posted
Which is a better/safer drug used for bart., my daughter was n rifampin 600 mg daily for about three months and was nuts on it, could not sleep, anger issues, hyper, etc., her doctor is now deciding if she should use it again starting on a lower dose or using levinquin? any thoughts?
Posts: 256 | From Boston, mass | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
Some are fine on levaquin and it is potent against bart but for me- its other family member- cipro gave me bad tendon damage I think - not totally sure... but I don't think I would try levaquin because of it honestly. That is me. Now, I have heard that Biaxin combined with a penicillin type drug has been effective too over time. Sorry I don't have more info. I am sure others will provide good feedback-
Posts: 243 | From Charleston, SC | Registered: Oct 2008
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Here is Burrascano on the subject:
The drug of choice to treat BLO is levofloxacin. Levofloxacin is usually never used for Lyme or Babesia, so many patients who have tick-borne diseases, and who have been treated for them but remain ill, may in fact be infected with BLO. Treatment consist of 500 mg daily (may be adjusted based on body weight) for at least one month. Treat for three months or longer in the more ill patient. It has been suggested that levofloxacin may be more effective in treating this infection if a proton pump inhibitor is added in standard doses.
Another subtlety is that certain antibiotic combinations seem to inhibit the action of levofloxacin, while others seem to be neutral. I advise against using an erythromycin-like drug, as clinically such patients do poorly. On the other hand, combinations with cephalosporins, penicillins and tetracyclines are okay. Alternatives to levofloxacin include rifampin, gentamicin and possibly streptomycin. A very recent article suggests that prior use of quinine-like drugs including atovaquone (Mepron, Malarone) may render Levaquin less effective. Therefore, in a co-infected patient, treat the BLO before you address Babesia species. (p.24 of Guidelines)
(Levofloxacin is levaquin.)
(BLO is bartonella like organism.)
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
How old is your daughter? I was told that Levaquin cannot be given to children.
Rifampin is very good on Bart. Try at a lower dose. It has done wonders for my child's Bart, and she is on a much lower dose than 500 mg daily (she only weighs 90 pounds though).
Posts: 648 | From northeast | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
i wouldnt give your daughter levaquin... its too dangerous for a kid. try rifampin with bactrim.. its a very powerful and good combination. be careful with the dosage, it depends on your daughters weight.
good luck Posts: 371 | From velocity of light | Registered: Sep 2009
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I got tendonitis from levaquin but it was great on the bartonella. The only problem was after taking it I could not tolerate any other abx for 8 months and even though I took herbs during that time I completely relapsed. So I would stay away from it.
I am taking this from my pathetic memory but there is a list of drugs used for bart. I can't remember them all but it is something like this: bactrim rifampin (these are safest) cipro, levaquin, factive - same family and much more dangerous
So Rifampin is supposed to be the most effective of the "safest drugs". You will experience strong emotional herxing when you treat bart.
I too rifampin for three months and then switched to Bactrim DS and Biaxin. I like this combo MUCH better. I have made tremendous strides on it is a short time. I felt completely out of it on Rifampin and found out it can have the side effect of confusion etc.
Good luck.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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