I asked this question before but it was buried in my other thread. Has anyone done this combo before? I have rxs for both with 1 refill each but the directions were chicken scratch from my doctor, blah blah, won't go into all of that but if anyone has done this combo, let me know, because I wasn't able to finish the protocol for many reasons, but I'm ready now. These are the only rxs I have, plus Flagyl.
I know you aren't docs but if you've been on the same protocol, please let me know how you did it.
Thanks.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Most people take one or the other as they are both very hard to tolerate most times. Levaquin has some major precautions too. I heard your old LLMD likes to combine them though. I'd start with one for a while bore jumping into the ship w/o a life jacket.
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
A reminder that rifampin needs to be taken with another abx to prevent resistance. I was given this combo as well, but never took it. I did not feel comfortable with the combo.
Posted by Beautiful Disaster (Member # 21882) on :
Does anyone know what other abx could be taken with it? Is levaquin out of the question? I couldn't finish it because of tendon issues but at this point, I almost don't care.
Is there an abx that I could try to get that would go good with it? I'm not stuck on Rifampin, it's just all I have, Flagyl, Lev, and Rif.
Any other Bart meds that work great? I think I need to hit this before I try for Lyme and do the bart meds hit Lyme too. Sorry for all of the questions, really sorry. You guys are all I have.
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
rifampin and zithromax is the usual combo used, sometimes biaxin....maybe some others.
there are some here who have done the rifampin/levaquin combo and have not had problems.
If you had tendon issues before, I would really think about this...the issues from being floxed can last a looong time.
Posted by AnnaL (Member # 18464) on :
I was first prescribed Rifampin and Zithromax for bartonella. Unfortunatly, I couldn't tolerate the side effects of Rifampin, though I stuck it out for a couple of months.
Dr. B's guidelines say that Levaquin is the drug of choice. It's what eventually worked for me. However, if you do have tendon issues, that can be a rare but *very serious* problem.
Dr. B suggests that alternatives to Levaquin include "rifampin, gentamicin, and possibly streptomycin."
Hope this helps!
-AnnaL
Posted by Haley (Member # 22008) on :
I was on Rifampin for 2 weeks and had severe chest pain and extremely high blood pressure. I don't think I would try it again. I would be willing to try Levaquin but I have heard of all the negative side effects.
good luck
Posted by Beautiful Disaster (Member # 21882) on :
Thanks for all of the insight. Now...I just gotta find a way to get the medicines that I need and I'm gonna have to find a way to get money for a co-pay to see if I can get a doctor on board here. Quitting smoking is the ONE thing I buy that I waste money on....and that's gonna have to go if I ever want to get better, have the money to get better, and just be healthier in general. I'm not 18 anymore. It's gonna catch up with me.