Hello all! Thank you to all of you for helping me through all of this!
My Doc and I are trying to figure out an ABX to go on with IV. I tried Rocephin IM and it made me very dizzy . We were thinking of IV Doxy but it is about $3,300 a month so I don't think I will be going on that.
Does anyone have any other ideas of ABX I could go on? My doc is now talking about "Vancomycin". It is still quite expensive. about $2,100 dollars a month... Have any of you ever been on it, or heard anything about it?
Thank you so much for the replies!!!
[ 01-31-2011, 01:16 AM: Message edited by: lymekuda ]
Posted by iwillsurvive333 (Member # 25462) on :
i am interested to know the question to this also. IV Flagyl or Zithromax cost? I will be doing IV soon and have to pay cash also.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
IV Clindamicin is under $1000 per month, IV Levaquin is about $1,500 per month. I have not used IV Vanco, flagyl or Zith so I can't quote from experience. Give your infusion company a call or call Infuserve America for current pricing.
Of course cost will vary depending on where you purchase your med and supplies and based on your drug dose, if you take it daily, etc...
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Clafaron??
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
When checking on pricing it is also very important to ask about different manufacturers. Depending on who the manufacturer is the price of generic rocephin and generic zithromax could be 50% or 100% higher for just the med.
We got the IV meds from CVS or Rite Aid -- but depending on the supplier they would try to substitute a different manufacturer and of course the NDC number was different and the price as well.
Baxter seemed to be the cheapest rocephin and it was readily available. APP pharmaceuticals was the cheapest zithromax and then maybe Hospira and Barr Laboratories was the most expensive I think.
Bea Seibert
Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Thank you all for your replies... Ahhh this whole Lyme thing feels so hopeless... Posted by LymeAware (Member # 26195) on :
Sorry, I don't have info about IV antibiotics, but I wanted to make sure you saw this post, with an ebook that looks like it could be helpful.
Have you checked their prices?
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
Is your dr considering IV rocephin? Ceftriaxone is the generic, which is relatively cheap. At Infuserve America with supplies it is less than $700 for 28 days, if you are dosing once per day. If you're dosing twice/day for 4 days a week, that's 32 doses per month prorated.
And hopeless as it may feel right now, when you start to improve, you won't feel so hopeless. We've all been there. but you can get better.
Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
LymeAware,
That ebook was great thank you!!!
2young,
It is a little difficult because I live in Canada. I will call them tomorrow though thank you!!!
Rumgirl,
I tired Ceftriaxone and Rocephin, they both gave me Vertigo so I can not take them.... I feel hopeless because I just finished 2 years of orals and IM. I became better in some ways and worse in others... So I dunno, I guess IV is my last hope I just need to find a drug that I can take...
I was first diagnosed with MS from a MRI that showed brain lesions. So I guess the orals could not cross the BBB, ie. the need for IV...
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
I really hope you incorporated a cyst buster during your treatment. That makes a significant difference for some. Also some type of parasite treatment should be considered also.
Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Hey lulu,
Yes we will be incorporating a cyst buster. I will look into parasite treatment.
Thank you all again for your replies!
Posted by pepperspeck (Member # 18837) on :
I was on IV vanco and rocephin. They were both pulsed 5 days on 2 days off. Along with oral zith daily. This was for about a year. I was about 90% after another year of intense detox. Going into treatment I had significant cognitive issues and polyneuropathy as well as other symptoms. I relapsed and was reinfected last summer. I wish I could afford the treatment again. I wish we all could afford the treatment that we need. Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Thank for writing pepper!!!
So sorry to hear that you were reinfected... Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Has anyone taken IV Vancomycin?
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
IV clindamycin would probably be the cheapest med you could find. But that has a high risk of c. diff. Hubby's LLMD considers this as maybe a 3rd choice (after rocephin and zithromax) except for the side effect risks.
Bea Seibert
Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Thank you seilbert! I will talk to the nurse at my Lyme doctors office tomorrow about it ! Reading some conflicting reports about Vancomycin and clindamycin not crossing the blood brain barrier?
I thought that was the whole point of IV antibiotics so they can get past the blood brain barrier?
I am very confused...
Thank you everyone,
Kuda
Posted by lindaca (Member # 23871) on :
IV Rocephin and IV Zithromax are relatively inexpensive, especially if you get the meds through a pharmacy instead of an infusion service.
Vials can be purchased for between $2-$6 for Rocephin, between $8-$10 for Zithromax (generic for both). Then the supplies are needed, which will add up to about $10-$12 per dose, including supplies for weekly bandage changes.
Vancomycin runs closer to $65 per vial, so it is much more costly.
It's geared mostly towards generic Rocephin, but the Zithromax is just as easy (need a 250ml saline bag instead of 100ml is the biggest difference, other than the vial itself).
Posted by stillwater (Member # 30312) on :
I think the ability of an ABX to pass the BBB has more to do with the size of the molecule than the delivery method.
And I think you get more of the ABX in your system via IV because it doesn't go through your digestive system.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Thank you both for your replies.
Linda I can not take Rocephin, Zithromax is worth a shot though thank you!
Stillwater - Thank you so much that makes a lot of sense !
Posted by lindaca (Member # 23871) on :
lymekuda, zith IV can be hard on the ears, so be careful. It has a long half-life though, so some docs will let you dose it every other day to minimize that issue. It's relatively inexpensive, I've found it at under $10/vial.
Posted by lymekuda (Member # 23972) on :
Wow thank you Linda!
My doc and I spoke today, I think I am going to give Rocephin a try while taking small doses of Valium. Kind of like people do for mariners disease.?
I think Zith could be really bad for me...
Thanks again, much appreciated!
Posted by Maradona (Member # 24552) on :
Stillwater Antibiotics IV are the safestand precise way to get the right dose in your body.
IM antibiotics are the same but 2% less effective than IV.
Oral is the worst way to controll the amount of drug in your body because there are not two people that will absorb the same amount of drug in the bowels and the drug goes thru liver and a lot dipends on the liver metabolism of drug that again is diferent for all people.
But oral is the easy way to give the drug to patient. Ideal will be a MD that measures your drug concentration in the blod so knows you have the right dose of medication but almost no one does that and they should when treat for more then 10days with drug.
I dont anderstand haw somebody can treat chronic desease without knowing the drug concentration on blood.
With IV the amount of drug injected will be for sure in your blood for some time.
Again it can vanish from your system slow or more fast depends on liver metabolism but atleast you have for sertain time amed dose in your blood.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
. We were thinking of IV Doxy but it is about $3,300 a month so I don't think I will be going on that.![[Smile]](smile.gif)