I started Rifampin, Minocycline and Hydroxychloroquine 3 days ago. Today I woke up feeling dizzy and drunk. Thankfully I didn't have to work, but couldn't even drive.
Now its 3am and after tossing and turning for 5 hours, I am staring at my computer screen bleary-eyed at 3am trying not to panic. My heart is beating fast but I'm exhausted. My eyes are tired, I'm naseous, my arms and legs feel hot then cold then kind numb, but achy.
I feel numb, like throwing up, anxious, exhausted and now a little scared. What do I do? Is it the Rifampin? I have to be up for work in 3 hours...I'm a high school science teacher.
Is this normal????!!!
Posted by proudmom (Member # 15532) on :
Boy that's a tough one. Hard to say what's normal or not when it comes to those little buggers.
I'm only on Rifampin and at half the dose I read about here. That was one of my chief complaints, running around the house holding onto the walls etc. like a drunken sailor.
Sorry not much help, just wanted to let you know I'm having a similar issue.
Hope it gets better for you soon,
proudmom
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Good grief!!! ONE of those three can put a big man down for the count!!! But all three????
I've also never heard of taking that mix .. pretty scary to me.
I would call your LLMD and ask to begin with one drug at a time so you know which drug is causing the problem.
Could indeed be a herx ... but with that mix, who knows???
Posted by liesandmorelies (Member # 15323) on :
Wow, now that's quite a cocktail!!!
I would call your LLMD asap and run it by him/her to make sure it's not a reaction.
Hope you get feeling better soon.
Posted by ldfighter (Member # 9405) on :
That kind of dizziness is very common with minocycline and usually goes away. It's an inner ear thing, hit me bad in the morning too, clutching walls and everything.
The rest sounds very much like a herx to me but call your LLMD if you're concerned. If you search this board you'll find many threads about herxing on minocycline and the mino + rifampin combo.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I took those drugs together (plus Malarone and Lariam).
I generally start one at a time, wait three days, then add the next.
I got those kind of herxes .... I'd be very off balance. I've needed sleep meds .... you might tell your LLMD if the insomnia continues as you need your sleep to heal.
Posted by cactus (Member # 7347) on :
Please call your LLMD.
I had a similar reaction - hot/cold, chills, nausea, dizzy, much more - and toughed it out thinking "herx." I should have called LLMD, but didn't (have since been scolded).
There is a very small subset of patients who cannot detox rifampin, genetically we lack the gene that creates the necessary pathway in the liver. Continuing the Rifampin just made me more and more toxic. That can be dangerous.
Rifampin is an excellent med, and you could be herxing (esp with all those meds you started!), but do call your LLMD just in case.
Maybe you could back off one or two and add them back slowly, one at a time.
Posted by liesandmorelies (Member # 15323) on :
Cactus,
That is exactly ehat I was thinking too.
Maybe back off one or two and add back in slowly so you can perhaps tell which one is making you feel so bad.
Hope you feel better.
Elizabeth
Posted by kylasrain (Member # 12031) on :
Thank you so much for the replies!
Yesterday was hell at work and I was really scared. I stopped taking the meds yesterday and left a message for the LLMD. (Still waiting to hear back). Although sleep deprived, I started to feel a little better.
Last night (no meds) I woke up twice drenched in sweat. I haven't had night sweats for about a year (I've tested negative for babs/positive for bart.)
I think something was causing a herx, but I'm going to recommend starting one med at a time to find out which one...thanks for the advice! Also, thanks for the info about minocycline...I'd only searched posts for Rifampin.
Kyla
PS...besides probiotics, how to we comfort our stomach with all these pills? It there anything I can drink, eat, etc? My stomach feels perpetually bloated and unhappy Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
The bloating may be a sign you already are having yeast issues.
Be sure to follow a sugar-free, bread-free diet! Limit fruit, eliminate pasta and white foods.
What brand of probiotic do you have?
Be sure to eat food with each dosage of abx. I don't care what the drug info says, I eat food with every abx..... I value my stomach!
I'm glad you're a bit better today!! Be sure to keep an eye on babesia symptoms. You can have it without a positive test. Happens all the time.
Have a great day!! Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Foods safe to eat:
Low carb breads by Atkins, low carb and Ezekiel breads by Food for Life, low carb tortillas, brown rice bread, low carb pasta and noodles
vegetables of color .. green, yellow, red, purple, etc... like squash, broccoli, cabbage, kale, bok choy, sweet potatoes, celery, spinach, romaine lettuce, collard greens, broccoli slaw, brown rice, basmati rice, millet
olive oil, lemon, organic apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, limit to 1 oz sugar-free dressing daily
eggs, plain yogurt [NO sugar or fruit added], small amounts of butter, UNsweetened soy milk, Keto milk, kefir
chicken, fish, and turkey, baked or broiled, not fried
Snacks....seeds and nuts...pumpkin seeds, celery with almond butter, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened soy butter, roasted soy nuts
Fruits...Granny Smith apples, lemons, limes....fresh or frozen only
Beverages....WATER, herbal teas like Pau D'Arco, Echinacea, and aloe vera
FOODS TO AVOID:
Sugars: white sugar, honey, aspartame, equal, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, most fruits, canned fruits and fruit juices, syrups, soft drinks, cakes, cookies, chocolate
White flour breads and products: hot dog buns, hamburger buns, bread sticks, crackers, whole wheat breads, prepared foods with bread crumb coating, noodles, pasta
white veggies: potatoes, white rice, grits, also corn and all canned vegetables
alcohol and fermented foods, including soy sauce and cider, ginger ale, beer, wine, vinegar, sauerkraut, pickles, relishes, most dressings
red meats, pork, bacon, sandwich meats, salami, bologna, hot dogs, sausage, etc
peanuts, peanut butter, pistachios
all other fresh and canned fruits and fruit juices not on the "safe" list
Beverages: colas, sodas, fruit juices, pop, sugared drinks, coffee, or caffeinated teas and drinks, fruit punch, etc
Posted by kylasrain (Member # 12031) on :
Thanks or the list Tutu!
Posted by TheCrimeOfLyme (Member # 4019) on :
God bless your heart. ALL THREE? At the same TIME?
I cried my eyes out and thought I was dying on just rifampin and doxy. Some of us just CANT do full doses of anything, let alone full doses of three different meds!
Back down off that stuff and talk to your LLMD.
Posted by kylasrain (Member # 12031) on :
Talked to doc. office...
Going to start back on minocycline first, then wait a few days, then Rifampin, then hydroxychloroquine.
Said the mino probably caused the dizziness and if it didn't go away, then to call for the un-generic kind. (Mino-blah blah blah). If the Rifampin causes sleeplessness to call for sleeping pills or we'll have to switch to doxycycline (booo!)
Office lady didn't seemed fazed at my results...I was like, "Hello! I thought I was going to die!! Thanks for taking two days to call me back!" (No, I didn't say that of course; I'm grateful just to have a decent doctor after the stories I've read on here!)
This time I'm going to be prepared. Sub lesson plans ready to go (I teach), a friend ready to deliver, etc.
I'll keep ya posted. It's hard making yourself take a pill that you know is making you really sick, huh?
Thanks again for being there when I needed you guys! xoxo
Kyla
Posted by kylasrain (Member # 12031) on :
SO, back on minocycline. I've been on it now since Friday...today is day 4.
I'm still spinning with vertigo and my head is throbbing. How long does it usually take for the vertigo to subside? I missed work today...
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