Possible Effective Oral Regimen for Chronic Lyme- New Study

Hi all,

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I was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme three months ago by my LLND. As a nursing student, this disease has significantly impaired my quality of life, both socially and academically. Rather than let this disease win, I have been conducting research, with a professor of microbiology, at my university and then discussing our findings with my LLND. Recently, we came across a groundbreaking new study out of Johns Hopkins, Dr. Jie Feng stated in a 2016 study,

"We found two triple drug combinations artemisinin/cefoperazone/doxycycline and sulfachlorpyridazine/daptomycin/doxycycline, which had the highest activity against round bodies and stationary phase B. burgdorferi persisters. Further in vivo animal and human studies are needed to evaluate the significance of these findings for improved treatment of Lyme disease."

The drug combination of artemisinin/cefoperazone/doxycycline was more effective than over 100 other drugs commonly used to treat chronic Lyme (including Rocephin). This combination therapy was the second most effective in the study for the stationary phase B. burgdorferi (Cyst Form of Lyme). Feng stated Cefperazone (a drug no longer available in the US) could be substituted with Cefuroxime.
I know this study was conducted in Vitro, however, it is not unreasonable to expect a similar result in Vivo. It is clear our current treatment approach is severely flawed, and this study offers great hope into more effective and unorthodox treatment options for those with chronic Lyme. Who knew Artemisinin was so effective against Borreliosis?

My 30 day regimen, that my LLND prescribed, is as follows:
- Doxycycline 200mg twice a day
- Artemisinin 200mg three times a day (Monday-Friday)
- Ceftin 500mg twice a day

The high dose Doxycycline is bactericidal and possesses great CNS and deep tissue penetration, the Artemisinin breaks up the "cyst" for of Borreliosis and also has great CNS penetration, and the Ceftin inhibits new Borreliosis growth by disrupting bacterial cell wall synthesis. Despite different mechanisms, this regimen appears to work synergistically.

I am three days in with this treatment, and it is the worst herx of my life- more severe than both the Doxycycline and Minocycline herxes. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Links:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4876775/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4748043/

Post Edited (saintbaja) : 12/21/2016 11:40:06 AM (GMT-7)

Girlie,

Yes, I have read, on various forums, of similar treatments, however, none have been exactly the same combination, at the same high bactericidal dose, or the three drug combo was only discussed, and not administered. I have also read a few references to this 2016 study, but the number of references to the study are not in proportion to how significant this research by Dr. Feng is.

I was previously on Doxy and Mino/Bactrim for a month, respectively, However, the dose was only bacteriostatic. The Bactrim was to treat a Bartonella co-infection. My LLND does not believe I have Babesia, even if I do, albeit not the best treatment, the Artemisinin will help.

Excellant point regarding the Artemisinin, I do expect to pulse dose it. I will be taking Art during the week, but not on the weekend. With only a month of this specific regimen, we do not expect to see a tolerance or disruption in GI absorption.

The hope is with an aggressive one month of treatment and herbal maintenance therapy the Borreliosis will be at a low enough level my immune system will be able to begin controlling it. I will, of course, still monitor symptoms and initiate therapy as needed, and at regular intervals, in the future.

Thank you for replying, this forum has helped me so much, and I thought this would be a small way to repay all of you.

Post Edited (saintbaja) : 12/21/2016 1:38:47 PM (GMT-7)

Good stuff.

In my non-medical opinion, the artemisinin dose should be doubled, or swapped out for artesunate.

Thank you Mustard Seed..

I agree, the Art could be a bit higher. I plan to eventually increase my dose to the maximum 1000 mg daily. Maybe even higher in the future, but I want to check my kidney and liver functioning before doing so.

The irony of Auwaeter being on that study gets me. The same guy who claims chronic lyme advocates are part of a dangerous anti-science movement analogous to the HIV conspiracists and anti-vaxxers and that they threaten the "culture" of science lol. Looking forward to seeing how you do on this combo.

