months for some to work and you won't necessarily see any changes before then but all the sudden things start to clear up.
Mom, Did you feel worse, or the same, during these 3-4 months you did IV's?
Just curious Posts: 1142 | From South | Registered: Dec 2010
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posted
I dont think you can necessarily say that people should feel BETTER in 4 weeks because we all know herxes can make you feel MUCH MUCH WORSE
I think a better way to look at it is someone should have a little bit of an idea if the med is HITTING/KILLING the infection after a month perhaps. like if you notice youre herxing. and then feeling a little bit better afterwards. if youre noticing a pattern that has some success to it
but alot of people dont really feel "better for months into treatment. like 4 or 6
Posts: 995 | From somewhere out there | Registered: Oct 2010
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
Sasha- I don't know how long you've been sick but from what I've heard from other patients here, it would be rare for someone to feel better with 1 month of abx.
I've heard 2 people that I can remember say that they felt better almost immediately after starting abx. It was several years before I started to feel significantly better but then I was sick for decades before starting treatment.
Was the doctor who told you that an ILADS member with lots of experience because that kind of thinking falls more in line with IDSA rhetoric?
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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sutherngrl
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posted
It took me at least a year and a half to begin to feel better.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
He wasn't IDSA, but not ILADS either. Someone I saw a while ago. I just wondered if his theory held any water for other folks, since it wasn't successful in my case.
My plan is to stick with each med for a few months at least, unless I am totally incapable of stomaching it, like I am with doxy.
Per my LLMDs blessing, of course.
After my former LLMD retired, he sent me my 3 inch thick chart, and I have been reviewing the various meds he gave me over the years I saw him. It has been a wondeful tool, since there is no way I caould have remembered every abx I have tried.
Nothing was mentioned switching after 4 weeks, so I was curious about the tx plans of other Lymies who are under the care of ILADS docs.
Posts: 151 | From SW US | Registered: Feb 2009
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Hambone
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29535
posted
Sorry to hijack this thread with my own questions.....
but do you start to feel better even when while you're taking lots of abx, or do you have to stop them to find out?
This is, of course, assuming the abx are going to work.
I just cannot comprehend starting to feel better while I'm still ingesting this crap to kill the bacteria.
Posts: 1142 | From South | Registered: Dec 2010
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