Think I'll live to tell about it? I know a lot of you guys are on boookkkkoooo meds, but I have never taken medications in my life before this, or not often. I know that I don't have a choice now.
Feelfit
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
All at once?
2 grams TWO times a day?
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
yes all at once.
2 grams 2xday= 4 grams daily ttl.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Up for those who may know.
It sounds tuff to me... but then I am a big sissy and can't take that much meds.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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This part is REALLY important:
I think there is a prescription that you need to be taking with IV rocephin so as to protect your gallbladder.
AND, be sure not to drip the IV too fast. The slower, the easier it will be for your gallbladder, too.
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Posted by dmc (Member # 5102) on :
Keebler, Isn't Rocephen a push not a "bag".
Antigal is the RX to help prevent stones while on Ricephen. It didn't prevent them for me but since the stones due to the abx they dissolved on their own.
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
I am on Urso for gallbladder and you are right DMC the stones are caused by rocephin chrystalizing.
IV Rocephin is a drip but can be given IM as well. The slower the infusion the better 1/2-1 hour.
Thanks TC for moving this up. I guess that no one wants to comment????? I know there are plenty who have treated more than one infection at a time.
Feelfit
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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dmc,
In reply to your question: "Isn't Rocephen a push not a "bag" -
I see that feelfit answered that (but I did not see that before replying) . . . my eyes just jumped that, I guess. So this just echoes her/his reply.
--
Rocephin is best as an IV DRIP, not a push. An IV drip goes in for an hour & a half or two hours -- a drip can be done in 20 minutes. And there is more liquid from the bad, diluted the Rx.
A push can trigger gallbladder attacks, as it's just too much, too fast - and more concentrated.
As for the shots, the dose is usually much smaller and, it does not get into the blood stream as fast as into the veins so that is why IM can be a quick shot (but it can be painful, so be prepared).
And, Feelfit, glad to see you've got the gladdbladder protection Rx covered.
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Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
feelfit, I can't answer you question about the dose of rocephin except to say that the ILADS guidelines mention 1/2 that dose for new cases. They state that chronic lyme may need higher doses of abx in general (not specific to rocephin).
They also talk a little about combination therapy. As you've seen from people here at lymenet, it is common to treat co-infections while treating lyme.
What is OK for one person may not be OK for someone else. Bacterial burden and ability to detox are individual and in my non-professional opinion, very important considerations.
If you find that you simply cannot tolerate the combination or doses, your doctor should be able to adjust appropriately.
Terry
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
Thank you Terry. I tolerate the rocephin fine. Thsi is my second time at this dose...except this time I am pulsing. 1st time it was 7 days straight.
I just have never treated two things at once.
I will not harm myself further and will watch for adverse reactions.
I guess I was looking for experiences....like " yeah, I did that and it wasn't bad"
thanks again, feelfit
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
keebler thanks. I'd send you a huggie emoticon but I know that veiwing them bothers you. so, big hug for all you do here....
ps I am female
Posted by JKMMC09 (Member # 15795) on :
I know of a LLMD in Tampa, FL has used 4g/day of Rocephin, but I haven't heard of that treatment being used elsewhere.
Like others stated, Gallbladder protection is vital.
Hope it works for you Posted by steven (Member # 13101) on :
i also got 4g rocephin every day - my llmd thinks 2g is not enough. it helped me, but didnt cure me.
Posted by Marcie (Member # 10070) on :
Sounds like a lot of meds to me, but what do I know. Being a patient of Dr. L anything over mono therapy is a lot! Good luck. Keep me posted on how the Mepron goes. Marcie
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Hi feelfit, my LLMD gave me the option to pulse Rocephin like you are doing or to do 2grams once a day. Because of my work schedule it is more convenient for me to do 2grams once a day.
When I first started the Rocephin back in Feb I was also on Mepron, Biaxin, and Plaquenil. Did that for a little over a month then changed meds.
So yes, it sounds like a lot but you can do it!
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
There we go! I knew that there are folks here who hav edone things like this! Thanks Sammy. I am only doing 4 more weeks of the rocephin. I will do one week rocephin alone then add the mepron and zith.
So really, it will be three weeks total on ALL of the meds. But I think the plan is to continue the mepron and zith.
Others?????????
Marcie will do.
