HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Doxycycline versus amoxicillan for lyme tick bite treatment?

Support Forums
>
Lyme Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
12
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 9/26/2013 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

I got a tick bite a few days ago. I did not notice it at the time (I had been walking in a probable tick area and I do plenty of tick checks but I think I wasn't thorough a couple of times).

Yestserday I found a tick bite on my leg, with a small rash around it. I went right into a doctor and she said it looked like lyme and prescribed antibiotics (she also offered an herbal treatment alternative but I chose the antibiotics- actually I am taking the antibiotics plus two herbs to assist it). Anyway, she put me on doxycycline. I took one dose last night and one this morning on an empty stomach ( I have since learned I should take it on a full stomach). Shortly after this morning's dose I threw up like ten times and felt just awful!!

I called the doctor and actually went in and saw another doctor and they both said I can switch to amoxicilan if I want to, and that it has less side effects. (They also say if I choose to stay w- the doxy it will be less harsh if I take it w- food and also I will take probiotics).

I asked many times to the doctors if amoxicillin is AS effective to treat the lyme as the doxycycline. They said it is. SO I asked, if amoxy has less side effects why do you prescribe the doxy?

So now I am having to decide if I will continue with the doxy or switch to amoxi. I would rather take the amoxi for sure and not feel as sick for the next thirty days- but then again, not if it is less effective.

What do you all know about these two antibiotics and which one I should take? Is it just as effective to wipe out the lyme- I have no other symptoms other than the rash which is actually already gone and now just the small bite is there- if I take amoxi or is the doxy really better? It seems like doxycycline is the first line of treatment and amoxi is the second I want to make sure I do a strong treatment so I don't regret it- thanks for any ideas.

Posted 9/26/2013 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Katebirch....I'm new to all this as well and I'm positive more knowledgeable people on this site will respond to your post.
The best that I can add is to NOT judge your "wellness" by the amount of time it takes the "rash to disappear".
When I was bit in May, I was in the Dr's office within 3 days and received Doxy for 1 week when I showed him my rash. He stated that after 1 week of the medicine I would NOT get Lyme disease. I was very reassured and took my medicine and the "rash" disappeared in 1 weeks time. I thought I was cured and forgot about the whole incident.
I was VERY mistaken.
I started a downward spiral resulting with "start and stop" treatment of Doxy the entire summer, getting sicker and sicker.
I DO NOT intend or want to scare you and I really hope you never present with any other symptoms. But, educate yourself as much as possible in order to make good decisions based on known facts about Lyme Disease and its co-infections, as mainstream Doctors seem to either not know much about it, or are unfamiliar with updated treatment options....Good Luck and Welcome to the forum.
Posted 9/26/2013 11:05 PM (GMT 0)
thanks. yes, I have heard that a lot about Lyme. My doctor actually prescribed 30 days of doxyxycline. I am on day 2. I got a back up prescription of amoxicillin today- as this morning I got really sick from the doxy. But after thinking about it and researching and then discussing it with the pharmacist I think the doxy is stronger and more effective for treating lyme than the amoxi. But I don't know this- I am just concluding it from some investigation. I took my next dose of doxy tonight with a lot of food and so far don't feel the awful way I felt this morning. I am not sure how I can tolerate 30 days of this but I do know I want to ge rid of this lyme now, and that as early as I can do the antibiotics the better it will treat it.

I just would prefer to take the amoxicillin for a month as it seems to harm me with side effets less. My pharmacist and the interet say the doxy is better for this. The doctor I saw today said either anti is fine. I see one more doctor about it tomorrow so I will see what she says.

Anyone know if amoxicillin treats lyme as well as doxy? If I can switch it over I would prefer it...

Posted 9/26/2013 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
Katebirch, I forgot to add how I neglected to take probiotics while I was taking the doxy and wound up with a yeast infection on top of my other symptoms. (not a nice place to be,LOL). I know you stated you are taking the probiotics, just make sure you take them far away from the Doxy so they can survive.
Posted 9/27/2013 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
mike  when you were bit did you see or find the tick at all? Or did you just see a bite later and a rash? What did your bite look like? And what did the rash look like?
Posted 9/27/2013 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kate...Yes, I did find a tick on the inside of my left thigh. I pulled it off and threw it out. It started to swell for the next several days and I went to my Family Dr., getting worried. He put me on Doxy for 1 week, 100mg 2x a day and told me I would not get Lyme. It swelled to the size of a silver dollar with a slight bulls eye characteristic and after about 1 week later, around the time I finished the ABX, it started to shrink. Now what remains is a small 1/8 inch dot.
I have been sick since. Some days better than others. Today is the pits..Hope I answered your question and I never mind talking about my condition. As a matter of fact, I think talking about "it" helps me..You can also email me if you like...Good Luck

Note- that tick was on me less than 12 hours, maybe even less. Guaranteed.

