I thought this would do nothing and it is POWERFUL . I can only take a small dose every 4-5 days, the die off is intense .
I am more convinced that a protozoa is part of the constellation of this disease , and I suspect this antiparasite drug is hitting an organism like filaria - which is similar to babesia .
I hope I will feel better in a few months , as some others are improving. I am just surprised how strong the herx is . It is hitting pathogen pay dirt .
Hopefully we will find out what is TOTALLY involved with "lyme " . It is definitely more than one organism IMO . That has to explain the relapses .
I will keep you posted , and hope others trying ivermectin and abendazole will post .
I found MANY MANY other blogs where people with morgellons are using it and getting some relief. Also , found stories of it being used in other countries for babesia AND LYME .
You can spend a lot of time googling and find many posts and blogs with people using it safely . Many even bought it at Tractor Supply like I did - chaep.
I am NOT suggesting anyone try anything , just reporting my personal experiences and observations.
Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
I just finished (yesterday) my first round of Albendazole (higher dose) for 7 days, and on the 7th day, one large dose of Ivermectin-
Ugh, did/do I feel junky, and I am on binders 2x a day! I felt like a wicked back in the day horrific hangover this morning.
I take a break, then do it two more times.
Hope it gets easier!
Posted by kelmo (Member # 8797) on :
annxyzz---thank you for your updates. Yes, the herx is a b****, as I watch my daughter. But, it works so different, doesn't it?
After five years of antibiotics, anti-malarials, herbals, this really hits!
My daughter started with 1/4 of a 3mg pill (Stromectol) every day until the fourth week. She has sloooowly gotten up to one full 3mg pill every other day. It took five months.
You will probably feel toxins coming out any escape hatch. My daughter's skin is even a mess.
Posted by springshowers (Member # 19863) on :
What are the herxes feeling like to you all? Are they increase in fatigue? Pain? Or all your typical symptoms you have or is it unique for you in some way?
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
Glad to hear from others suffering ! For me, the twitches STOP cold and completely . Then I hear a hissing noise in my ears like a serpent . Sounds like I am being theatrical, but the noise is weird . I also feel chills, achey all over like I have a severe flu . I also am so fatigued I can not stand up and get dressed to go anywhere !
I finally gave up and put my nightgown back on , crawled back into bed and have either slept or read snipppets of a fantstic book ( thank god for it ) "Larkrise to Candleford ".
The stories take me to a cheerful place in England in the 1880's .
I am also feeling hot and cold alternately , and my mood is a bit up and down. My book helps my mood be better as it is LOVELY escape !
I am just hoping that somehow, some way , after months of this , a better day will come. The misery days for me are the two days after the ivermectin. By the third day , i am back to baseline with lyme.
Ps If you have not seen the BBC production "Larkrise to Candleford " , please treat yourself . It is truly fabulous .
I also greatly enjoyed "Cranford " and "Bramwell" very much . I am not sure men would go for "Cranford" quite as much , but the others they would like enormously .
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
PS I think I found an article online in my searching indicating an African or Egyptian country used ivermectin to treat citizens with babesia. I feel this ivermectin is killing either babesia , or a protozoa parasite that nothing else I have taken has targeted .
After reading a million relapse posts and stories about not recovering from five or six years of several different ABX , mepron, malarone, yada yada yada.... YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER that there is another piece of the pie we have been unaware of . Possibly , as Dr Eva Sapi says, it is related to filaria TYPE of organism ( which could be FRYE 1953 ) that is a bllod parasite . There has to be a reason that this condition is so difficult to eradicate , because a lot of peeps here have done cyst busters and worked on biofilm issues.
Wouldn't it be funny if we put our heads together and collectively solved the mystery ?
Posted by Haley (Member # 22008) on :
This is exciting news!!! I am seeing a doc on Tuesday to get me started. Keep posting.
I have one symptom that I know - when it is gone I will be well. It is a crawling sensation on my head. I believe this is correlated to all my other symptoms. Some antibiotics help it, but it never goes away.
Will post when I start this med. I'm not sure what protocol this doc uses, but I know it includes Ivermectin.
