I took tons (two shots - can't remember dose) of IM bicillin-LA intramuscularly every week along with 750 mgs of Zithromax daily for a year and a half in an attempt to treat Lyme and it only held it at bay. As soon as I would back off of it, the symptoms were there.
Two shots a week (at 1.2 mil units/shot) is not "tons" it's actually a very low dose... lyme treatment according to burrascano starts out at two shots/week and should progress to 3-4/wk. And that's for lyme... for which benefit is derived from a low-dose at a consistent level. Actinomycosis treatment is at a higher dose with a non-long-acting penicillin... but since nobody wants to test me for actinomycosis... i get whatever my lyme diagnosis can get me...
And there's nothing in any of the treatment guides stating that people that have had lyme for a long time (e.g. myself) being cured in any amount of time. Burrascano specifically states "It is not uncommon for a patient who has been ill for
many years to require open ended treatment regimens; indeed, some patients will require ongoing
maintenance therapy for years to remain well." I'm bascially expecting to take an antibiotic like other people take a daily vitamin for the rest of my life... just to function. The fact that I found something to keep it at bay is a miracle in and of itself....
www.ilads.org/files/burrascano_0905.pdfCOURSE DURING THERAPY
As the spirochete has a very long generation time (12 to 24 hours in vitro and possibly much longer in living
systems) and may have periods of dormancy, during which time antibiotics will not kill the organism,
treatment has to be continued for a long period of time to eradicate all the active symptoms and prevent a
relapse, especially in late infections. If treatment is discontinued before all symptoms of active infection have
cleared, the patient will remain ill and possibly relapse further. In general, early LB is treated for four to six
weeks, and late LB usually requires a minimum of four to six months of continuous treatment. All patients
respond differently and therapy must be individualized.
It is not uncommon for a patient who has been ill for
many years to require open ended treatment regimens; indeed, some patients will require ongoing
maintenance therapy for years to remain well.Several days after the onset of appropriate antibiotic therapy, symptoms often flare due to lysis of the
spirochetes with release of increased amount of antigenic material and possibly bacterial toxins. This is
referred to as a Jarisch Herxheimer-like reaction. Because it takes 48 to 72 hours of therapy to initiate
bacterial killing, the Herxheimer reaction is therefore delayed. This is unlike syphilis, in which these reactions
can occur within hours.
It has been observed that symptoms will flare in cycles every four weeks. It is thought that this reflects the
organism's cell cycle, with the growth phase occurring once per month (intermittent growth is common in
Borrelia species). As antibiotics will only kill bacteria during their growth phase, therapy is designed to
bracket at least one whole generation cycle. This is why the minimum treatment duration should be at least
four weeks. If the antibiotics are working, over time these flares will lessen in severity and duration. The very
occurrence of ongoing monthly cycles indicates that living organisms are still present and that antibiotics
should be continued.
With treatment, these monthly symptom flares are exaggerated and presumably represent recurrent
Herxheimer-like reactions as Bb enters its vulnerable growth phase and then are lysed. For unknown
reasons, the worst occurs at the fourth week of treatment. Observation suggest that the more severe this
reaction, the higher the germ load, and the more ill the patient. In those with long-standing highly
symptomatic disease who are on I.V. therapy, the week-four flare can be very severe, similar to a serum
sickness reaction, and be associated with transient leucopenia and/or elevations in liver enzymes. If this
happens, decrease the dose temporarily, or interrupt treatment for several days, then resume with a lower
dose. If you are able to continue or resume therapy, then patients continue to improve. Those whose
treatment is stopped and not restarted at this point usually will need retreatment in the future due to ongoing
or recurrent symptoms because the infection was not eradicated. Patients on I.V. therapy who have a strong
reaction at the fourth week will need to continue parenteral antibiotics for several months, for when this
monthly reaction finally lessens in severity, then oral or IM medications can be substituted. Indeed, it is just
this observation that guides the clinician in determining the endpoint of I.V. treatment. In general, I.V. therapy
is given until there is a clear positive response, and then treatment is changed to IM or po until free of signs of
active infection for 4 to 8 weeks.