posted
I have started to go to Dr. H in NY who really specilaize in Babesia. I had hope in August when my Igenex IGM went down to 80 and my Fsh was negative. However, my October tests show an IGM of 320 and the FSH was positive.
He has added Larium (once a week for me)and Plaquenil to my Babesia protocal. These drugs scare me. Last week I actually was feeling good. This week my mentrual cycle came and I took a second dose of Larium and BOOM - I have major symptoms or herxs. The chills right now are unbelievable. ANd the night sweats are in full force these days.
I was wondering if anyone had the same reaction once they started with the Larium.
Posts: 238 | From Bethlehem, PA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
It sounds like it's working. That's what happens to me when I start taking meds that are working...I feel better for a few days, and then worse than before for a while.
This is the Dr H that did the high dose Bactrim experiment for Babs isn't it? Has he ever suggested it to you? I wonder if he ever even uses it anymore?
-------------------- You're only a failure when you stop trying. Posts: 945 | From U.S | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I have recently finished a course of Lariam one dose a week for babesia. Like you, I had major sweats, chills, and night sweats. I also had full blown sx of depression and other weird perceptual disturbances, morbid thoughts, insomnia, nightmares, etc. Also I had vestibular disturbances such that I lost my balance while running and fell and cut my hands and knees.
I told Dr. H that the lariam is too strong and I don't want to take any more of it. He said I had failed all other courses of abx (it's true) and lariam is the only one left except quinine.
Meanwhile, now that the lariam is gone from my system, I feel quite a lot better from no more babs sx. I don't know if this will last, but a lot of my chronic sx are better in the past few days.
Posts: 156 | From MA | Registered: Jul 2003
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savebabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9847
posted
I was on lariam for three months, and it is a very harsh drug. The longer I stayed on this medication the worse the psych symptoms got. I did notice a little difference on the drug, but adding septra to the mix of mepron and ketek has really helped. How long does Dr. H recommend you stay on the lariam?
Posts: 1603 | From ny | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I've only been on the Larium for 2 weeks or 2 doses. Prior to that I had been on Mepron combos for 14 months total (I stopped in between there and relapsed bad). I'm still on the Mepron with Ketek (that's new for me too) and Plaquenil. I add the Bactrim in also. This is a lot but I hope it is finally knocking the beast down! I just can't beleive how hard the Babs is to get rid of. I think more people have it then they know!
Posts: 238 | From Bethlehem, PA | Registered: Oct 2004
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savebabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9847
posted
How long does he want you to stay on the lariam?
Posts: 1603 | From ny | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
From what I've read about it, Lariam is a pretty scary drug -- however, babs is a hard beast to knock out.
I did 4 months of mepron/ketek/art, and relapsed within days of discontinuing it. I also stopped tolerating the ketek...
So now I'm taking mepron/zith and macrobid (similar to septra, which I can't take) -- I'm *finally* herxing! I didn't herx at all on the first round of babs treatment (but I did feel a great deal better!) SOOOO -- I hope this is doing the trick. I am having *a lot* of neuro symptoms, as well as soaking night sweats.
The point of this post? Even though Lariam is scary, if that is what it took to knock out babs, I'd try it. Babs is a horrible, horrible thing to have -- it has been worse than Lyme for me.
-------------------- "Looks like freedom but it feels like death.. It's something in between, I guess"
Leonard Cohen, from the song "Closing Time" Posts: 822 | From California | Registered: Jan 2006
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liz28
Unregistered
posted
I was disabled by babesia and Lyme for over five years. I have been symptom-free for six months. I took three rounds of chloroquine, a synthetic form of quinine, with 2-3 months of primaquine, pulsed four days on, two days off.
This is the standard treatment for relapsing malaria, also called plasmodium vivax. There should be no problem whatsoever in ordering it from an American doctor, as long as you take a lab test for G6PD deficiency before starting primaquine.
Lariam, also known as mefluquine, is well-known for causing psychosis. Travelers take it once a week to keep from catching malaria, and are instructed to stop immediately if they have psychiatric symptoms. It is still widely prescribed because it is much cheaper than many safer substitutes such as malarone. It has been linked to several shooting incidents, in which U.S. servicemen took lariam while in tropical countries, then came home and killed their families.
Plaquenil is a weak form of chloroquine. That may be the reason you see some change in symptoms, which would make you hope it is working, but which would not be enough to cure you.
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