If I am going to be treated I am going to tell my doc what I want and for how long.No time wasteing if I am to continue.

I saw your other post, so I'm not sure if you're going forward with IV or not. There are many other options, so don't give up on treatment! Part of dealing with this disease is just lying down quietly when you feel your quarterly mental breakdown coming on and letting it pass...(which I'm doing now. I'm having a major weepy, can't-bear- to-see-anybody, I'll-shoot-the-next-healthy-person-who-talks-to-me day).

Rocephin study:
Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, sez. Microbiologia, Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
[email protected]

It has been demonstrated recently that cells of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the etiological agent of Lyme disease, transform from mobile spirochetes into nonmotile cystic forms in the presence of certain unfavourable conditions, and that cystic forms are able to reconvert to vegetative spirochetes in vitro and in vivo.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetics of conversion of borreliae to cysts in different stress conditions such as starvation media or the presence of different antibiotics. Using the same experimental conditions we also investigated the possible role in cyst formation of RpoS, an alternative sigma factor that controls a regulon in response to starvation and transition to stationary phase.

We observed that beta-lactams penicillin G and ceftriaxone, the antibiotics of choice in Lyme borreliosis treatment, favoured the production of cysts when used with serum-depleted BSK medium. In contrast, we observed a low level of cyst formation in the presence of macrolides and tetracyclines.

In order to elucidate the role of the rpoS gene in cyst formation we analyzed the reaction of the rpoS mutant strain in comparison with its wild-type in different conditions. Under the same stimuli, both the wild-type borrelia and the rpoS knock-out isogenic strain produced cystic forms with similar kinetics, thus excluding the participation of the gene in this phenomenon.

Our findings suggest that cyst formation is mainly due to a physical-chemical rearrangement of the outer membrane of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato leading to membrane fusion and controlled by different regulation mechanisms.

I also have to say that Rocephin was useless for us, although I know that some people have been successful on it and an oral abx combo. IV doxy worked best for us (of the IVs), and I think if we'd treated the coinfections then, too, we'd have been done by now. Oh well, coulda, woulda, shoulda, what a useless trio.

Just editing to add that I'm not an IV fan; I think the newer IM penicillin and orals combos have been much better, if you're going the abx route.

All the best.

I have been on just Rocephin, the first time I was on it 8 months and then came off for about 3 months,I just finished 1 full year of Rocephin both times I was not able to take orals.

The majority of my symptoms have dissappeared after beeingon the Rocephin. After starting Rocephin my worst symptom of seizures went away and I have not had any more, my own oppinion is patients don't stay on it long enough. I know everyone says long term, but how long is long term. The people I know who did well on Rocephin stayed on it for maybe a year or more.

I have a horrible time with any orals. We are waiting for the insurance company to approve IV Zith, in the mean time I am on Bicillin inj.

I did lose my Gallbladder, I probably would have had to have it removed at some point anyway. All the women in my family have gallbladder problems, one niece had to have hers out when she was pregnant. Right now my youngest niece (21) is waiting to find out when her surgery is. For me the surgery was not that big a deal.

I hope you have great success in whatever you try.