posted
All - I am on the train home from my latest LLMD appt and just thinking about the regimen he uses.
He uses M,W,F pulse dose regimen with three to four different antibiotics with certain weeks on and certain weeks off.
I haven't read the entire Burrascano protocol, but I don't believe he did pulsing. My LLMD is supposed to be one of the best. In fact, he has served on panels with Burrascano before, but I would like to understand more about the pulse dosing.
How can it be effective if you are only taking drugs three days a week for two weeks on and one week off?? I'm not doubting it per se. I just want to understand better.
My appointments are always so rushed that I never get to ask these kind of questions.
Thanks.
Posts: 52 | From Central VA | Registered: Jun 2011
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posted
I think you are speaking about Dr. J and no, he does not follow anything Burrascano. He has his own treatment regimen.
I started out there and left. Pulsing is supposed to help the immune system wake up on the off week theoretically.
As you have noticed, the appts are always rushed and at some point, you will not be able to get follow up appts so easily at all. That office has a lot of turnover and both my husband and I did not feel comfortable there.
We are seeing someone else in DC.
-------------------- Faithful
Just sharing my experience, I am not a doctor. Posts: 2682 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2009
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poppy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5355
posted
Doctors have different treatment methods because there is no treatment that works best for everyone.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I believe that Dr B "cured" himself by pulsing high doses of ceftin.
Posts: 749 | From State full of ticks | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
faithful777 - I am going to PM you. Do you mind telling me who you see in DC? I'm not ready to give up on Dr. J yet, but I am interested in knowing who you see in case I feel I need to switch in the future.
Thanks.
Posts: 52 | From Central VA | Registered: Jun 2011
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desertwind
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25256
posted
Pulsing is a way to get the lyme bacteria out of "hiding". A couple of my LLMD's used it instead of a cyst butster.
Once you stop the meds the ketes think it is safe to come out and then you bomb em for a while and then stop and repeat.
Did not work long term for me.
Posts: 1671 | From Tick Infested New Jersey | Registered: Apr 2010
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beths
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18864
posted
Some LLMD's-Dr B included treated everything till "only" lyme was left.
They then let themselves relapse and hit the lyme hard for 6 weeks, and repeated this.
This is not the same as Dr J's pulsing. He has you take abx 3x/week for 1-2 weeks, with a week or 2 off.
Some do well on this...others do not.
Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Jan 2009
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nonna05
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desert,,did something work long term for you?
Posts: 2563 | From Denver,CO | Registered: Aug 2011
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nonna05
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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desert,,did something work long term for you?
Posts: 2563 | From Denver,CO | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
The theory is that your immune system must take over at some point and Dr J tries to do this with the least amount of antibiotics possible. He, and others, believe that you will never kill every last one of the spirochetes in your body and your immune system building defensive antibodies is the only way to being symptom free...though perhaps not CURED in the sense we would like.
Depending on your level of illness, he will beat it back with strong antibiotics at first and then give you increasing stretches of time off of your antibiotics, until you can go two weeks symtom free, then 3, then maybe just a few days a month for a little boost and then eventually stop taking them.
It has definitely helped me...saved my liver as well as a lot of money. I have not followed doctors orders because it is hard to purposely let yourself get sick when you have work and a family. I am not symptom free but I can take longer antibiotic breaks and function. I can go two weeks without antibiotics and it doesn't knock me down til the last couple days. I used to get acutely symptomatic after just a few days.
Burascanno and Weintraub took long breaks in between their Ceftin pulses, allowing themselves to fall very ill. After their third cycle, they were done. Their antibodies would have been peaked when they added the Cetin again, so it's tough to say exactly what science was at play but their method sounds great if you can do it....time off from life with unlimited Ceftin.
Posts: 410 | From Victoria BC, Canada | Registered: Jul 2008
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