Topic: Rifampin/Zithro side effects same as bartonella!
nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I was reading side effects of these drugs and they can cause some of the same symptoms as bartonella. Rifampin - headache, joint and bone pain, sore throat, bruising, inability to concentrate, mental confusion, conjunctivitis, depression, anxiety, dizziness to name a few. A rare side effect is psychosis. Zithro - headache, changes in hearing, ringing in ears, dizziness, agitation, insomnia and anxiety.
So I have inability to concentrate, anxiety, depression, headache, sore throat (at times) bone pain and joint pain (at times), eyes bothering me, ringing in my ears, mental confusion. . . . .
So it is impossible to know if these are side effects, herxing or unresolved bartonella. How do I know if the drugs are working and I am getting better? I sure do feel out of it! How do I know how long to take these drugs if the side effects make me feel as sick as the disease? I could think I am still sick when I am really just having side effects.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
Nefferdun, when I was on Rifampin (just for 12 weeks) I had similar issues and, like you, couldn't figure out whether they represented a herx, side effects, or Bart symptoms.
All I can tell you is, 5 weeks since I quit Rifampin, and the anxiety, insomnia, PMS, emotional swings, and headache have completely subsided. I feel pretty well.
So, at least in my case, I think those issues represented Rifampin side effects.
What remains for me is minor morning heel pain, occasional dull twitching in legs, and a slight headache at the crown of my head when I shake it. Bart symptoms? Maybe...but not sure what, if anything pharmaceutical, to try next.
Like I recall you saying, I took a high dose HH (Zhang's) for 4-5 months before starting Rifampin. I'm also on Bactrim.
Hope this helps!
Lynne
-------------------- Increasingly ill over past 10 yrs; treating since October '08. Posts: 180 | From Philadelphia, PA | Registered: Oct 2008
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CD57
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Member # 11749
posted
That is amazing.....I do know also the Rif was responsible for my major insomnia about 6 weeks in!
Posts: 3528 | From US | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
I also take Rifampin with Doxy and Azithromycin. I feel terrible... I started this ABs combo 3 weeks ago, and I had to stop it for 3 days. Today I just started it again:( I don't have any improvements but I have many side effects from ABs. At first I thought it's herx, but when I stopped ABs, my flu like symptoms got better. Also I have terrible nausea and I have no apetite but I'm not sure which AB causes it.
Another bad thing is that now I have fever (37.9C) and it started when I stopped ABs for a few days and I took Diflucan. I'm afraid my fever is from candida but I'm not sure. Nobody knows:(...
I don't know how long should we take Rifampin,but I will try to take it for 8 weeks...
-------------------- having LD since 2005 Posts: 45 | From Los Angeles | Registered: Sep 2009
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nefferdun
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Member # 20157
posted
hope, when you take a break from Rifampin and then start it again you often get flu like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and headache. I think it is a drug that you have to stick with as long as you can because when you quit, it is hard to start it again.
Lynn, were you worse off when you started the rifampin than you are now? I hope it helped you. Don't wait too long to start something else as bart comes back so quickly. I felt really well last year and then just crashed.
I am in my third month of this. I am going to try to do it four months. Then I don't know what I will do.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
i've been on rifampin, for 3 weeks. I take it with doxy and flagyl. I tried levaquin for a week but got tendonitis in my neck.
after 3 weeks, I just experienced the most ill feelings I have not had since i started treatment 5 months ago: extreme weakness, nerve pain, head swelling, nausea, etc. I don't know if its the rifampin working (herx) or not working.
Posts: 490 | From TX- Go Cowboys! | Registered: Aug 2009
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posted
Nefferdun, I really wasn't much worse off before I started the Rifampin in late August. I'm not sure that the Rifampin actually did very much except make me feel worse while I was on it!
But, I was on Bactrim well before I started Rifampin, and I am still on it, and so maybe that has kept me in a semi-decent place.
-------------------- Increasingly ill over past 10 yrs; treating since October '08. Posts: 180 | From Philadelphia, PA | Registered: Oct 2008
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Haley
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Member # 22008
posted
I was on Rifampin for 2 weeks and almost ended up in the ER. I was taking 600 mg a day. Maybe if I had ramped up it would have been better. My BP was 196/150. I didn't even think that a BP that high existed. My BP is usually normal.
The other problem was that it caused my sleep meds to be ineffective.
I hear that bone pain is not good, I had that too. You should ask your doctor about the bone pain.
I still don't know if I was being hit hard due to high levels of Bart or I had a reaction to the drug.
My doctor thinks that Rifampin is a great medicine and there are a lot of meds that he won't use due to toxicity.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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CD57
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Member # 11749
posted
Bone pain can also be the bart!
Posts: 3528 | From US | Registered: Apr 2007
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I am taking 600mg rifampin and 500 mg zithro once a day in the morning and then 200mg diflucan in the evening. I think my bone pain is bart as I have always had it - in my shins. I went over my diary for this illness this morning and it seems that the bart really started to hit hard while I was on HH capsules. I think it must be very resistant now. I see some improvement. I don't have as many headaches and my hot flashes are not as intense or as frequent. But my mental fog and depression is about the same. I noticed when I took levaquin my mental state was much clearer in just three weeks. It was very damaging otherwise to my tendons but I sure wish I could have that clarity and motivation again. If only the doctor had me prepare with magnesium first. Maybe something else would be better.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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CD57
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11749
posted
why do you think treating bart made it more resistant?
Posts: 3528 | From US | Registered: Apr 2007
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