Disulfiram - Part 13

borrelioburgdorferii,

If you don't like the manic-depressive cyclothymia effect, you're not going to like disulfiram. Stevia didn't do anything for me, and I haven't tried oregano. Regarding cost, mepron is expensive. I definitely felt some herxing from mepron and cefdinir, but many do without the mepron. I suppose you could try amoxicillin instead of cefdinir, but I tried that and cefdinir seemed more effective to me. Minocycline I took for bartonella as it is one of the few drugs that can kill bartonella. I tried rifampin and it did nothing to bartonella. Some claim success against bart with bactrim, but I couldn't tolerate bactrim as it messed with my electrolytes and kidney function. Flagyl also made me sick. Doxycycline is another option and may be slightly less expensive than minocycline depending on where you buy it.

The green tea interaction is believed to be due to copper. This is also theoretically possible with valproate as it similarly forms a complex with copper. Blood tests showed that my copper was low, and I didn't have any specific symptoms of copper toxicity (eg hair loss). I did occasionally have Chinese food which may have contained green tea and didn't notice anything, but others have complained of a severe reaction, so be careful.

I wrote a comparison of the effects of valproate and disulfiram here: https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=4160757

The exact mechanism of action of disulfiram against borrelia burgdorferi remains unclear at this time.

“ I'm suffering from pretty rough neurological symptoms due to lyme and bart and I'm gonna get on the rifampin and mino combo, along with some cefuroxime.

I know that bart and lyme cause seizures. I also know that rifampin and mino do good for borrellia as well so there's no harm in pairing them up.“

Rifampin/mino/Ceftin are good for lyme and bart.

Rifabutin plus mino and Ceftin are my core meds ala Dr J
He mentioned the Rifabutin is also a cyst buster.

borrelioburgdorferii which racetams are you taking? Are they helpful?

Hi RainyCloud! I'm doing rather well today. I got results from yesterdays blood work and my liver enzymes are still nice and low, so I'm increasing my daily DSF dosage to 187.5 mg today. If I can manage to continue getting pretty good sleep, I think I'll be fine.

My WBC, RBC and hemoglobin are still low, which I expected. I started 2 powdered herbs today in an attempt to raise my WBC counts. The herbs are ligustrum lucidum and echinacea angustifolia.

How are you?

For low wbc count - Dr J has me take leucovorin.

I get a prescription for the leucovorin. They’re 5 mg tabs.

It’s a form of Folic/Folinic acid.

Even though my wbc count goes into range when I’m off abx, the NP said they want it higher.
I thought they were mistaken when I got the message to take the leucovorin.
A couple months later I finally
did take it and my wbc count rose to 4.5
Highest it’s been in a looonnnggg time.

Good to hear from you tickbite666. Hope it stays pretty smooth for you.

How often are labs required when taking Disulfiram? Monthly or bi-monthly? Thanks, just curious...

Hello. I have finished the third course of disulfiram. he was a little over a month, I managed to take 300 mg., with 375 mg. I caught an overdose. From the beginning of the first course where I was able to take calmly constantly 150-225 mg. before the third course with 300 mg. six months have passed. I don’t know what is the reason, but this is the most powerful medicine. Each milligram is given with difficulty. I keep fighting, all success.

Hi guys, sorry if there are any messages on this forum or by email that I haven't responded to. Truth is, I'm not doing so great at the moment.

Don't get me wrong the disulfiram is definitely killing the Lyme. But it is/has been interacting with my other medication. As far as I'm aware, it's interacting with my adderall, but who knows, maybe it's interacting with the other psych medication I'm on.

I've been lowering my dosage of adderall, but I think I caught it too late. At this point the disulfiram is so saturated in body, and the half life is so long, that I don't think I can take any adderall at all.

Which is what I did today and yesterday, but I'm noticing that I'm still spaced out. I'm spaced out a lot actually. It's overwhelming. Even writing this post is taking everything out of me.

I keep staring of into the distance, to a point where I just can't hide it from people anymore. I'm glad most people, generally speaking, mind their own business because if they were to pay attention to me they would notice how "drugged up" I am.

It's causing me great anxiety, part of me fears that I caused permanent brain damage.

On the bright side, I have noticed some improvement today, so hopefully it will continue to get better.
I also stopped taking disulfiram two days ago but I want to continue taking it when and if the interaction stops.
Sorry for the vent, I'm not having a good day few days.

RainyCloud said...
borrelioburgdorferii which racetams are you taking? Are they helpful?

RainyCloud, I'm currently taking Oxiracetam and Pramiracetam and I had a little bit of Sunifiram left over that has lasted forever (very tiny amount like 3mg works with that one). They do help, I think, to provide a few hours of clarity and motivation, as well as verbal fluency and task-mastering. I feel like I have had some breakthroughs with learning things and focusing all the way through for a good stretch of time, sometimes while also fasting (currently 31 hours into a water and coffee fast! ) until I get a few projects done, like today I worked on the car.

However I don't know how it (racetams) reacts with other medications, so I would caution there. I'm fairly sure it is neuro-protective and tolerated well, in my experience. I tend to cycle through whatever I happen to have on hand, almost a monotherapy of sorts, and with what I'm familiar with. If you are washing out of something else, maybe wait a few days to get back to base line and take one day of just coffee and racetams or something.

And btw...that Adderall and DSF mixing doesn't sound like it was fun. I hope you find some relief.

I'm very cautious about supplements nowadays, ever since I sent my ALT/AST liver enzymes through the roof trying to lose weight with Green Tea Extract powder. I'm probably lucky I didn't do more damage. I think the wrong supplement/medicine combo can be very hazardous if not taken in moderation, or with proper research and/or guidance from knowledgeable folks or MD's.... from what I read about copper channels, green tea powder and DSF effects! Muy peligroso. Don't ever mix those!

edit: toned down the language some, not trying to scare anyone, also I tested positive for Hep A, possibly from vaccination, high ALT/AST enzymes could have been that or bacterial load stress from various viruses, or overdoing it with exercise (was slightly athletic then)...but just a PSA/caveat about green tea, good or great in small amounts, but the powder extract must have been too concentrated, like drinking 10-20 cups of green tea or something...just my 2¢!...be safe everyone.

Post Edited (borrelioburgdorferii) : 2/25/2020 6:53:46 PM (GMT-7)

Hello 500mg per Day DSF users. How long did it take you to ramp up from 250 mg to 500 mg per day.

I started slow with DSF on the last week of January ramping up 62.5mg increments thru February.
I;ve been pretty good at 312.5mg/day for almost a week now and plan a small jump to 375 maybe tomorrow, then jump to 500 on the weekend to start a new month.

How well did it go for you making this last increase?. I would like to get to 500 mg/day for 30 days before deciding next steps or just hang it up.