Ticker And Ncgirl88...

raleigh86 · 05-16-2005, 04:38 PM

Ticker, I brought my thyroid lab results to Lyme PA last week. She feels, with those lab results, my symptoms are not from thyroid. She was good about explaining the results, as my endo did not.

NCGirl, how are you doing? Where do you stand with your meds? Have you been to Huntersville recently? I had appt. with PA last Friday. I am still having most of the symptoms I had when starting treatment last Oct. We went over the symptoms I had listed at that time, and there are some small ones that are better. She said, if I feel kind of stagnate, I might want to consider IV. We really haven't discussed this and I don't particularly want IV treatment. Does anyone feel like it helped? I dread a pick, the hours a day it can take for IV and the months of treatment. I can't even think about it during the summer.

I will be seeing Susan on my next visit, as my PA will be on maternity leave. I really like her, but it will be interesting getting someone else's point of view.

I started Zithromax last month and will be on it for the next 2 months. I am taking it with Septra at this time, switching to Minocyn in a few weeks. This is my Flagyl week. I started with 1/2 this morning. I was given to new meds. Acetazolamide is a diuretic. She is hoping this will help with the pressure I feel in my head. I've had this feeling for over a year. I have to take Klor-con, potassium, too.

I take acidophilus mix and haven't had any stomach ailments with all the months of meds. However, after taking these 2 pills this morning, I had gurgly stomach and diarrhea. I think I will take these after lunch the next time and take an extra acidophilus. I am kind of frightened adding 2 more things to the mix. It's hard knowing what symptoms are from what.

I am also on Neurontin for elbow and shoulder pain. I have had this pain since Levaquin and have been off from it for 2 months. I have been on Neurontin 4 weeks with no relief. I was told I could add another 1 or 2 at bedtime. They do make me sleep better, but the more I take, the foggier I feel and now adding more meds to the mix...I just don't know if I am taking too much and if and what I should stop. My knees have been bothersome with Zith. I read on boards that dandelion might help. I think I have some, but never heard of it helping with joints. I also read in same post about Wobenzyme, never heard of it. Guess it won't hurt to check into it.

Anybody have suggestions?

Raleigh86

sleeperwoken · 05-16-2005, 06:26 PM

Hi Raleigh, I am taking zith also but I take it with plaquenil and that helps the joint pain a lot. It also increases the effectiveness of the zithromax because it creates a more favorable pH.

Do you have any trouble getting the zithromax covered by insurance? I have heard some insurance companies will only give a few days worth at a time.

raleigh86 · 05-16-2005, 08:44 PM

This is my first prescription of zith, but I had no problems with insurance. I am waiting for them to balk at some point. I don't know what coverage most companies give with IV's.

I just read briefly on plaquenil. I've never heard of it. It said it was used to treat malaria. Interesting. My PA wants me on something for neurological pain, that's why she chose neurontin. Everything I take makes me fuzzy and I don't need more on top of things. She said I could increase dose of neurotin, but it's not helping at all, so I don't think higher dose will help. The thing is, it's made me sleep better. I didn't take any last night and couldn't fall asleep.

Thanks for the info!

Raleigh86

sleeperwoken · 05-17-2005, 08:12 AM

I think there are a few others here who are taking the zithro/plaquenil combination with some success. It is talked about in the book "Everything you need to know about lyme disease and other tick-borne disorders." Not in detail, but it says, "Azithromycin, the oral antibiotic, marketed as zithromax, has the highest tissue penetration of the macrolide group and lasts for several days in tissue....Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), and anti-inflammatory drug, is often prescribed in conjunction with zithromax to treat disease. Dr. Sam Donta, Infectious Diseases, Boston University, uses plaquenil to change the intracellular pH to allow the macrolide to be even more effective. This combination therapy is referred to as Z.A.P (zithromax and plaquenil).

It's amazing to me how many different combinations of antibiotics there are available and how something that works for one of us doesn't necessarily work at all for another. No wonder some are sick for years and years, it's just trial and error. I guess that's because of the many strains of lyme and the possible co-infections. It makes everything such a guessing game.

I hope you get some relief soon.

laurie864bla · 05-17-2005, 08:49 AM

The many strains, coinfections AND like a great doc told me once and I will never forget it...

"The disease is the disease. The immune system is like a fingerprint. It is how YOUR body, and all it's history of disease, chemical exposier, heredity, etc., reacts to fight that disease--and everyone will be slightly to drastically different."

It made me understand SO much more when he explained it like that. We are all so much the same--but yet have different parents, live in different places, breathe different air quality, use different chemicals, ...well you get the picture.