with this combo to treat babs, has anyone NOT pulsed the artemisinin and instead taken it every day? or is the art always pulsed?
thanks in advance!
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
It's complicated. you need to take it enough days in a row so as to get levels high enough, but then take a break every few days because the body makes a few enzymes that break it down. However, some doctors and some research has found that it's OK to keep taking it anyway, I don't have the exact info in front of me.
Posted by asummers (Member # 18068) on :
My LLND has me taking Art everyday.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
thanks guys. i have two practitioners and am getting conflicting reports - one told me to take it every day, the other says to take it for three days every two weeks. my gut is telling me to take it every day but i know most people pulse it, or at least that's what i seem to remember reading.
Posted by Wolfed Out (Member # 23727) on :
Yeah, to make things more complicated...I heard pulsing it around the sick-cycle, and also 3 days every week.
Has anyone had any major herx reactions to Artemisinin?
I didn't do well on Cat's Claw, so I'm wondering if I can expect the same.
Posted by asummers (Member # 18068) on :
about 30 minutes after taking the art, i feel a bit of a herx. usually this entails feeling flushed/hot in my face & head and just a lite flu-like feeling. i take it around 5-6pm each night.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
for me, the herx reaction to art died down the longer i was on it. my first few experiences were much like asummers', with unremitting crying jags and severe (but temporary) depression and anxiety thrown in for added fun. :/
now i tolerate it fine, EXCEPT for one very strange fact which seems quite unusual: if i skip my art dose - in other words, if i don't take it for 48 hours - i start getting really, unbearably sick. much, much sicker than i was prior to starting the art, which was only about 2.5 months ago. it feels very much like withdrawal, similar to when i miss a dose or two of klonopin and start experiencing all manner of awful head/neuro symptoms until i take the pill again. this happened with the art: i swallowed my missed dose and was fine within the hour, after barely being able to lift myself from bed during the 'withdrawal' period (or the 'savage beast of babesia rearing its hideous fangs' period?). very very strange.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
and, incidentally, a big reason why i don't want to pulse the art.
Posted by asummers (Member # 18068) on :
good thing that i haven't ever missed a dose of my art! wow -- i have been on it for 2.5 months as well.
i should add that my current abx protocol is: zith/mepron/flagyl AND my llnd just added larium to the mix as well. i take that every 5 days.
i will beat this babs if it is the last thing i do!
heiwalove -- hang in there and let me know if you have any questions. i am thinking i will be on this protocol for a minimum of 6 months probably 1 yr...
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
My understanding was that if you took it every day it somehow became ineffective. I took it Mon-Fri and didn't take it on the weekend.
Posted by aliyalex (Member # 6976) on :
Heather, your pm box is full. pm me when you are ready for my reply.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
asummers, i think my response to skipping an art dose is pretty atypical. but it was awful, indeed.
thanks for the responses, everyone.
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
I can't find it now but I remember reading that if you take a full dose of artemesia (say, 500mg) for 5 days, that same 500mg becomes 100mg after day 5... So, it's less effective after 5 days. I guess that's why some say to take a break.
I was looking for where I read this but I couldn't find it. I just started taking it & it's increasing my pain level. I was taking 1 or 2 - 500mg pills a day plus other stuff.
I decided to stop & take some absorbing formula - charcoal, clay, psylium, etc. I was feeling pretty toxic.
I also read that it's very important to take anti oxidants when you take artemesia. I think I may be one of those people who don't detox very well - so, I'm taking it slow...
heiwalove - maybe you need to take something to absorb any toxins that may be building up in your system...? Sounds like a die-off symptom.