After being treated for a year with abx for Lyme my doc is suspecting Babs.....will be doing blood work today to send to Igenex where I got my positive reading for Lyme a year ago this month......
I've talked him out of iv for the past couple months, but he said if oral Mepron doesn't work then iv is a must....
Any input about the Babs and Mepron would be appreciated....my LLMD doesn't want to do a port and I don't want to do an iv.....so you can see where that is....ughhhh
After a year I'm NO better and now seems to be getting worse along with a hearing loss....going to a ENT specialist this week.....my prayers are with all of you daily and I hope I'm in yours too....thanks for any info and support.....
------------------ Debbie V.
Posted by WIZARD (Member # 4597) on :
Hi Deb,
Hubby has been treated for 19 months including 5 months IV and now his 2nd round of IV. If you have babs, and the tests are poor at best, even at Igenex, then I don't think IV is the answer. Mepron/Zithromax and Artemisia or Malarone are for Babs.
Best to just treat Babs even if the tests are negative. The only way you will really know is to try.
What IV treatment was your LLMD recommending for Babs?
Hubby also has severe hearing loss. When we asked LLMD about seeing ENT he said its the Lyme. We have given up going to Dr.'s who know nothing about the complications of Lyme. Seems to be just a big waste of time and effort.
Hopefully, with the right combo of treatments all the symptoms will resolve.
Wizard
Posted by ivebeentricked (Member # 6944) on :
vandeb, I am sorry to hear you are doing so bad right now. I tested positive for Babesia through Bowen. I am not sold on the Bowen test, and I have doubts as to whether or not I have lyme because my test was only equivocal through IgeneX. But one thing I will say, I had been having terrible night sweats and day sweats for the past few months...the last month, I was soaking my sheets every night to the point where you could ring sweat out from underneath where I was laying. I started Mepron about exactly a month ago and 3 days later the sweats stopped and despite the introduction of 3 new abx to my stomach, it was doing better too than it had been for the past two years. Now my stomach has been really upset again the past few days, but I feel worse all over the past few days as well. Anyway, my night sweats have not returned except for 2 nights over the past 4 or 5 weeks. I have my first check up in 3 days. I am really sorry to hear after a year that you are still not doing any better, its heartbreaking, i don't pray as much as i used to but i'll try and remember to say one for you as well....
What abx were you being treated with...did you do anything else besides just the abx...any natural homeopathic stuff? any supplements? any diet changes? All of these things are very important.
Posted by beachcomber (Member # 5320) on :
Babesiosis is difficult to get rid of. I have been on Mepron for 12 months straight. I did Zithromax with it for the first 5 months. That wrecked my gut so, I took a break. Then, added the Zithromax back in late December because the alternating sweats and chills were returning. I also take Artemisinin, which seems to help alot.
I did not see enough improvement in my Lyme symptoms after months of IV and then orals. So, I decided we better hit the so-infections. My MD agreed. I have improved, albeit at a snail's pace, since treating for Babs.
Try it and see what happens.
Bc
Posted by Kathi (Member # 2261) on :
I have been on Mepron in combination with every macrolide there was for about at least 4 years. It kept the symptoms under control, but didn`t cure the Babs. After stopping the meds it always went back down hill fast until I tried Mepron plus KETEK. 3 months on that combo and my Babs seems to be gone. I did not have any Babs problems for a while now and hopefully it is history. Kathi
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by WIZARD:
Best to just treat Babs even if the tests are negative. The only way you will really know is to try.
Absolutely the best route! Hope you find the answer soon. Babs can take a long time to clear, so be patient!
------------------ oops! Lymetutu
Posted by vandeb (Member # 6345) on :
thank you all so much for the replies, advice, and personal experiences...in the past year I've been on doxy, flagyl, plaquemine, zithromax, biaxin, diflucan, and probably more that my brain fogg day won't let me remember.....different combinations and doses.....
I have a wonderfullll LLMD who's not only a great doctor that has had Lyme himself but a very close personal friend...after reading the messages in here the past year I'm more grateful than ever to have him in my life.....
He has been suggesting for several months to go to IV....rocephin? or something like that.....I give myself B 12 shots so it's not like I hate needles.....just want the IV to be the last resort.....probably just a mental thing that I'll have to work thru....
there's always a NEW thing pop up with Lyme...the loss of hearing is the worst for me now....I have learned to try and endure all the other pains....again THANK YOU ALL for being here and all the help and support you give to each other....hopefully I will be the same for some of you....I always pray for each and every one of you......that keeps me going and believing this will be over one day......the sooner the better.....
