Son is doing much better but doctor wants to start flagyl before going back to school. We are starting with a 1/4 of a pill and then slowly increase. What is this drug used for and what should we expect around here.
Thanks again everyone for the input!
Amy
Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
Flagyl kills the cyst form of the bacteria adn can cross the blood brain barrier to kill the germs there. Ramping up slowly like you mentioned is a good idea.
Flagyl bothered my stomach, so I always took it with food and then took probiotics several hours away from it. I experienced fatigue, but not a major herx. Some people will herx a lot on it, so you might be prepared for that.
Good Luck. Hiker
Posted by KH (Member # 4170) on :
My husband and I both took tinidazole, which is the same as flagyl, but is suppose to be easier on the liver. We both did not have any side effects, and did not herx on it. This might be do to the fact that we started treatment very close to the time when we became infected with lyme.
We took it for at least 5 months, two days a week.
Hope all goes well for your son.
Posted by Anneke (Member # 7939) on :
Hi there!
Flagyl was a great antibiotic for me. I did get some stomach upset, but was able to deal with it with probiotics. I have heard from some that they experienced depression on Flagyl, so that is something to watch out for.
Best wishes,
Anneke
Posted by siggy (Member # 8654) on :
my experience with flagyl was that I herxed big time. Flagyl will open the cysts, but it is unsure if it will actually kill the spiros. And I think that is one of the reasons I also got so ill, because it released a lot of spiros into my blood. I did feel horrible, depressed, fatigue. But thinking that it was due to flagyl, it was bearable.
Good luck!!
( I was on 400mg*3 a day, which was ok)
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Flagyl can cause a very severe herx. Below are some links to recent threads.
Many doctors pulse flagyl. You take it for a few days or a week, and then stop for a week or two.
For me, Flagyl caused severe pain and inflammation of my joints. Nothing new, just making old symptoms worse. It also made me tired and increased my motor tics.
I was glad to see all these posts on flagyl. The first time I took it with doxy and I just felt awful all the time. I started again two weeks ago and feel into terrible weird depression / obsessive thoughts and severe nausea.
We just tried going on vacation. Bad idea. Especially on flagyl.
I stopped two days ago, and am back to feeling normal now.
I didn't know what was happening -- that the flagyl could create such havoc!
But I am glad to come back and check in on lymenet and find out it's the flagyl that made me so sick and crazy for a few days.
I've got to figure out a way to take it so it does not affect me so severely.
I thought I might be able to go back to work a day a week. No way. This battle is in no way over, and with new meds, I see there can be severe, unexpected reactions.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
The worst thing for me was the depression....UGH! So watch for signs, OK?
Posted by JeffM (Member # 8919) on :
I forgot to ask -- did antidepressants help anyone while on a flagyl-caused depression? Which ones?
I take prozac but it did not help.
I am thinking of seeing a psychiatrist, but in CA they won't understand or have the expertise. They will just switch me to something else, and it will be trial and error . . .
My wife wants to me pulse the flagyl according to my bodymind -- e.g., stop when I start feeling nutty, and then start again when I feel normal -- a kind of bodymind pulsing method. ....
???thoughts????
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Pulsing might work, Jeff. I took trazodone [antidep] the entire time....still WAY depressed.
Posted by spiral (Member # 9217) on :
flagyl is a tough drug. Not great for everyone. and the question remains -- are the bad symptoms drug side effects or herx. my teen was on it 48 hours and she was so dizzy, she rode it out for 5 days, but the dizziness was so extreme she had to stop. she never experienced dizziness before. and walking into walls was not healthy. she dropped the flagyl. dont remember the dose. Mepron is used instead of flagyl in many cases but it is $$$. Has little to no side effects (they say).
careful!
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
depression & nausea & really tired.
I would get overly emotional at times.
Some people have ramped up slowly.
I also pusled it.
Make sure to talk over everything first with your LLMD
Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :
I have taken flagyl or its generic for up to 6 months steady. On off for the last 5 years. When I first took it stomach hurt for a couple of weeks that went away some dizzieness herx's to all in all I fared better on it than when taking doxy now that was stomach aches but only for a couple weeks. Remember not every person is the same in reactions to some things some get frantic other stay calm some histerical,or getmad easy , some whine others you couldnt pry anything out of them. Everyone is different and so are reaction just make sure he dosent sneak beer alcohol tends to make some very ill on flagyl.
Posted by hshbmom (Member # 9478) on :
So, do you think the strong reactions to Flagyl are related to whether you began treatment early or whether you have chronic Lyme?
I didn't notice much difference while on Flagyl, but I had mild symptoms & caught the disease immediately. I got a tick bite, then 1 week later another tick bite. The rash developed around the 2nd bite. The bites were very close together.
The 1st bite had just a mosquito bite appearance.
Nancy
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
I have read the higher your germ count the harder you can herx. Don't know if this apply's to flagel/cystic form or not.
Don't know if you have a higher germ count if you have been sicker longer. But it would make sence.
But I have know some people who have not been sick for decades, who are really sick from just one year or less. Maybe when they got bite the tick released more BB &co's?
There needs to be more research .
Posted by StuckonLyme (Member # 8196) on :
whatever you do, dont take any alchohol with flagyl, i took a homeopathic remedy that contained alchohol and it landed me in the ER.
I herxed hard on it the first month and then saw my most improvement so far the second month, now mepron has sent me back into herx land, BIG TIME.
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
The herx depends on how the infection has impacted your body. My greatest symptom has always been pain, and Flagyl is known to cause pain. So it was extremely intense.
Posted by lemonade (Member # 9413) on :
Flagyll made me really tired and my blood pressure was pretty low. My LLMD had me on ceftin at the same time. Flagyll to break open the cysts, ceftin to kill the spiroketes.