Doc has me on Alinia 500mg, Cefpodoxime 100mg, and Ketek 400mg. The strange thing is he has me take everything for 2 days and off 12 days and then repeat for probably 6 months. Anyone with any experience doing this would be good to hear from. Thanks.
I haven't tried the other two, but I was on Ketek for a while combined with 2 other meds (can't recall which ones, it's been a while). On the third week of the cycle I would add Flagyl.
This wasn't the easiest medication to tolerate however it was undeniably effective. It definitely made a difference and I believe it "reached" bacteria that some of the other meds did not. I did have to stop taking it though as I just couldn't tolerate it over the long term. Other people don't always have this problem, so see how it works for you. Do be cautious about toxicity because there have been a number of deaths related to Ketek use, and there has been talk from the FDA of pulling it off the market. Your doctor should be carefully monitoring you liver enzymes while you are in treatment. Good luck, hope this combo works for you.
I was on Ketek for a short time. My LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) and I were trying different medicines to see which one would work. So, sry, but I don't have much experience.
I haven't heard of the other two.
When medicine is taken in a pattern (like, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off for example) its called pulsing.
Some antibiotics kill bacteria only during cell reproduction. Pulsing medicine is a way to try to catch the little buggers during that time.
I onced pulsed a medicine called Tindamax. I went two weeks on, two weeks off. I noticed no difference at all.
I wish you the best of luck with your protocol and go kick bacteria butt.
Hi Terry...don't mean to say your doc isn't right...but that sounds very odd....2 days on then 12 days off.....that really isn't giving the antibiotics time to do their job...maybe it should be 12 days on 2 days off how long have you been doing it this way???
haven't heard of the first two med's either...let everyone know how you do on this treatment....Hope you heal quickly!!!!
well, this is going to be a very negative post, which is not like me so I apologize to you, terry. However, I would not go two days on and twelve days off mostly because of the way lyme reproduces. You really are giving it an opportunity by going off like that. I have not gone off antibiotics for two and a half years straight and I'm still working at killing this thing. I can't imagine going after it that way.
As for ketek, it is one of the few antibiotics that I flat out refuse to ever take again in my life, even just for a day, even just in small doses. I had a very serious problem with that stuff, it messed up my liver, made me hallucinate and made me suicidal. Never again. I have taken lots of different antibiotics, and that one was the all time worst.
Okay, so I warned you that it was going to be a negative one. I'm sorry. I do wish you good health and hope that the things you try work for you. Good luck, please keep us up to date on how you're doing.
Last edited by sleeperwoken; 08-29-2006 at 05:38 PM.
Terry
I think that going more than 4 days allows the bacteria to bounce back. I was never allowed more than 2 days off in the early months of treatment. I agree that 2 on and 12 off sounds wrong. You need to gain on the bacteria not allow it to gain on you.
Hi Terry...don't mean to say your doc isn't right...but that sounds very odd....2 days on then 12 days off.....that really isn't giving the antibiotics time to do their job...maybe it should be 12 days on 2 days off
how long have you been doing it this way??? 
