Saw my LLMD on Monday. He wants me to go on Mepron. At $1,200 for one month I am hesitant.
Bad thing is I just started reading Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Buhner.
My treatment so far has been all herbal with Diflucan or Nystatin for yeast, which I am full of.
I do Cats Claw, Wormwood, a herbal candida, probiotic, plant digestive enzyme, lemon water, FAR sauna and have been feeling much better.
My doc also wants me to ad zithro on top of the mepron. I am soooo afraid.
I am doing so well. Better than I have done for almost 4 years.
I have tons of symptoms disappear over the summer. I didn't realize how many I had.
I want to know if anyone took Mepron and it helped them get over the hump and beat this thing.
The more I read about ABXs the less I want to be on them.
I am dragging my feet and still doing the herbals for now. Any thoughts?
Posted by Jamers (Member # 28016) on :
Im back retreating Babs with Mepron again. This will be my 6th month total. I only have a few remaining symptoms that I assume are Babs, could be something else.
What symptoms are you experiencing that require you to start Mepron??
Posted by cozynana (Member # 34270) on :
My symptoms are insomnia, tremors, chills, hot flashes/flushes, sweats,
feelings of the flu, fatigue, brain fog, memory problems.
These are only a few, but the worst ones.
My doctor used ART to diagnose me and he said I want Mepron, Zith, Cefinir,
a candida supplement, cats claw combo, a kidney supplement, and artemisinin.
This is on top of my probiotic, plant enzyme, and flucanozole.
Posted by beths (Member # 18864) on :
Insomnia makes me think Bart. With babs you sleep....a lot!
Posted by gmb (Member # 23562) on :
Treating Babs is a long process. Minimum time for Mepron is 4 months, but 6 months or more is more typical. Some folks here have been on Mepron/Zith for over a year.
When I started Mepron the first time, after four weeks I felt the worse ever, had new symptoms occur, then gradually improved with some memory problems diminished.
If you have to pay $1200/mo that will be an expensive investment. I take it you have no prescription coverage.
An option would be Malarone, which has Mepron in it and something else. Malarone is now generic and should have a much lower cost.
Another option may be Byron White A-Babs.
good luck
gmb
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
I tried Mepron and zith and felt fantastic after about six weeks, but bart busted through (and some other co infections) and I went downhill fast after that.
I read somewhere that mepron and zith can fail some people though. I guess you're not going to know until you try it. For me, insomnia has been babs/protomyxzoa or babs like organism related.
Posted by Tony P (Member # 38795) on :
Yikes!!! There is no need to pay that $1,300 a month. If you dont have insurance, go to http://www.bridgestoaccess.com It is the GlaxoSmithKline website which makes Mepron. Fill out the form, and then have it faxed over from your LLMD's office alone with the prescription and proof of income. If you have high income, it may not work. I sent mine in. Free Mepron (unlimited) for one whole year!
Posted by MannaMe (Member # 33330) on :
Check the prices of meds at Costco Pharmacy. That was the cheapest place we could get Malarone & Zith.
My husband was on these two earlier and was feeling the best he had since starting treatment. After several months off those two he began slipping.
He's back on and very slowly beginning to feel a little bit better.
Posted by nonna05 (Member # 33557) on :
Wow ,your new symptoms sound like you woke babs up.. Their exactly what I go through with this infection.
I wonder if it just hit the mark and they weren't ****ed off before but was there??//
You wouldn't want it worse later for lack of treatment.. It sounds like you were doing so well.
I kinda had a bit of that type of hisory before the steroid shots,
I would be bad for a while ,do some treatment, think I could just push through and then wipe out .
That went on for years,but when I was bad that meant flat, pain and months...
No it's just WAR............
Hard to make choice when you aren't feeling really bad...
Don't want to end up like your friend........
Posted by cozynana (Member # 34270) on :
I do have insurance, but I think that is a terrible amount of money for anyone to pay including my insurance.
I need to look up Byron White A-Bab. I doesn't appear that Mepron is a one stop fix it all drug.
I may choose to look at herbs instead.
I have a friend that has been off and on Mepron for a couple of years.
She just can't get past or over the hump. I think there must be a better way.
I know this is something that can't be fixed over night or in a month, but surely there is something that is more affective.
I think I am just scared of a bad relapse and atleast where I am is tolerable.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
Babesiosis can be difficult to get rid of for some people. If you would like to know how a top U.S. doc treats it, see my notes below. He spoke on babesiosis at last year's lyme conference because he is considered an expert on that disease.
2011 ILADS Conference, Toronto, Canada
Lyme & Babesiosis: Updates on Treatment & Diagnosis 2011
Dr. H 10/28/11
He has 20 years of experience treating lyme; more than 12,000 chronic patients He was in France and China discussing babesiosis. Talked with Chinese CDC regarding parasites
Some of his patients get better with glutathione alone. It opens up the detox pathways (is an anti-oxidant)
Borrelia miyamotoi is showing up in ticks in Hyde Park, NY. This strain is in Japan. We can�t test for it.
There is a new ehrlichia species also found.
Indicators of bad outcome with babesiosis:
male sex, extremely high WBC
We see blood transfusion babesiosis in California. WA-1 is now in the Northeast U.S.. It is found along the entire eastern seaboard. It is difficult to get a positive test for it. LabCorp has a WA-1 test. The FISH through Igenex is also very useful.
He treats with clindamycin with azithromycin, also Mepron, then malarone. There is lots of Mepron resistance. So, he adds Septra (Bactrim). This works well. Also, he uses much higher doses of Mepron due to the Mepron resistance.
He uses coartem (which has Artemisinin in it) Dosage is 4 twice per day. Take at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.; then switch to 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. It can be pulsed once per month.
You can�t combine this with any med that affects the QT interval.
Babs is spreading world-wide. Babs also suppresses the immune system (based on a study of b. microti)
Artemisinin is not as effective now as it was in the past. Use art when coartem doesn�t cure the person. He no longer uses ketek.
Beta blockers (blood pressure medicines) control these types of parasites. So, use them as an antagonist. We need a study on this. Heparin may also inhibit babs. Need a large study on this.
Curcumin (a herb)--he is now using it to treat babs. Published studies show it is useful for malaria.
Cryptolepis has been used in Africa for malaria. There is a published study in Ghana. It had a 93% cure rate (a 50% cure rate in 3 days; 90% cure rate in 7 days) You can get it at: www.woodlandessence.com
If adrenal function is low (patient has a low cortisol), they will not respond to antibiotics.
He told of a patient with intractable babs. They were treated for babs for 5 years and were not cured. Then, he gave them 1 teaspoon of cryptolepis 3 times per day with Byron White herbs. This is making the patient feel well. He hasn�t found any side effects with the cryptolepis. It may not be curative. It lowers the parasite load and strengthens the patient�s immune system.
Brucellosis also causes night sweats, so check for this in a patient with night sweats.
Use malarone for the patient who can�t clear babs. Low dose to maintain them.
We need new treatment options for babs.
Posted by lyme-o (Member # 35115) on :
Problem with this, TF, is Dr. H's PA. She doesn't follow all of Dr. H's protocol. Which can be a problem. Several of these I have suggested to her and she'll say "not yet. not yet".
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