posted
Has anyone had a reaction to Ivermectin that included extreme weakness, to the point of not being able to get out of bed?
I started the Ivermectin on Friday. Took 3 mg. that day. The only thing I noticed was occasional weird sharp stabbing pains in the middle of my abdomen. They only happened intermittently (about 12 times over 8 hours) and lasted about one second each time.
Yesterday I upped the dose to 6 mg. Didn't notice anything bad. I was actually feeling better the last two days.
Today I took almost 12 mg. About three hours later I am so weak I can barely move. I feel flushed, my ears are red and hot, I even have a slight fever. This doesn't feel like a herx, but I don't know what to expect on this stuff.
Sound familiar to anyone?
[ 08-19-2012, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: Energy2Heal ]
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posted
I was extremely weak while taking Ivermectin. It seemed to get worse as time passed. After 6 months I was pulled off this medication since I had no improvements. With stopping it, the weakness and fatigue improved. Hope you start to feel better.
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Haley
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I tend to feel that way about 24 hours after taking a dose.... very fatigued and sick... like I'll pass out. It also causes constipation for me which I think increases all of those symptoms. I am thinking about taking it one time a week instead of every other day. I only take 6 mgs every other day, but may do 9 or 12 one time a week. I also have bad tinnitus, I thnk this med makes it worse.
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nefferdun
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Weakness is one of the side effects. It can also cause headaches and irritation of the eyes, which I got. I had to back off of it too.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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Haley
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Yes, irritation of the eyes. I get that too.
Some medicines block the receptors for acetylcholine. This causes dryness of the eyes the digestive tract etc. I have come to the conclusion that this medicine may have that effect and that is one of the reasons why there is so much fatigue. And of course the die off is also occuring.
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GiGi
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When taking killing agents, you need to give the body binding agents - lots of them and several times during the day and before going to bed.
Circulating toxins make one feel sick, and that is what happens when microorganisms, parasites, are dieing off.
Protect yourself with plenty of binders - it is soooooo important.
Take care.
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annxyzz
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Personally I would give it a fair try . You might try going back to 3 mg and taking it every other day . I have been on it a while and for me the HERX is intense ! I can tolerate it every other day fairly well .
My reaction is so intnse it feels like it is really killing something - the die off is unmistakable.
Also , I am not sure but question if some meds taken over a period of time deplete folic acid or even iron.
Sometimes being low on iron can cause weakness for me.
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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annxyzz - could you describe what your Ivermectin herxes feel like?
It didn't feel like a herx to me - unless killing parasites causes a different kind of herx than I'm used to? The main symptom was this incredible weakness. I did not feel more "toxic."
As far as other effects, twice I woke with my left eye unable to focus. That went away after a few hours. It also seems to be constipating.
I hear this med may hit other things (like the Fry bug) and I have no idea what to expect from that. The frustrating thing about this med (unlike the others in the parasite protocol) is that dosing seems to be all over the place for people.
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annxyzz
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Energy : The herx with this feels exactly like what I experienced on ABX - fluish feeling and extreme fatiguse and sore lymph nodes .
Ivermectin can have central nervous sytem side effects . What I did find was that dosing according to weight on the tube ( vet med ) and taking every other day caused me no weird side effects.Also , do not discount the possibility that a deficiency of iron, potassium , folic acid can be made worse by some meds . It is imperative that attention to nutrition be a priority . Make sure your electrolytes are balanced .
IMO , I would dose every other day . If the symptoms continue troubling you , then maybe try something else for parasites . Not having a herx is also NOT an indicator . Several others here had no herx symptoms , just started feeling better !
You might check into fenbendazole - it has been widely used by many morgellons people with lyme. I believe it is similar to albenzadole and available in vet version. May I add that I would also dose this every other day to avoid side effects .
This may sound nutty , but I think pyrantel is also important after passing hundreds of seed like organisms every time I used it . I am still taking it once a week.
Another consideration is the Salt C prtocol Gael (glm) had success with . I plan to continue with a parasite attack and then if pulsing them has not given enough progress, then I will try the salt protocol . Everything is experimental with this affliction and I have questions about how much a high priced LLMD really knows .
Just sharing my opinion and it may be worth little to nothing . Good luck!
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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kelmo
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The herx for my daughter was a repeat of all her symptoms as they arrived in order when she first started getting ill.