------------------ Debbie V.
Posted by Beverly (Member # 1271) on :
Hi Debbie,
I have made the most improvement with treating for Babesia. I was treated for two years before that with Doxy and Mino and I'm so glad I finally treated for the Babs.
I am currently taking Zithromax, Plaquneil and Malarone.
I hope you will be feeling better soon, hang in there.
Posted by pomegranite (Member # 3339) on :
I have seen two LLMD's. My docs recs for babs are any of the following:
1. mepron + zithromax 2. malarone (which is mepron + proguanil combined) 3. artemesinin 4. Riamet (the kind you get in Europe which is a concentrated form of artemesia) there is a drug w same name available in U.S. but it isn't the same thing.
IV rocephin won't work v. Babs. It will work v. lyme (Bb).
I haven't been able to lick it yet. Have done mepron + zithro in short courses three times over the last 2 years.
Good luck! Pomegranite
Posted by Lymeblue (Member # 6897) on :
My babs is difficult to get rid off. I've been treating babs since the year 2002 august with a macrolide and mepron non stopping. My FISH test for babs came negative but after 2 1/2 off mepron my symptoms came back. I don't want more Mepron I feel intoxicated....I hope I have something else instead of babs...My husband thinks that is not the babs but the weakness in my body after 5 years on abx non stopping. What you all people think???
Posted by Lymeblue (Member # 6897) on :
Have someone heard about babs getting resistant to abxs and usually why this would happen?
Posted by ivebeentricked (Member # 6944) on :
I heard that if you take only one kind of abx for babesia, it can evolve into a resistant strain that is nearlt impossible to get rid of, like if you take mepron, you should take zithro too or something, I am no doc of course but its just something i heard
Posted by flygirl (Member # 6669) on :
I have babs, but apparently not a raging case of it. 128 titer count when I started. the mepron/biaxin was working but maybe a little slowly, and ten days ago she put me on ketek instead which really seems to be making a difference b/c I feel a TON better now.
------------------
Posted by Lymeblue (Member # 6897) on :
That was my treatment ketek+mepron.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Personally, I wouldn't do IV Rocephin. If I had to have IV, I'd go for Claforan. Too many people relapse after Rocephin and I know someone who wishes she'd NEVER had the Rocephin.
Sure, you can take orals afterward, or take flagyl during the IV to ward off the relapse, but after all I've read on here, I flat wouldn't do it.
I took clindamycin/quinine for babs with pretty good success. I herxed to high heaven. I think artemisinin is also underated for babs.
Some say it's MORE effective than mepron or clindy.
------------------ oops! Lymetutu
Posted by beachcomber (Member # 5320) on :
I did pretty well on Rocephin. It was the abx that got me over the hump and on to recovery. I had asked about Claforan & my Doc said he only prescribes that for people who cannot take Rocephin. He also said that It would be a constant drip - like every 2 hours. THAT was certainly not going to work for me.
However, I will say that the 2 people I know who did Claforan swear that is what cured them.
Not everyone does well on IV meds. I did.
Bc
Posted by bobdavis (Member # 510) on :
Before you give up on treating Babesia, try Pulsed Electro-Magnetic fields (PEMF).
You can make one using an High Power Audio Amplifier and a TV degausing coil. Another version uses a spool of wire from the hardware store and some car batteries.
I have also tried Quinine and Artemisia and can tell you that combination works fairly good to. The secret is to get real quinine from tree bark. The synthetics (plaquinil, quinine sulfate, etc are not as effective.)
Posted by cmichaelo (Member # 5873) on :
To those of you who tested positive for Babs: Have any of you NOT been successful at curing Babesia with Mepron or Malarone?
Michael
Posted by vandeb (Member # 6345) on :
Well it's Thursday and my visit to the ENT is over....I have a very definitely hearing loss.....damage to the nerves in the inner ear of both ears....they presume it's Lyme.....
I start the treatment of Mepron and Zithromax this weekend.....just hoping and praying when the Lyme is controlled that I will get my hearing back....
will keep you all updated.....any info you want to give would be appreciated...lots of people are going thru this same thing....God bless you all........
oops! 
