BACTRIM experiences (bartonella/Lyme)

My doc wants to start me on bactrim for bartonella before we switch to something stronger like rifampin. I read a bunch of reviews on bactrim the other day and they were 90% terrible, people said they felt poisoned, ended up in the ER etc.

Bactrim is banned in the UK for what I suppose is strong negative side effects.

Is bactrim good to use against bartonella and what other alternatives do I have that don’t start with rifampin/rifabutin?

I’m interested in hearing any and all experiences with Bactrim or bartonella. I’m very worried about trying this antibiotic. Thank you fellow Lyme warriors!

I've used Bactrim (as Septra DS) and did fine with it. Used it in conjunction with other ABX and don't really know how effective it was for me. Might use it again some day.

Bactrim is linked to StevenJohnson Syndrome which comes with many symptoms.

I was on it for a bit - but when I got a few lesions on my body and I couldn’t calm my fears - I told the NP at the J clinic that I wanted something else instead.

Walkthelyme, there are alternatives, Doxycycline or minocycline works for Bartonella, clinical improvement has also been reported following the use of penicillin, ceftriaxone and azithromycin.(Carefull if heart issues). Tinidazol has been reported by some LLMD to work for bartonella too in additions to the already powerful effect on borrelia and biofilms.

I believe this is a link to pages and pages of testimonies - Bactrim damage

https://briandeer.com/bactrim-septra.htm

I did not do well on bactrim. I just didn't feel well. It didn't affect my folate too much, but it messed with my kidney function and electrolytes. Sodium/potassium ratio got screwed up, and blood tests showed elevated creatinine.

Bactrim did cause a typical bartonella herx, so I'd say it's effective against bart.

I found that rifampin didn't seem to do much to bartonella, so I suspect bart can be resistant to it. I stopped the rifampin because it was majorly messing with my adrenals.

Ultimately I treated bartonella with minocycline to kill the active form, plus some other abx to drive it out of its dormant state. The problem I had with minocycline was it's immunosuppressive effects, causing me to get viral infections repeatedly. Other than that, I could tolerate it okay.

Quin said...
I did not do well on bactrim. I just didn't feel well. It didn't affect my folate too much, but it messed with my kidney function and electrolytes. Sodium/potassium ratio got screwed up, and blood tests showed elevated creatinine.

Bactrim did cause a typical bartonella herx, so I'd say it's effective against bart.

I found that rifampin didn't seem to do much to bartonella, so I suspect bart can be resistant to it. I stopped the rifampin because it was majorly messing with my adrenals.

Ultimately I treated bartonella with minocycline to kill the active form, plus some other abx to drive it out of its dormant state. The problem I had with minocycline was it's immunosuppressive effects, causing me to get viral infections repeatedly. Other than that, I could tolerate it okay.

Hi thanks Quin! Can you describe the bartonella herx so I know what to look for?

My mother had a horrible reaction to Bactrim that didn’t start until her last dose. She took for 7 days for a UTI. Wasn’t SJS but frighteningly close. She told me her mother had a reaction to it years before. I will never take it. I’m sure there’s a genetic susceptibility related to sulfa, but I don’t know exactly what or how to know if you’re susceptible unless something happens to you or a blood relative.

bactrim is a sulfa plus trimethoprim . i did fine first day then had mild sjs , sulfa induced vasculitis and subsequent nerve damage. it may just kill too much bart too quick ..idk but i will never be same person...

My bart herx was a high fever, pain ramped up, head hurt - scalp was sensitive to touch.
My arms were jerking.
Almost went to the ER. Couldn’t sleep a wink.
Husband took the next day off work to stay with me -
My fever started to drop the next afternoon.

By the end of the next day, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
But (going by my bad memory) I think it took several days before I was back to normal....or should I say back to pre-herx.

Yes, valproate is effective at busting up biofilm. I found that it tends to make bartonella come out of hiding. A combination of valproate and minocycline completely eliminated my bart symptoms. Smell is gone, bilirubin is normal, and no new rashes. However, I cannot be sure that the bartonella is completely gone, as my past experience has been that it eventually comes back.

Also valproate hangs around for a long time and slowly kills borrelia. I haven't taken any for over a week and I am still herxing from it. Did you actually eliminate your borrelia infection with this, leaving only bartonella and babesia?