hi i have been on orals for 6 months and am still having symptons come and go . my doctor has left it up to me to switch to iv's abx. i feel like i am at a serious crossroads and need advice. will IV antibiotics give me a better chance of completely knocking lyme disease out of my body ? opinions ? goldenjake
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi Jake --you need to give more info- how long you have been sick-- what your taking --age -- other health problems-- and how sick you where and are now--ect. ---Jay--
Posted by SpdDrv (Member # 5861) on :
golden, I can't say for sure about the oral versus IV. But I can say I started out on IV rocephin in August. Was almost dead weighed 112 pounds looked like death warmed over started IV and after 13 weeks of IV I started oral's and am now on straight oral medicine. I weigh 132 pounds and am beginning to get my life back! I think if I had tried orals first I would be dead today! I am probably 80-80% better today and it is thanks to IV rocephin and my doctor pushing that I needed immediate attention and not the longer route of just oral meds alone! The IV gave me the jump start I NEEDED to start getting better. Stacie
Posted by LymeLaura (Member # 6624) on :
Jake,
I've been on orals for a year. It's been up and down for me. I have a rough time with treatment for Babesia (mepron) and now have symptoms of Bartonella. Make sure you get treated/tested for coinfections. I feel pretty good right now, but I know I still haven't knocked out the babesia, so I'll be having another go round on mepron (yuck).
My daughter, on the other hand, was much sicker than I and has been on IV for over a year. Started with rocephin, added Clindamycin, switched to Primaxen with Clindamycin. Tried IV Zithromax which is supposed to be one of the best treatements, but she is allergic to Zith. She's now on IV Primaxen with oral Bactrim and is hanging in there.
I would say it's personal preference. I'm really squeamish on the IV for me, so I'd rather stick with orals if I can.
Good luck
Laura
Posted by minoucat (Member # 5175) on :
Jake, I've used IV in the past, doxy and rocephin, for up to 6 months at a time. For me doxy worked better, but the light sensitivity is a real problem in summer. I relapsed after both treatments because, I believe, I did not treat for coinfections. The IV did get me well enough to go back to work for quite a while.
My husband and I both have neuro and physical sx.
I'm now using IM bicillin and am treating for/have treated for babesia and bartonella (and in the past for erlichia and mycoplasm). In a year or so I'll know more about how it worked. But I am much, much, much improved.
So that's another option for you too. I've found IM far easier to manage and far less restrictive than IV, and I've been able to take the orals for the coinfections without having my stomach overloaded.
Have also been doing tons more detox of all kinds than ever before, and I think that's helping too.
Good luck.
Posted by goldenjake (Member # 6451) on :
my symptoms started back in july, numbness, tingling , doc said i was classic acute lyme . i still drive and work. but hand has been stiff since july . neck is stiff tonite . i have a erlichiosis also and am taking minocycline. i have been on oral abx's since july . i had a relapse in december after trying to get off meds for 10 days . it took a month to recover. i feel like going to iv's may penetrate deeper into my brain and central nervous system and give me a better shot at kicking lyme . in other words i started off with a few symptoms but in 6 months time the disease has progressed thru my body .
Posted by ConnieMc (Member # 191) on :
I would probably not do IV if I had it to do over. I relapsed pretty severely as soon as I was taken off. Throughout the 10 months I was on IV, I did fairly well. But as soon as they were discontinued, the Lyme went straight to my brain. I became dumb as a rock and could no longer do my job. I had not been anywhere near 100% prior to coming off IV, and was struggling anyway. But something big happened when I relapsed and I had severe difficulty functioning cognitively. Could hardly even get through a trip to the grocery store, or a recipe.
It was not a pretty site.
I have managed to fight back, and have made some serious headway since an undiagnosed and untreated case of Babs was discovered. It could be the reason I didn't do well with the Lyme treatment to begin with. So do make sure that you do not have any undiagnosed coinfections.
Also, I was put back on IV when the Babs was discovered, and within about 6 weeks or so developed a nasty case of sepsis. Also not a pretty site. The line was pulled and I swore I would not have another one. It was quite scary at the time. And a difficult recovery.
You said you have a stiff hand and neck. Do you have any other neurolyme symptoms? Cognitive problems, neuropathy, things like that?
You also need to realize that you may never "kick" Lyme. The goal here is to get it under control. IMO, few are actually cured. It usually goes into remission, and could always come back out later during a time of stress. Many would probably agree that it takes major lifestyle changes to keep it under control.
Do weigh the risks and benefits with your individual situation. IV is not without risk.
Posted by lla2 (Member # 2364) on :
I was on orals for 2 and 1/2 years and feel I am now 95% better..no ivs...6 motnhs is not very long to try them...I was all neuro symtoms including seizures...orals CAN get it all
make sure you treat for coinfections...stiff neck..makes me think babs..you won't get better on iv or orals if you don't treat coinfections first! and tests are almost always negative..treat the symptoms , not hte testing..a good llmd will do this.