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Suggest Treatment For Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
Question: My blood test results from Last month show Positive for Lyme antibodies and my doctor has prescribed a 5 day course of treatment using Flagyl 500 mg twice a day. To my knowledge I have not been bitten by a tick since the end of 2010 and was never treated or diagnosed for Lyme Disease. In 2010 my husband was dying of lung cancer so the fact that I wasn't "feeling well" wasn't an issue to deal with. Over the last years I have lost twenty pounds, experienced chronic fatigue and memory loss, muscle and joint pain, and for this past month have been having severe diarrhea with gas and stomach cramps. I am very concerned about taking this Flagyl medication and would prefer to be admitted to a hospital for treatment and verification of her diagnosis yet I am being told that my doctor would have to recommend I be admitted. Is there a different medication that will not cause me nausea, vomiting, dizziness on top of already dealing with the explosive IBS I'm already having? Please help me.
Brief Answer:
I would not recommend taking Flagyl
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
I am sorry you have a positive Lyme titer and are suffering from so many symptoms. There is still a great deal we don't know about Lyme disease. But there are protocols for treating it, and Flagyl (metronidazole) is not recommended for any stage of Lyme disease. Please see this article and scroll down to "Therapeutic Modalities Not Recommended". This includes metronidazole. XXXX
This article is endorsed by the CDC:XXXX
I recommend seeing an infectious disease specialist. If you are any where near a university hospital/clinics, or major hospital with multi clinical specialties, that would be the best place to find one.
If you do take an antibiotic (after confirmation of a Lyme diagnosis), be sure to take a probiotic in a large amount for several days before, during, and after the antibiotic. Take the probiotic a few hours apart from that antibiotic.
Antibiotics most commonly used for Lyme are doxycycline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime (Ceftin). All of these are much easier on the body than metronidazole.
I am hesitant to recommend a protocol for treatment at this point, and I think it would be better to have further lab tests done by an infectious disease specialist.
I hope this information helps.
I would not recommend taking Flagyl
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
I am sorry you have a positive Lyme titer and are suffering from so many symptoms. There is still a great deal we don't know about Lyme disease. But there are protocols for treating it, and Flagyl (metronidazole) is not recommended for any stage of Lyme disease. Please see this article and scroll down to "Therapeutic Modalities Not Recommended". This includes metronidazole. XXXX
This article is endorsed by the CDC:XXXX
I recommend seeing an infectious disease specialist. If you are any where near a university hospital/clinics, or major hospital with multi clinical specialties, that would be the best place to find one.
If you do take an antibiotic (after confirmation of a Lyme diagnosis), be sure to take a probiotic in a large amount for several days before, during, and after the antibiotic. Take the probiotic a few hours apart from that antibiotic.
Antibiotics most commonly used for Lyme are doxycycline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime (Ceftin). All of these are much easier on the body than metronidazole.
I am hesitant to recommend a protocol for treatment at this point, and I think it would be better to have further lab tests done by an infectious disease specialist.
I hope this information helps.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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