Just in need of a little advice , I don't want to start any treatment debates, so with that said,
I go to a very open minded doc. She is not a LLMD but she is learning, she did diagnose me correctly when no-one else did and has me on a combo of herbs, hormones, and antibiotics.
I am on doxy 200mg twice day artemisinin 200 mg twice daily samento 15 drops twice daily cumanda 10 drops daily
My problem is that I feel worsening of my symptoms but no real"herx". My doc stated that if I wanted, I could add another antibiotic at my next visit(2 weeks)
I wanted advice on what to add. I need to stay on doxy because it is treating my mycoplasma and another co-infection as well.
I was wondering if flagyl would be recommended?
Any suggestions? Thanks, Dani
Posted by painted turtle (Member # 7801) on :
Hi Dani,
By no means take what I am about to say as anything but an opinion from someone who knows just a little bit about this.
My first question is... how long have you had lyme?
My second question is, it is neurological?
My third question is, how long do you intend to be under antibiotic therapy?
In my limited understanding, flagyl is heavy duty and might not be the best thing to take early on.
I had good success with biaxin. I believe that was the best one for me.
Omnicef was a benign addition to the biaxin and was also helpful. It is a mild antibiotic but I do not know how it combines with what you are taking.
In fact I do not know how biaxin combines with what you are taking either.
I also took ketek. From the start I did not like it at all. It smells extremely manufactured. At least the biaxin has a sweet smell to it. Of course that can all be deceiving. Personally I think the ketek is a heavy duty one to be taken only if heavy duty is in order. It made me extremely weak in the heart, but that could have been a herx. Honestly, I think the ketek gave me additional adverse side effects.
But flagyl is the most heavy duty and gets through the brain barrier, from what I understand. They wouldn't let me start that until five months into treatment. I'll be starting that one next week.
Good luck!
Posted by flyers999 (Member # 1397) on :
I would add in Zithromax. I think it's better than Biaxin because you only have to take it once a day. With the amount of pills we have to take each day it's hard to juggle the timing of everything.
I took Flagyl but my treatment really didn't skyrocket until I added in Zithromax.
Zithomax combines nicely with doxy, I don't know of anyone who ever had a problem taking both.
Posted by Kentucky Girl (Member # 8587) on :
Painted turtle: My first question is... how long have you had lyme? >2 years, my guess is at least 8-10, been treated with above for 2 1/2 months
My second question is, it is neurological? yup
My third question is, how long do you intend to be under antibiotic therapy? until I give it a fair shake, I am not sure how long but don't think I have tried long enough yet
Thanks for the replies,
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
This is a very complex disease and everyone's disease is different to some extent. People respond differenly to different treatments.
Do tons of research here and use the search button for all's it's worth.
If your chronic, and have a high germ load, going slow,however frustrating, may be a good idea.
Like alot of people here have said:
"Slow and steady wins the race"
Posted by James H (Member # 6380) on :
Is that Doxy 400mg total for the day? Doxy is good one to start on as it covers alot of different things besides Lyme. The problem is at that dose most people feel pretty terrible and have nausea, headaches, lose weight, etc.
Our LLMD likens high dose Doxy to chemotherapy for cancer. (Her medical humor... not that it literally is that bad.) It is actually a good med, but it causes some discomfort at higher doses.
I have found its older cousin Tetracycline is alot easier to tolerate and can be taken at a dose of 1500mg a day (500mg x3) and leave one feeling pretty good. I can take it on an empty stomach and experience no upset at all. I feel pretty good on it.
So, if you feel too, too awful on the Doxy you might ask to try Tetracycline instead for awhile.
Both are really inexpensive which becomes a big advantage over time. Probably less than $1 a day.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
Kentukygirl
The worsening of sytmptoms durning treatments are common.
I have always felt worse before I got better.
I don't know too many people who didn't get worse first.
hang in there
Posted by liz28 (Member # 4946) on :
If you haven't read Dr. B's 2005 treatment guidelines yet, they'll give you the foundation to a lot of antibiotic protocols discussed on Lymenet. Nearly everything you read about antibiotics here is a variation on his ideas. And his protocols have changed a great deal lately. I believe, but am not sure so please check this with others, that his current goal is to hit the co-infections hard, and then to treat Lyme with a cephalosporin (rocephin, omnicef, ceftin) and a macrolide (ketek, zithromax, biaxin).
Doxy is a great starter abx. If it works for you, you've saved a lot of time and money. Flagyl is something you wrap up with, when you know you've gotten rid of all your co-infections and have most of the Lyme out of your system. It can actually mask the symptoms of some co-infections, so it's good to save for last. While it does do an excellent job on Lyme, it is also one of the harshest antibiotics, so you don't want to take it longterm.
Posted by Kentucky Girl (Member # 8587) on :
Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to answer my question of which antibiotic to add. I appreciate it.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
(Her medical humor... not that it literally is that bad.) It is actually a good med, but it causes some discomfort at higher doses.