Posted by Lala (Member # 29864) on :
Interesting, annxyzz, do you have any stomach/abdominal issues and did ivermectin help?
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
I do not have stomach gastro problems lala.
The ivermectin hits a variety of parasites or protozoa. I think it may hit babs also .
It is definitely killing something that needs to be eradicated . I think it will get easier , but the die off is extreme . I hope I can improve eventually .I have not been on it very long - the herxing will get easier I am sure .
So far I am not having any terrible side effects at all - just intense herxing .
Posted by springshowers (Member # 19863) on :
I am not having side affects either. And the herx has been also on the second and third day but now that I am on it daily it is daily. But i did once stop the med for two days and it cleared so its pretty quick like that. For me its just fatigue and pain but those are my last symptoms. I have made enough progress to be rid of the acute symptoms that go on like all the sweats and the insomnia and the brain fog and all the flu like symptoms I have had some migraines since ivermectiin and even so much as throwing up. This has happened every couple weeks and I am not sure if it is related.
When on a lower dose I feel clearer and better and I think now that I am doing more its getting in deeper and I feel some herx even though mild compared to things I have experienced in the past that fully debilitated me.
i also am very hopeful this is the puzzle piece getting to the things that other things have not gotten to.
Even with Rife I have had a rough time getting all of the protozoan infection. I know i have gotten some and I can feel that and maybe that is why my herx is not as severe?
The fatigue. Though. Does anyone know what the mechanism is for fatigue? Before I was hit with a huge onset and bedridden years ago at the onset of all this I had about two years of fatigue I was reporting to doctors and getting accupuncture and seeing all sorts of doctors trying to get answers . The accupucture if I did it every week keep my energy flowing and moving but I could feel I was trying to battle something bigger coming on and It was just a band aid.
I also assumed it is the infections. ? Maybe it takes time for the fatigue to lift even after you get the infections battled ? I am thinking so because of how I had it at that level before I had the severe hit of illness and then when I got tested they found about six infections and those did not count lyme or vector borne. Then i found doctors who found about six more and I remember them all saying "no wonder you feel so sick"
I have heard many say as they get better they undo the layers that added on forward and it goes backwards. This has been true for me too.
I know inflammation causes the pain and so as the infections go away it clams down and though that too I think takes the body after years to settle into.
Blessings and I hope this does help many of us as it does seem to be doing what nothing else has been able to.. I agree with that one.. its is unique..
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
SS, I am also having headaches with herxing . I wait a few days before starting the ivermectin again to clear out debris . I know that it would be hard for me to take even a small dose everyday at this point .
I suspect that fatigue is from constant die off if you have started on this every day , possibly . We navigate all of these problems through experimentation and educated guesswork , and to a degree, gut instincts .
I did not think ivermectin would have any effect on me- the intensity has been a huge surprise .
Posted by CountryMouse (Member # 32073) on :
Thanks Spring for saying you got a herx on the second or third day. I took 9mg Stromectol first thing this morning and the only feeling I had this afternoon was an intense feeling of calm. I don't know if that feeling is related or not. I just noticed I didn;t have a tremor and was really relaxed.
Oh actually I did notice a wierd taste/smell thing tonight. I smelled what I thought was a perfume smell and my family said something had burned on the stove. And then I tasted a medicinal taste about the same time. Both went away.
If I don't herx does it mean I'm not infected with parasites? Not jumping the gun since I just took it today, but just thinking that if I get to two days later and nothing, I'll wonder what's up.
The study I read said that ivermectin works over many days, not necessarily right away. Is that accurate?
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
I did not herx right away , and neither did Sparkle ( I think) . But when it hit , I was amazed . Usually I herx within several hours and start off with chills and aching .
I took it 2 days and had a severe herx the third or fourth day , and had to wait a week to try again .
This may have no significance , but I did notice small particles in stool that looked like seeds . They only appear when I take the ivermectin ( similar to sesame or tomato seeds ).
Posted by springshowers (Member # 19863) on :
Seems like everyone is talking about and noticing a 2 to 3 day type of range for effect and a one to two day to clear if needed time off.
I think that if you have no herx do not think it is not working. I did not have any response for a couple months and just felt better and that is all until I got up to a certain timing an dose. i am sure we are all different just like any other medication.
