rifampin

Hezzener926, I also was wondering if the lower dose of malerone as opposed to the mepron dose I used to be on was making my headaches return. The same thing you describe in the back of my head at the base by the neck. I have been on Rifampin and minocycline along with mepron since September. I am feeling a whole lot better but fear the headache return when it threatens. So far it is only vaguely felt. I am not in remission but improving for sure. LLMD says when I have no symptoms for 2 months I will go on herbals. I have been treating for 2 years straight. Blessings

Thanks for your reply! Right now, I am on malarone, rifampin, zithromax, cefdinir, and fluconazole... I have a bottle of mepron too... I don't know if I should stick it out on the malarone longer as maybe its a bartonella herx or change back to the mepron...

So, right now, you are on malarone? did you notice a decrease in headaches when you switched back to mepron?

For my bartonella my ID dr. put me on 600mg. rifampim and 500mg. biaxin taken together once a day for 2 weeks. I felt such a great difference that she kept me on it for 3 months. I got my brain back something I hadn't had for the past 4 years. We all thought it was late stage neurological lyme, but in reality it was bartonella all these years. I had tests for everything and always came up negative, but was so badly symptomatic. I was IND. on Igenex for some bands, never a positive. I was always negative for bartonella until Fry photos proved it, incidently Fry lab test showed negative at the same time. I was negative for babesia at Fry, but the photos showed it. This is not unusual and is more the norm....
I was told after talking with some-one at Fry that there are so many different strains of babs, bart, etc. and there are not the tests for all of them. By having the photos taken of your blood in the blood smear slides they show up in the blood under the microscope and cannot be missed by the testing.
Now I'm being treated for babs with mepron, zithromax, artemisinin, and biaxin for 3 weeks.
We'll deal with the Lyme after the babs is gone.....
I watch my diet: no sugar, no carbs, drink only water and lots of it. I take New Zealand Colostrum: 450mg 2 pills 2 x a day, SAM-e: 400mg, Acetyl-l-carnitine: 1500mg, Vit. B6: 50mg, Glucosamine/Chrondroitin, Calcium/Magnesium, and CO-Q10 100mg 2x a day with Alpha Lipoic Acid 300mg daily BUT not while on Mepron.
I had 2 total knee replacements due to Lyme and 2 IV Picc Lines in the past 3 years due to Lyme with assorted oral abx.
Eating right, taking supplements (you don't have to go crazy), and targeting the co-infections first is definately the way to go.
Burrascano guidelines in his new edition dated Oct. 2008 is most helpful. I live in Delaware and got bit by a sand fly at the NJ shore 4 years ago....go figure...