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Posted 10/6/2011 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
I thought certain oral ABX at target doses could break the blood/brain barrier--- like Doxy for example.

But in my current research travels, I'm reading that only IV ABX can do this.  Hmmmmm.  

??????

 

Posted 10/6/2011 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
This is what I understood:

Antibiotics from the tetracycline family, the penicillin family, and cephalasporin family , Macrolides such as Rulid (roxythromycin), Zithromax (azithromycin), and Biaxin (clarithromycin) and parasiticidals like, Flagyl (metronidazole), Fasigyn (tinidazole) and Plaquenil (chloroquine) are the drugs which cross blood brain barrier.

They do not have to be delivered by IV.
Posted 10/6/2011 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you !!!
Posted 10/7/2011 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
and I believe that to be true because my brain has totally cleared and I have never been on IV!
Posted 10/7/2011 2:03 AM (GMT 0)
i came across a study that showed no benefit between oral and IV. i don't really wanna go find it again but it's out there.
Posted 10/7/2011 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
Thats a frustrating news mysterylyme
Posted 10/7/2011 11:42 AM (GMT 0)
You bring up a good point, springsjean:  that your brain has totally cleared and you have never been on IV. 

 

My brain is NEARLY cleared too (only occasional moments of feeling a little 'out there') and of course I haven't been on IV either. 

My remaining symptoms are predominantly muscular-- myofacial.

Perhaps IV can be faster-- meant more for those with acute Lyme Meningitis or  psychiatric issues or crippling physical presentations or all of these together ????..... 

.....although MysteryLyme offers a study that might refute this.

I'll do some more research.  I'm personally curious. 

   

 

 

 

Posted 10/7/2011 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
Please be sure to let us know what you find out there, Cat!!!
Posted 10/7/2011 7:26 PM (GMT 0)
There's a supplement called Acetyl-L Carnitine, available OTC in the US, only by prescription in Canada, and it's job is to help get through the barrier as well.
Posted 10/7/2011 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
A note to add to Cycle's post - from: www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/carnitine-l-000291.htm

Don't take Acetyl-L Carnitine if you have Hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) without strict dr supervision!


Hyperthyroidism

Some research suggests that L-carnitine may help prevent or reduce symptoms of an overactive thyroid, such as insomnia, nervousness, heart palpitations, and tremors. In fact, in one study, a small group of people with hyperthyroidism saw these symptoms improve, and their body temperature become normal, when taking carnitine. But a larger, better-designed clinical trial is needed to see if carnitine really works. In addition, researchers think carnitine may work by blocking the action of thyroid hormone, which could be dangerous for people with low thyroid levels. Don' t take carnitine for hyperthyroidism without your doctor' s supervision.


Hmmm, my hyper link didn't take!
Posted 10/7/2011 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
Lots of issues here!

1. I skim-read about your rash in another thread. It sounds way out of line for a herx, so I second (or third) the others who said get that looked at ASAP. I don't know that I would write off the protocol without an LLMD agreeing with the idea.

2. Brain fog/brain symptoms are different for everyone, but I can virtually give you the day when extreme depression and irritability hit me after starting a new med, and again, within a day or two, when it started to subside. As for memory problems, concentration problems, and the like, they are slower moving to both ramp up and go away, in my experience. So I can't say there has ever been an aha! moment with this. Basically one day you realize you are doing better than a couple of weeks ago. A couple of abx are supposed to target the brain sxs, but I let my LLND decide what to do once I tell her my sxs.

3. I have taken St. John's wort for depression off-and-on (mostly on) for 6 years. It is an OTC herb, and has been scientifically proven to act just as the SSRIs do (Prozac and friends), though at a lower dose. It used to keep me up at night so I took it morning and lunch. Depending on your insurance plan, it can be cheaper, too. Target sells 120 pills (60-120 days worth) for less that $20, I think.
Posted 10/8/2011 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Miss C.

I wish I had some advice for your rash! Sounds just awful. It reminds me of the time I must have walked through a nest of chiggers with my dogs....we were all covered (within hours) with little itchy red bumps that weeped and drove us crazy. Took forever to go away.

Hope you find relief and an explanation soon, for the cause.

As for the brain fog....

I'm sure everyone's experience and 'feelings' with this are diverse. For me it just felt like my head wasn't attached to my body-- floating somewhere above my shoulders.

Pretty much the overall sensation was similar to a really bad hangover without the nausea-- or-- that low blood sugar feeling from not eating. My brain felt 'hot' as well.....like there was a heater inside my skull.

I was out of it....stared into space a lot and didn't feel like concentrating on anything. Short term memory went out the window as well.....and this was coupled with moments where total recall was perfect. Dumb one moment and smart the next! LOL

One morning I just woke up and it was gone. Very noticible recovery in spite of the fact that the 'fog' did fade little by little, week by week. But when it's totally gone you know it. The world simply looks normal again.

If memory serves, my 'hot head fog' lasted about 2 months.

During the l mini-relapses I've had lately, the fog has returned, but VERY mildly-- nowhere near what it was in the past!

I think the 'ear ringing' I can't seem to shake, makes it worse. If I didn't hear this annoying whine I probably wouldn't even notice the mild fog at all.
Posted 10/8/2011 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
ok Cat, nice details. Now I am wondering when the brain clears, does your original personality shine thru again? Did you feel like your old self again?

I seriously wonder if I have changed forever. My personality is different now as I do not find laughing to come quite as easily at anything. I do not seem to care about anything anymore. Most everything seems so unimportant these days, that is everything except bug-related issues!

Ok so that sounds funny to me LOL but I am serious. How pathetic is that? I search and search for something that will make me feel hopeful that my brain will eventually heal and rid of these bugs and the MS symptoms I am exhibiting.

I want to be able to care about the little things again but I find myself thinking of nothing but what the lyme spirochetes might be doing in my brain...like making more lesions and maybe making me end up with permanent brain damage. Right now it seems like anything less than that is insignificant and this is uppermost on my mind. It doesnt help to be spacey and detached as well.

I cant wait til it clears and hopefully leaving no damage behind.

It is almost midnight and I must be having a rough night here because I am feeling so very negative right now. I hope to wake up one day and have my head all clear too! Then I will only have to worry about when it will be back next.
Posted 10/8/2011 12:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi scorp,

Yes, I felt like my old self again !!!    yeah  

Nothing was lost but the time it took for the fog to lift.  

However.....there is trepidation and wondering: when and IF it will return full force enough to put me back on the couch in a stupor.  So far so good.    

An ABX switch usually brings about a bit of this fog in the form of a herx.....but it is short lived.   

My random muscle pain and ear ringing are what get me down the most.  I know the damage can't be permanent, because on my 100% days I feel perfect!  smilewinkgrin ......like I never had Lyme.

Therefore, I can't imagine pain free 'perfection' being possible at ALL if tendons, cartilage, muscle fiber and inner ear parts have been eaten away/destroyed by the spiros.  

Whatever they ARE doing ????  remains a mystery to me.   Maybe it's their motility, reproduction, surface protein changes and/or my own antibodies and the ABX in combo that creates the pain.  ??????

 

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