"People get so frustrated with conventional approaches that they eventually create a lot of scapegoats based on unfounded speculation"

Curious what you mean by this...? I mean there is a lot of speculation, but also a lot of reason to focus beyond lyme

I have heard similar things about a similar combination :

Doxy / Cefoparazone or Carbencillin / Daptomycin

Here is the article it came from:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0117207

And the Facebook post from Dr. Horowitz:

Dr Zhang from John Hopkins University just published an important article in PLoS One on innovative drug combinations for the treatment of Lyme disease.
"Of studied drugs, daptomycin was the common element in the most active regimens when combined with doxycycline plus either beta-lactams (cefoperazone or carbenicillin) or an energy inhibitor (clofazimine). Daptomycin plus doxycycline and cefoperazone eradicated the most resistant microcolony form of B. burgdorferi persisters and did not yield viable spirochetes upon subculturing, suggesting durable killing that was not achieved by any other two or three drug combinations. These findings may have implications for improved treatment of Lyme disease, if persistent organisms or detritus are responsible for symptoms that do not resolve with conventional therapy. Further studies are needed to validate whether such combination antimicrobial approaches are useful in animal models and human infection". Research monies and grants are now needed ASAP to test out these drug combinations in clinical practice in order to relieve the suffering of those with Lyme-MSIDS.

Psilociraptor said...
The irony of Auwaeter being on that study gets me. The same guy who claims chronic lyme advocates are part of a dangerous anti-science movement analogous to the HIV conspiracists and anti-vaxxers and that they threaten the "culture" of science lol. Looking forward to seeing how you do on this combo.

"People get so frustrated with conventional approaches that they eventually create a lot of scapegoats based on unfounded speculation"

Curious what you mean by this...? I mean there is a lot of speculation, but also a lot of reason to focus beyond lyme

Ha! I just looked into it and that is funny. Maybe he "switched sides", although I doubt it. Feng and Auweater are both from Johns Hopkins, maybe they decided to team-up for some objective research.

Psilociraptor, there are MANY peer reviewed studies on Lyme Disease with data. There is also a stark difference in regards to the different types of evidence supporting different Lyme treatments. There is subjective evidence, which appears to be about half, and then there is objective evidence, which appears to be also be about half. Subjective studies are not provable (albeit, the findings have helped some people), whereas, objective studies are provable (have helped more people). I would also disagree on a "The underlying philosophy, at least of the more respectable practitioners, varies in that standardization is a pipedream and with that comes the need to treat the individual above the disease" I believe there is a single drug regimen that can cure Lyme in over 90% of the cases, hence the reason for the research and advocation for more research being done by many "respectable practitioners". I know there is a cure out there because, as observed in the lab, and in many individuals, Lyme disease does "die" eventually. vitro vs vivo has the potential to also be remarkably similar depending on the type of agar used, dilution, and incubation time. Sure, pleomorphism does occur in viro, however, the cure for many diseases have been found in vitro. And so far, some of the best research has been in vitro, and due to the current state of Lyme in the US, it is quite frankly irresponsible and a disservice to the millions of those affected to dismiss and devalue new studies on Lyme, while praising the failed natural treatment of Lyme with 1,000 year old medicine (if it worked, we would not push the CDC for more research/guidelines). As you hinted at, the treatment should always be holistic, but it certainly is not solely sleeping 15 hours a night, eating cat's claw, and drinking ginkgo tea. We need a long term treatment, like TB, and a more intense regimen.

Let's have some optimism, this is not a death sentence, and we are all in this together.

Post Edited (saintbaja) : 12/22/2016 9:30:54 AM (GMT-7)

Both of you have valid points on the subject... but one thing to remember - we're all on the same team.

I believe we can all get well...with what we have now. We just need to be more persistent than the persisters.
Giving up is not an option.
Unfortunately it's trial and error and until more research is done...we won't be moving forward.

saintbaja said...
I am sincerely sorry to hear you have been suffering with Lyme since 1999, I wish you the best. However, I must say, if a child grows up in a jail, he does not realize it is jail. If you have lived with Lyme for 18 years, perhaps your metaphorical jail is the cure for Borreliosis. One day that child will be freed from jail, and so will the millions of people infected with Lyme. In the meantime, I urge everyone reading this to look beyond 1000 year old unproven and ineffective treatments, and look towards a cure. Because it is out there somewhere.

