Started Mepron late last week and on day 3 I woke up with a mild rash near my underarm..It was mildly itchy too.
I put a little hydro cortisone on it and it faded. It did not return yesterday or today but I still feel a little tingle.
I will be calling my LLMD today to ask him but any insight?
I am scared to be allergic to it as I am allergic to Sulfa drugs so I won't be able to change to clindamycin/quinine to treat babesia.
The air hunger is rough and I'm scared that I won't be able to treat it :/
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
update: left message for my LLMD and he had the nurse call me to tell me to stop the Mepron until he calls me tonight.
God, I hope I am not allergic It totally lessens my options of treating my air hunger. I can't live with this anymore!
Posted by jenn (Member # 21687) on :
If it was an allergic reaction....I don't think you'd get a rash in only 1 location.
Usually, itchy, hives and rashes all over are indicators of allergic skin reaction.
Maybe it's just a contact allergy or eczema...Fingers crossed for you!!
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
I couldn't take zith, ketek, or biaxin, so Mepron was no option for me.
My now famous lyme doctor successfully treated my babs with Bactrim DS and artemesinin. I was on this combo for about 1 year.
So, do not fear. You still have treatment options.
My doc said Bactrim will work for babs, but it takes twice as long as Mepron/zith.
It is now 6 years since I completed my treatment and I am still symptom free, enjoying my life.
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
Unfortunately I have a severe allergy to Bactrim (it's a Sulfa drug) that landed me in the hospital for 4 days, last year Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
Jenn: Def not excema, I have never had that before and I also do not think it is a contact allergy. Just too much of a coincidence that it happened right when I started taking the Mepron. :/
Posted by jenn (Member # 21687) on :
Backinstolaf...
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for you that it's a contact allergy...
it's spring time...and everythings out to aggravate us! seasonal allergies can play havoc on us too! with skin irritations to! i'm thinking positive for you! lol
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
I had a very similar experience as you.
I started Mepron/Zith a little over a month ago. I noticed I got a bit itchy after a couple of days.... however, I was on an antihistamine at the time. I dropped the antihistamine, to see if it was in fact an allergy, and I got extremely itchy all over -- legs, belly, arm and also got mild blotchy red rashes on my stomach.
My doc said it may not be exactly a drug allergy, but my immune system sort of overreacting. But he wants me to take a month break, to see how I react and get a baseline, and then we'll decide what to do next month.
I also had a similar reaction as you did to Bactrim. I took it for around 6 days and I never felt worse in my life. Fevers, headache, bad rash (and weird spotted rash), fainted once... It really felt like I was dying.
If you have to drop it (hopefully not), I guess other options would be maybe malarone, and hopefully you could tolerate the lower dose of atovaquone? Or worst case, high dose artemesinin + zith?
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
Lemon-lyme, thank you for the info. I'm sorry you are having issues too.
I was thinking about Malarone as well until i realized it has atovaquone but you are right, maybe I can tolerate a lower dose.
If I didn't have this awful air hunger for the past 3 months I think I would feel halfway decent. That symptom is ruining my life and I still have to work full time and support myself. Hard to commute to work on a crowded subway when you can barely breathe. :/
Jenn: Thank you for the hopeful sentiment
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
Yeah, the air hunger thing is pretty horrible. I've had breathing issues for years now. I also have other health issues, so differentiating babesia from other causes is a bit of a pain too.
If your doctor recommends dropping it completely, I'd ask him if you could instead drop the mepron for several days (or however long it takes to get out of your system) and see if the rash goes away. Once it goes away, restart the mepron. If the rash comes back, then you have your answer... if not, you are good to go.
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
Lemon: The rash is barely there right now. It was more visible on saturday morning but now it is barely there with a very very mild itch.
I would guess that an allergy would not wane like that but I could be wrong.
I also have Mercury issues as I had 16 amalgams for years. Had 6 removed last year and was supposed to continue, but now that I can't breathe well, I can't sit in the dentist chair for hours on end with my mouth open
I hate my life so much. I used to be happy.
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
Now I'm reading some sites that say a mild skin rash is common and may not warrant discontinuing treatment.
I'm so confused.
Posted by Toboein (Member # 22635) on :
Back.
I spoke with you before, recently. I never had mepron so i cant offer any info, but i too am suffering severely from the air hunger/every bad breathing sensation you could have. it ruined my life.
i too, used to love life, and now i hate waking up everyday.
Im sorry you are suffering, and hope one of us can find some relief and share it.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)