Have tested positive for Babesia WA1 / Duncani. Was interested in knowing which you have found the most helpful, Mepron or Malarone.
Thanks for your input.
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Both helped. Mepron (and zith) was much stronger and had a greater and faster effect of knocking down my babesia symptoms.
Posted by jennyflyer (Member # 12792) on :
Definitely did much better on Malarone.
Plus, Mepron is just nasty. Posted by MorningSong (Member # 19989) on :
Thank you for your input
I know there are others -- Please share what you found most helpful.
Also, does it matter what type of babesia one has in determining Mepron or Malarone? The reason for all these questions is I am feeling incredibly weak right now. LLMD has given me choice between these two meds. Mepron makes me really depressed but am willing to tak it if it is better.
Thanks.
Posted by cactus (Member # 7347) on :
I had both strains.
Overall - I think Mepron was more helpful, but I did take malarone as well.
Maybe you could start off with malarone if you already know that Mepron makes you depressed - and change to Mepron if the malarone is not effective for you.
Beating duncani took me a long time - hope you find something that works quickly!
Posted by Lymepool (Member # 15827) on :
My adolescent had B. duncani. Started with Mepron and had a lot of improvement over 5 months, then hit a plateau. Switched to malarone and all symptoms were gone after 4 months on malarone. Continued treatment for another 2 months to be sure. It has been 7 months since last dose with no relapse.
After all of the stories I've read over the last couple of years, I think cactus makes a great point. Going with the treatment you can tolerate, and stick with, is a wise move. You need to be on these meds for quite a long time, so managing the side affects is key to a positive result.
Posted by psano2 (Member # 11711) on :
I was on Mepron for over a year. Initially I got better, but then like Lymepool said, hit a plateau. Then I was switched to Malarone, and I started to feel much better right away. Malarone has helped me much more than Mepron, plus it's easier to take and less expensive. Personally, I would recommend starting w/Malarone.
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
I have Microti, and respond much better to Mepron. Malarone seemed to help me slightly initially, but not for long.
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
I have microti too, and like Sammi, responded much quicker and stronger to Mepron and zith than malarone. Malarone did however, help.
So did a short course of clindamycin and quinine. I did not have stomach/GI issues with clindamycin, but you do have to be careful with taking lots of probiotics. The quinine caused temporary ear ringing that went away quickly after stopping it.
Hope you find a treatment that works best for you and are lucky about the side-effects; some people get them, others do not and can tolerate these treatments better.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
Malarone.
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
Positive WA-1. Mepron= 0 response. malarone kicked my butt and settled down my heart and breathing sx. quite a bit.
Posted by MorningSong (Member # 19989) on :
Thank you for all the response. I very much appreciate it.
It has been easier to tolerate Malarone than Mepron. For those who found Malarone helpful, how much did you take each day?
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Uh oh Feelfit. I'm going to pop 4 Malarones tomorrow. I better hold on the boat railing. Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
seek, you are a good sailor...you'll get through!
Morningsong, I took 2 malarone per day along with biaxin.
Malarone= 250mg/100mg. 2x daily. it is used up to 4 daily by some docs.
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