i'm on the schardt protocol (which is, essentially, using diflucan/fluconaxole and then penicillian (sp?)).
i am about to finish my first 50 days on diflucan/fluconazole (200 mg/day), and start on my 20 days of amoxy.
when i emailed dr schardt directly about how long i have been sick (17 yrs), he said i should do 3 rounds of this 50-then-20-days protocol.
i have been super sick while doing this protocol, but for a variety of reasons, i think it is a "regular" relapse and not a herx. (too bad, eh?)
what is everyone else's experience so far? please feel free to email me offlist at [email protected]
warmly, rivka
Posted by cbb (Member # 788) on :
I was hoping that people who have been on this protocol would see the post & respond.
From what I have read, it sounds promising. Also, compared to most other treatments, the cost would be more reasonable.
A couple more questions - This dr recommends 50 days of Diflucan & then the penicillin. Do other drs start the penicillin sooner than 50 days? Is the Diflucan taken with the penicillin, or is the penicillin taken alone?
Posted by mlkeen (Member # 1260) on :
OK! I'm here.
We are doing very well after the diflucan/abx protocol and were out having a life for the week-end.
My son and I did a similar protocol, 2 months of diflucan, taking 1/2 the daily dose the first week, then moving up to full strengh. I took twice the amount as my son did, he weighs 20 lbs. less, I guess because he is younger processes drugs better. He certainly responded bettter on lower doses of abx as well.
Then we did a month of a penacillin type abx for a month. We still felt a little symptomatic and took another month of diflucan. Then we started to pulse it every 5 days. We recently began pulsing once every 7 days. We never took diflucan along with abx.
My son has been very good thruogh the protocol and I was good. My llmd then insisted that I seemed to be one that HAD to eat NO refined carbs or grains or corn or potatoes at all until I was symptom free and then go another week, ahout 3 weeks total. We had been doing low refined carbs through all our TBI treatment.
Since eating no refined carbs and no grains for three weeks in June/July I have been very well. I was able to reduce my diflucan in half and have moved to a longer pulse interval. I have added some grains, corn, beer occationally and only a couple of times have I felt a bit stiff the next mornimg. When I take probiotics before a cook-out, or other carb eating opportunity, I have no effect from the refined carbs. I try to limit them to the week-ends, somewhat of a rotation diet. I eat no wheat at all because of a gluten intolerance.
So, I have the sense that in addition to diflucan ridding my body of the DNA bits that abx can't get, it has greatly reduced or eliminated the systemic yeast that is always an issue with abx and refined carb consumption. I take probiotics daily to help my gut heal and restore the healthy flora.
I did feel punky the whole time I took diflucan and felt great within days of completing it. On the early pulse cycles I would feel poorly the day after diflucan. Clearly I was killing something.
We were on abx for 2.5 years before starting diflucan last October. We had a variety of co-infections and were treated for them.
I hope this helps.
Mel
Posted by cbb (Member # 788) on :
Mel, Thanks for all the great info!! So glad to hear you were out "having a life" this weekend. We need to hear good news like that!!
I really appreciate your taking time to give the details. Haven't heard too much about this protocol, but it certainly makes sense.
I've started the Diflucan , but it'll be a while before I go to the penicillin.
My best to you & your son.
Posted by red7e9c (Member # 9311) on :
hi folks,
i was the one who posted the original post on this thread and then i disappeared. i'm resurfacing now. it has been a tuff few weeks (months) actually, since starting diflucan. but again, i think this is a "normal" relapse and not a response to the diflucan, but who the heck knows.
i am about to finish up the 50 days of 200 mg/day diflucan. and about to start the amoxicillian (sp?) for 2 weeks.
question for mel: what do you mean when you say you felt "punky"? is that good or bad?
warmly, rivka
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
red...It might be a good idea to check your diet. Diflucan can cause a big candida die-off. You should be able to ease the pain and misery if you'll watch your diet.
"Successful control and elminiation of a Candida Albicans overgrowth requires a multifaceted program as described below. Failure to follow ALL the steps simultaneously will result in slow progress and will lengthen healing time significantly. The program should be tailored to the individual and must balance the need to eliminate the Candida and deprive it of its food source while insuring proper nutrition for the individual."