So, if extreme fatigue was one of your first symptoms, you are probably going to go through that experience agan.
For some reason, the drug seems to peel away another layer of the onion of this disease.
It took one year for my daughter to reach the dose of 12mg of Ivermectin daily. She had to start at 1/4 pill twice a week.
The first time she tried it, the herx was so bad, she had to go to the ER after just four pills.
Pyrantel didn't do anything. We were hoping it would.
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sparkle7
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Thanks for the info, guys/gals... I just started with horse paste again. I got some loose bowel movements about 2 days in. I noticed these small cotton ball looking things. Like the size of a Q-tip. I didn't see these with the A-P.
I did the Amazon A-P for about a month & 1/2. I got more pain from that - like in my ribs & hip joints. This is kind of new for me. I think since I've stopped the A-P & started the horse paste - the aching is slightly less but I have been feeling kind of "crappy".
I do feel tired & spacey. I think we may be treating a number of things with these meds. There may be a number of different parasites & we each may have something different than each other.
I do think it's important to try different remedies/drugs & rotate them. I wouldn't take binders at the same time as the killing agents but I do think it's important to stop the killing drugs/herbs & detox. I've been taking modified cirtus pectin lately. I don't know if it's a "wonder supplement" but it does seem to get things moving from my colon.
Some claim it removes heavy metals. I read the studies but it's hard to tell - they are conflicting & may have a vested interest in commercializing the product.
I'm taking Bimectin by Bimeda. It doesn't taste as bad as the other horse paste I was taking. It's a gel. It's kind of hard to measure the dosage with the syringe. Any advice to get accurate dosing with this would be appreciated.
I'm thinking of trying the nebulized iodine next...
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annxyzz
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Sparkle , I took the apple flavored Durvet brand and it was not bad . I downed it with juice or a flavored drink .
I am now taking zimectrin - iver w/ prazi and having a BIGGER herx . My advice is that every other day dosing for me prevents any side effects and gives my body time to detox between doses .
For breathing issues, 2 things are helping me : ( found this at earth clinic many positives with it )
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar with juice chased with glass liquid .
also a product callled oregamax - I bought the cheaper vitamn shoppe version and it works well . I think these help because I am suspecting my breathing issues have a component of fungus . These are both strong antifungal and you can get lots of reviews at iherb and amazon of people with sinus and asthma that swear by oregamax ( which is too $$$ ) . The V S product seems good to me . I have no problems at all with it - just breathe better .
I also bought sinuorega which is a sinus rinse with oregano that stings but is very effective!! It is powerful and lasts a long time ( bottle ).
A drug that helped me that is finally generic is singulair . It works well for me - have not tried generic yet .
These may or may not be helpful to you.
Incidentally , I have read that asthma is suspected to have a relationship with low iodine by some docs . You can research that .
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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posted
Thanks for the additional info, everyone...
I got pulled off the Ivermectin yesterday. WBC dropped 2.1 points over the last three weeks, I was on the Ivermectin for only the last week. So we're not sure if that was the cause. But it is listed as a side effect in a small % of cases.
I was unable to handle a full dose (12 mg - 4x a day), I was only taking 6 mg - 2x a day. But even at that dose I was getting major weakness that was really hard to tolerate. I don't think I could have kept up with that dose.
It felt more like a side effect to me than some sort of die-off.
I also woke with a large itchy hive the last night I took it.
We'll see what happens next...
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kelmo
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12mg 4x day?!! Our doc only wanted my daughter to get up to 12mg once a day. But, I have heard of others who were on 48mg daily.
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surprise
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Yeah, there is no way I could do beyond 12 mg a day-
I usually do 9 mg a day (I'm small), and usually just 1x a week. Friday, since it's my last time doing it for awhile (if not forever)
I did the 12 mg. I have had loose bowels ever since, up last night 4 times with it. This never happens to me- and nothing visible.
For anyone starting, I'd suggest to start low and see how you do...
-------------------- Lyme positive PCR blood, and positive Bartonella henselae Igenex, 2011. low positive Fry biofilm test, 2012. Update 7/16- After extensive treatments, doing okay! Posts: 2518 | From USA | Registered: Nov 2011
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sparkle7
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I think the 12 mg is the usual dose. For horses it's probably, like, once or 2 times a year, though...
