Has anyone used this drug?
Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :
Interesting. And very likely that inflammation is involved. I would not want to take a steroid without also being on antibiotics. Since steroids have side effects, maybe for herxes? Don't know. Wouldn't it be nice if the federal health agencies were not so incompetent and we could have real research programs for treatment? As long as they pretend chronic lyme does not exist, we will not get the research we need.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Q: "I know it's a steroid but why does this show it's helping with inflammation?"
Because it's a steroid, it helps reduce inflammation. That's what steroids do. They really DO seem like sheer magic in that way.
Steroids MASK the reality. Think of the football players who can play on an injured ankle after a steroid shot. They feel great - until the reality hits later.
I think back so fondly to many times when I was given steroid pills or injection and - magically I felt so great- before the nightmare, that is.
They also serve to give the adrenals a lift so that a person really seems to feel fantastic all of the sudden. So it seems.
But, for those with chronic infection, it can be a short term relief for a lifetime of hell afterward. Even for those who do not have chronic infections, steroids can cause bones to crumble down the road. They can trash anyone's adrenal system if not very carefully considered.
And there are so many other ways to address inflammation or adrenal disease, safer & better ways. If required for an emergency, a life (or vision) threatening situation, there are ways to work with steroids. But, for non-emergency, certainly not something to mess with.
Topic: what do STEROIDS actually do to those with lyme? Risks, long term damage discussed. Links.
Cortef, safe use of a physiological replacement dose discussed here, too. -
[ 07-06-2015, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- About the article, while it is nice to see them consider lyme symptoms on-going, the miss the mark to think the inflammation happens on its own.
Inflammation is the direct result of infection, CHRONIC infection, continuing, on-going. [Treat the infection and the inflammation subsides. It's just that it's very complicated with lyme.]
So for them to say that antibiotics are good and get it fast ONLY at the start and that infection is gone, basically, but to be puzzled by ongoing inflammation is just their ignorance.
In addition to the chronic nature of borellia, they also seem to ignore OTHER tick borne infections or other chronic STEALTH infections - often overlooked and undiagnosed that also contribute to inflammation.
And, they are likely a bit clueless about the hit to the liver & kidneys with such a toxic load that adds to even more inflammation. Good liver / kidney support matters greatly.
That they want to use steroids is very frightening, indeed. Short term improvement from the masking effect will likely be followed by disaster but, by that time, they will have stopped following the patient or declared them a cry baby if they come back ill. -
[ 07-06-2015, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- It's a good idea to learn more about the author of the article. For a start, he's in charge of an animal tick feeding program, a new test, etc.
A lot of questions about his work. I do hope he finds some good detail but he really seems to have a closed mind about some very important factors with lyme, etc.
Tulane University - Division of Bacteriology & Parasitology Excerpts:
Dr. Mario T. Philipp, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Tulane Medical School, is Chairman of the Division
. . . The most extensive divisional program is on Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis. . . .
An additional advantage is that the test does not yield false-positive results with serum specimens from humans or dogs that have received Lyme disease vaccination.
The test was approved by the FDA and the USDA for human and animal use, respectively, and licensed by Tulane University to Immunetics, Inc., of Cambridge, MA, for human use, and to IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. of Westbrook, ME, for veterinary purposes.
Currently research on diagnosis is focused on the C6 test as a predictor of Lyme disease therapy outcome, a possible new application of the test. . . .
(end excerpt)
Of course, it would be good to see what ILADS' thoughts are about this new test, this research site, etc. -
[ 07-06-2015, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Droid,
If you might just have a rife machine, the setting 10K is for inflammation and is always used after each treatment - for anything. And the 10K can also be used every day (unlike some of the others that need time in between).
Berberine has been the best supplement for me regarding decrease of inflammation. Curcumin is often now suggested with it to work better. If you have a tender or stressed gallbladder, though, turmeric would be better than curcumin.