So I just found out today that I have this, along with another co-infection I've never heard of. Don't know how to spell it. Buricello?
Anyway my LLMD has never had anyone test positive for RMSF, so she had no idea how to treat. She looked it up and I'm having a picc put in tomorrow and starting IV doxy.
Does this sound right, what has anyone else done? Thanks for any info!!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Brucella???
I'm not sure about doxy and RMSF .. could be right.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
Doxy is the drug of choice for RMSF. Also for Erlichiosis, which has similar symptoms to RMSF.
Posted by jlcd1 (Member # 18138) on :
Yes Brucella, do you know of it?? Good thing for doxy because I have erlichiosis too.
Honestly I don't know how I'm still up and walking and alive. When the doctor told me today I just burst into tears. It's so scary as a lot of you know.
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
Were you igG or igM positive for RMSF?
If igG, I wouldn't consider it a big deal. It just means exposure, not that it's currently active. It's worth treating with Doxy though, which is what you are currently doing.
A couple of months of oral Doxy should normally wipe out RMSF and erlichiosis. I was positive for both too (igG-wise)... my doc didn't think it was a big deal. Bart and Babesia are more of a pain to get rid of.
Now if it's igM positive, yeah, best to treat as soon as possible. Not that you have to worry, but that means it's more than exposure.
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
I had a positive RMSF in 2005 my current well known LLMD told me Erlichiosis can trigger positive RMSF test....he told me that he has only seen 2 true RMSF cases in his 20+yr career and that if you are not "deathly" ill with it.....you may still feel really sick.....it is more likely erlichiosis.......
Posted by Taytsa (Member # 30097) on :
I tested positive for erlichiosis and rmsf as wel, doxy is the drug of choice for both, althoygh I only did orals, not iv
Posted by Haley (Member # 22008) on :
I tested positive for both erlichiosis and RMSF. I did do about a month of IV Doxy which helped. IV Doxy is fairly toxic stuff so approach with caution. It should help a lot. I moved onto IV Rifampin and then oral Rifampin which I think has helped a lot.
I have always believed that this infection was a large contributor of my brain problems.
I'm curious, do you have a lot of cognitive/brain issues? Also, do you have headaches? If so, where do you get your headaches....back of head, front of head?
Posted by jlcd1 (Member # 18138) on :
well thanks for all the info. I'm not really "deathly" ill so that's why i was so surprised.
I just started getting headaches. Back of head, top of head, and of course front too, i have bartonella as well.
Other then the headaches I don't really think I have too much brain stuff going on, for now anyway. When I stopped the oral rifampin is when the headaches started, so I started it again.
I didn't know there was IV rifampin. How much does that cost?
Posted by jlcd1 (Member # 18138) on :