If so at what dose, and how are the side effects? are they as bad as som have reported?
Posts: 33 | From UK | Registered: Mar 2009
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'Kete-tracker
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17189
posted
I used it for 2 or 3 weeks when I was still acutely sick with Lyme. It gave me quite the herx after only 12 hours (though my LLMD insisted that was too soon for a herx... I still think he's wrong).
I couldn't stay on it as I had real trouble sleeping after a week, even w/O getting quite up to the ILADS-recommended dose. BUT many folks make very good improvemnents on it, including a friend of my cousin, in MD, who is a retired college professor. He has his Ketek (telithromycin) every morning with... a banana! Was doing REAL well on it.
I believe the "full dose" is 2 caplets per day. I seem to recall it's 400mg per caplet.
YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR HEART BEAT EVALUATED FOR what's called a Qt interval BEFORE you start on Ketek, Adam. The drug can lengthen it some so it needs to be below about 470 milliseconds to start. An EKG NEEDS to be run & carefully measured. This is mandatory!
It Might cause blurry or double-vision. I had no issue though, nor did the professor.
It WILL interact with a variety of meds as it's an inhibitor of the cytochrome CYP3A4. (No...I'm no pharmacist... ask.)
It Can cause elevated liver enzymes (as it did for me somewhat), so you need to have that monitored. (Get some baseline numbers & recheck maybe every week or so.)
Sounds like a serious med? It IS. But it is also very effective gainst Lyme, so if you can tolerate it, it will do a lot of knocking out of the critters. GLWThat!
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
Thanks for this, it seems like one of thoise drugs that some do well om, but some cant tolerate.
I read up abit more on the drug, and there have been dangerous side effects reported like liver damage, and in a few cases, death!!
I think i will go for the older generation of Macrolides and take Clarithromycin, it seems like a safer option
Posts: 33 | From UK | Registered: Mar 2009
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posted
I was on Ketek for a year with no side effects. I did herx after only 6 hours from my first dose.
I had to have my liver enzymes tested every two weeks and have an EKG before I started the medication.
My liver enzymes went up slightly but the doc kept a close eye on them. Plus I had to sign a waiver saying I understood the risks of the medication..
Not sure it did much for me even though it is suppose to be a great one for Lyme.
Posts: 343 | From North Carolina | Registered: Oct 2008
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