Mino/rifampin combo update

OK, so, as some of you may know, I have recently started a rifampicin/minocycline combo, to address possible bart. I began around 3 weeks ago, and on about the third day, I had a terrible headache, and felt tired & groggy, and for a week of so after that I felt I had increased tingling in my forearms and shins, even extending up over my thighs, and after posting on here concluded that this was possibly a herx. I was on 150mg of rifampicin twice a day, and due to ramp up to 300mg twice a day after the first week . . . however, I delayed this as I didn't want to increase while I was feeling worse. Things settled down, and so two days ago, I started taking 300mg in the morning and 150mg in the evening. So far, things seem stable and I'm not experiencing increased dizziness and tingling. Not sure if this is a good thing or bad :-/. If things stay the same then I guess it will be OK to increase to the full dose? Is it normal to have no herxing this time?

And when can I expect some improvement, do you think?? :-(. I really want this to start working! :-(

I'm also doing the rifampin therapy.  I'm practically 100% normal for most of my days.  Other times I'm like around 95% so it's working for me.  Rifampin has worked so well for me and I'm tolerating it very easily.  No more yeast, and no GI problems at all.  Mind you I am taking 150 billion cfu probiotics daily. 

But I'm doing minocycline + azithromycin + rifampin so I'm taking all 3.  But I'm taking them all at once daily on an empty stomach.  I take 600 mg rifampin, 500 mg azithromycin, and 100 mg minocycline all on an empty stomach around 6 o'clock daily and wait for 1 hour before I eat.

I find rifampin is one antibiotic that needs to be taken on a completely empty stomach, and you literally have to not eat for at minimum an hour after taking it.  If you take it with food in your stomach, or eat after taking the rifampin, the food will literally absorb the rifampin and pull it right through your intestinal tract and you just poop it out.  Rifampin has a high affinity for protein binding in particular.  I also find it works far more effectively when taken on an empty stomach.  (in terms of reducing symptoms).  You will know you absorbed it well if your pee turns completely dark orange and this is what you want to happen for rifampin therapy.  This doesn't happen if I have any food in my stomach at all. 

I'm very happy with this combo... I found taking minocycline + rifampin alone doesn't cut it for me and my bartonella, I had a 4 day delay in getting my new azithromycin so all I had on those days was minocycline and rifampin... Symptoms slowly crept back, in particular inflammation.  Then when I got my azithromycin i immediately took them and the inflammation got reduced almost to the point of having no symptoms at all.   I'm going to keep taking this for a minimum of 6 months.  I have a HUGE reduction in symptoms that I'm very happy with. 

Wow lymepickle and utahgal, that's two very different experiences with rifampicin! :-/. Just goes to show how what works for one person doesn't work for another . . . which is what makes this disease so infuriating and so difficult to treat!! :-(. Great news that you're making some big improvements on your combo though lymepickle. I'm not sure my doc will go for adding another abx into the mix :-/. So I think I'm pretty much limited to this at the moment. I hope I get some results though. Thanks for the advice about taking on an empty stomach - I've currently been taking it half an hour before food - as instructed on my prescription - but will try to extend that to an hour. Thanks for the advice

Really interested to hear your experiences with it too revive - thanks. Glad to hear that you feel it's killed some stuff off for you. I'm really hoping it will do the same for me :-/