The person on Curezone recommends it in combination with other things. FYI-
I guess you want to take enough to actually kill the parasites but not too much as to be too ill to function. If you don't take enough - you may not kill everything that needs to be killed... & it will all come back.
This is what ICU suggests on Curezone for Ivermectin (link above) -
Ivermectin (Stromectol): 1 dose*, based on .2mg/kg, 1 hr before bedtime, on empty stomach, with 8oz water or beverage. Take dose for 4 days on, 3 days off. Repeat dosage every week (even during off-days of Albendazole) for 5 or more weeks, as needed, to cure infection.
Alternate Dosage Schedule: For severe hyperinfection cases, follow this schedule instead of the above: Take dose for 7 days on, 2 days off, 2 days on. Continue the "pulse method" of 2 days off, 2 days on, etc, even during off-days of Albendazole, until infection is cured.
Post-Treatment for Strongyloides, Filariasis, & Morgellons: Take a maintenance dose of Ivermectin every 7 days (once a week). This suppressive therapy keeps any remaining encysted parasites sterile & prevents reinfection.
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sparkle7
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PS - annxyzz - I don't realy have problems breathing. I think the nascent iodine may be good in general in regards to taking it with a nebulizer (on the other thread I posted).
When you nebulize things - from what I've read - it's like it goes straight into the blood. I guess that's the idea when people smoke pot or tobacco (nicotine).
If that's the case & it really does help to kill malaria (see other thread) - it may help in general with some of the bugs we are fighting.
Thanks for your thoughts! I thought alot about what you said in regards to pulsing ivermectin.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
Updating in case it is useful for someone finding this thread later.
WBC went back up after only 5 days and I'm back on the Ivermectin. This time, I'm going to pulse it. Need to experiment to find what works, but hoping to do 6-12 mg. every 2-3 days.
This med can definitely be constipating. Since it works by paralyzing the critters, a naturopath told me it can have a paralyzing effect on the gut.
It appears that the stabbing pains on the first day were from worms going into spasm that were attached to my intestinal wall.
I also believe the weakness I was experiencing was a side effect of the drug and not herx-related.
This stuff has a long half-life (18 hours or longer), so if you are dosing every day or multiple times a day, you can expect to build up a high dose in the body.
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sparkle7
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Thanks! I suspect pulsing is a good way to go with ivermectin. That's what I've been getting from dowsing.
I'm having a tough enough time handling the Ivermectin alone (or with Pyrantel Pamoate), so I'm going to do the Albendazole after those two.
Thanks for the link to the CureZone article - it's very informative. One section from it that I'm questioning though:
"During drug treatment, stop using herbal remedies, flushes, cleanses, DE, laxatives, colonics, MMS, nutrasilver, RIFE, zappers, & other OTC parasite products.
None of these methods cure parasite infections. They can be very toxic, destroy beneficial gut flora, & impair organs of the digestive system.
They cause parasites to scatter everywhere, carrying enteric pathogens with them. And they counteract & remove parasite drugs from your system."
I'm thinking of starting colonics to help get the garbage out of my system. Dr. K also recommends them during his Rx protocol. This contradicts what's stated above. Anyone else with experience/ideas about colonics while on Rx parasite treatment?
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sparkle7
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I just did plain water enemas if I needed them. I don't know about colonics. I could see that there may be a potential conflict if you use other types of anti-parasite treatments. I think it depends on what your individual needs or problems are.
I've been dowsing it for a while & I always get a "no" for Albendazole. I'm getting a "yes" for Parastroy at this point. I did get alot better after taking Parastroy for 9 months. Everything came back when I stopped, though.
I think each person is different. I use a dowsing instrument - so, i get "information" that way. It would be hard to tell if you don't do that but not everyone uses that method. I have found it to be very accurate.
Sometimes, you have to go with your gut - pardon the pun...
I can see where ICU is correct but I just don't know. Not everyone agrees with harsh drugs. I don't know why I always get a "no" for Albendazole - but that's what's been happening for a year or so since I've been asking. It seems reasonable to do what you can to get rid of these parasites.
I'm not adverse to drugs. Ultimately, the body has to heal itself. Maybe alternating the drugs with herbal treatments prevents resistance?
I think ICUs protocol is for Morgellons, ultmately. We all are different. It's complicated.
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