Rocephin shots

[physicsstudent13]

isn't there some risk that you develop resistant serious infections if you take a lot of antibiotics?
how did your doctor's patients develop gall bladder damage? wow that sounds like a serious and terrible side effect. it didn't give me greater clarity and focus or an improvement in brain fog.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3243861/

 

[physicsstudent13]

I started vitamin B+l carnitine fumarate+m folate and rocephin injections and on day 9 of 1g I had a significant improvement in clarity! My neurologist/systems engineer friend from UPenn told me that brain fog is from too low/high levels of glutamate. Anyway I noticed also that I had a lot of neck stiffness.
Does it alter and balance glutamate levels in the brain somehow and help neurotransmitter levels?

 

[Hip]

I started Fredd's protocol and rocephin injections and on day 9 of 1g I had a miraculous improvement in clarity!!!!! I could achieve clarity without the asv and slow wave sleep medications. My neurologist/systems engineer friend from UPenn told me that brain fog is from too low/high levels of glutamate. Anyway I noticed also that I had a lot of neck stiffness.

Does it alter and balance glutamate levels in the brain somehow and help neurotransmitter levels?

Just to confirm, @physicsstudent13, are you saying that you had an injection of 1 gram of Rocephin each day, and then on the 9th day of this regimen, you had a huge reduction in brain fog, and great improvement in mental clarity?



Rocephin most certainly does alter glutamate levels in the brain: excess glutamate is continually being removed from the extracellular spaces in the brain by what are called the glutamate transporters, which are "pumps" found in the astrocytes and other cells in the brain.

Rocephin potently boosts the number of these glutamate transporters in the brain (it increases gene expression of the glutamate transporter; in others words, making more of them).

The brain's main glutamate transporter is called EAAT2 (also called GLT-1). This study found Rocephin increased EAAT2 expression by as much as 3 times, which is a huge increase in the numbers of these EAAT2 glutamate transporters.

This increase in number of the brain's glutamate transporters allows much more glutamate to be pumped out of the brain, which will act to reduce the high levels of glutamate that some people think is causing many of the cognitive symptoms of ME/CFS.

More info on glutamate and ME/CFS: Dr Paul Cheney's views, Marco's blog about glutamate causing ME/CFS symptoms, and my post on how neuroinflammation-derived glutamate may cause generalized anxiety disorder.



Please keep us updated on your Rocephin regimen, @physicsstudent13. Are you on just a short course of Rocephin, or are you going to be taking this antibiotic for longer periods? The two people on this thread who had this huge improvement in mental clarity from Rocephin injections found that this improvement quickly disappeared once they stopped getting Rocephin injections or IV.

So if your mental clarify disappears within a day or so of stopping Rocephin, this will confirm that it is Rocephin that is responsible for your greatly increased mental clarify.

 

[Hip]

Regarding the study that I cited in the above post, on the ability of Rocephin (ceftriaxone) to up-regulate glutamate transporter numbers in the brain, namely this study:

Role of Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter-2 (EAAT2) and Glutamate in Neurodegeneration: Opportunities for Developing Novel Therapeutics

Here are some text excepts from that study:

Screening of approximately 1,040 FDA-approved compounds and nutritionals led to the discovery that many β-lactam antibiotics are transcriptional activators of EAAT2 resulting in increased EAAT2 protein levels.

Fifteen different β-lactam antibiotics were able to stimulate EAAT2 protein expression by more than two-fold. This increased expression of EAAT2 protein was detected as early as 48 h after drug treatment.

CEF [ceftriaxone] treatment in vitro and in vivo resulted in a 3-fold increase of EAAT2 protein expression levels and a comparable increase in EAAT2 transporter activity.

The human EAAT2 promoter was significantly activated by CEF [ceftriaxone], amoxicillin and dibutyryl cyclic AMP.

