posted
Hey guys, rifampin has done wonders for me in eliminating anxiety and clearing my head. I herxed at first, then rebounded with improvement, then plateaued. Doubled the dose and same thing again. Now I'm kinda plateaued but better and feeling at a crossroad. I'm feeling about 85-90ish with my only symptom left being my original mental sharpness and acuity. I'm really close and found some benefit in a cup of coffee recently. Temporal artery inflammation seems to be a symptom bugger.
So, my doc wants me to add levaquin to rifampin but I'm kinda terrified to fall back from any negative effects, but I'm totally anxious to put this Bart behind me though....what do you guys think?
Posts: 37 | From Tampa, Fl | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
Ok, that makes sense. It's been about a month on rifampin. I was doing great a year ago until I added flagyl and factive to the mix. It knocked me waaay back. I blamed it on the quinolone factive, but Im beginning to think it may have been too much too soon at the time.
Posts: 37 | From Tampa, Fl | Registered: Feb 2011
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ktkdommer
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29020
posted
I loved the combo. Took it last summer when bart came out big time. I took the combo just fine. I felt much better within 3 months.
-------------------- Things are never dull. After 3 fighting Lyme, 2 are in remission. Youngest is still sick, age 22. He has new diagnosed Chiari Malformation and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Posts: 1366 | From Perrysburg, Ohio | Registered: Nov 2010
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posted
Those two drugs together were one of the best things I have done since treatment. I was kind of scared to but I will tell you, I made sure to take lots of magnesium etc away from the Levaquin and boy did I feel better nearly immediately. I stepped out in real faith on that with my doc as I was scared to death of the levaquin tendon issues. Would do it tomorrow if I needed to. Hope it does all the same good stuff for you...
Posts: 859 | From Southeast | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Hey ktkdommer / willbeatthis, did you take the leva+rifampin pills at the same time or apart from each other? I think I'm gonna start this combo tomorrow. Still trying to dig up some courage. Thanks for the insight manybites. It's not the tendon issue, but more the neurotoxic side of it that freaks me out. I'm hoping my last experience with the factive was a herx and not just cns toxic. The load should be less now I hope
Posts: 37 | From Tampa, Fl | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
I was going to suggest the combo of factive plus rifampin but it might be better to start with levaquin and then switch to factive down the road. That is actually what hubby did. But he started with levaquin for a couple of months before adding in rifampin and then later switched to factive.
It is best to try to take bart meds close to bedtime -- it multiplies overnight.
If you are interested in adding herbs to the mix I am reposting these 2 links I added to another thread recently. These are links to Buhner's updated bart protocol.
Personally I would also add lumbrokinase to your treatment if you are not already doing that. And the arginine has been very helpful for hubby in dealing with brain pressure/swelling type headaches.
This is not medical advice, just my opinion based on hubby's experiences.
Bea Seibert
P.S. Hubby took rifampin 1 hour before supper and then took his factive at supper.
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Thanks for the useful info Bea. It's interesting you mention the brain pressure/swelling issue. Thats the challenge I faced and my biggest fear. My initial treatment made me feel pretty much 100%. Then adding factive and others to the protocol made my head feel like a balloon ready to pop. It stirred up and set me back hard. Now a year later.....my gamble will be realizing wether it's a herx or the meds doing damage if that symptom flairs.
The 2 meds that gave me the most relief so far have been zithro, and later the rifampin, so I think I'm going in the right direction with targeting Bart.
Posts: 37 | From Tampa, Fl | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
Hi Corona: I always took rifampin on an empty stomach. I am pretty sure I ate with the levaquin. If it said to eat with it, I did. Rifampin my first go round I did not know it was to be taken on an empty stomach and thus it was not nearly as effective. Hang in there. These drugs were VERY helpful to me on my road. Blessings -
Posts: 859 | From Southeast | Registered: Mar 2011
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lyme in Putnam
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11561
posted
Can anyone teL me what your Bart rifampin herx was like. Mind wise. Besides anxiety, how do you tolerate themind herxes? I wonder ifim the only one who can't take the mind stuff and get off.
-------------------- He took u to it, He'll you through Posts: 2837 | From NE. | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Putnam - My rifampin herx was kinda surreal. It made me exhausted and sickly feeling with a bit more anxiety and such, but with a mildly pleasant mental clarity. Days later when the fatigue wore off, I began feeling its positive effects on "mind stuff". My anxiety diminished rapidly. With that I found myself just diving in to conversation with neighbors and stuff only to realize my brain to mouth function still had lag. Lag improved more, but brought me up to this post....since then I dug up the courage to take levaquin and it seems to have provided a push for more improvement. I've got my fingers crossed to stay this course.
Posts: 37 | From Tampa, Fl | Registered: Feb 2011
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