Minocycline found to help ME/CFS and long COVID in study

[Hip]

A new study discovered that minocycline, an antibiotic that reduces brain inflammation, helps ME/CFS and long COVID.

Minocycline was given at a dose of 100 mg daily for 41 days to patients with ME/CFS who developed their illness in the COVID era. This led to across the board improvements in ME/CFS.

The study was not a double-blinded, so placebo might influence the results.

 

[Blazer95]

the charité in germany has been suggesting minocycline for ages in the early stages of ME to dampen down inflammation and slow down disease progression.

maybe this idea gets finally some attention. thanks for your share

 

[Dude]

I tried it low dose (30mg) for a month. Not sure it did anything. Full dose gave me side effects like brain pressure.

 

[Zebra]

I just want to contribute a word of caution about the drug Minocycline, especially for anyone that is considering taking Minocycline on their own, without medical supervision.

14 years ago, I was young, healthy, strong, and incredibly physically active.

I was prescribed a short course of Minocycline for a skin infection on my face.

Before I could even complete the course of antibiotics I was in the ER due to extreme shortness of breath, elevated d-dimer (clotting factor), and suspicion for pulmonary embolism.

Although I did not have a PE, I was diagnosed with drug-induced vasculitis, from which I never fully recovered, and I ended up getting diagnosed with systemic lupus within a year.

The systemic lupus was severe and required immunosuppression. The immunosuppression lead to an unknown opportunistic infection that resulted in ME/CFS.

I believe such "lupus like" conditions are now listed under side-affects, cautions, warnings, etc. for Minocycline, but I wouldn't know because I now avoid that entire family of antibiotics.

Most people shrug those warnings off.

I am your cautionary tale, Comrades.

Feel free to take this warning with a grain of salt. Your body. Your choice.

I'm just sharing an intensely personal experience in the hopes of sparing someone else a similar fate.

 

[kushami]

One side-effect list (note: only includes data up to 2015):
http://sideeffects.embl.de/drugs/26275995/

 

[Zebra]

Thanks, @kushami

Reading this list reminded me that some of my symptoms at the time of my ER visit included fever, bleeding from gums and anus, and swelling and arthritis in one knee, in addition to the chest pain and severe shortness of breath mentioned above.

I only mention this so folks can be aware of some warning signs that they may be having an adverse reaction to Minocycline.