IV antibiotics for chronic lymes + co-infections???

I have been living with chronic lymes plus all co-infections now for many years and have been able to somewhat control it through strict diet and easy exercise...I am still in constant pain and exhaustion which up to this point I have simply accepted...but, my wife and I are planning on having our first child and I dont have the energy and physical state to be the kind of father I want to be, so I am back to the forum looking for answers. I am looking into iv antibiotics again and wondered if anyone has had any positive experiences treating chronic lymes with this? I can't find any convincing information to go this route and my family is blindly pressuring me to do it. I am skeptical and nervous to go down this route because although my quality of life is terrible compared to most people, it is the best I have experienced in years and am worried that the strong antibiotic regime will strip this from me....I would appreciate any thoughts...thanks all, p

HI Pete!
Welcome to our forum!! Of course I am so sorry to hear that you have been living with tick-borne infections for many years!! Quite a few of us here have as well! How long ago do you believe you were infected?

You have come to a really great place to not only learn, but to get & give support and understanding!! If you haven't already, you will want to read the thread at the top of our forum titled, "New to Lyme?...Start here!", as it is packed full of great info and very useful links!!

As far as your question about IV abx, I don't have any personal experience with them, but you would probably find it very helpful to read Dr. Joseph Burrascano's (a well respected LLMD) paper "Advanced Topics on Lyme Disease". There is a link in the thread "new to Lyme?" but I'll post one here for you as well.

betterhealthguy.com/joomla/images/stories/PDF/lymdxrx2008-october.pdf

In this paper he not only covers treatments (including IV treatments), but other tick-borne infection (aka -co-infections) that can accompany Lyme and their treatments.

We do have quite a few members on IV meds, I believe & I am sure they will be willing to stop by and give you their opinions as well. How long were you on IV meds & other meds last time?

Unfortunately, once you start treatment, you will most likely experience what is known as a Herx. This is simply an increase in symptoms or new symptoms appearing, but you do have ways to minimize the effect. The best way is to detox.

There is a great post about detoxing in the thread "New to Lyme?" as it explains how to detox in pretty good detail. The reason for detoxing is because once you start to kill off the infection, toxins are released into your body & this is what causes those herxes.

Although I have herxed just by taking a detox bath, because I had such a very large load of toxins in my body to start with!! I would suggest that since you believe that you have had these infections long enough to have a chronic infection, that you start detoxing right away, before you start any treatments. Just my opinion though, as I am not medically trained in any way.

BTW- Congrats on the discussions of having a baby!!! I know how exciting it can be!!! And Kudos to you for wanting to be as healthy as you can be when that baby comes!!

If you have more questions or concerns, please feel free to post them!! We look forward to getting to know you through your posts!

Once again, Pete, welcome!!!

I guess I need to add that I am not using abx to treat my tick-borne infections. I have found that a more holistic approach works much better & and is much easier on me, so I use Acupuncture, Traditional & Modern Chinese Medicine as well as Western Herbology.

Thanks for all the advice. I have had CLD for about 20 years now, recently within the last 6 years I have been rebitten several times. My worst condition was during and after oral antibiotics, which was clearly the closest I have ever come to death. I have brought myself back to a reasonable life, if not one filled with extreme exhaustion and pain through a very clean diet and spiritual practice. If anyone wants info on the diet that has helped I will be happy to elaborate on this. I promised my family that I would look into antibiotics again, but reassured, I have found only negative responses to them and am not willing to damage my health further. I am thinking of seeing Dr Rau of the Paracelsus Institute in Switzerland and was curious if anyone has heard anything about their lymes treatments???
Its outrageously expensive and would entail borrowing cash, but at this point I am not seeing any other viable options. I have terrible digestion and zero gut so herbal supplements are out of the picture...any thoughts?
Thanks for all the help and replies.

Hi Pete, You need to find a good lyme md in your area. There are many options besides I.V. antibiotics. If you don't do something lyme is going to eventually destroy your life. I have read that oxygen therapy in a hyperbaric chamber is helpful in killing lyme. Doing this in combination with orals may get it done. The problem is getting your bodies toxicity level down. We don't all detoxify well. I am one who has this problem and suffer pain every day. I have read that drinking juiced green veggies helps along with magnesium, lught exercise, epson salt baths, saunas, milk thistle, eating no sugar and high fiber can help. I personally think sweating in a sauna is the best way to detox. I was herxing at one time and eventually broke out in a terrible drenching sweat. I felt so much better the next day. I plan to do the I.V. treatment starting next week. My husband is on the I.V. right now and is doing well. We plan to do this for a few months then go to oral antibiotics. Our lyme specialist told us because we have had this long term and this is the best way to give it a good kick in the butt. The I.V. antibiotics will get deep into the tissues of the body. Orals haven't helped us enough. You could always start out on orals and get your toxicity levels under control then go to the big guns and finish with orals. I pray you have better days in your future.

Post Edited (Donjoe) : 1/27/2011 2:58:40 PM (GMT-7)

I think there is a doctor in Kansas who studied under Dr. Rau, so you may find help without having to go to Switzerland...

Check out hansacenter.com/

I have no financial connection to this website, company, or physician.