Ok here's the deal. I'm on my 3rd type of abx and I never can take the full dose....but a half dose works fine for me and I begin to feel much better.
I've heard that with abx that your size doesn't matter but I can't imagine a 100lb person needs as much as a 250lb person. I'm 105 lbs.
I felt good on only 200mg doxy and on half the recommended dose of Ceftin. Now I'm on Minocycline and taking only 100mg per day (instead of 200mg) and feeling good. Whenever I try to take the full dose of any of these...I just feel too bad, start developing yeast, gastro problems etc.
I did try to start off taking (2) 100mg of mino per day but it made me so dizzy and fuzzy I couldn't stand it. So I cut back to one to let my body work up to it and after about 10 days I started taking 2 again. That was 3 days ago and now I'm not feeling so great anymore. I don't think it is a herx either....it is just dizziness/fuzzy thinking/ wanting to sleep. Hard to function this way!
If I just continue to take only 100mg per day is that going to kick the lyme? I keep reading that the levels have to be high to eradicate lyme but I also have a life to lead. Can't a smaller person take less?
I can't be dizzy like this all the time and handle my 3 kids and job!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Sorry, I can't answer your question and may pose more questions than answers. I certainly understand your position, entirely.
Your LLMD probably needs to voice his experience and thoughts on this. His experience is worth a great deal and I think only a panel of seasoned LLMDs would be able to really answer this.
Even if you have to go stronger, maybe you could get some help with your workload for a while. It's better to have to do that than to miss the window of opportunity with treatment.
I think your weight is actually farily normal for the way the Rx standards were devised. Most who are heavier might actually not be getting high enough doses, though. However, if you body just can't tolerate it, you don't want to push your liver to the point of damage.
Still, it may be helpful to study The Road Back Foundation's site. As they don't treat lyme, some patients who did the low-dose approach did well and lyme was positively affected.
Are you taking Milk Thistle, magnesium, Ginger capsules and B-6 ? Those should help offset the ear system / vestibular effects from mino.
A timed-released pelleted kind of minocycline, MINOCIN, may also be better tolerated.
In general, good liver support will help you better tolerate treatment. LIver suport also helps to protect the ear system. Lots here about what can help protect one's ears when taking mino:
The Road Back Foundation -
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
When my LLMD started me on zith, I felt great if I took a half dose and horrible if I took the full dose. He said that if I only took half a dose then I was more likely to build up resistant bacteria, that I had to take the full dose.
We tried pulsing, 3 days on 4 off, but I felt just as bad as taking the full dose every day, so he elected to switch meds before he lowered the dose.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
If your symptoms improve, that's the bottom line. However, if you want to drive the infection back even further, higher dosages and multiple treatment modalities should be investigated and possibly added in the future.
Posted by TxLymie (Member # 20847) on :
Thanks all. I'm trying to push thru this but I just hate feeling this bad when I KNOW it is the meds that is doing this.
I do have milk thistle but haven't started taking it. I'm beginning to despise how many pills I am taking. I never was one to take hardly any meds...or even vitamens. I hate popping all these pills/supplements and really wonder how they are all reacting with each other.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- I know, no one wants to swallow lots of capsules. However . . .
Milk thistle is your fire protection gear. You'd not walk into a fire without protection. Same when taking meds that can effect the liver and the ears. Liver support and protection can save you from a life-time of liver issues (fatigue forever) or ear issues (vertigo, hearing changes, balance & concentration problems).
More details in the Tinnitus thread above. -
Posted by Karen Mc (Member # 23354) on :
thanks for the great insight Keebler (:
Posted by lymebytes (Member # 11830) on :
It is not so much your weight that is considered in treatment, but the virulence of the bacteria, that is why high doses are rx'd for everyone by LLMd's.
I know how hard it is to do full doses and be non-functional or do to do less and be more functional.
I have done both and am still not well. The problem is, eventually the lower doses are likely not going to work and you won't feel good anymore on them.
I have been at this too long, if you can do high doses and knock it out, do it or you could mess around for years with this.
Posted by Wonko (Member # 18318) on :
This is such a timely post for me, I face the same dilemma and have the same thoughts: While I feel great on less, the fact that I still Herx from full doses indicates that I need to keep treating at that level.
I'm actually very large, my sensitivity to meds boggles my mind! Before my illness, I had a zero sensitivity issues, and never had side effects, etc. It shocks and upsets me that full doses of oral abx can still knock me down.
Though I am greatly improved, I still deal with how strongly I react to treatment. My approach for the last few months is to stick to full doses until I start needing to miss work, then I chose to back down.
My LLMD is supportive of this cycling, but does remind me that the full dose treatment is still necessary as often as I can tolerate it.