Dr. C wants to start with claforan.

Has anyone taken a different abx IV besides Rocephin and what were the results?

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Can anyone answer Snowboarder's question above, especially Dr C;s patients? Dr C also recommended IV claforan or primaxin for me because of greater effectiveness.

My local internist who's agreed to administer IV, though, wants me to do rocephin instead for 2 reasons: (1) says claforan and primaxin are more harsh on the body & people get more c diff and yeast on those; (2) I feel 90% well, and he's afraid the harsher drugs will give me a setback.

I called Dr C's office yesterday, and his nurse said she isn't aware of their patients on primaxin & claforan having more c diff or yeast.

Those who've tried primaxin or claforan, which best describes your experience?

Especially those of you who've tried rocephin and then later either primaxin or claforan, were they really harsher? Did you really have more problems with yeast and c diff than on rocephin?

Snowboarder, have you started yet?

I've actually used all 3 drugs over the years (various relapses). First, everyone reacts differently, so this represents my experience ONLY.

My "context" is that (A) I get C. diff if you look at me sideways, (B) had Lyme meningitis (pos. lyme test of spinal fluid) and accompanying typical meningitis symptoms, (C) I respond well to antibiotics and then relapse 1.5-6 years later, (D) have had asthma/allergies since I was 5 and have several drug allergies, and (E) until recently never had any yeast issues (lucky). That said...

CLAFORAN - no bad side effects, got C. diff every time used and VERY quickly (in one instance after the first infusion...doc thought impossible but C. diff test said otherwise!), worked pretty well, eventually developed allergy to cephalosporins.

ROCEPHIN - can't remember ever getting C. diff with this, if so, did once... got gallstones each time I used it, but they dissolved (no meds) a few months later each time, just had to deal with pain til they were gone, helped some but least effective of three, allergy to this now (cephalosporin)

PRIMAXIN - have been on this the most/longest of the three. got C. diff from it once, but only after a long time that I was on it. Turns your teeth brown and smells bad when it oxidizes (when air hits it), but this worked VERY well for me. Am currently having a relapse and if the orals don't work, will be going back on this.

Your comparison is very helpful! I hope you don't mind if I ask just a couple more questions/

Yu did't feel that primaxin was more Harsh on your body? It didn't make you feel sicker during the weeks you were on it than the rocephin did?

Would you have been more able to work on one than the other?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "harsh" and its also like comparing apples & oranges a bit for the following reasons:

the "adverse events" were pretty different for the various drugs and different folks deal with these various things in diff. ways. for ex., i didn't find the gallstone pain too terrible with rocephin whereas other folks find it so bad they get their gallbladders removed ASAP.

i wasn't on claforan too long b/c the C. diff with that put me in the hospital twice it was so bad. prior to that, had a short bout of pancreatitis as a side effect, mostly it hurt pretty badly for a couple of days. but, unlike most folks, i get c. diff on nearly every antibiotic despite probiotics, etc. now they give me oral vanco as a precaution (i'm allergic to flagyl, the other drug that kills c. diff).

primaxin, yup it was brutal, but keep in mind that every time i've used ANY i.v. drug, i've been DEATHLY ill with heart complications from lyme or meningitis. the side effects just made me MORE miserable but my baseline prior to abx was already pretty bad. i was usually in the hospital when i was starting these drugs b/c i was so ill.

as far as using primaxin while deathly ill, i didn't like my teeth turning brown but a good cleaning once i was on my feet fixed that. the smell oozing from my skin wasn't too pleasant nor were the brown stains of oxidized meds on my floor (drips! from plugging in the iv bag with uber-weak hands). primaxin is A DRAG with it's dosing - 3 times a day and for me, i had to do the infusions over 2 hours each, so that's a lot of time on the ol' iv pole BUT i was in bed all day long so... and lastly, b/c of the short shelf life of primaxin once the powder is mixed in saline, you have to mix it up immediately prior to giving it to yourself which is also a drag.

now, given ALL that and whatever other side effects i had while on the meds, i can still say that primaxin was GREAT. it worked. ***for me***. brought me from the brink (meningitis, heart complications) back to life and kept me in good shape for a long time (i was probably on it 3-4 months total, not the highest dose given as i am relatively small and have low tolerance). i can't say if it is more or less "harsh" than the other drugs, just "different" in the dosing requirements (now those are "harsh!"), side effects, and efficacy. and **for me**, the terrific efficacy greatly outweighed the brutal dosing requirements and whatever the side effects were.

Just a suggestion.

See my response to the topic "Antibiotics more harm" for more info on this.