Post Edited (mikeb2308) : 9/27/2013 1:32:22 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/27/2013 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
right now I am trying to figure out what to do. I have another thread on here about that. My MD doctor today says she doesn't even think I got a lyme tick bite-- I saw her two days after the day I saw the rash and all that remains is a small bite wtih a dark puncture center.

I do not want to get lyme.

But I have a couple of different people saying different things.

The natropath says take 400 mg doxy for 30 days.

The MD soc says that is way too much.

I never saw a tick, and only had the rash one day. Not sure what to do.

I have been taking the doxy for 2 and a 1/2 days now while I figure out what I wantto do.

Posted 9/28/2013 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
Let me urge you to do more rather than less. The idea that you can wipe this thing out for good by taking the naturopaths recommended dose is not far fetched. There are dozens of us on here who only WISH they were offered such a dose of doxy. The Lyme, left unchecked, can do far more damage to you than the abx. Yes, a GOOD probiotic is a necessity. Taking the doxy with food is important, as is taking it away from dairy and citrus.

Lyme can rob you of your life as you know it. I'm a formerly very active, intelligent woman who is currently unable to work, in pain every day, mush for brains, and STILL struggling to find someone who will prescribe the abx your naturopath wants you to take. I would GLADLY deal with 39 days of gut issues in lieu of all this.

Mind you, I'm only one person, and this is only my opinion. I'm doing herbal protocol as well, but I do believe the abx to be an important piece of the big picture.
Posted 9/28/2013 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
I started on doxy and switched to Amox. I saw immediate improvement from the dox but could not stay on it bc it made me sick. I felt fewer side effects with amox and it improved overall pain faster. Reasonably you will have to be on some variation of either and/or both of these during the course of your treatment. I ask for amox because of the syphilis like symptoms I had but find what works best for you or what you can tolerate.
Posted 9/28/2013 12:45 AM (GMT 0)
If I could go back in time to May, when I first got bit, and, have the knowledge then that I have now, I would give "just about anything" to have taken the proper abx for the appropriate amount of time. My Dr tried his best but he just did not know enough about Lyme and its co-infections. Tons of tests all summer long and all I can come up with is Band 41. I learned I needed to be off ABX for at least 6 weeks in order to get a "better" test result. Now, who knows..
Woulda, coulda, shoulda...LOL
Posted 9/28/2013 1:28 AM (GMT 0)
so pretty much everyone thinks I should do the 400 mgs for 30 days of doxy? So far I am doing it but I am only on the third day of it. I am really going to consider strongly what you are all saying.
Posted 9/28/2013 6:33 AM (GMT 0)
I would do the doxycycline to be sure. I promise you'd rather be sick for 30 days than this scary stuff.
Posted 9/28/2013 10:36 AM (GMT 0)
In answering the question "Is Amoxicillin as good as Doxycycline for killing Lyme," the answer is no, it is not. In treating Borrelia spirochetes circulating in the blood, Amoxicillin would have about the same kill rate as Doxycycline. But Borrelia don't circulate in the bloodstream very long, they prefer to be intracellular. Doxycyline works inside the cell where Amoxicillin does not. That is a huge difference. Neither is good at killing the various shapes of Borrelia like "L" Forms or cystic forms.
Posted 9/28/2013 11:21 AM (GMT 0)
From ILADS:

First-line drug therapies for Lyme disease may include (in
alphabetical order) : oral amoxicillin, azithromycin
[39–41]cefuroxime, [42], clarithromycin, [43]
, doxycycline and tetracy-cline. These antibiotics have
similar favorable results in comparative trials of early Lyme disease.
In one study, azithromycin performed slightly less well
when compared to amoxicillin and doxycycline.
However, the efficacy of azithromycin was underestimated
because the antibiotic was only given for 10 days.[39]
.
One study has suggested that or al doxycycline (100 mg twice
daily for 30 days) is as effective as intravenous ceftriaxone (2 g
daily for 30 days) in early disseminated Lyme disease
[40]. Two European studies have demonstrated similar efficacy of oral
doxycycline and parenteral penicillin and ceftriaxone in early
Lyme disease [44,45]

There are no studies comparing or al with intravenous antibiotics
for persistent, recurrent and refractory Lyme disease.

Increasingly, clinicians recommend that certain drugs used for
Lyme disease be given at higher daily doses: for example,
3000–6000 mg of amoxicillin, 300–400 mg doxycycline and
500–600 mg of azithromycin. Some clinicians prescribe antibi-
otics using blood levels to guide higher doses. Close monitoring
of complete blood counts and chemistries are also required with
this approach.

