I'd say I had second/third stage Lyme's, 2 years after the initial bite and with some significant neuro symptoms. I've also recently had some ringed patches on my wrist (see other post).
My recent rings don't seem to be responding to antifungal, so I'm going to go back to the doctors in the next few days. Unfortunately I'm then out of the country (Asia) till the end of the year. So I've literally only got 4 days to get medical advice without paying a fortune (any meds would be free on the national health service).
The doctor is not a Lyme's specialist. Obviously the best thing for me to do is find a Lyme's specialist, but that's not easy in Scotland and I've left it too late this trip.
As a non-specialist, I don't think the doctor will be comfortable prescribing me anything other than oral abx, and even then I think he'd prefer to do blood tests first (I had them done around a year ago and they were negative). The abx I had for the initial infection was doxycycline, so my best chance of getting anything would be to ask for that.
Do people think doxycycline is a waste of time for second/stage Lyme's with neuro symptoms ? I've been reading the posts here that it doesn't necessarily cross the blood-brain barrier. What sort of dosage and length of treatment might help me ? (references to anything online specifically about doxycycline and higher doses would be great).
My feeling is it can't hurt and it's likely to help with any blood infection if nothing else.
Thanks - Hugh
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
When I first started treatment, Doxy was one of the drugs ... I took 200 mg. twice daily. Since I have babs, I took Mepron and Biaxin along with the Doxy.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
I believe that doxy, when taken in high enough doses (300-600mg) does cross the brain-blood barrier.
That being said, I made good progress on doxy after being infected for who knows how long.
Minocycline is supposed to cross that old barrier better.
However, I couldn't take it due to vertigo issues that it gave me.
Watch sun exposure. Watch diet. May want a Rx for some diflucan or something else for yeast.
Bring all supplements. Not sure how you would refrigerate any probiotics for the trip.
Good luck. Have a good trip.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by artraveler (Member # 12764) on :
I don't know if this will be of any help, but I was prescribed Minocycline now for a second month. My LLMD said it was "a super-duper Doxycycline" and that he wanted me to use it "because it is one of the few that cross the blood/brain barrier". My LLMD is a very well-respected, well-published Dr. He is what I would consider a very reliable source of information.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
quote:Originally posted by sixgoofykids: [ When I first started treatment, Doxy was one of the drugs ... I took 200 mg. twice daily.
yes, i was on this pulsed with biaxin.
yes, be extremely careful on doxy ... sun! you've got my newbie package; look up front for all info on EYES SENSITIVE TO SUN, etc.
i love my NOIR, no infrared sunglasses in 2 shades; very dark and lighter! great over my dark RX lenses!
also, wear long sleeves/pants and gloves when driving to protect your skin from SEVERE SUNBURN!