i am wondering if it is necessary to take breaks from treatment whether that be a few days or a week or two every now and then to give the organisms a chance to come back out of hiding.
i have heard this especially to be true with bartonella.
my question is this:
do you pulse your abx/treatment-
if so, how often and how many days do you take off?
do you feel worse off abx for those days or better?
myself, i find my symptoms are worse in just a few days off my stuff, which i suspect is bart/myco, etc.
thanks for your advice/info
derek
Posted by djf2005 (Member # 11449) on :
bump
Posted by mtree (Member # 14305) on :
Derek....
I am pulsing right now.....mainly because of my stomach.... to get a break.....
but..my dr. does agree with...having them come out of hiding..... so for me...its a good option then constantly taken them......... I do 3 days on 3 days off.....
mtree
Posted by lymebytes (Member # 11830) on :
It has made sense to me that taking a break would make the bacteria "believe" the coast is clear and come out.
It was recently written in a book the way Dr. Burrascano "cured" himself of Ld was pulsing..oddly though. He'd do several months of abx and then go off until he crashed, bedridden crash. Then he would go back on abx until he felt somewhat better, stop again until he crashed and then the 3rd time he started abx was the last, he took until well and stopped and never relapsed...apparently well. He used the same abx each time.
So if the pioneer in LD treatment got himself well with this unusual protocol, I have only one question, why aren't we all doing it?
The theory is you will feel worse quickly within a few days - that would be co-infections flaring. If it takes weeks to feel worse without abx - that is lyme because it so slow growing.
My symptoms worsen if I just "cut back" on abx...co-infections I am sure the cause. Take care.
Posted by mtree (Member # 14305) on :
my doctor agree's with this protocol....although I don't believe she would let me crash till I'm bedridden... .... .....
it does seem to work for me ....everyone is different though....
mtree
Posted by Glassgal (Member # 668) on :
I believe Dr. B used much higher doses of antibiotics than are usually prescribed.
Ellen
Posted by djf2005 (Member # 11449) on :
it is a good question why we are not using it.
i dont know if it takes a lot of things into account though like co infections, etc.
he only used ceftin, and that doesnt address a lot of things. i wonder how "bad" he was. "bad" is often one's perception, and a lot of people who feel as bad as i do would stay in bed all the time, so im not sure this is an accurate description of how he felt. also, how neuro was he, etc.
if this method were being more widely used, than i guess id try it. for me, if i went off tx for that long, and went back in bed, i would have to start all over again and im really not going to do that.
the better question is why didnt HE tell HIS patients to do this?
people like wild connor were treated for like 8 yrs with high doses of IV, hbot, and a ton of other stuff. so....i think it has to do with circumstance and the severity of your illness.
if wild connor could have gotten better on a treatment plan like that, wouldnt she have done it? (ps if you read this and know anything about it please share)
cheers
derek
Posted by jjeennnniiee (Member # 7964) on :
Keep in mind, if you take Rifampin to treat your bartonella and quit taking it for very long, then it might be hard for you to take it again.
You may be able to take it, but just at a lower dose, as it will seem stronger.
I'm not sure how long you have to quit taking it for that to happen.
I'm not sure why it's hard to take again, once you quit taking it either.
Search the posts here and you will come across some more info. about what I'm saying, as others here have posted about it.
Love, Light, & Health, Jennie
Posted by cantgiveupyet (Member # 8165) on :
Good question as to why we dont treat like Dr B treated himself.
I think it might be because he was able to experiment. Also, I find that most LLMD caught the infection in time and arent as bad off as most of us on here. I could be wrong but i agree with derek its all relative.
Most in my condition would stay in bed all day, but i push on.
Ive heard to stop and let the bart come out of hiding. I think each dr treats differently...and may try different things with each patient.
Posted by djf2005 (Member # 11449) on :
yeah michelle, seems to be the general consensus to let the bart basta#@! come out of hiding, im going to discuss with dr H nest week and let you all know what he says. bart seems to be the largest issue for many of us, so any more info on how to treat would be useful.
lately i do not like breaks, even one day, as my pain and symptoms come out even worse, but that is most assuredly Cos, probably bart.
oh and for those of you keeping tabs on me, my miniscus in both my knees has damage and i may need surgery, hopefully just PT. SO, levaquin could actualy have caused some damaged since it started on this med, or, its just the progression of thsi awful crap, maybe myco since that really loves to eat joints.
cheers
derek
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hey Derek,
When I was treating for Bart a few years back...
my doc had me pulse 3 weeks on and one week off. On the third week of each month, I would add in Flagyl.
My primary med was also switched each month...so, for 3 weeks I would do IV Levaquin (with other things), take a week off and then do oral Minocycline (with other things)for three weeks, etc.
I always found that I felt better and responded more readily when I pulsed.
M
Posted by djf2005 (Member # 11449) on :
thanks melanie, i think thats about what well end up doing. is your bart in remission?
derek
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
I REALLY wish I could answer that with a yes.
I feel that I knocked it down for a good long time though, and just recently it seems to have taken back the upper hand.
Always an adventure!
Good luck to you, M
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
I've been pulsing Levaquin (sort of), 6 days on, 1 day off, just because I hate the way it makes me feel so much. In fact, in makes me feel exactly the way bartonella makes/made me feel....my LLMD says sometimes the side effects of Levaquin can be EXACTLY THE SAME as bart symptoms! So.....that's what we are doing. Not sure what is happening. Just can't wait to get off this drug! :0
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
![[dizzy]](graemlins/dizzy.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
mtree
![[spinning smile]](graemlins/spinsmile.gif)
mtree