Jordana
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posted
I'm adding zithromax this week and doing Buhner for Babesia but I'm running into some trouble.
First of all, given my reactions this week ( neuromuscular, floaty head, etc) I am sure I have Babesia. I like crypto and sida but if I take them on a Tinidazole day I end up with a migraine; so I have to pulse these and that won't work.
So I've been shopping for an anti-malarial babesia treater, but I don't know about the toxicity potential of any of these except for artemesinin, which seems pretty toxic.
Which one of the anti-babesia meds has the best safety profile?
Posts: 2057 | From Florida | Registered: Feb 2015
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WPinVA
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Honestly, I think you might be overthinking this. All meds are going to have negatives. If you read too much, you'll scare yourself out of taking any of them. Have to compare the potential negatives to the toxicity of leaving the babesia in your body.
I am like you and read a lot too and am a compulsive researcher so I understand the tendency. Which is why I also understand that it can be paralyzing.
Odds are that you are going to react negatively to some of these meds at some time. The issue is that you don't really know ahead of time which one.
For me, art was where I started and it was easy to tolerate (compared with Mepron which was tough but helped too).
Posts: 1737 | From Virginia | Registered: Aug 2011
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Jordana
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Well, I'm already having a bad reaction in that I'm herxing pretty much all the time on just tindamax and mino. Adding zith I'm sure will be a treat.
I can handle a fair amount of misery ( given the alternative); the whole point is not to damage or kill myself in the process.
Art and tini are neurotoxic; that's why I don't want to combine them.
Mepron just sounds like a horror.
Posts: 2057 | From Florida | Registered: Feb 2015
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TF
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posted
I got rid of babesiosis by taking Bactrim DS and artemesinin.
My doc treated me first for lyme, then for bartonella, and finally for babs. If necessary, he would have gone back and retreated lyme at the end, but in my case that was not necessary.
So, the medication load is less if you treat one disease at a time.
And, Bactrim treats both babs and bart.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Jordana
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How long did you take it for TF?
Posts: 2057 | From Florida | Registered: Feb 2015
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TF
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posted
Eleven months.
My doc said that it takes twice as long to kill babs with Bactrim compared to Mepron/Zith. But, I couldn't take zith, so I couldn't take mepron. So, that is why he used Bactrim on me.
I became symptom free pretty quickly but then winter was coming on and he will not let any patient stop antibiotics in winter. He says winter is a stress on the body, so you could relapse if you try to stop treatment in winter.
So, I took the meds for 5 extra months after becoming symptom free. That brought me to spring.
Worked wonderful for me. Except it was a real pain treating for 5 months without any symptoms. That included the diet, probiotics, etc.
The way I knew I was finished with babs was when I no longer got the 7 day flares. It went from a 7-day flare to a 14 day flare. (My doc says babs has a 7-day cycle and a 14-day cycle.)
When I no longer got any flare at all, not even the urge to take a nap on the scheduled flare day, we knew we had kicked babs.
See this page from my doc's book for more details:
I took the art to encompass the flares. So, since the flares always started on Friday evening, I started taking the art on Friday morning. I always had a 48 hour flare, so I took the art Fri-Sun.
The art made a major difference in the flare. It went from 48 hours of hell to not much to write home about.
Remember, babs was the last disease I treated. That's why I believe my babs flares were so easy to recognize. I had already gotten rid of all lyme symptoms and I really never had any bart symptoms (except episodes of excruciating abdominal pain). So, when there is just one disease left in your body, patterns can become very noticeable.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Jordana
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It might be safer to treat babesia over a longer time period since you don't lose as many red blood cells all at once.
I LOVE Bactrim; it shut down all sweats and other issues in December but then I had a weird crash on it ten days later. I'm afraid to start it again and wouldn't mix it with another antibiotic.
Posts: 2057 | From Florida | Registered: Feb 2015
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posted
Artemesinin has a peroxide bridge on it's molecule. So apparently it kills babesia when the oxygen-rich red blood cell oxidizes the peroxide bridge yielding two free radicals that incinerate the poor little protozoan...
...There's also oxygen everywhere else in the body, and poor little human cells as well.
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TF
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I don't believe there was anything unsafe about my treatment.
My doc had many years experience treating lyme disease and he had the disease himself. He is a great doc.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- I agree with TF. Artemesinin as part of a treatment program has saved lives of those with malaria, babesia and similar infections.
It has been and continues to be a very safe and effective part of treatment (in combination with other important elements).
Ohioperson,
many "poor little human cells" - and the humans whom contain them, have been mighty grateful for Artemesinin, mighty grateful.
Context, a full picture, is very important. Lives have been saved, wellness has been restored across continents. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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TF
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"Artemesia (a nonprescription herb) should be added in all cases."
Burrascano, page 24 speaking on treatment of babesiosis.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Jordana
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Does anybody have any quick link to the difference between artemesia and artemesinin -- toxicity, effectiveness comparatively and so on?
Posts: 2057 | From Florida | Registered: Feb 2015
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Try using the "search" function of LymeNet. This has been discussed often.
Here is a post I found that discusses some of this:
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
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Thank you all.
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