I know that amoxicillin and related Abx's work to stop the production of bacteria and not so much kill bacteria.
Does anyone have any thoughts on if amoxicillin would in some ways be a slower killer of lyme but maybe one with some benefits, namely less die off reactions and the ability to allow the body own defenses to work with it as opposed to shutting off? thanks, jeremy
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I don't know, but if you're looking for less of a herxheimer reaction, that likely won't happen. I felt horrible the whole five months I was on amoxy.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Six, do you honestly feel all the Amoxicillin suffering had any positive payback?
Posted by payne (Member # 26248) on :
i too felt terrible on amoxy, like a stretched out herx, now my LDL is 235 from 120
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Wow, that's a scary change Payne. I hope that doesn't happen to me. I see very few who benefit from Amoxy, except for the rare few here who took 15,000 mg daily. I personally would rather be on Biaxin anyday and twice on Sunday.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
It is my understanding that it is the tetracyclines that are bacteriostatic (stop the germs from multiplying) unless given in high (hard to tolerate) doses and the penicillins (including amoxicillin) are bactericidal (kill the germs).
From page 14 of Burrascano:
"The TETRACYCLINES, including doxycycline and minocycline, are bacteriostatic unless given in high doses. If high blood levels are not attained, treatment failures in early and late disease are common.... However, these high doses can be difficult to tolerate."
and...
"PENICILLINS are bactericidal. As would be expected in managing an infection with a gram negative organism such as Bb, amoxicillin has been shown to be more effective than oral penicillin V. With cell wall agents such as the penicillins, kill kinetics indicate that sustained bactericidal levels are needed for 72 hours to be effective. Thus the goal is to try to achieve sustained blood and tissue levels."
Amoxicillin is what got rid of my lyme disease, along with flagyl. I didn't have any problem with it at all.
As Burrascano says:
"There is no universally effective antibiotic for treating LB. The choice of medication used and the dosage prescribed will vary for different people based on multiple factors. These include duration and severity of illness, presence of co-infections, immune deficiencies, prior significant immunosuppressant use while infected, age, weight, gastrointestinal function, blood levels achieved, and patient tolerance." (page 13)
I don't know why you think amoxi is a slow killer of lyme disease.
Low doses of tetracyclines mean slower killing, less killing, and less chances of herxing from die-off.