So another option might be to take the inexpensive antibiotic amoxicillin orally, which would be easier than Rocephin (ceftriaxone) injections. I already checked the toxicity profile of amoxicillin, and it is fairly benign: the maximum daily dose is of amoxicillin is around 4 to 6 gram (given in divided doses).

Though the above study indicates that Rocephin is more potent, with its 3-fold increase of EAAT2. They don't mention the precise potency of amoxicillin, but from the above-quoted statements I am guessing it is somewhere between 2-fold and 3-fold.

 

[Ema]

I started Fredd's protocol and rocephin injections and on day 9 of 1g I had a miraculous improvement in clarity!!!!! I could achieve clarity without the asv and slow wave sleep medications. My neurologist/systems engineer friend from UPenn told me that brain fog is from too low/high levels of glutamate. Anyway I noticed also that I had a lot of neck stiffness.
Does it alter and balance glutamate levels in the brain somehow and help neurotransmitter levels?

But how much does it hurt???

I'm such a baby.

 

[lizw118]

I probably wouldn't take the rocephin except under a doctor's supervision or you have a life threatening infection.
wow that is a terrible side effect, so at 1g/day it causes gall bladder damage, where is the pain? I would run and see the doctor as soon as possible.
http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=1539161
I've noticed pain on my left side where my kidneys are. I've been on rocephin at 1g/day for 4 days and I think it's working. I've had kidney cysts for years. I'm not sure but should you not inject this IM into the belly it is supposed to be injected into the gluteal or leg muscle?
I still cannot exhale with asthma which developed after taking 6 weeks of weekly (not daily) azithromycin according to a Prof. David Hahn from University Wisconsin Madison

When I had the shots I noticed a little bit of pain on the upper right side of my abdomen, basically where the gall bladder is. Then my doc told me that about the gall bladder issue with Rocephin. I mentioned I had some pain after getting the Rocephin shots and he put me on a prophylactic med that helps the gall bladder (apologies I don't remember the name of it). I am not taking Rocephin at the moment because the benefits wore off. However, I might try again getting intramuscular shots once a week. But I have to keep in mind that the gall bladder issue is a real possibility.

 

[physicsstudent13]

I would try the medication for longer if someone could send me a source to buy it cheaply. Does the neck pain/swelling mean I have Lyme's or another spinal cord infection? I've been on 8 injections of 1g/day and sometimes mix it with 0.5g of vitamin C and gentamicin and clarithromycin. I noticed that after starting I had a lot of constant neck pain like my spinal cord was inflamed. Maybe I should get a lumbar puncture? I noticed that after i tilt my head back my neck was swollen.

I think it improves clarity but I have to see and I'm not sure it really treats my sleep apnea CSA/PLMD at all. After the injection I never have really razor sharp focus but maybe it's not possible with my asthma and sleep apnea.

 

[Hip]

I would try the medication for longer if someone could send me a source to buy it cheaply.

I bought my Rocephin (ceftriaxone) very cheaply from United Pharmacies.

is it safe to start ampicillin injections with the rocephin or right after?

I take it you mean amoxicillin, the antibiotic I mentioned above. Amoxicillin you can take orally, as well as by injection. I presume it is safe to start this right after Rocephin, because antibiotics are often taken in combination.

 

[physicsstudent13]

I probably wouldn't try it unless you had a serious infection that didn't respond to other antibiotics like a life threatening infection.
I'm not sure if it is safe since Rocephin has been shown to permanently damage the gallbladder. I've read that it is given with an aminoside or macrolide antibiotic, this may be because it only stops the reproduction of bacteria
I took a break of a day in the 10 day course to allow my gallbladder and liver to recover and I took a moderate dose of NAC at 3g/day

 

[Hip]

These prices are extremely high, at an Asian pharmacy you could buy a box of 1g injections for $5.

Do any of these Asian pharmacies sell online, or sell via post or fax? I am always looking for cheaper sources of pharmaceuticals.

I'm not sure if it is safe since Rocephin has been shown to permanently damage the gallbladder.

