posted
Mepron can cause rashes. Malarone has mepron plus another ingredient.
Hubby had what we thought was an allergic reaction the first time he took mepron. Unfortunately the lyme doc was out of state at the time. His PCP thought it was a textbook allergy reaction.
He had a few hives before bed on day 10 - was only taking it every other day to start. Within 24 hours he had hives covering his entire body and they turned into big red welts. He gained 10 pounds of fluid weight over night.
The skin on his fingers and nose and ears all peeled off. I think he took 1 more dose after the hives started.
Anyway we thought for 10 years that he had an allergy to mepron. Someone finally tried him on malarone when he got a very high titer for babesia duncani.
He did have a little bit of a rash for a day or two, but that was all. Then he continued taking the malarone for the next 14 months. He did start at a low dose, but increased it very quickly - within just 3 or 4 days because the med was so helpful.
Is this the first time you have treated babs? The mepron and zith was hubby's first babs treatment and he had been sick for 3 years at that point.
I would try stopping the malarone and then maybe restart it within a week. I remember that hubby did stay on his artemisinin for the babs until we found another doc 6 months later and moved on to low dose quinine and clindamycin.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Judie
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posted
Thanks Bea. I've had the bad drug reaction that your hubby had before. It's terrifying!
It's really helpful to hear your husband's history. You have such a good memory!
Yes, just started treating babs a couple months ago.
I think what's confusing is I've been taking malarone and tinidazole for a few months. Malarone has been a miracle for me.
I just started pulsing. I hadn't taken tinidazole in about a month and my doc and I decided to add it back because I did really well on that too.
So, I started tinidazole Sunday (a week ago) and malarone on Thursday.
Friday is when the rash on my neck started. It hasn't been as dramatic as a horrid drug allergy. Just slowly creeping with more hives.
First on the neck, then down the chest a little.
My doc wants to switch from tinidazole to alinia (I had asked a question right before the rash started and just got that answer from the nurse today). I still haven't heard back about what to do about the rash.
I skipped the tinidazole today. Malarone is giving me my mind back, but I don't think the rash is good. I just don't know which caused it.
I'm also pulsing coartem, but didn't take it anywhere near the rash. I'm also on bicillin shots and those have been helpful. The rash started a few days after the shot so I don't think that's it.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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When something as drastic as hubby's mepron rash happens it is kind of hard to forget.
But as for having a good memory - that can work against you with standard AMA docs - I was accused of Munchausens during hubby's final hospitalization while he was in lung failure.
Actually hubby was better than me at remembering details regarding specific treatments - repeating the same story to around 100 docs will keep it fresh in your memory. He could remember his medical history even when he was confused to the point of not knowing his own name or that I was his wife.
It is so hard to know if you are having a true allergic reaction or if it is simply a detox reaction to a massive die off of babesia parasites.
Due to switching docs hubby ended up not really treating his babs for 6 months after the mepron reaction. He was on artemisinin and doxy for a couple of those months but can't remember for sure if he was totally off all meds except the art for part of that time or not.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- Oh, Bea. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with such ignorant accusations at such a tender time. I hope you are doing alright these days.
Judie, I have no experience with malarone (and couldn't stay on the flagyl generic very long for other reasons) but I thought I posted that Stinging Nettle may help to soothe the reaction. I must have just thought about it, though, as I don't see it here.
Oh . . . a while back, there was a problem with the manufacturing of the tindnzl. Maybe a couple years ago, you'd want to be sure you don't have something from those bad batches.
Later, I'll see if I can find detail. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Judie
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posted
Bea - Gosh, the denialists are amazing. I'm so sorry you were accused of munchausens. That's horrible.
I've had that severe reaction you described usually to new meds that caused allergy.
Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this is a mild drug-allergy rash. I've had these before. I'm doing a lot of detox and anti-allergy stuff right now, so I'm pretty sure that's why it isn't as severe as other times. I've taken both of these drugs for awhile. My body just turns on stuff sometimes.
