posted
I can't take fluroquinolones but have been taking Biaxin successfully for 5 months.
My LLMD recently switched me to Zithromax.
Aren't these essentially the same thing? What would the benefit be in switching from Biaxin to Zithromax? Does Zithromax cover Bartonella at all?
Thanks!!
-------------------- unsure445 Posts: 824 | From northeast | Registered: Jun 2008
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cactus
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7347
posted
They are in the same family, but I found that each of them seemed to affect my body (and infections) somewhat differently.
So perhaps switching will give you broader coverage.
Are you taking only Zith, or is it in combo with another med?
Oh, and yes - it does have some effect on bartonella. I used it in combo with other meds though, so it might have more effect when combined with another abx.
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Currently I am taking Omnicef and zithromax one week per month. Limited Cowden daily.
I can't get past the monthly flare but do pretty well the remainder of the month although in the last few weeks I have been backsliding a little.
This has become very muddled...
-------------------- unsure445 Posts: 824 | From northeast | Registered: Jun 2008
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losferwrds
Unregistered
posted
Zith has like a 4 day half life, so it builds and builds and builds. For instance for strep throat, they give you 3 days of Zith and in stays in your system so long it knocks its out.
I had to switch from Zith to Biaxin XL cause Aetna will only pay for 6 pills a month of zith, so I had to pay 4 bucks a pill outta pocket to stay on it. Funny though, my LLMD just added Cedax and its a 40 dollar copay and without insurance the cost is thru the roof cause its not generic but that and the biaxin actually end up costing the insurance more than the Zith that they refuse to cover, make no sense. He added a Cedax 2 weeks ago been on the biaxin 2 months, prior to that a month of zith. I'll see what the combo does. I am still not convinced I have anything despite 2 postive IGG tests for bart, my WB is sad, only band 41, but my MRI shows 20+ lesions and all my symptoms are cognative and neuro other than air hunger. The only pain I get are right side eye/sinus headaches and very occational neck pain. I thought I had bart foot problems, but my uric acid was floating around 10+ so I went on Allopurinol and knocked out all my foot problems, it was all gout IMO. I have noticed the air hunger had been decreasing so I am hoping its from the meds. I have yet to have anything I would consider a herx based on the descriptions on this board.
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I have found that for me, Zithromax (combined with Plaquenil to amplify it's effectiveness) seemed to give me a herx that was more Bart-like in nature---neuropathy like itching and tingling on the surface of my skin, like their were bugs on it, achey neck (I think), and when I was finished herxing, my long-standing psych symptoms were better. Also that combo gave me twitches of small muscles.
So I'm not sure if that was treating Lyme or Bart. Could be either, but I suspect it could have been Bart.
But Biaxin just basically gives me sore knees and a headache, and I get very emotional (which does happen when I have Lyme herxes). To me, the symptoms I get from Biaxin seem more like my Lyme symptoms, so I think Zith is better for Bartonella.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
I was on Doxi with terrible results, Ceftin with a little better results but still struggled with the higher dose, after switching to Zithromax, I have been so much better, the Zithromax has gotten rid of those internal vibration that some of us struggle with. I had really bad.
I am on Azithromycin (alone). Trying to work up to higher dose.
My experience for your comparison, have not been on Biaxin yet. Also I don't know what co-infections I have if any.
Posts: 44 | From USA | Registered: Sep 2009
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posted
Rifampin is good addition to macrolides, Bactrim is another good broad spectrum which works vs bart
Posts: 856 | From MA | Registered: Jul 2009
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