Have you found zithromax effective by itself? My doctor wanted me to do minocycline and zithro combo, but the minocycline gave me severe head pressure that wouldn't go away.
After a week of no relief from that she told me to stop it and we might come back to minocycline later in treatment. She now wants me to do zithromax every other day at 250mg and slowly work up to daily.
We have a phone consultation in a month where i am sure she will add in one or two other meds, but i was just wondering if zithro can do much on its own?
Posted by TNT (Member # 42349) on :
Zithromax has been very helpful for me, but it depends on what you are using it for. You have to be hitting the right bugs for it to make a difference.
It is only minimally effective for lyme itself. Lyme has at least 3 morphologies, and unless you are hitting all three, you will be doing nothing to bring your overall load down with just Zithromax.
The Mino and Zith is a fairly good combination, although those by themselves do not address the cystic form of lyme. If you are having trouble with the Mino, you could ask your doc about substituting Doxy for it.
Still, eventually you do need something for the cystic form and that (whatever your doc uses) should be added to the other two drugs.
Mino (and Doxy) attacks the spirochete, Zithromax attacks the l-form (cell-wall-deficient form), and Tindamax or Flagyl attack the cysts.
Your doc should know how to do it if they are a good LLMD.
It sounds like they are gradually ramping up your meds. That is a good and safe approach. Just remember to hit all three morphologies.
Posted by dogmom2 (Member # 23822) on :
remember to protect your ears, maybe look up some of Keebler's posts.
Posted by daphnesmom1 (Member # 39433) on :
Zith can hit bart too.
Posted by chmabers8 (Member # 46907) on :
So will it have any impact on its own for a month?
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- I cannot speak as I'd like about the dose. My brain just can't find the words but it's hard to tell if your doctor is an ILADS educated LLMD.
If so, perhaps just trying to find a dose that will not be too harsh to begin but it's certainly not strong enough to conquer lyme and a month seems a long time to go on such a low dose . . . and it lacks something to address the cystic form.
If they are going low dose because you have trouble tolerating it, have they given you a nice liver support plan? Without that, few could manage any treatment at all.
I really understand why minocycline can be hard. But, with liver support, it may be easier (or use doxy). Zithromax can be hard for some, too.
Regarding ears, so glad to see dogmom2's note. Always protect ears when on ANY antibiotics.
Topic: TINNITUS: Ringing Between The Ears; Vestibular, Balance, Hearing with compiled links - including HYPERACUSIS -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- While each person's treatment plan is to be individualized and some Rx can vary . . . this is what a basic template looks like:
Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease (Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines for Lyme and Other Tick Borne Illnesses
Dr. Burrascano's Treatment Guidelines (2008) - 37 pages
Page 27 - SUPPORTIVE THERAPY & CERTAIN ABSOLUTE RULES for self-care
Page 12: Cystic form
Page 13, the last paragraph:
Bacteriostatic vs. Bactericidal consideration [why certain doses are important] -
Posted by nyclymedout (Member # 45977) on :
Keebler is there a list of items to protect ears when taking antibiotics? Your thread had so much good info but I was having trouble locating just a short list of things I should be on to protect.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Sorry it's hard to sort out. There is no one single short list. I'd like the ear thread more streamlined, too, but I'm certainly too ill to do that - and it's not going to be the same for everyone and there is still no guarantee.
But the basics are
* keep the toxins as low as possible while addressing infection.
* avoid a herxheimer - yes, avoid as much as possible. If treatment is too harsh, back it down. The body has to be able to manage taking out the trash, so to speak. A herx can be dangerous for the ears.
* Get Bauman's new book. Try not to take ANY ototoxic drug if you can avoid it -- but, when necessary, be sure that you aren't also taking bunch of others that may not be required to address infection.
* Protect ears by actions.
* include things that support that such as liver & kidney support. That can vary for each person but start with MILK THISTLE.
* Make lots of bright & richly hued vegetables and certain low glycemic fruits top priority.
Topic: TINNITUS: Ringing Between The Ears; Vestibular, Balance, Hearing with compiled links - including HYPERACUSIS -
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
She may want you to start out slowly with one med and then add in other later. I would be concerned if the long term plan is just zith, but starting out solo for a little while isn't crazy, particularly when you already had one adverse reaction to a med.
I second the suggestion to ask for doxy. I had the same problem with mino and am fine with doxy.
Posted by sebreg (Member # 44928) on :
I was on zith as mono therapy before I knew anything of what was going on, was being treated for protomyxzoa before there was any info on that thing. I trusted my doc.
Zith def helped, and I am very sensitive when it comes to herxing, but in the end it could only take me so far. About a year ago I pushed my dr for more treatments, and that has been good but hard. I probably am dealing with bart or something like it and a high infection load, have been very very sick.
Going slow is a good idea, especially when just starting out. Good idea to look into other possible combo therapies like doxy as people have mentioned.