Anyone with experience taking factive

I'm seriously contemplating asking my LLD if he will prescribe me factive. I realize the risks of taking fluroquinolones includes possible nerve damage and tendon rupture but I also feel like these risks could be reduced if I take it with curcumin, alpha lipoid acid, and magnesium.
Apparently it can also be pulsed to further reduce the risk, so 5 days on and 5 days off.

I just really want to knock out the remaining infection for good, and from what I'm reading it is absolutely excellent against mycoplasma, Bartonella, and Borrelia. Those are the 3 infections I have, and to have a medication that hits all 3 good AND gets into all my tissues. It seems too good to be true.

I read lots of factive success stories, I know yogi on here finished her Lyme treatment off with factive, and now she's done.

Anybody have any experience with Factive? Or any thoughts even if you haven't taken it?
(gemifloxacin, the 4th generation fluroquinolone)

LymePickle, I just saw another post from you in Yogi's thread .. You said:

For me I was doing so well for the past few weeks and was virtually symptom free ...

Apologies in advance, but if you are / were that close, you are just asking for trouble with Factive ... just keep doing what got you there !!! ... maybe mix it up a little with some different herbs or try adding Low Dose Naltrexone or AHCC for your immune system ...

You're nuts if you try Factive when you are so close ..... and I say that with only the best intentions

I would skip it. You have do so well so fast, don't get discouraged. I would give anything to be at almost 100 percent and I would not take levaquin. Read the horror stories of floxing, which is irreversible.

You could also need some time to heal your nerves. Like my ear is really bad. I can't explain it, felt like someone shot a gun next to it or something. My ear drum would rattle and I got loud echo too. During treatment it turned to nasty tinnitus, which was a constant loud ring. Nothing was taking the ring away. But now it's not constant.

I could have mistaken the ring for a new symptom, but in a weird way I think my body might be trying to heal. It takes years for nerves to heal.

I think inositol heals nerves. Maybe do some high potency garlic.

Hi Georgia. I think quinolones do hit Lyme. I have heard stories of people completely knocking it out even after it disseminated and here they are like 10 years later with no relapses. All they did was take cipro. Also in Dr.Hs book it says it hits lyme as well. It's also the only bactericidal drug against mycoplasma. It also is the only way to treat Bart in like 1-3 months. People who do pulses of it are like wow symptom free for the 5 days of the pulse. - including lyme symptoms

Yes I have read the fluroquinolone horror stories, but I have also been able to tolerate anything in my life time, any drug or food. I believe the Fluoroqunionlone horror stories happened to people who didn't take the magnesium, curcumin, and alpha lipoid acid. I also believe in the body's ability to heal with omega 3 fats and nerve healthy supplements.

I'm frustrated because I literally plateaued at 98%. I was at 99% just 2-3 weeks ago. My symptom is tingles in my brain which is more or less continuos and really concerns me. I just want a drug to clear up what is left. Also I do still have very minor Bartonella symptoms that come and go, some burning like inflammation in the joints. I know lyme does this too but it is a different kind of feeling in the joints.

Tano- good suggestion on the LDN! I'm going to bring that up today too with my Lyme Doctor.

Yes... See a drug like Factive is excellent at hitting intracellular forms. And yes, it gets distributed very well throughout the body not only because it is lipophilic, but it ALSO bas a fluorine attached to it which literally gives it an extra kick for tissue penetration ability as well.

LP, that is great that you will begin LDN

but, but, but !!!

So many accounts I have read about tell of people who needed up to 3-6 months to really see the benefits ...

esp if you have a "herx-like" reaction, you gotta stick w/ it !!!

JUST SAY NO TO FACTIVE

;)

Two days after taking a fluoroquinolone (Levaquin)I was sent me into a neurological mess.....over 90 symptoms.  My LLMD will not use these drugs as he does understand fluoroquinolone toxicity.  Please read more info on these drugs.

Patty

Georgia - thanks for that article! Looks like factive really is the best of all the options to choose for knocking out Borrelia! The lowest MBC for sure.

I took Levaquin for a month but I preloaded prior to taking it. I had no side effects but saw no benefits either.

Pickle- my LLmD had me on Fictive continuously for 2 months-- no pulsing this one.

He did not have me load up with Mag.. Or anything else. He just instructed me to be mindful about my body...And I stayed away from Mag supplements due to hearing it feeds the bacteria. I understand how important Magnesium is for so many bodily functions-- but during treatment stayed away from supplementation.

What are the other side effects of that class of drugs?

For me during this treatment ignorance was bliss.... Not knowing much about the typical side effects of Abx gave me less things to freak put about.

Have you found hour HH tea? I'm sorry I haven't looked up where I sourced that.

I would definitely read that BLACK box warning before taking it, I personally would not take it. There are so many other things out there to take.

If you decide to be careful and I pray you have no bad effects from it.

LymePickle,

No, I did not do any magnesium pre-loading. I took 2 doses of Levaquin for bronchitis and within 48 hours I experienced neurological symptoms (extreme anxiety, many panic attacks, no sleep for 8 days, hallucinations, sob, increased mucous production, cog fog, memory loss, etc.) and I immediately stopped this antibiotic. I do believe that after 1 year of experiencing the side effects of Levaquin that my immune system took such a bad hit which brought about dormant Lyme's disease and its co-inections. I did read an article about this occurence and I am unable to find it after much research.

By the way, some people do not experience side effects of fluoroquinolones until months later. One may be able to take a round of this med but if perscribed again symptoms can occur. I would NEVER take this med again even if it meant I would die. Why take a chance?????

Patty

Yogi, Must be good to clear that infection out for good! Congrats on doing that... Lyme is not an easy disease to get over as all of us that have it know! I have been pretty good but I plateaued at 98-99% in the past 4 weeks and it feels like I just can't get past the last residual symptoms! I too have been consistent and haven't missed a dose of abx. Maybe I need to do some colonics and cleanse my body! Get the toxins out.

By the time you did the Factive, were you still on the omnicef, minocycline, and tinidazole? Or did you just take Factive by itself?

If I take it I am going to combine it with minocycline and plaquenil... But who knows maybe I need to just take it by itself?

If I don't do the factive yet, I may ask my Doctor if he could prescribe me the cephalosporin you are on? But he thinks minocycline and a cephalosporin don't mix because the bacteria need to grow in order for a cell wall drug to work. The minocycline stops their growth. But it sounds like it worked well for you.

As for cost of factive... Well I think it's expensive because it is really a new antibiotic, highly effective, but also has a risk associated with it's use. I don't think it is too expensive here in Canada, but it might be still more expensive than most of the other abx.