Malarone vs Mepron

I haven't taken either...but from what I've read - both on this forum and other 'places' - is that the Mepron is more effective.

How long can you stay on Malarone?
I'm currently taking Zhang's herbal supplements and working with a Lyme doctor in Denver who has me on Malarone (500mg/day) I'm on my 2nd month, azithromycin, nystatin, grapefruit seed extract, and VSL#3 (probiotic which another dr of mine thinks is junk because of the corn starch in it). I originally asked to hold off on the antibiotics but then had to take a steroid for an ear issue. Denver Lyme doctor insisted I go on the antibiotics if I had to take the steroid. I'm curious how long you can stay on Malarone. My stomach doesn't feel great on it.
Thanks.

Thank you for the welcome. Yes, I take it all with food. I actually stopped all of Zhang's supplements because I couldn't handle taking everything. What's worried me is that for some reason I doubled my dosage of malarone and instead of taking 1000mg a day, I took 2000mg a day for over two weeks. So I'm a bit worried I've done something horrific to my liver.

I see the doctor in 10 days and I'm going to ask him about Mepron, just out of curiosity.

I also take a ton of other supplements to help with a genetic mutation I have that interferes with methylation.

Honestly, since I've been working with this Lyme doctor in Denver I've felt amazingly better. He gave me elavil to help me sleep, as I had only been sleeping 3-4.5 hours a night for years. He said the elavil might help with my body pain. The first night I took the elavil, I woke up in the morning, for the first time in years, with 99% of my body pain gone. It's continued to be that way since I started with him in February. Also, instead of 3-10 migraines a month, I've only had 2 since February.

Mepron
More expensive than Malarone.
Is liquid atovaquone.
Absorbed much better than Malarone.

Malarone
Cheaper than Mepron, but still crazy expensive.
Is a tablet, atovaquone + proguanil.
Not absorbed as well as Mepron.

Edit: realized the original question is old, and already answered!

Eating it with "food" isn't enough, it needs to be eaten with fat. Aim for a minimum of 30g, but the more the better. In the one study, the medication was taken 45min after food ingestion to "allow time for bile release and the formation of micelles before drug reached the small bowel".

As for your dosage, it's fairly low.

It use to be that Mepron was dosed at 750mg twice a day, but in the last few years it seems LLMDs are realizing that that's not enough. A lot of doctors are now doubling that to 1500mg twice a day, so 3000mg a day (some even go beyond).

You're taking 1/3 of that dosage, and of the solid form which is absorbed much less. When you took too much by mistake, you took 2/3 of that dosage. I don't know how much proguanil you can take before it becomes toxic.

Glad to hear you've had some improvement though, so something's working!

Post Edited (Mustard Seed) : 4/25/2017 1:04:13 PM (GMT-6)