IV Doxy

Has anyone been on IV Doxy and if so what can I expect other than the typical herxes, not that a herx can ever really be called typical.  lol  I've been on so many different meds and experienced so many strange things but the one thing I'm dreading most is the return of severe bouts of depression and mood swings.

Any suggestions, tips or words of advice re IV Doxy would be greatly appreciated.

I was diagnosed in February by one of the top llmds and have been on IV Rocephin, Mepron, Zithro, Mino, Art, among other meds and many supplements since February/March 2009.  I have not made the progress on these meds that was hoped for and he has taken me off these antibiotics and tomorrow I'll be starting IV Doxycycline 2 x day. 

Myself and my friend both started IV Doxy two months ago. Our herx varied in intensity. Hers was worse. We both have CNS lyme, and I also have moderate brain encephalitis. Anyhow, the herx for us both was pressure headaches all over, she had neck pain (I didn't), she had eye pain (I didn't), I had about 4 migraines the first month and still have constant headaches but after 6 weeks they aren't really so bad any more, I function fine. My head felt made of lead and 4 times its size for 6 weeks. I was in bed for 6 weeks, and also very dizzy.

I hate to tell you that it was the worst herx I ever had, but it was. However, I do believe my brain infection was also at the worst point it had ever been, so that makes sense. If you don't have Central Nevous System lyme you might not herx like this, I think the doxy if very good with brain and nerve infections. I have lyme, bartonella and babesia. The Doxy is for the lyme and bart, I take 2 malaron a day for the babesia and nystatin. I take Silphos to protect my liver and various vitamins when my stomach feels good enough. I tried sauna and it was a nightmare combo for me. I don't recommend you sauna on IV doxy, but I could have just had a weird unique reaction.

Anyhow, thankfully the worse is now over for both of us. Niether of us have been able to acheive the top theraputic dosage due to our herxes. I have gotten up to 100 mg twice a day and think I will slowly be able to hit 200 twice a day. The key for us both to surviving the herx was to cut back the dosage and go up slower, I even skipped two days here or there just to ease the pain. Other side effects I had were dry mouth and overall dryness. Brain fog. My mood was suppressed but not as crazy as it had been earlier so mood wasn't really the focus of the herx, it was headaches. I wish you the best of luck with the IV Doxy. It has made my life better after 2 months, but the first 6 weeks were tough.

Pcpc, I checked out Dr. J's website as you suggested and plan on printing out the portion re IV clindamycin. Now I am not positive my doc and I discussed this particular med but I will ask him at my next appointment. I think we did but I can't find my notes. lol Thanks again for the information.

Hi Scorpio1960,
I also see Dr. J. (in S.C. til he moves to D.C.) He is an AMAZING doctor! I fly to see him but wouldn't have it any other way because I wasted so much time seeing a doctor that was just 1 1/2 hours away. My braini SPECT scan just kept getting worse and the doc I WAS seeing, didn't see anything wrong with it. YIKES! I knew I needed to switch to something more aggressive. Most of my Lyme is neurological and wow, you should see the words I come up with while trying to find the "right" word! My mom says she will have a separate dictionary for me - she's very sweet and tries to make me laugh when I get down.

Well the reason for me writing is that I have trouble with depression and when I was just on Tetracycline for a year with the other doc, my depression got extremely bad - like my brain was being blocked by the Lyme and nothing was letting the antidressants through - a real Lyme block! IT wasn't until I had IV Rocephin that my head finally started to clear up a little. Too bad the doc didn't put me on Actigall or Ursodiol to prevent my gallbladder from collapsing from the Rocephin - oh well, I had to go off of that because of my gallbladder attacks. BUT, just like you saw on Dr. J.s website, Clindamycin has been a HUGE new effective IV med for Lymies like us who have the Lyme in our brain. It breaks through the Blood-Brain-Barrier and goes after those nasty little spirochetes that are inflaming everything they can. I've only had ONE treatment and already I feel less tired and more clear-headed. Better than anything I've had in over 2 years! I'm hoping that will continue with the treatment plan. But what I really wanted to tell you about is a prescription med called DEPLIN - I had to search for it on Yahoo. Dr. J. prescribed it for me because it boosts the antidepressant meds and so far, no one has had a negative complaint about it. They make it sound like a miracle pill - however, it's actually some type of neurotransmitter that breaks down folic acid and helps the serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. My psychiatrist called today and gave me the "go ahead" to try it. There's no harm in trying it, he said. So, as soon as my pharmacy gets it in stock, I'm going to try it. I'll let you know if it helps. I can't afford to let the Lyme block my antidepressants again! And this is supposed to not only improve mood, but also increase energy and lessen anxiety! Certain people can't break down Folic Acid and would need 66 doses of 833mg of Folic Acid to get the same benefit of this prescription "vitamin/mineral/med?"
Hope this is helpful - sorry so long!!!!
Kristiana

Hey guys:) Thanks for the information. I'm going to be starting IV Rocephin in a few weeks so the clindamycin information is very helpful. I will talk with my doctor about clindamycin if Rocephin doesn't help.

Scorpio, the last IV I did was doxy and it changed my quality of life. I knew after about 3 days that there was a substantial dif. I was probably lucky with that but I think it was one of those hit or miss things that are typical with Lyme treatments. I think everyone needs to just try the options available to see what will kill the buggers for them. Hope it works for you as it did for me.