I haven't read of many folks being on vancomycin. I am about to start it and was looking for some "tried and true" advice. Thanks, Betsy
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
Oral or IV?
There was a discussion about this just recently to the effect that oral did not leave the gut, so no good for lyme.
IV is good for lyme, but some side effects unpleasant, and other considerations.
Posted by betsy (Member # 7105) on :
IV. Thanks ...a little worried now as I have inner ear issues and constant ringing in my ears..will speak with my llmd. Have a good one .... Betsy
Posted by hwlatin (Member # 4123) on :
Vancomycin is a last line of defense antibiotic. Over use of Vanco could reduce its effectiveness to infections that no other antibiotic are able to touch. For that reason I would question its use for Lyme. There are other drugs that are effective and would make more sense to start with.
I am not a doctor, just a personal opinion.
Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :
As a person with severe drug allergies and my antibiotic options being limited, I was treated during one recurrence with IV vanco (that preamble was meant to concur with HWLatin -- vanco is a last resort drug -- it kills bugs that nothing else can, and if you can take any other IV drug, do so before vanco. you do not want to risk developing a resistance to it).
Vanco needs to be within a narrow range in your blood. You will have something called a "vanco peak & trough" taken quite frequently and dosages will be adjusted based on that. I was on it for two months if I recall (it was back in '92ish). At that time I started getting some ringing in my ears, so we discontinued. Also, I was having good results with it.
Anyway, it worked very well for me. I went from severe neuro & cardiac symptoms (completely incapacitated, bedridden, etc) to much better, went back to grad school a couple months later.
Now to repeat, if you have any other options for IV antibiotics, I would encourage you to start there. If you do not, I can say that IV vanco worked very well for me, particularly the neuro and cardiac issues.
Posted by betsy (Member # 7105) on :
Thanks Dura and HW....I do have severe neuro symptoms and yes my doctor is monitoring me very closely. Thanks for your replies! Betsy