posted
I have read great things about bicillin. It seems to be liquid gold for lyme disease, not a silver bullet but very effective. Im going to be starting treatment soon but me and my llmd are still talking about different protocols. My symptoms are predominantly psychological. I have extreme anxiety and nervousness and panic attacks, where its hard to even leave the house. Im never in that much pain. Some joint inflammation but the pain is the crazy psycholigical symptoms.
My hands tremor like crazy. Face twitches constantly. And I have developed autistic type behavior. IV is so expensive and im not sure if my insurance will cover it. I also HAVE to work a full time job in order to keep up with school loans and pay for my treatment. So i cant be hooked up to an iv unless I can give infusions before and after work.
How does Bicillin address the neuropsych symptoms if it does not cross the blood brain barrier. People tell me its comparable to iv if givin in high enough doses but i still dont seem to understand how it compares to a cephelosporin that readily crosses the blood brain brairer.
It would be much more convenient if i could do oral combination antibiotics with bicillin la but will the protocol address this crazyness in my head.
Posts: 6 | From Chicago ill | Registered: Nov 2005
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David95928
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3521
posted
It's the opinion of my physician, and mine, that there is still very little definitively known about the treatment of chronic Lyme disease. Therefore, the whole issue of what crosses the plood-brain barrier and it's relevance to treating specific sympotms is far from clear. The bugs are known to secrete neurotoxins so the cognitive problems associated with Lyme may be due to bugs in the brain, so to speak, and/or neurotixins in the general system. Thus a medicine might not need to get into the brain to have a positive effect on brain symptoms.
Your observation about Bicillin being very helpful to many Lyme patients is spot-on. In my case, it definitely helped with the neuropsych problems, along with pretty much everything else. To me it's far preferable to taking IVs. It does seem to me that Bicillin does not work as rapidly as say, Rocephin, but it seems to lead to more stable recovery. The herxes can be difficult. If your doctor is considering this, it sounds perfectly resonable to me.
Many here have reported that tremors and twitching are eased by magnesium supplementation. The problem is that can also be a laxative and therefore some are not able to take enough orally to do the job. That was my case. A number here have taken magnesium sulfate injections and they work well for me. Your doctor is no doubt familiar with this approach. Good luck.
-------------------- Dave Posts: 2034 | From CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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johnnyb
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7645
posted
Same here. While I certainly don't like the constant "blah" feeling I have when taking Bicillin, I have to say that it seems to have gotten rid of my numbness / tingling in hands / feet, and I've only been on it 2 -3 months.
Bicillin / Penicillin type ABX are bactericidal (kill bacteria) as opposed to bacteriostatic (stop bacterial growth) types.
Also, I like the fact that I don't have to ingest it, and don't have to take the gallbladder risks that come with IV rocephin . Best approach is to discuss with your LLMD and then see how it works for you.
I think I've seen here that some docs go with a Bicillin + pulsed cyst buster approach, with the theory that when Bicillin starts killing off the lyme, it goes into a cryptic state, when can then be busted open by the flagyl / tindamax type ABX. I myself am only on Bicillin + herbals at this time.
Hope this helps.
- JB
Posts: 1197 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
My son is taking Bicillin IM along with orals and prefers it to IV. He began a new protocol in early September with a new LLMD and we added Bicillin in October - he's experienced the most sustained improvement he's had in four years.
He's had improvement in neuro symptoms as well as overall energy. His mood is greatly improved and he seems to be able to weather the ups and downs...maybe because, at last, there are some "ups". He herxes and sometimes has low grade fevers.
We're treating for Lyme, Bart and Babesiosis. He is pulsing 4 days on/3 days off which allows him to recover from the herxes somewhat and be able to have some social life now that he's feeling better (he's 15). He's getting one injection a week now but may work up to twice if possible without upsetting the balance we have going.
He's taking Septra, Plaquenil (which our doc uses for cyst form), Artemisinin and Z-max (a new high-dose, once a week form of zithromax)when he can tolerate the GI side-effects. Also, getting B-12 injections 3x/wk and other nutritional supplements including NAC (glutathione precursor - good for neuro stuff), and probiotics. There seems to be evidence that B-12 can play a part in the de-tox pathways as well.
Good luck in getting it all figured out - keep us posted.
Nancy
Posts: 688 | From Florida | Registered: Aug 2001
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