after 17 months we added Rifampin this past weekend. I started on 300mg 6 days ago. all i can say is WOW...very strong herx and different than other herxes i've had...feels like i have the flu...body aches, cold and then hot, head in the clouds, heart palps....anyway, maybe a little better today(still an optimist depsite the constant beatings)
For those that have had similar herxes how long did it last? i was planning on upping my dosage this weekend but we'll see how i'm doing.
Any help is appreciated,
Dave
Ps..yeh could have started at 150mg...but what's done is done..not backing down now.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
My increased toxic feel lasted for two weeks and then I started to see improvement in some sx. I've only been on it two months now.
More toxic periods since but not anything I can't handle. Now for me, this is the only abx I'm taking. I'm a rife user and I plan 3 mths of rifampin and then I'm going to do rife treatments only to try to control bart.
Rifampin has stirred up some lyme sx. My knees have been ticked off for weeks. I'm also having lower back problems consistantly that is not normal.
I know lyme hides out in my knees. But is it lyme or bart that has been hiding out in my lower back? Time will tell. Rifing more often for lyme sx.
Pam
Posted by jennie46 (Member # 20953) on :
I have been taking Rifampin for 5 weeks, with the exception of stopping for a couple of days to treat yeast.
When I first started it (along with Ceftin), I ached only a little. But after 3 weeks (switched to doxy), things just got worse. Could doxy be hitting something that Ceftin didn't??
For the past 2 weeks, I have had the worst symptoms ever. I am aching all over, burning, lower back pain is killing me, and nausea. Symptoms won't let up.
I am trying my best to wait and see. I just don't want to stop if it's a herx. Every day symptoms are the same with no improvement.
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
Ugh, I am about to start this. I've been off all abx for about a month. This will be my only abx, for Bart and Lyme. I just can't handle the thought of being kicked down again.
I want OUT of this bed!!!!
Posted by DaveNJ (Member # 17362) on :
Tracy,
i am out of bed and still working...its hard but i get by. Stay positive.
Dave
Posted by Michael_Venice (Member # 17254) on :
dave,
keep at it. I don't have anything very useful to say about Rifampin (was one med I could not handle)...but keep at it.
Just want you to know everyone's pulling for you through the tough times.
Posted by Munch (Member # 11323) on :
Hang in there... I think it all boils down to differences in the strains of Borrelia and co-infections that we have. The trick is finding the right combo of Abx that works for you. After the initial herx, the right Abx will make you feel better.
I find that I had to rotate them because after awhile they stop working. Rifampin is one of my most favorite Abx. I also do well with Mino and Doxy but hate tetracycline. IM Claforan is also good for me.
Zith is sort of so-so but taking it alone doesn't clear up any muscle or Fibro type pain. I also hate Biaxin, Plaquenil and Ceftin.
Posted by kitty9309 (Member # 19945) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tracy9: Ugh, I am about to start this. I've been off all abx for about a month. This will be my only abx, for Bart and Lyme. I just can't handle the thought of being kicked down again.
I want OUT of this bed!!!!
Rifampin should never be taken alone due to resistance issues.
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
That might not be a herx, Rifampin is quite notorious for causing weird side effects like that. Check with your doc.
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
I didn't think I would ever hear hubby say this, but he was complaining all day today about missing his morning Rifampin dose. His LLMD had him switch the med from early morning to before supper and this is his first day on his new schedule.
The first time hubby tried to take Rifampin back in 2007 I think it was it woke his brain up. It was like he had been asleep for several years and someone wound him up and I had to ask him several times to quit talking -- he was talking nonstop and just so much more animated than normal. I was glad that he was kind of back to his normal goofy silly self, but it was such a change it just wore me out listening to him sometimes.
He only managed to take about 20 pills over a month that time.
Then he tried rifampin again in 2008. Started at 50 mg and took 8 months to get to the full 600 mg. Lasted a full month at that dose before crashing and ending up in the ER several times.
So now we are trying this again. He started at 300 mg this time for a week or two before increasing to 600 mg. After 3 months at 600 mg his LLMD increased the dose to 900 mg -- 600 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening. Hubby actually had what I would consider a herx when he increased the dose -- ran a fever of about 100 degrees off and on for a couple of days.
But now we are trying something new -- starting at 600 mg in the evening and plan to increase back to 900 mg all in the evening.
For hubby rifampin has always definitely crossed into the brain without question. Today just skipping the morning dose seemed to cause lots of facial twitching and muscle spasms. Hope tomorrow is not a repeat of the same. Usually hubby is at his best in the morning and things just go downhill from there -- especially after lunch.
I think the fact that hubby can tolerate higher doses of the med over time is a sign that he is knocking down the bart load, but I could be wrong.
Hang in there.
Bea Seibert
Posted by DaveNJ (Member # 17362) on :
Thanks everyone...i'm on day 7 at 300mg and things are calming down a bit...finds myself very warm at bedtime...not a nightsweat but overheated...are we hitting bart do you think ? or just a drug side effect?