Need advice on antibiotic

[SDSue]

After a couple of weeks on Famvir, I have gotten my first cold in over 5 years. The trouble is, it has gone south into bronchitis and I'm going to need an antibiotic - which I'm not happy about as I've spent so much time getting my gut straightened out.

Any advice on what antibiotics to use and/or avoid in ME/CFS? (Other than fluroquinolones - I'll never take one of those again!).

Thanks.

 

[helen1]

You could look into herbal protocols. They are often just as effective without any of the gut damage. I'm following Buhner's herbals for c.pneumonia. Chinese and Ayurvedic are worth looking into as well.

 

[ukxmrv]

I use Doxycycline for my similar recurrent infections. For me it has the least side effects.

Sorry to hear about the Bronchitis.

 

[Ema]

I always did well with the macrolides like azithromycin and erythromycin for bronchitis. I used to get it a lot when I lived in London.

If the herbs are actually antimicrobial, that means they can also have detrimental effects on gut flora, in my opinion. Probiotics are a good idea after any antibiotics.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Gingergrrl]

If I had to take an antibiotic, I would find out all the choices that could be effective for specific bacterial culture (assuming that info is known?) and then choose the one with the least potential side effects or side effects that were best tolerable for my specific case.

I can tolerate nausea but not the ones with high overall toxicity or potential cardiac side effects.

Best wishes and hope you feel better really soon. It's so weird though about the Famvir b/c I have been taking it for almost five months and have not gotten sick. We are all so different!

 

[SDSue]

Good suggestions, @Ema and @ukxmrv. This will be my first antibiotic since falling ill with ME/CFS so I'm a little cautious as I'm not familiar with antibiotics' effect on ME/CFS. I'm leaning toward Doxy as many Lymies take it without complication?

Thanks @Gingergrrl. I've never had a bronchitis cultured, as it's not practical - while waiting for the culture, you have to treat empirically anyway, which is why we treat with a broad spectrum that covers the typical causes such as strep, haemophilus, or mycoplasm, among others.

I appreciate the good wishes! What surprises me the most is how this cold, on top of ME, is causing my dysautonomia to flare badly. (that's code for "I feel like crap".)

 

[AndyPandy]

You could look into herbal protocols. They are often just as effective without any of the gut damage. I'm following Buhner's herbals for c.pneumonia. Chinese and Ayurvedic are worth looking into as well.

Hi there @helen1 Just wondering what herbals you are taking for c.pneumonia and in what doses. I have c.pneumonia and I am considering alternatives to standard antibiotics as I have gut problems and I am very sensitive to meds.

Best wishes Andy

 

[Gingergrrl]

This will be my first antibiotic since falling ill with ME/CFS so I'm a little cautious as I'm not familiar with antibiotics' effect on ME/CFS. I'm leaning toward Doxy as many Lymies take it without complication?

Thanks @Gingergrrl. I've never had a bronchitis cultured, as it's not practical - while waiting for the culture, you have to treat empirically anyway, which is why we treat with a broad spectrum that covers the typical causes such as strep, haemophilus, or mycoplasm, among others.

I appreciate the good wishes! What surprises me the most is how this cold, on top of ME, is causing my dysautonomia to flare badly. (that's code for "I feel like crap".)

@SDSue I wanted to see how you were feeling today and if you started on the antibiotic? I wasn't sure if they were able to a throat culture (or if that is useless for bronchitis?) I used to get frequent tonsillitis my entire childhood and they would always try to give antibiotics before they even determined if the infection was bacterial vs. viral so was just curious. Hope you are much better today .

 

[SDSue]

Thanks @Gingergrrl. Got an antibiotic called in just a few minutes ago (without a doc visit thank goodness!) Will start tonight. This has really flared my POTS so I'm going to need to address that, too. It never ends lol. I'm viewing this as a good thing, in that I've not had a cold or any other acute illness in years. Perhaps this is my immune system finally fighting?