With higher doses, there may be an increase in adverse events
in general and gastrointestinal problems in particular. Acido-
philus has reportedly reduced the incidence of C. difficile
colitis and non- C. difficile antibiotic-related diarrhea.
Serious adverse effects of antibiotics, however, were less com-
mon than previous estimates. In a recent clinical trial of chronic
Lyme disease, the overall serious adverse event rate was 3% after
three months of antibiotics, including 1 month of intravenous
antibiotics [23]

Clinicians who have experience with higher-
dose antibiotic therapy must balance the benefit of higher drug
levels achieved with this therapy against the modest risk of
gastrointestinal and other side effects.

Research is needed to determine the added benefits of higher
doses of antibiotics in chronic Lyme disease.
Posted 9/28/2013 1:27 PM (GMT 0)
Ehrlichia and Rickettia aren't killed by amoxicillin but they are by doxycycline. Just something to think about.
Posted 9/28/2013 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
sosupposedly my NP told me the 30 days of doxy plus the serapeptase and the grapefruit seed extract will be good. Do you all agree with that protocol?
Posted 9/28/2013 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
What dosage is the doxy at ?
Posted 9/28/2013 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
400 mg a day for thirty days!!! That is the tricky part for me. In my research it seems that people think this is actually the proper dosage to fully treat it---- but it seems so high and scary for me especially considering I am not sure if I even got the lyme tick or not- I never saw a tick just some sort of bite-- but I am hearing that it is worth it to risk the high doseage of doxy vs risking lyme
Posted 9/28/2013 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
It is high but this is a very persistent infection. There is a chance if you are at a high dosage you can discourage further problems. If you can tolerate the doxy at that dosage try to do it. Good luck.
Posted 9/28/2013 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
but what if I cannot tolerate it? I know that the second day Iwas on it I took it on an empty stomach and threw up ten times in a row. gross. I have taken it a few more days but thirty whole days seems like a lot and potentially harmful to my body, even with good probiotics. Hence, my dilemma.  Ultimately I am trying to figure out if my story seems like lyme or not---

I mean, someone on here  said the rash I saw on the skin around the bite was the skin rash of the lyme. But it was only a rash for maybe 12 or 18 hours and then it went away. There is some kind of bite there but I never found a tick. As I said, I do tick checks every single day in the spring/summer/fall.  I saw it first on Wednesday and now it is 4 days later and the bite is still there but small like a small pink pimple with a dot in the middle.

I had been in likely tick areas walking on Sunday and Monday.

Isn't there a possibility that it could not be lyme? How can I tell?

Posted 9/28/2013 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
And I see the ilads protocol recommends 100 mgs twice a day of doxy, not the 200 mg's twice a day my doctor prescribed.

It just feels like a ton of doxy to put into me when I don't even know for sure what I got-.

Posted 9/28/2013 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
My advice to you is try it and if you need to adjust the dosage you can bring it down. Many of us are struggling with the chronic effects of the disease which could have been avoided if we had the medicine when we were infected. Now we are in for, months possibly years of antibiotics. I have tried to get off the antibiotics only to have all the full blown symptoms come roaring back. So there is no choice. Dont chance it and if you can avoid this long term it is best. It really is a horrible disease that effects all aspects of your body and health. Hope this helps.
Posted 9/28/2013 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
My doctor also will allow you to start off at lower doses and work up to the higher one. That way you can see what you will tolerate. Maybe you could run that by the Dr.
Posted 9/29/2013 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
Never take doxy on an empty stomach. Other than that, are you having any issues with it?

Are you taking a probiotic? Make sure it's a good one, and take it before bed, on an empty stomach.
Posted 9/29/2013 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
Katebirch, can you post a link to that ILADS recommendation? All the recommendations that I have seen from them has been much higher.

You should NEVER take high dose abx on an empty stomach. Some can get away with only a small snack, but the majority must take in in the middle of a regular sized meal.

Again - taking only 200 mgs of Doxy a day will only keep the bacteria from replicating - leaving you primed for a relapse when the abx are stopped. You need to take the 400 mgs a day in order to kill the bacteria.

Lyme rashes can come and go through out the disease process. Some only see one for a few hours, others get many for a few hours, some last for days. I think I've even read that some have lasted weeks - and I'm not reading patient stories, these are studies that I'm reading for this information.

Maybe you should watch the movie "Under Our Skin"? The people are not actors and it's about Lyme disease. You can watch it for free on Netflix and Hulu I believe.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
12