Starting IV Rocephin-allergic rxn question

outinthe_woods

Hi, DuPrey:

I was tested by an allergist for Penicillin reaction before I could start the I.V. Rocephin....It's a routine here. You might ask your doc about this..

ticker

Hi DuPrey84. I am allergic to penicillin but had no problems with the IV Rocephin. Usually, a nurse or doctor will stay with you during the first infusion to make sure there is no reaction. How long will you be on the IV?

In case you did not see it previously, there is a sleeve available to cover the PICC line so you can shower without getting the site wet. It is great! It is called a PICC line protector and you can get it at Brown Medical.

Good luck!

DuPrey84

Thanks! I met another person who was allergic to penicillin but didn't have a rxn to Rocephin so I am hopeful. I will let everyone know how it goes this wednesday. I'm not sure how long I will be on IV, but I think it will be around 1 month-6 weeks.

ticker

Good luck on Wednesday DuPrey84. I hope they will continue your treatment longer. Four to six weeks is not very long for Lyme.

DuPrey84

I got the picc line put in this morning and had my first dose of IV Rocephin an haven't had any reaction to thank god. I was wondering if there is a risk with gall bladder problems while on this abx and if there are precautions that I should take.

ticker

Hi DuPrey84. I am gald everything went well for you.

Some people do have gallbladder problems on the Rocephin, some do not. One way to minimize this is to pulse the treatment--for example infuse the med Monday through Friday and take the weekends off. Talk to your doctor about this.

Are you going to be taking an oral antibiotic also?

Betterdaysforme

Hey Duprey,

I'm glad everything went well with the picc-line. I know you were concerned.
Will you be doing it at home? I did for 9 weeks. Unfortunately I didn't know to use milk thistle to keep my liver from going crazy or I would have been able to continue for a while longer. Please use the milk thistle so you don't have this problem. I have since discovered that my sister-in-law uses it for gall bladder problems. I guess it does double duty. It's worth it just to be on the safe side. Good luck and I hope the Rocephin kicks some lyme butt.
betterdaysforme

DuPrey84

Thanks Ticker and Betterdays, I will have a nurse come to my house every week to draw blood to test my liver enzymes, the germ load, and gall bladder function. I also read that the risk of haveing gall bladder complications is around 1-2%. I will ask about pulse therapy bc I will be on it everyday as of now, I'll also look into the milk thistle product. I am just on IV Rocephin right now but don't feel comfortable requesting another medication in addition to it bc I don't want to undermine my ID doc but I suppose I can ask about it...

6Blues

DuPrey84:

You are very brave to get the PICC line. Good luck with the Rocephin; I hope it works for you and brings you healthier days!

Mickie

Betterdaysforme

Hey DuPrey,

Your ID may not even be aware of milk thistle. It is just a supplement you can buy at the health food store. Mine wouldn't have had a clue. His nurse was very open to natural supplements though because her mother brought her up on them. Don't forget the acidophilus too because you need that whether it is orals or IV. Keep on truckin'.
betterdaysforme

Pitnum

I am allergic to all penicillin based drugs. I successfully did 3 months of IV rocephin without incident. I was desensitized to the drug in the doctor's office over a period of 10 days. I started with very, very small doses of the drug and gradually worked up to the full dose.

It can be done safely, but you need to be monitored closely while desensitizing.
Also, if you stop and resume the drug.......you need to be desensitized all over again. Therefore, you will not be able to pulse the drug. It will have to be given without any interruption. Hope this helps you.

AngelaA

Gerribear did you get the penicillin allergy test done recently? I asked my allergist a few weeks ago and he claims the "components required for the test are no longer available". Whatever that means. I took penicillin once after a dental procedure as a teenager and got a bad rash. I was told I was allergic, but after reading up on it I realize it could also be allergies to the dye in the pill and that one can outgrow the allergy after 2 years of not taking it. My LLMD wanted to start me on PCN or Amoxi. I really want to give it a try because it is so much cheaper than Zith and my insurance won't cover Levaquin or IV's. It is really limiting my treatment options between allergies and insurance. I am allergic to Cefzil too which I understand rules out all cephlisporans.

raleigh86

What does the milk thistle do and how do you recommend using it? I've been reading the length of time everyone is on IV. My lyme PA suggested it might be 6 months? Are their side effects and do most actually feel better after treatment? I am at a stagnation point, not getting better, but not getting worse. She mentioned this as an option. I thought of waiting till fall, but, if it could help me, I would consider it by my next appt. in July.

I have a heavy load of meds this week, zith, septra, (I've been on both for a while, flagyl and diamox and klor-con. I feel overloaded with drugs. My ears sound like I have something very noisy going on in my head.

I'd be interested in your viewpoint.

Thanks,

Raleigh86

AngelaA

Raleigh,

Milk thistle has been used for centuries to heal the liver. Even Western medicine realizes this. In Germany milk thistle is given to patients before and after surgery to protect the liver from damage caused by anethesia.

There are 932 known prescription drugs that are ototoxic. Ototoxic refers to the drug having potential to cause short or long term hearing loss and/or tinnitus. Many antibiotics and all steriods, allergy meds, NSAIDS, antidepressants, protein pump inhibitors and any of the Quinine derivatives are extremely ototoxic. So this is probably what is going on with your ears. BTW-the antibiotics thought to be the least ototoxic are the Cephalosporins, Penicillins and Macrolides(with the exception of Erythromycin IV's which is extremely toxic). And just a little trivia to make you question the wisdom of Western medicine...one of the most ototoxic antibiotics is neomycin which generally is used only in ear drops. Does that not seem wrong?!