Update: Best Abx for Bartonella - Stopped Clarithromycin - Back to Herbals

Hey wonderful group,

I don’t seem to be handling the clarithromycin well like I did years ago. I really wonder if COVID made me more sensitive and particularly my heart more sensitive to antibiotics.

My chest symptoms with the Bart like my lymph pain, intercostal rib pain, and such mostly feel better but I’ve only had a couple clarithromycin tablets and the nausea, diarrhea, and racing heart are not fun and hitting hard. She wants me taking two tablets a day but so far I can barely handle one a day.

What is a gentler antibiotic that works well for Bartonella alongside methylene blue? I was thinking doxycycline or azithromycin or even rifampin but not sure.

Thanks for your help!

UPDATE:

I called my docs office this week and she just wants me off antibiotics all together. Both my herbalogist and energy coach both think I am having a negative reaction to the Clarithromycin. My chest issues have started back up but I am close to my cycle. No racing heart and diarrhea anymore. I am back on the Japanese Knotweed, Cryptolepsis, Black Walnut & Wormwood Tincture, and Poke Root for the Lymph issues.

Post Edited (Savedbygrace12) : 1/4/2024 2:21:31 PM (GMT-8)

Blazer mentions some
Good options. I didn’t do well with Clarithromycin either- strangely it seemed my infection was resistant to it. I do better with Azithromycin + Rifabutin than Clarithro+Rifabutin, which is surprising give Dr M’s reported success treating Bartonella w clarithromycin. Outside of antibiotics , I find that Houttuynia, Knotweed, and Cryptolepsis were also needed to keep the worst of my Bartonella symptoms at bay. I’d also look into antipsychotics for neuro bart.

Could I just do azithromycin and methylene blue alone? I know I’ve done azithromycin before and been ok too. Rifampin be ok also.

Since my last Bart/clarithro experience (2018) i had some major health concerns about 2 years show up that make me think I need to later to consider the risks of this antibiotic. I had a right vertebral artery dissection in 2020 at C1 that could’ve paralyzed me with clots and had to do aspirin and plavix for 6 months. What abx can i safely take for Bart with this history?

On the herbal side, I mean I have been doing Japanese knotweed and cryptolepsis and a black walnut GI tincture for my gut issues. With starting the clarithromycin I’ve taken a break from the herbals as I only had just burning in my chest with the herbals but nothing like the clarithromycin symptoms.

Thanks for your help!!

ElDuderino: I found bartonella to be resistant to clarithromycin and azithromycin. This could be overcome somewhat by combining it with atovaquone. Mostly I treated bartonella with minocycline, which it was not resistant to.

Regarding antipsychotics, valproate seems to be mildly toxic to bartonella, however I found that this alone was not enough to kill bart. The problem with this is that it can disturb the dormant bartonella and cause it to become active, which will make symptoms worse without eliminating the infection. If you're going to use this drug, make sure to combine it with something that will kill the bartonella.

Savedbygrace12:

Regarding blood clots, actually the biggest risk for me seemed to be from hypercalcemia which wrecked my blood sugar and caused muscle damage/atrophy. This led to a clot in my leg, which fortunately did not dislodge and cause an embolism. Keeping the blood sugar and vitamin D under control and detoxing better seemed to mostly resolve this, and I haven't had any more big clots. The herxing is still releasing a lot of calcium and making my urine cloudy, so I try not to do too much at once.

Borrelia and bartonella do cause micro-clots, especially when herxing. This is annoying and feels like poor circulation as if I slept on my arm, but these tiny clots aren't a serious risk because they don't dislodge and block major blood vessels.

UPDATE:

I called my docs office this week and she just wants me off antibiotics all together. Both my herbalogist and energy coach both think I am having a negative reaction to the Clarithromycin. My chest issues have started back up but I am close to my cycle. No racing heart and diarrhea anymore. I am back on the Japanese Knotweed, Cryptolepsis, Black Walnut & Wormwood Tincture, and Poke Root for the Lymph issues.

Maybe I will go back to Sida Acuta and Houttuynia like I did years ago.

I am considering calling my docs office tomorrow and asking about minocycline especially since it can kill off rickettsia besides Bart.