Question/Suggestion for my PCP...

I am going in to see my PCP this week. I am trying to find an LLMD but until then what should I tell my PCP is a "typical" ABX treatment for Lyme?

Would I say "200 MG Doxy for 4 weeks + something else"? I have read that you need dual therapies. But I am not sure what that really means.

I just want to tell him that the Lyme community says that the 100 MG of Doxy he put me on was not nearly enough.

Is there any links to some documentation that I could refer him too?

So thankful for this board!

Do you have a link to this?

Hey there. Finding a LLMD or an infectious disease doctor is your best bet. But until then, trying to educate your PCP is the best you can do. I hope your PCP is open minded and willing to listen.

When I was diagnosed about a year ago, after being sick for three years an no diagnosis, my doctor provided me with this paper: "Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease" Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines for Lyme and Other Tic Borne Illness. Sixteenth Edition, Copyright October 2008. It is written by Joseph J. Burrascano Jr, MD. At the time he wrote it he was a Board Member on ILADS. (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society). He's a well known LLMD and has helped many people. I'm hoping you can find this paper if you google it. (oh good, while I was typing this someone found the paper and posted a link for you!)

I know it's a bit dated, but it was very helpful in figuring out which drugs to prescribe for what, how long, and what to combine them with.

See what you have to remember is that there lyme borreliosis and the many co-infectors that come with it are tricky and they don't want to die. They will protect themselves. You need medication that will kill it in the cell, cell wall and in cyst form. Yeah - if the little bugger can sense it is in danger, it will put a cyst around itself to protect itself. Doxy isn't able to blast through that. There is a great table in Dr. Richard Horowitz book about how to combine meds to attack the bacteria/parasite/virus in all it's forms. My husband actually copied it and shared it with our doctor and he used it. My doctors training on how to treat Lyme and co-infectors consisted of a large green hanging file folder full of papers and articles he'd collected over the years and books from other doctors. There is no training in medical school for them on how to treat chronic Lyme.

I'm not sure what all your co-infectors are, if you know, but I had Lyme + 12 others. One of them was babesia and I now show the Lyme gone (yay!) and 9 others as well, but still have babesia and tularemia.

Here's the abx regimen I went through over the summer:
- Started with Cipro (500mg, 2x daily, 2 weeks)
- Doxycycline (100mg, 2x daily, 2 months)
- Azithromycin (2 rounds of this one. 500mg 1x daily for 3 months then 250mg, 3 days a week for 4 months)
- Cefuroxime (generic Ceftin) (500mg, 2x daily for 4 months)
- Metronidazole (250mg, 1x daily, 4 months) Be careful with this one, any alcohol at all will make you throw up. Even alcohol in mouthwash and tinctures.
- Atovaquone (generic Mepron) (750mg/5ml Suspension, 2 tsp daily) They call this one 'liquid gold' for two reasons. One, because it looks like the yellow paint we used in art class in school. Two, because it cost a small fortune.
- Nystatin (500,000 unit tablets) This is an anti-fungal. I only took this because all the abx killed my stomach and I had candida growth.

If all you know you have is lyme borreliosis then I'd start with the Doxycycline for at least 2 months. Be sure to read up on the herxheimer reaction (you'll have one if the doxy is working) and detoxification. I've found that I have to do my own research and be as educated as my doctor on treatment options.

Other non medical treatment options:
- Infared Sauna (little lyme buggers hate heat above 102 degrees)
- Rife machine
- UV LRX treatment (running your blood through a UV light and putting it back inside you)
- Ozone Treatment

Good luck at your appointment! Self care is very important now, be sure you make that a priority as your body fights this battle. Take care.

Link to book: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/why-cant-i-get-better-richard-horowitz/1114918320?ean=9781250019400

Welcome to our community, Wendy!
I'm sorry you have lyme, but glad you arrived here.

Wow - you had 12 other infections besides Lyme?

May I ask how you 'show' the lyme is gone?

We encourage all new members to read through the thread at the top of the page titled: "New to Lyme?..Start Here!" It's packed full of useful information. Even though you're not 'new' to lyme, you may find some information that you haven't seen before.