I am still not herxing very much at all but do feel an affect going on that is draining me and fatiguing.
I say keep on keeping on and do not push it too hard or herx too much and back off dosage or frequency if you do...
I do not believe you get more benefit with a bigger longer herx and on the contrary overall I believe you want to be gentle to the body and not induce inflammation and such because then your body will not heal or work as well overall for you.
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
Interesting no GI stuff Annyzz....this appears to more of a systemic issue that is hitting you, not limited to GI parasites. Good!
BTW, if you like Cranford etc, have you been watching Downton Abbey on PBS?
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
Springshowers, you may be having more fatigue (?) if you are taking this constantly and having CONSTANT toxin die off . When I take a few days off . the fatigue lifts some.
I think Bea's husband's doc is having him take it a few days on and then a few off . Just a thought .
I think you are lucky to no longer feel fluish ! I have felt like I have the flu since 1996 . Some days are better than others, but the fluishness has never gone away totally .
I have felt convinced that my illness is a chronic infection from the beginning , but was diagnosed for 10 years w/ CFIDS . I KNEW IT WAS AN INFECTION.
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
CD57 : I do not have any signs of GI parasite . I did not think ivermectin would have any effect at all ! I had taken parasite herbs a long time ago . I do believe this is attacking another organism , possibly babesia or protozoa of some sort . The first few days I noticed little . By third day , I felt HORRIBLE and knew it kicked something . When I wait a few days , the symptoms die down. When I take the ivermectin again, I feel knocked down with chills , fatigue so intense it is hard to stand up .
I am going to try this a while , and see results , esp after reading Dr Eva Sapi say some in Europe have improved with it .
I do not have regular TV ( love books, movies , music) but purchased Downton Abbey DVD . I like it , but not near as much as "Larkrise" and "Bramwell" . The Book "Larkrise " has been my only companion for a few days stuck inside . But it has been a delightful escape !
Posted by kelmo (Member # 8797) on :
My daughter had diarreah for weeks. Started hitting her at the one month timeframe. She didn't tell me until she was two weeks into it.
Took her to her doctor, who did a complete parasite panel, including CDiff and Crohns. Negative on all.
He wracked his brain, then said, "isn't IBS the first symptom you had when you started getting sick? I think this medication is hitting the intestinal tissues unlike any other".
The diarreah passed, but then the next symptom on her list of initial symptoms started up. It was weird. We could then start predicting what would start acting up next.
She has been on this drug for six months and she keeps cycling through all the symptoms, in order. Each time is not has hard as the last.
However, we have not reached the theraputic dose the doctor wants her to be on. So, she will keep cycling through until then, we believe.
We're still in the baby stages of this treatment. I'm not going to come on here and say she is cured until she is bouncing out of bed in the morning for an entire month.
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
Kelmo , how much is she taking ? Is she getting better at all ? How long do docs think she will take this ?
Posted by Dave6002 (Member # 9064) on :
What side effects can this medication cause?
Ivermectin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
dizziness
loss of appetite
nausea
vomiting
stomach pain or bloating
diarrhea
constipation
weakness
sleepiness
uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body
chest discomfort
If you are taking ivermectin to treat onchocerciasis, you may also experience the following side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
swelling of the eyes, face, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
joint pain and swelling
painful and swollen glands of the neck, armpit or groin
rapid heartbeat
eye pain, redness, or tearing
swelling of the eye or eyelids
abnormal sensation in the eyes
Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
fever
blistering or peeling skin
rash
hives
itching
Ivermectin may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.
Posted by springshowers (Member # 19863) on :
Whats theraputic dosage goal?
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
Update :
I do not know why , but I have broken out in a itchy rash . I do not think it is related to ivermectin, because the dose I took of it was three or four days ago , and I had no problems with it ( just a BAD herx ) . I rifed for parasites 660 and one hour later I develop pimples all around upper body that ITCH! Fortunately I had benadryl lotion !
I have also been eating lots of fresh garlic, so the sulfur may have caused this rash . Has ivermectin or parasite protocol caused others to have rashes? This is a STRANGE rash . I figure it will pass, and am not worried as I have no idea what caused it .