Is it common for LLMD'S to switch meds- I've been on 3 different sets in 6 months.

Has anyone taken Piraceten and Hydrogene(sp?) for memory?

This all gets so scary when you switch meds- I don't know how I'll be feeling tomorrow- but you've all gone through that one too!

Thought I'd pop in and say hi.

It was great to meet you & your daughter at the doctor's office. What a coincidence. I think you're the first one I've met in person from Lymenet. Now I know who I'm talking to. Too cool.

Hope your daughter is feeling better from her sore throat.

I'm anxious to hear how you like the hydergine & Piracetam. I've read about them in my Life Extension books. They both sound great. I bet you'll like them.

When I went on Mepron, I herxed exactly around the 5th or 6th day. I had to lie down & symptoms flared. The first bottle of Mepron was pretty easy to take. The 2nd bottle got a little more difficult to take. Some on here have taken it for many, many months.

You probably already know, but be sure & line your stomach well to prevent stomach problems with Mepron. (I was advised to take with a meal with fatty food for absorption.)

I never had a problem with the stomach on Zithromax. I did have some weird, new symptoms when I started it though. The longer you're on it, the deeper it penetrates the tissues.

Well, hope you're finally having a restful holiday.

Take Care,
Jan

On mep/zith my husband and I experienced leg pain, low back pain, increase in headaches, major, epic, insane irritabililty. My husband had stomach upset and shortness of breath.

Earlier in my lyme career I had swallowing and choking problems, stiff neck, and a lot of stomach problems.

Since Bb parasitizes babesia, and killing the babs releases Bb back into the system, you may be experiencing both Bb and babs sx.

I was on bicillin for Bb at the same time as the mepron/zith. Also, artemesinin for babs, which I recommend based on my own experience.

The effects of the mepron/zith tx can be pretty nasty through to the 5th month. After that I started feeling a lot better. Months 2-4 were the most unpleasant.

Our doc switches some meds (levaquin, septra, omnicef for bart) every couple of months, but kept us on the mepron/zith long term (10 mo for the hubby, 7 mo for me) and on the bicillin for at least a year. Everything I've read indicates you need to be on Mepron/zith for at least 6 months.

Some people's protocols have involved switching meds about every 2 months, also. I'm not sure if that's to avoid resistance, or because the drugs were especially hard on the liver or whatever, or because the patient was intolerant.

Zith has been an evil Rx for me. I got wicked IBS and Candida while on it last year. I have cleared up the IBS and have the Candida (sort of) in check. So, my MD has added the Zith back in with the Mepron.

The dose that you are taking of bothe is very low ans shouldn't cause too many problems. I am working my way up to 500mg of Zith - so far ok. I have been on 5mL of Mepron 2x/day for 9 months. On both, my pharmacist said to take them with a well coated stomach, meaning food, especially a bit of fatty food.

Some take Zith on an empty stomach, which might be ideal. But, I cannot handle it that way.

If you do not feel better after 14 days of the Zith (stomachwise) tell your MD. My PCP recommended giving a med a 14 day trial to see if the stomach could adjust.

There are other macrolides you can try if Zith is ng.

The stiff neck and back ache - yup, that's what happens to me when I feel a herx coming on.

I am on 2 tsp of Mepron in the morning and Zith in the evening. I couldn't take a whole Zith so I take half. The capsules are 600 mg.

Feels like I've been herxing more than not. I've been on this between 2 and 3 months. More severe headaches, a very stiff and painful neck. Severe back and hip pain. Severe joint and muscle pain. Also tinnitus in both ears, loss of some hearing in the right ear, visual problems. You name it.

My LLMD said the medication was taking me deeper into the disease. I see him again tomorrow. I have been jotting down notes in between visits. I should learn more tomorrow.

Thank God for the experience of others here at lymenet to help us all. We'll get there and it's going to take longer for me than I originally thought!

Hope you feel better soon!

I saw my LLMD today. I forgot to ask you last night when I was writing if you have been diagnosed with secondary infections.

I have Babs and Erlichia as well. I was on Doxy for a while. Now he has had me on Mepron and Zithromax for a couple of months.

Today he agreed with me that the Lyme symptoms are much more severe and the Babs symptoms are also. Of course the mepron and Zith are targeting the Babs. He wants to add Ceftin to target the Lyme at the same time.

If I don't come around here he is wondering about IV's. He didn't want to be that invasive if we didn't have to.

I do Mepron for 3 weeks and off one week. He asked me how the week off was. I told him I was actually worse. He said this is very usual and that the herxing can get pretty severe. That's where I am tonight. I dragged myself down to his office today.

I know I'll get better but it's the pits to feel so bad and still look real good. Some people probably think I'm a little weird. I'm just not up to doing much and I'm usually pretty active teaching in the community.

Hope this helps and that you fell better soon.