Five Steps to Candida Elimination:
1. You must starve it into submission by eliminating its food source.
2. You must kill it with anti-fungal herbs and supplements. [e.g....garlic, onion, caprylic acid, Pau D'Arco capsules or tea, clove, grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, oil of oregano, tea tree oil, Echinacea, Goldenseal, black walnut, MSM, barberry root, uva ursi, neem leaf, biotin]
3. You must reestablish the proper balance and quantity of probiotic bacteria in the digestive tract. [...multi-strain lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus capsules with FOS should be taken between meals to maximize repopulation of the digestive tract by beneficial bacteria.]
4. You must reestablish proper levels of all B vitamins (yeast free) and utilize other immune enhancing supplements to boost immune system function. [e.g ... B complex vitamins (yeast free), biotin, beta 1-3 glucan, colostrum, maitake mushroom, vitamins A, C, E, zinc and selenium]
5. You must cleanse and heal the digestive tract to promote proper elimination of toxins and Candida and assimilation of nutrients. [e.g...chlorophyll, MSM, omega 3 fatty acids found in flax seed and salmon oils, GLA found in borage, evening primrose and black currant oils. Pantothenic acid, digestive enzymes between meals]
Posted by Nal (Member # 6801) on :
Whats the name of this diflucan/penicillin protocol? Wheres a good place to get info on it?
Nancy
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by red7e9c:
i'm on the schardt protocol
Nancy.....perhaps you can google it or search on lymenet.
Posted by lymeHerx001 (Member # 6215) on :
I dropped out because the diflucan I found was increasing the dose oy my biaxin in my blood.
I was getting terrible side effects from the biaxin while on diflucan.
I did notice more muscle twitches though.
My new thing is coffee enemas
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
Hey Nal
Here's a recent discussion on it. There's a link on corgilla post.
You can tell from reading posts from a lot of the people that have tried it that they did not do it according to the protocol. Most everyone continues to combine it with other abx. Some stop and start, and decrease dosages because of the herx that they encounter. There is no evidence that it will get rid of Bart or Babs either, so it would probably be a good idea to eliminate those coinfections first if possible. Schardt has done a larger study, but I don't know if has been completed yet.
Posted by luvs2ride (Member # 8090) on :
My doctor says flat out no way it is killing lyme. He just isn't buying it.
Since I have systemic yeast, I would love to try it for that, but he won't precribe it in such a long dose.
We are combating the yeast and I am doing very well but it is such a slow process. Any efforts to be agressive put me in too much pain. Moving slowly, I am virtually pain free with just some early morning aches and stiffness.
Posted by cantgiveupyet (Member # 8165) on :
While i didnt do the protocol.
Diflucan got rid of all my numbness I once had after taking it 100mg a day for a month.
I then took it with abx and it didnt seem to do anything.
I may try it again and see what happens this time around....now that i know what to look for etc.
Also, first time around i wasnt on the strict diet either.
Posted by Parisa (Member # 10526) on :
My husband has been sick for a year with a "diagnosis" of dermatomyositis with pulmonary fibrosis. In April he was prescribed fluconazole for a candida problem. Every week he improved. I kept telling the doctors I thought the fluconazole was treating more than yeast. Unfortunately in the summer, my husband tried to wean too fast off predisone, had a pneumomia vaccine and had hyperbaric treatments. Horrible, horrible relapse.
I started to research the connection between dermatomyosits and any type of infection. I found a study of a man with dermatomyositis who tested positive for lyme. Then I started to see if there was anything about fluconazole and lyme and found Schardt's study.
I had my husband tested a few weeks ago at Igenex and it came back positive. I don't know if fluconazole is the whole answer but it does seem to have some effect.
Posted by BugBarb (Member # 210) on :
Diflucan kills fungus/yeast. Lyme is a spirochete/bacteria... apples and pineapples.
I was very susceptible to yeast.. I was given the standard "one" dose. nothing.
I ended up taking diflucan DAILY in COMBINATION with my ANTIBIOTICS for sevral years, to combat the yeastie beasties.
If you get it prescribed in 100 200 etc mg tabs, one can get 30 at a time for the same insurance co-pay as the ONE dose of 150mg.
When I finally stopped all antibiotics, I got diarhhea that wouldn't stop until I went to the doctor (6 weeks). He gave me XIFAXIN, an intestinal, not systemic antibiotic sort of thing. Cured it right quick.
Posted by mlkeen (Member # 1260) on :
Still good. We take one diflucan on Mondays, just to be safe.
I have learned that if I'm going to eat or drink carbs, I take that day's probiotics with the carbs. It helps to metabilize the sugars before they can feed yeast.