posted
This is follow up to "Losing it on Meds" . Some posted that taking mepron and doxy at the same time could negate the effect of mepron:
I spoke to my pharmacist this morning and she said that it is possible that the doxy may inhibit some absorption of the mepron. This can be compensated for by dosage, frequency, etc. And effectiveness of protocol is monitored by bloodwork results.
Interesting issue. Will also talk to my LLMD when I see him again.
Any other thoughts?
Posts: 49 | From Florida | Registered: Dec 2003
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
These things that the pharmacist said are "true." I have a few reasons that I could speculate on as to why LLMDs don't combine these, despite what your pharmacist said.
One would be that they don't feel that they understand the interaction enough to know how to monitor the situation, or that with an overload of patients, they are unwilling to monitor it that closely.
If I were you, I would push them on it, and see if they are willing to do what is necessary to be sure both meds are still doing their job. If they aren't willing, you may need to switch meds.
The last thing you want to do is ruin the effectiveness of the Mepron. Babesia treatment is serious stuff.
Another reason might be that while Mepron's effectiveness can be lowered (and thus compensated for by increasing its dosage), it might also be true that Doxy would get absorbed too readily, causing your body to get a "super blast" of Doxy all at once. This could just mess things up....give you nasty side effects.
That is all just speculation though. I would have to research more as to WHY Doxy inhibits the absorption of Mepron.
I think those are some ways around this issue if you really really need to take them together...checking blood levels of Mepron, and then adjusting the dosage of mepron as needed.
My LLMD and I had this discussion when I was worried about Rifampin impacting my Mepron's absorption. He said basically what the pharmacist said.
BUT, that said, i don't know if there are "other" reasons LLMDs don't like to combine them, so you should keep looking around to be sure.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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WARNING! I AM NOT A PHARMACIST, PHYSICIAN, NURSE, ETC. JUST AN AVID READER ON ALL THINGS BABESIA AT THE MOMENT! So take the following as just my personal experience.
Based on everything I've read on medical/pharma websites on treating Babesia, Mepron or Malarone teamed with Zithromax or Biaxin is considered the optimal treatment.
However, lots of people are allergic to some antibiotics. My kid is allergic to zithromax, penicillin (hive reactions), and had debilitating neurological symptoms on Biaxin. (Extreme herx maybe?)
So the LLMD will have to fall back to some other antibiotic for the treatments. Unfortunately, these tick-borne illnesses are not "one-size-fits-all" therapy.
Kudos for discussing it with a pharmacist! I have found many pharmacists to be very helpful.
I wish you all speedy recoveries! - Lymepool Posts: 170 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jun 2008
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I believe something like 40% of the Mepron isn't absorbed when you take a tetracyline (like Doxy) with it.
The experiment that showed this measured blood levels in humans. I am pretty sure 40% was the number, though of course I could be mistaken. The pharmacist probably doesn't have access to that study at work, but I believe they have a list classifying interactions as "mild, moderate, or severe...." This would probably be considered a "moderate" interaction. I searched for the abstract, but couldn't find it. I will keep looking and if I find it I'll post it.
If it were a mild interaction, adjusting dosages and checking blood levels would not be necessary.
Just so everyone is aware.....if you take 1 tsp of Mepron twice a day and you add Doxy, you might want to up your Mepron to 1 1/2 tsp twice daily. (or more? maybe 2 tsp bid)
Or, you could just not "risk it." There may be other things that go on that the pharmacist is not aware of.
[ 07. October 2008, 05:05 PM: Message edited by: Hoosiers51 ]
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