I've been looking at the Marshall protocol website and they list the antibiotics that are used to treat Lyme.
As I am allergic to all the others, I see there is one group I haven't tried yet, the Chephalosporins; Ceftin, Rocephin and Claforan.
Do these work as well as tetracyclines and are they easy to tolerate? My last chance!
Thanks in advance! MilMol
Posted by kgg (Member # 5867) on :
I have used Cephalosporins twice. And I feel the best while on them. I herx with fatigue and joint pain, but I also will get spurts of energy.
I used Claforan IV and then Vantin orally. The only caution I would give is to take a lot of probiotics. I got lax about it and developed a yeast overgrowth. And you also can get a C.Diff problem. So take probiotics by the handful.
On the Marshall Protocol, be careful. Benicar helps a small subset of Lyme patients. But it is not tolerated by a lot of people. My son was on the MP for 5 months. And it was not successful.
Best, Karen
Posted by liz28 on :
There's one more: omnicef.
They are one of the best antibiotics to take for Lyme, but they have no effect on co-infections, and they are usually taken with a macrolide. Rocephin is what people are talking about when they say "IV."
Posted by millymollymandy (Member # 7703) on :
Thanks Karen and Liz, Herx would be great, at least it shows that somethings happening!!!
I've had a couple of weeks without antibiotics now and I can feel my self sliding down the pole again. I couldn't get an appointment to see my doc until mid Sept so I'm getting myself armed with as much info as possible!
Just going back on the Samento and trying out oregano until then.
Thanks liz for adding omnicef to the list.
Posted by agszafran979 (Member # 7069) on :
I took Omnicef 600mg x 10days for a sinus infection and it helped my Lyme symptoms in a big way. This was my first indication that I *did* in fact have Lyme and could feel better with antibiotics.
I'm now on Cefzil 500mg 3x/day and it seems to be helping quite a bit, though maybe not as fast at the Omnicef did. No major herx symptoms, but it's definitely helping. Less fatigue, almost no muscle pains, also helped with the acid reflux. The only side effect thus far is very slight morning nausea.
But, then again, with the increasing periods of feeling totally normal that I'm going through, I can live with a bit of nausea if that's the only side effect.
Just a warning: penicillins and cephalosporins are chemically pretty similar. If you're allergic to penicillins, you have a higher chance of being allergic to cephs.
IIRC, the advantage of cephalosporins (and penicillins) is that they're not metabolized to any significan extent by the liver, so they're not as hard on it as tetracyclines and macrolides.
-DS
Posted by tjtighe (Member # 4057) on :
Had to stop Omnicef when on 400mg am and pm. due to severe headaches. Started again on 200 am and pm. Still get the headaches, but they are mostly bearable. The one think I cannot do is read and that's a bummer.
tj
Posted by beachcomber (Member # 5320) on :
I have taken both IV Rocephin and oral Ceftin. I can say that, while on them, I was functional and felt ok. A few months after going off I relapsed. I also got Systemic Candida while on these drugs.
If I had to, I would do another round of IV Rocephin.
Bc
[This message has been edited by beachcomber (edited 02 September 2005).]
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
I have used Rocephin, Claforan and Suprax (which was an oral that seems not to be available anymore )
I find cephalosporins(sp?) much easier to tolerate than tetracyclines(ugh!).
I felt the best on Claforan but had my treatment cut off mid-stream so don't know how it would have all turned out. Rocephin didn't make me feel as good but I did well with it. (It was my very first treatment, also cut off midstream. Heh, anyone see a pattern here?)
The oral, Suprax, made me feel pretty good and the herxes were tolerable. I don't know that I gained any ground, I was using it for maintanence, but I felt pretty good for quite some time.
mmm...I'm following you around because I'm going to start Ceftin next month. I noticed you were pulling up threads for me to read, Thank you!
Good luck I hope it goes well for you. Please let me know how it goes and thanks for trailblazing.
[This message has been edited by trueblue (edited 02 September 2005).]
Posted by millymollymandy (Member # 7703) on :
Thanks everyone! Right, I've just got my script for Cefaclor - we have different names over here in the Uk. I have the slow release ones and they are 375mg and I'm taking one twice a day- not sure if that will be enough...
My doc and I are experimenting because I've had allergic reactions to all other abxs. Should take about three days to see if I have hives from them.
Trublue; keep in touch & let me know how you get on...
Please keep all your fingers crossed for me, this is the last antibiotic on the list. Please pray that I don't have an allergic reaction!!!
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyme ED: Suprax is now back on the market, after being unavailable for a while.
lyme Ed, I thought I heard that but searches are only bringing up a liquid for children.
If they're making it in tablets, any idea who's doing it? (I called Wyeth/Ayerst/Lederle first and they aren't. Too bad they have/had a very nice patient assistance program.)
Thanks
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
MilMol, Good luck, I've got everything crossed. (Heh, you think it's easy to type like this? )
You might want to start slow and work up, in the beginning, and see how you do. (Alright, that's just wimpy me.)
I hope it works for you. When are you starting?
[This message has been edited by trueblue (edited 02 September 2005).]
Posted by Andie333 (Member # 7370) on :
Milmol,
I am glad you're starting the new treatment. I'm very newly diagnosed, and the LLMD put me on cefzil then ceftin.
At 28 days, my herx landed me in the ER and threatened to do it again 28 days later.
So I figure it's working. I've had some gastrointestinal distress, but aside from the herxes, that's been the only thing.
Three months on abx, and I'm working pretty steadily and able to walk. I can't walk without limping, but I can walk, which I wasn't sure was ever going to happen.
Hope your allergies don't flare. Keep us posted and know we're thinking about you.
Andie
Posted by millymollymandy (Member # 7703) on :
Hi Everyone, Took my first Cefaclor this morning and so far I've felt fine, usually- well, with all the other abxs- I've been rushing to the loo with in an hour of taking it. So far everything fine, just another couple of days to see if hives develop. Keep crossing everything! Love, MMM
Posted by millymollymandy (Member # 7703) on :
Just updating on this; I've had no problems at all with these antibiotics (cefaclor). Anyone who has had allergic reactions to Zitro and tetra should try these- much gentler all round! I just hope they aren't being gentle on the bugs!
Some improvements- particularly cognitive.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
Yay, MilMol! I'm so gald to hear you were able to take them and you're seeing improvements. Yay, again! Posted by pq (Member # 6886) on :
i've had excellent results with ceftin(brand)
Posted by Andie333 (Member # 7370) on :
I've been on ceftin and cefzil since my initial dx -- now about 4.5 months. I have alternated between the two, bec the Cefzil isn't made generically...and the cost was killing me.
Now, I take generic Ceftin. I herxed like a bandit the first three months, but things seem to have settled a bit.
So far, I feel like I'm making good and steady progress and feel no need to go off these particular abx. The downside for me is that neither one is cheap.
I should add that I also take the strongest probiotic I could find.
Andie
Posted by millymollymandy (Member # 7703) on :
Thanks everyone, Is anyone taking flagyl with their ceftin? Haven't had any yeast probs as yet...but I think I need to take more probiotics to be on the safe side...
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