Traveler did heal from her childhood infection(s) - but was bitten again...and is now working on healing from that more recent tick-bite.

(You can see in her signature line)

I am not advocating only ancient treatments and dismissing current studies. I think you misunderstood me. I'm a proponent of integrative health care. It doesn't seem that our opinions differ much there. But as you said " a single drug regimen that cures Lyme in over 90% of cases". That's still up to 10% who have to rely on their intuition because standardization, while helpful for establishing a norm, leads to the inevitable marginalization of others and dismissal of their disease state lending to the continued need for alternative therapies that lie outside the orthodox. My referral to ancient practice was the need to treat the individual over the disease and sometimes work outside the bounds of available science and within the realm of phenomenology when necessary. Not to totally dump modern science for sacred chants. Of course that doesn't mean not to try new abx combos. But the deeper you research this the harder it is to draw a fine line between opportunism and virulence and many here have followed in the footsteps of in vitro abx studies only to come full circle and understand that the "terrain" is perpetuating their infection. They might as well be a culture dish full of BSK with ample antibiotic-protective niches vs a human with competent immune surveillance. Most of us here have done extensive research, and the realms of science I am personally very familiar with. We have our reasons for doing what we do. That doesn't mean we don't keep trying. That doesn't mean we don't give credence to these studies. I never said this disease was unbeatable. Quite the opposite. But we also respect that people are going to continue to follow their own path because standardized methods have not yet solved this mess nor is there any ecologically sensible reason to think they will. We are ecosystems after all and there are plenty of peer reviewed studies to lend to the notion that disease in general goes far beyond the need for targeted therapy. Look at cancer for example. How many years of understanding the fundamental importance of the tumor microenvironment and here we are still leaning solely on abiotic approaches which come with countless collateral damage and even secondary cancers. Am I saying don't use chemo? No. But the whole thing reeks of parasitism and the induction of chronic wounding which can all be modulated through tonic herbs, circadian regulation, diet, judicious use of antimicrobials, exercise, and so many other more creative methods one may apply to restore the human microorganism homeodynamics. It makes monotherapy with chemo look primitive and dangerous when promoted aggressively. But I would never ever say "don't do chemo" as a general rule and am in fact with my mom at Mayo right now supporting her because the chemo is 87% effective in her condition. It's her safest bet. But again what about that 13%? Are they out of hope because of lack of rigorous science to characterize their own personal, unstandardizeable ecology? There's a reason that 13 percent exists... countless reasons in fact... Countless reasons that make them all unique and victims of the odds for conditions which display variable degrees of heterogeneity. Likewise with this treatment if it has the capacity to be 90% I would certainly not discourage anyone from being a part of that statistic and heading back to the good life. But us in the Lyme world have had countless let downs and choose to keep the process moving rather than hoping for a silver bullet. Of course I solute you for your pioneering and have all the best wishes for your findings. But right off the bat this therapy isn't even an option for me because I can't get a week on any sort of antimicrobial without intolerable flank pain and what feels like sudden onset diabetes. There's more to it. Something that needs to be cleaned up? Or protected? Our journeys are full of hurdles like this

Cured is a silly term and traveler is right not to use it. Latency is the goal for many of us. Many aspects of these diseases are subject to the continuing degeneration of the ecological matrix and there is no reason to believe that total eradication is either feasible or desireable. These guys are built to persist and we are built to resist. I'm willing to bet equilibrium is the key and it's time to move beyond the idea of simple cures. That's just my opinion though

Post Edited (Psilociraptor) : 12/22/2016 12:15:02 PM (GMT-7)

saintbaja said...
I did not mean to step on anyone's toes. We can sit here and argue semantics, but that will be fruitless in the end, we all have Lyme, and we all have our own treatment and dilemmas. I wish you all the best, especially your mom, Prislociraptor.

I was only pointing out some information that you didn't see/understand ...that she had indeed healed the first time...but was reinfected.
No argument.