Thoughts on pulsing change?

Hey y'all Happy New Year! Wanted to query the group on their thoughts. I've been pulsing Rifabutin/Minocycline/Bactrim 4 consecutive days on/3 days off for the past 2.5 months or so. What I've noticed in the past few weeks is when I hit day 3 of abx regimen my symptoms worsen where I'm not doing well and have to plow through the next few days until I get to the days off. I'm assuming I'm hitting a level of bug die off that my system can't tolerate as much hence the worsening of symptoms. I've already tried lots of detoxing which hasn't done much.

I'm thinking to lessen these last 2 days maybe mix up the pulsing schedule? I can get in my 4 days a week if I just do abx regimen almost every other day like S,Tu,Th,Sa or maybe Su,Mo then Th,Fr. Wondering if people have seen this type of pulsing or something wrong with this?

My one concern is not getting long enough sufficient levels of abx in my system to continue getting the bug load down. Thanks for any thoughts.

Yes, Rikky - every other day pulsing works.

That IS how Dr. J does it (I've seen several of his protocols that are M/W/F - 2 or 3 abx and then another one taken only Th/F
Sat/Sun off.

hey limedriven i've tried binders never did much for me + they are hard to take given the spacing with all my abx/supplements/herbs. still may be worth giving it a go again.

thanks snarf i think i'm going to switch to every other day for now and see how it goes (and i don't need another LLMD appt for lots of $$$ to tell me the same thing ;)

Blueberry muffin - Azithro is the longest half life of all lyme meds (that I am aware of)

If you take it everyday, it will be with you for a long time...

I think it can still be called pulsing because you are not taking it everyday... my LLND told me to pulse it three days a week when I was on it...

Rifabutin has a long half-life too - something like 40 hours.

rifabutin has a half life of 45 hours. i don't think there's a strict definition of pulsing meaning all abx have to be completely out of your system. since it takes about 6 half lives for a drug to be completely out of your body many abx's wouldn't be out unless you took at least a 3 day break.

from my experiences i see a big drop off in effectiveness of abx when it hits its first half life (for those that are around 12 hours or less half life). that's just me not sure other experiences.

I think the term pulsing just means how you're taking it...as in not every day...am I right?

So, even though azithro has a long half-life...if you only take it M/W/F you are pulsing it?
It may not have the same effects as pulsing ones with shorter half-lives though.

From Iliads therapy: "PULSE THERAPY consists of administering antibiotics (usually parenteral ones) two to four days in a row per
week. This allows for several advantages:
* Dosages are doubled (ie: cefotaxime, 12 g daily), increasing efficacy
* More toxic medications can be used with increased safety (ie: vancomycin)
* May be effective when conventional, daily regimens have failed.
* IV access may be easier or more tolerable
* More agreeable lifestyle for the patient
* Often less costly than daily regimens
Note that this type of treatment is expected to continue for a minimum of ten weeks, and often must continue
beyond twenty weeks. The efficacy of this regimen is based on the fact that it takes 48 to 72 hours of
continuous bactericidal antibiotic levels to kill the spirochete, yet it will take longer than the four to five days
between pulses for the spirochetes to recover. As with all Lyme treatments, specific dosing and scheduling
must be tailored to the individual patient's clinical picture based upon the treating physician's best clinical
judgment."

www.ilads.org/lyme/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf

I was informed by my LLMD that if I take Azythro every other day it is not pulsing, because of its half-life, and that pulsing should induce bacteria from hiding, when there is no drug in the blood, and then hit them. I am sorry if this is not correct definition of pulsing, I was told that by my LLMD.