Temporary break from IV Rocephin and antibiotics

If I were you I'd check with your Dr. I know that ABX combo you are on was the hardest for me. Many of us have taken short breaks when needed. Hope you feel better soon.

P -

Yikes, I'm glad you mentioned that. I have been taking it every since I started. I wrote down what the doctor told me, and he gave me specific break periods for the oral antibiotics (e.g., 5 days on, 2 days off), but he just said daily when he mentioned the IV rocephin. I also got approved by insurance for a 1 month supply for a total of 28 (not 20) IV medicine balls, and the infusion company delivers 7 per week.

But I just went back and looked at the original handwritten RX I got from the doctor, and it says 2gms x 5days 2 weeks - though the rest of it is confusing. It sounds like I'm supposed to increase it to twice a day ("bid") for 5 days/week, for 2 weeks. It also says add Flaggyl bid 4weeks - but not sure when (though I haven't received that medication from the infusion company yet).

Here is a image of the prescription text: http://imgur.com/CIA4LGu

I'll definitely call the doctor's office tomorrow for clarification (everything is closed in NY today b/c of snow).

A few thoughts—but I am not an MD. Not even close. I faint at the sight of blood. ;)

But people usually start out at 1g per day… 5 days per week. And over a period of time (a month or so) increase it to 2g per day, then 3g… Some people go up to 4. Your MDs plan is a little aggressive so that's likely why you're struggling with it. Especially in combination with bacterium, zithromax and mepron. SHEESH… that is too much for your body IMO. And you need to be detoxing like a madwoman (sorry? why do I think you are female??) ;)

Is your MD a lyme specialist?

I've been on 1g per day for 3 months now (although I've had some complications and suspension of treatment). LLMD will increase to 1.5g hopefully next month. My highest dose will be 2g. As I said, others take as much as 4g. Only when I'm at the 2g will she then add in something for one of my other co-infections and we'll start slowly with that one, too. Your MD threw the entire book at you all at once.

You might be taking higher doses right out of the gate because MD may be concerned that the insurance company won't cover more than a month… But your MD should be attempting to prescribe more than a month as well… If not, I would be a little leery about her experience treating lyme and co-infections. Did she share what her treatment plan is beyond these first 4 wks?

Can you share what else you are doing for your protocol? Are you aware of any viral or fungal infections you might also be struggling with? Are you doing anything to supper tour immune system? How are you detoxing?

Sorry for all the nosy questions! Just trying to get a full picture.

-p

I'm not sure why I thought you were female, either! Blame it on the lymebrain…

Well, your tx protocol is really aggressive. Might work for some but since you're struggling, you might need to talk w/ LLMD about adjusting it. You can do damage by treating past your capacity to benefit from it. A lot of people have trouble getting more than one month covered by your insurance company… but you need to try and he needs to help you. Ask him if he would process another Rx for a 2nd month and test out what happens. Ask him if he has other patients who have had more than one month approved and glean some ideas for how you both can convince the insurance company that 1 month of tx is not going to be successful. There is info on the "New to Lyme?" thread about this. Or, you can post a request for input in a new thread.

I asked about your viral overload because it can really tax your immune system. Without support from your immune system, no treatment, no matter how brilliant and how well you tolerate it is really going to work unless your immune system can participate. And I've also read quite often that if you have one virus you likely have more. Now, most of us are infected w/ EBV when they are kids but most of us also manage the viral load and don't have any sx. I was not one of those people. Since contracting chicken pox as a young girl, I struggled with mono and several other viruses. My LLMD tested me for 6 viruses before doing anything else and I had high titers for 4 of them.

So, if you think you might still be struggling with a viral load (extreme exhaustion is one obvious sign) then one month on Valtrax ain't gonna cut it… I was on antivirals for a year and decided that was long enough and now I'm taking IMNV2 (a natural antiviral). There are others like olive leaf extract.

If you are on abx, you need to also incorporate an anti fungal protocol. Since you just started out you can probably get by with natural antifungals:
virgin coconut oil
apple cider vinegar
grapefruit seed extract
caprylic acid
oregano oil
olive leaf extract
bitters tinctures
raw garlic (some use garlic tablets)
xylitol (in moderation—can cause diarrhea)
Vitamin C

But you also need to incorporate probiotics to replace the good bacteria—the abx are killing everything—the good and bad bacteria. And you desperately need the good bacteria to help digest food and keep the gut biome in balance. AND to prevent a yeast/fungal explosion in your gut, which is very common when people are on abx. And you are on a TON. The best kinds of probiotics are the ones in the refrigerated section of natural food stores—with at least 30 strains and you want to be on 100 billion per day to start off with.

If you develop a yeast/fungal overgrowth (which can happen very quickly) this can lead to leaky gut—the yeast form roots in your mucosal lining of the gut, creating microscopic holes that fecal matter, bacteria, yeast and other toxins can seep through—and into your bloodstream. This can lead to a systemic yeast/fungal overgrowth (which is very difficult to manage and very damaging). So, preventative measures are critical.

With lyme and co-infections (and better health, in general) it is critical to take care of your immune system, 70% of which lives in your gut. So an anti-sugar, anti-processed, anti-GMO, and whole, natural foods is a must. This will help in a hundred ways—reducing inflammation, this is actually anti fungal (no sugar/no simple carbs—like the white stuff—potatoes/rice/flour) diet. Yeast/fungal overgrowth in the gut will destroy your immune system.

Your detox protocol sounds pretty good. Yes—the binder (charcoal) is tough to fit in but VERY important to keep the gut clear and carry the dead debris and toxins from killing the lyme (and yeast maybe) out of your system before it does damage and creates herxing so bad that you can't keep up with your treatment (which is happening). There are other things you can incorporate like sweating—can you exercise? Don't overdo it but anything that helps you sweat is very helpful—saunas are good too.

However, you can go crazy on the detoxing as well, which your body might get overwhelmed by. So I would start out slowly—do the soaks every other night, use less epsom salts in the beginning and work up to a full dose, dry brushing is always good. It's tough to find the right balance of treatment and detox… but it is a very important part of your healing so do your best.

So—in review:
1. probiotics
2. antifungals
3. diet
4. detox

I bet others will have input as well—the group here does some really great detoxing!

-p