It doesn't seem worse or better today. I hope it was the tinidazole.
I haven't heard back from the doctor. So frustrating...
I guess I'll just monitor myself in the meantime. Tomorrow is the last day of my malarone pulse.
I'm just hoping I'm not making it worse.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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Keebler
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posted
- I can't find detail on what I am positive was in the news (or in some reputable health article) probably about 2-5 years ago.
I hate Google. It's so useless for these kinds of searches when it favors commerce sites just wanting to sell you stuff.
I searched here at LN, in both med. and gen. forums and saw no headline that suggested manufacturing issues.
As I recall, it was a generic tinidazole - and this part (maybe) in a box with the pills in little plastic molded pillows.
My guess is that would not still be in circulation. Still, just in case, check everything to be sure it's not possibly counterfeit. Even the best pharmacies can face that from time to time. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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The herb, STINGING NETTLE LEAF (not root) may serve to compensate for the reaction by calming the the cytokine storm that is often part of a herx reaction.
It can also serve to calm histamine reactions. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Judie
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posted
I'm drinking a ton of stinging nettle tea! I love it. It's what calmed the amoxicillin rash that I had from head to toe. I did it instead of steroids and allergy pills (it works better anyway).
I now drink it regularly and I doubled it up when I noticed this happening. I think that's why I'm not having the dramatic rash I could be having.
I'm allergic to so many meds, my doc has wanted me to take allergy pills just so I can handle some of them, but then I was allergic to the allergy pills.
Just hoping this will just be the tinidazole causing the problem.
Malarone is the only reason I can function at all.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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steve1906
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posted
I get rashes not being on meds...(Lyme disease will cause rashes at will).
Since you're on meds it could be because of that but, lyme will cause rashes from time to to time.
Steve
-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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Judie
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posted
Steve - Yes, I've had all kinds of rashes with Lyme. That's very true.
Unfortunately, these are my typical drug-allergy rashes. The next step is my neck swells up and it's off to ER when it's bad. The drug rashes seem to always start on my neck and look like a specific kind of rash.
I heard back from the doc. I'm stopping everything right now until it clears up.
No malarone for at least a week. Bye, Bye, mind and energy...
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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GretaM
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Argh Judie
Bummer!
"My doc wants to switch from tinidazole to alinia "
I liked Alinia. Also liked tinidazole. My doc said they both act against protozoas and are good supplements to babs treatments.
I am so sorry that you have a rash starting.
Could it at all be anything else? Any new chemicals snuck into your life? Any new sunscreens, bug sprays etc that you use on your neck? Maybe a rash from the heat itself, or a synthetic fabric? New haircut even? My neck gets rashy when I get my haircut. Also my sweat gives me a rash sometime. (where the sweat kind of sticks around, like the wrinkles on my neck, and other areas.
It is puzzling, especially when one is having results from a med, and feels somewhat better on it.
Could it be a herx? Are they hive-like, or lyme-like?
Have you been good with keeping up detox methods?
So sorry to hear about your rash. I hate rashes, especially in this heat!
Posts: 4358 | From British Columbia, Canada | Registered: Jun 2013
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Judie
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posted
Hi Greta,
Thanks for you kind words. That's good to hear about alinia. I need some hope. Yes, heat does not help.
This is definitely drug allergy-hives. Nothing new, I've been here before (it happened with amoxicillin but worse).
I hadn't taken tinidazole in a month. I asked my doc if we could add it back in because I did so well on it. I started back on it last week. Presto, hives.
There hasn't been anything new. It's just a my body doing its thing.
I am feeling MUCH better since I stopped the tinidazole. More energy, the rash is still there though.
The energy will be gone tomorrow though since I'm stopping everything. Just sad, I feel like I shouldn't have requested to add tinidazole back.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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steve1906
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quote:I'm stopping everything right now until it clears up.
I'm glad, talk with your doctors.
Steve
-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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