After reading some of the truly scary bart posts on Lymenet, I'm ready to try one of these treatments. Unfortunately, though, I work three part-time jobs and go to school so I don't have the time or financial resources to do a huge herx. Rifampin or full-dose mino just aren't an option.

Will any of the following actually work: low-dose mino, levaquin, TOA-free cat's claw, flagyl?

I've been using flagyl to combat headaches, and because they don't respond to any other Lyme abx, I'm pretty sure they're bart.

Also, I am so, so glad that Dr. H's office now has an extra LLMD. After reading posts recently from his other patients, I realize a lot of us slipped through the cracks with babs treatment, because the doc was so swamped he was unable to catch up with new treatment developments until he had a moment off.

I"m on rif. and mino now...the mino is cheap, i'm not sure how much the rif. is as I just pay a copay....what about septra and zithro? many find that combo to be good for bart also?

If you ramp up very slowly - 1/2 300mg capsule for a week, then 1/2 twice a day for a week, until you're up to 600mg, it's survivable. After a big crash at 10 days of full dose, that's what my LLMD had me do.

But like all abx, it's tough on the liver and you need to be tested monthly for liver counts. I did Milk Thistle the entire time and NEVER had abnormal liver counts.