fluffyluggage
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My understanding of tetracycline being used for Lyme is that it DOES need to be used in a pretty high dose. Of the "cyclines," Doxy is usually preferred, but tetracycline and minocycline have been used with success. Tetracycline usually needs to be used at about 500mg or more three times a day in order to be successful, so that seems about right for you. However, from what I understand, the class of drug REALLY needs to be taken with food. You can't take it with dairy, and you don't want to eat bread with it, either. Just check with your pharmacist to confirm. But be sure to eat something, or you'll end up with an upset stomach, and that's no good, either. I usually took it with a hearty soup and some good veggies. But if I ever did take it on an empty stomach, I ended up gutless, so to speak! LOL Also, if you need something to settle your stomach, there are all sorts of great things you can do. I usually take all my meds with a ginger ale, cuz not only does it settle my stomach, but it helps the meds slide down. Great on two fronts. Perhaps I'm not supposed to do that, haven't read anything to the contrary, but water just doesn't get the job done for me. I choke on my meds, as I have an esophageal condition, and ginger ale is the thing that works. Some people find diet coke more appealing, and it's also good for the stomach, so if you can't handle the taste of ginger ale, go for diet coke. I have stomach ulcers, and the ginger ale doesn't work against them, which is great. Also, peppermints work really well, and this time of year they are sold in abundance. They will settle your stomach really quickly. And of course, they are great for your breath, so two for one! LOL. If worse comes to worse, something else I like to help settle my stomach is meclizine. You can get it from the pharmacy in 25 mg tablets. Just take 1 tablet every 8 hours as needed for nausea. It can be used for vertigo and for travel sickness as well. It's better than emetrol, at least for me, cuz emetrol is a liquid, and the taste just makes me puke right off. To help deal with a Herx, sometimes liquid Benadryl can be taken at a regular adult dosage (50 mg) every 8 hours as needed. It's not always effective, but it can be helpful to relieve some of the worst symptoms and help you rest. I have tried it, and I found it to help a bit. Some people have actually found certain times of the day to be worse, and if that's your case, you can take the Benadryl about 30 minutes to an hour before that time and judge how you are feeling. If it helps, I'd continue to take it. If you feel the Herx is unbearable, ask your doctor if you can either change meds, or if the dosage can be reduced until the symptoms subside. Often, they will reduce to about 1/2 dosage for 3 to 5 days, then go back up to normal dosage. As for "bulk" and meds, often human meds aren't rx'd that way, tho occasionally they are. More often than not, they are based more on the load of infection you have than anything else. Your weight rarely has anything to do with how effective a particular dose of meds will be, as with vaccines. One dose will work, regardless of your weight, though the load of your illness will affect how much of a medication you need, which is more likely to be why you were given a high dose, IMHO. But that's JMO, and from what I know from working in a medical field. In animal medicine, weight is more likely to affect how medicine is administered than in human medicine. Sometimes, it will in human medicine, but that's fairly rare, at least from what I've been led to understand. Good luck, and if you'd like to discuss this more, feel free to PM me anytime. *hugs* Jen Just because it's impossible doesn't mean it can't happen.
I'm not a doc, so anything I say is my opinion only. Nothing I say is meant as offense, I offer what I can as help.
I believe in educating myself on all my medical issues and being my own advocate, for no one else with do that on my behalf. I recommend we all do the same!
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Perhaps I truly am insane for expecting these docs to listen to me when I say the same things repeatedly to no avail? LOL. I am tired of seeking out new docs and getting the same result time and again...Forgive me if I seem bitter some days. |
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Give it a try and see how you feel, if that is what your doctor wants you to do..If you don't feel good taking that high amount, then I would call him/her and let them know...they can switch around abx's for you...