Posted by tickbattler (Member # 14873) on :
Hi feelfit,
I can't comment on the dosage of the rocephin, but I think that it's better to go with several drugs at once.
Dr. J in CT has had my 4 year old twins on 4 meds for the past 11 months. Mepron, zith, bactrim and artemisinin. Just recently the bactrim was switched for rifampin.
If you are treating babesia, I would seriously consider adding artemisinin, since if you happen to have the duncani strain, Dr. J told me that it's resistant to Mepron. If you add the artemisinin, you are covering your bases by going after both microti and duncani.
One of my boys who is being treated almost solely on a clinical diagnosis since he has had almost all negative tests, just finally got a positive babesia duncani titer after several negative babs tests. He also recently had a positive bart hensalea test through Specialty labs after several negatives.
Hope this helps!
tickbattler
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
Thanks TB! Good luck to your whole family especially the little ones.
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
In my 3 years of treatment, I have been treated for lyme, a co-infection (babesia or bartonella) and sometimes parasites, all at the same time.
At one point I was on something to keep babesia at bay, parasite treatment, bartonella treatment and lyme treatment. This is not an unusual scenario from what I've read here.
Luckily I have an excellent LLMD who knows what he is doing and is a master at helping even those of us with major detox issues.
Your treatment seems entirely normal to me. That said, I don't know anything about the dose of rocephin that you are taking.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that most of the time I've also been taking something to keep viruses at bay because they went wild when I started treatment. In addition, various meds and supplements to keep candida from rearing it's ugly head.
Terry
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
Looks like a normal protocol to me. 4 grams is good of Rocephin, what are the doses of Zithromax and Mepron?
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
IDK Wildcondor I only have the scripts now and cannot read them. 750 mg mepron and 500mg zith bid?????
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
I wish there was one dedicated thread on LN to see how many here take high-dose multiple Abx/anti-malarial combo meds vs. just moderate dose one to two meds (i.e., treat s single co-infection isolated).
It seems like the people who make it out of this jungle permanently did high-dose combo therapy. Since I've never had anything remotely like this, I often wonder if my symptoms might actually improve instead of babying them. Other options is it could kill me. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it seems stronger wins more battles here. Posted by 1Bitten2XShy (Member # 12280) on :
Feel-
Normally he does 2 tsp. of Mepron and 500 mg Zith 2x daily for the Babs.
Hope you are hanging in there!!
Posted by NMN (Member # 11007) on :
Hi Seek, I find the aggressive combos much better too, but I also found that quality wins over quantity by a long shot.
For example I made huge gains on Levaquin, Bicillin, malarone and plaquinel. from June to Dec. I then switched to IV Ricephin in place of Bicillin, Bactrim+zithro (no herx) in place of levaquin.
I have been relapsing slowly ever since and I did not realize it because the herx from the IV was disguising it.
Switched back to levaquin and BAM, herx from hell then back in business within a week. Started Mino days ago and BAM....big herx from that and still at it.
I have learned a lot from this experience but it cost me valuable months which I could have done without. If you are not on the drugs specific to your bugs then you aint gonna get better.
Now having said that.....if you can combine quality with quantity then I think thats the way to go. I am now for the first time EVER, on all of the drugs that I herxed hardest on in the past all at the same time, and I can really feel the difference.
Dr H always does a cell wall and 2 inter cellular drugs for lyme (and Bart) plus an anti-malarial combo.
If you can get quality and quantity together I think you will see best results. Posted by Melodymaker (Member # 16434) on :
Am bumping up this thread for a poster in need of this info.
It seems to me from a quick search of topics that the regular MDs tend toward 2 grams 1X daily, and the LLMDs are leaning more toward the 2 grams 2X daily. (total 4 grams)
Can y'all please weigh in on this issue, even though we are not doctors and are not giving medical advice, we can share our experiences.
I also wonder if people's insurance coverage affects dosage recommendations.
My hubby and I are treated by an infectious disease Dr. who did 2grams rocephin 1x daily.
DMC, I had my gallbladder out the year before treatment, but my hubby did get the gallstones, and since he had no baseline ultrasound of gallbladder, we didn't know the cause.
He did not have surgery, and with a wait and see approach the second ultrasound showed the stones are dissolving. The radiologist finds it remarkable as he has not seen this before.
He has another test in a couple of months to see if they are all gone. =)
Praying for us all to have great success, good health, and wonderful lives!
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