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Can antibiotics be used before a lab test to help diagnose an autoimmune disease/virus

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
I believe an 'antibiotic challenge' is sometimes done to flush Lyme out of hiding, which is obviously a bacterial infection. Cant see any reason why ti would work for autoimmune or viruses as antibiotics don't have any effect on these illnesses
 

Tired of being sick

Senior Member
Messages
565
Location
Western PA USA
The reason I ask is, I'm on Cefalexin for a urinary tract infection and it is aggravating my CFS/ME symptoms..

So I was thinking of getting an extensive lab test to see if Cefalexin brought my illness out of hiding and it seems to me that my CFS/ME or ? is very pissed off and teeing off on me like no other..
 

zzz

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Oregon
Almost all antibiotics have effects on the central nervous system unrelated to their antibiotic effect. The magnitude of the effects varies by antibiotic and from person to person, but they can easily aggravate ME/CFS symptoms in susceptible people. I'm currently at the point where I can't take any antibiotics that have adverse reactions due to CNS effects - and that includes just about all of them.