Minocycline Dizzy?

I was prescribed minocycline - 100mg x2/day.

I am on my third pull and the dizziness is EXTREME.

I know this is a side effect of this medicine, but does it ever go away? If it doesn't there is no way I can stay on this. I am thinking of not taking tonight's dose to see if I feel any better. How long does it take for the mino to leave the body?

This also could be a herx...

Or it might be a side effect from the transderm scopolamine patch I was wearing. That patch is awful btw. Dizziness/lightheadedness is my main Lyme symptom and the patch actually gave me a lot of relief for the first three days. Then I noticed something was really wrong with my vision. My near vision became a complete blur, and what made that even more startling was I had my annual eye exam a week prior and j was 20/20.

Did a Google search and it looks like blurry vision is really common with the patch. Now that the patch is off and removed for 24 hours my vision is 90% better, but this dizziness just sucks. I also see a lot of people complaining about dizziness from the patch as well as withdraw symptoms.

Man I need some relief. Like ai said, I think I'm going to skip tonight's dose of mino.

I'm feeling a little better now since last dose which was 9 hours ago. Still dizzy though, and just emotionally drained beyond belief. Today was awful.

I am going to take tonight and tomorrow off and see if my body evens itself out. Then maybe try it again on Thursday.

It's so hard for us Lymies. Is this dizziness just a side effect of the med, or is it a herx?

It was so bad today I'm not sure I could make it a couple weeks to wait and see.

Is mino that good though for neuro Lyme that it's worth it to try and stick it out?

Lymepilot said...
It was so bad today I'm not sure I could make it a couple weeks to wait and see.

Is mino that good though for neuro Lyme that it's worth it to try and stick it out?

It's said that minocycline crosses the blood/brain barrier very well. Minocycline does drive cyst creation though, so it would be useful to be on something like tinidazole or metronidazole while taking it.

If it's making life unbearably dizzy, then obviously you can't continue. With me, it was just slightly dizzy, so I stuck it out for a few weeks and it went away. Obviously not the same with everyone though.

I don't think you'd lose much ground..if any...but maybe just take one week off.


...and I think you could also try one dose a day for a week or two.
Minocycline has a half-life of 11-16 hours...so after the third dose...you could have had quite a bit in your system - enough to cause the symptoms.

Lymepilot said...
Thanks everyone.

I'm prolly reaching here but I wonder if having taken the pill and then gone back to a laying down position had anything to do with it? I feel like I have heard people say don't lay down after taking doxy? But is that more for GI issues?

Yup, you're right, it's for GI issues. I took doxy, laid down, and was puking 20 minutes later haha :p

Mino and doxy are in the same class, but they are different.

Mino penetrates the blood/brain barrier better - so often people want to take it for the neurolyme.
But that is also why there can be more balance issues and dizziness.

I also found doxycycline harder on the digestive system.

When i did the mino and first started it, I also got the dizziness. But the body actually gets used to that. A few weeks later I didn't get the dizziness symptom anymore.

Oh also when I went back on minocycline a second time around I also got the dizziness symptom again for a few weeks.

I also found doxy to be more acidic and upset my stomach.

Mino I was able to take on an empty stomach.

The key difference is their pharmacokinetics in that mino is much more lipid soluble, it dissolves faster in the stomach and goes into the brain better as well as into tissues better, as well as into the bugs better.

Mino also darkens bones, teeth, and the thyroid. But I think it mostly goes away as it did in my case.

VeryLuckyGirl - just wanted to let you know that Mino can cause a discoloration of skin and/or teeth.

It hasn't affected my skin, but it has discolored my front teeth. The bottom 1/3 of them have a bluish/grey tinge to them.
It didn't get better after my dental cleaning, either.

the dizziness is a side effect of minocycline. It should go away after a week or so on it.



of course it can also be from a herx.

Well, it's time to put on my big boy pants and get this done with.

Dizziness is my main symptom any ways. Life is pretty darn tough being dizzy all the time but I'm not going to get any better just sitting here. So ill be more dizzy and off balance. If it gives me a chance at getting back to normal then it's worth the discomfort.

Tonight I will restart Minocycline, and then in a couple days will add in the Ceftin. Wish me luck folks!

Eyes dizzyness..have you trsted for toxoplasmosis? ...toughing out ir rough..im at same crossroads ..