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Any non abx treatment for Ehrlichia?

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Posted 2/22/2013 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Went to see my LLD today for my 3 month check up. In between last appt. and today, I have come to the conclusion that it appears like I also am co-infected with Ehrlichia. This isn't an official diagnosis because my LLD pretty much treats Lyme and once the possibility of a possible co-infection, he says he just isn't experienced enough in co infections and wants to send me to a Lymes specialist. He also said that only 5% of Lymes patients get coinfections? I have always read that a much higher % end up with co-infection? Anyways, instead of spending a huge some of money and traveling several hours, does anyone know of any non abx treatments that are considered quite effective? Guess it is pretty hard to find something to take the place of abx. BTW...Ehrlichia, I believe is usually treated with Doxycycline. Thanks...
Posted 2/22/2013 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
Well, I have to disagree with your doctor about the percentage of people who have Lyme with co-infections. According to my research, it's rare to not have a co-infection when one has Lyme. Anyone reading about the types of diseases usually carried by a tick, will come to the same conclusion I have.

Usually Ehrlichia is taken care of when one treats Lyme. According to Dr. Joseph Burrascano's, "Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease", :
"Standard treatment consists of Doxycycline, 200 mg daily for two to four weeks. Higher doses, parenteral
therapy, and longer treatment durations may be needed based on the duration and severity of illness, and
whether immune defects or extreme age is present. However, there are reports of treatment failure even when
higher doses and long duration treatment with doxycycline is given. In such cases, consideration may be given
for adding rifampin, 600 mg daily, to the regimen."


The only place I can find herbal treatments for Ehrlichia that I would trust is on Stephen Buhner's site - buhnerhealinglyme.com/herbs/colchicum-alternative/

Sorry, I wish I could be of more help!
Posted 2/22/2013 12:08 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you traveler. I have been treated for Lymes over the last few years and 85% of all the original 20 something symptoms have all but gone. The remaining symptoms are severe fatigue/weakness, low blood platalet count and just general soreness. If you go Burrascano's coinfection info, it pretty much lists low platelet count (thrombopenia) relentless fatigue, myalgas as the obvious clues to Ehrlichia. It just seems to me that if all my other systems have disappeared and these are the remainders, I can't help but think Ehrlichia, just makes too much sense to me. I was treated with amoxicillian, plaquenil and 1 other abx, I have not ever taken doxycycline. I would sure like to try it for a month and see what happens, but again, my LLD's expertise stops at coinfections so I am out of luck. He says I need to go see one of the big $ specialists in N.Y.....I agree with you, everything I have ever read says coinfections are very common.
Posted 2/22/2013 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, also, does anyone know if their is a specific blood test to check for Ehrlichia? If so, is there any accuracy to it?
Posted 2/22/2013 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
Those can also be symptoms of Lyme and most LLMD's agree now that Lyme usually can't be cleared from the body until the co-infections are cleared. This is why I brought up Lyme again, although I'm in no way saying that you don't have Ehrlichia!

You might find this article very interesting, it talks about testing as well as symptoms and treatment:
www.columbia-lyme.org/patients/tbd_ehrli-anapla.html
Posted 2/22/2013 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the link, just read it and found interesting. The reason I am fairly convinced about the possibility of me having Ehrlichia is because of the low platelets. This is the only connection to Lymes Disease as far as I can tell. I have yet to see anyone with Lymes Disease (without coinfection) have a platelet issue. I have seen many with red and white blood count issues but no one yet with platelet issues. I have put a couple posts on this forum and another forum asking if anyone had platelet count issues, no one said they did. That is why I can't help but wonder if it is specific to Lymes with Ehrlichia. Just my uneducated opinion.
Posted 2/22/2013 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
I have Ehrlichiosis though more specific the Anaplasma strain. MD Labs is the lab that I originally tested through and it came up positive for that and Mycoplasma but interestingly enough not Lyme.

Just got my IGenex results and I'm positive for Lyme so I now have the trifecta. My platelets seem ok and I don't have severe fatigue though once in a while it will hit me especially upon awakening. It's tough to say what is causing what at this point. I have been treated with doxy for about 4 weeks but can't say anything has changed.

Posted 2/22/2013 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting. I think I will have my PCP see if she can order the testing through MD Labs. Don't know why she couldn't....I had Lyme, positively, 4 1/2 years beofre I eventually started treatment, I still have never tested positive for it, even though I have never tried since on abx. It might actually show positive at this point. I wonder how definitive the Ehrlichia testing is, any better than Lymes testing I wonder? Oh, when people talk about Doxy, is that Doxycycline or Doxicillian?
Posted 2/22/2013 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
Doxycycline
Posted 2/22/2013 5:56 PM (GMT 0)
I think I've read Ehrlichiosis is easier to test for than Lyme or the other co-infections though I came up negative with a local lab for Ehrlichia (not sure if Anaplasma was included in that test).

Try MD Labs. Maybe they are decent for that. It's interesting to note that for Lyme they only came up positive for band 41 on the IgG and no bands on IgM. With IGenex, band 41 IgG was quadruple positive so that makes sense but I was also positive on the IgM for bands 31, 34, 41 and 83-93 (2 of them double positive).

Goes to show you how much more sensitive the IGenex WB test is than other labs.

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