Yes, that is certainly an issue.


I am planning to take 6 grams of oral amoxicillin daily (in divided doses) soon, to see if the ability of this antibiotic to double the capacity of the glutamate transporters will help improve my ME/CFS symptoms.

 

[physicsstudent13]

I haven't been able to find one but we could search together. let me know if you can find an Asian pharmacy to acquire vitamin B injections and antibiotics. I actually have tried almost every other supplement and am now probably going to have surgery, so I think the problem may be my asthma and narrowed airway and I still cannot exhale. asthma is supposed to be an inflammatory process according to most doctors though in rare cases it may be cured by antibiotics

 

[Hip]

@physicsstudent13
If you want a good list of prescription-free reliable online pharmacies, www.pharmacy-reviewer.com is an excellent resource. It includes many Asian pharmacies, although their prices are not much lower than those of pharmacies in other regions.

 

[physicsstudent13]

the sleep disorder seems to be better so could it could be Lyme's disease or pseudomonas luteola+staphylococcus infection I had had somehow infected my brain? I was bitten by mosquitoes and ticks

I went on 10 days of gentamicin injections and I had no improvement, also before that 30 days of doxycycline, 6 weeks of cipro, 6 weeks of bactrim and before that I had IV cipro/flagyl for 5 days in the hospital. Whatever infection I had was resistant to these antibiotics.
I had bad numbness in the back of my head and my whole back neck was swollen and the antibiotics seem to have drained the lymph nodes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentamicin

 

[physicsstudent13]

I wouldn't take gentamicin since it is too toxic and risky and can destroy your equilibrioception. I injected the rocephin into my shoulders to unclog any infection that would damage my brain. It was very painful

 

[maryb]

I wouldn't take gentamicin since it is too toxic and risky and can destroy your equilibrioception. I injected the rocephin into my shoulders to unclog any infection that would damage my brain. It was very painful

ouch........

 

[physicsstudent13]

I started to have gallbladder problems after the 10th injection with pale stools. Does this mean my gallbladder is blocked and I need to go to the ER now?
The amazing thing is I noticed that my swollen neck was less swollen giving better blood flow to my brain and my neck was in pain like the infection was healing. Every time I leaned back I noticed my neck was swollen and my neurologist ignored my comments about the back of head numbness, but it turns out it was swollen from another reason and restricting blood flow to my brain!

But today I feel bedridden and still don't have sharp clarity. I don't think rocephin helps my sleep disorder and seizures?

 

[Valentijn]

@physicsstudent13 - You really need to talk to your doctor about your medical problems and drug reactions.

 

[physicsstudent13]

This is very interesting.

On my computer, I made some notes to myself about ceftriaxone (Rocephin) theoretically being able to improve ME/CFS symptoms. This is by virtue of the fact that this drug increases the expression and activity of the GLT-1 (EAAT2) glutamate transporters in the brain, and thereby enables these glutamate transporters to pull excess glutamate out of the brain. This reduces glutamate toxicity and glutamate overstimulation in the brain. Refs: 1 2 3

I think this may explain why ceftriaxone has improved your brain fog and ME/CFS symptom, @Daffodil and @lizw118.

@Marco may want to comment on this.

More info on glutamate and ME/CFS: Dr Paul Cheney's views, Marco's blog about glutamate causing ME/CFS symptoms, and my post on how neuroinflammation-derived glutamate may cause generalized anxiety disorder.

so high levels of glutamate causes excitotoxicity and destroys neurons?

 

[physicsstudent13]

Riluzole is also in my list of medications that ramp up glutamate clearance from the brain. When I was Googling I found a several medications that can increase the efficacy of the glutamate transporters in the brain (glutamate transporters clear glutamate from the brain). These glutamate transporter boosting drugs and supplements are:
I tried propentofylline 100 mg x three times a day, but did not notice any benefits. However, the amounts used in the study cited above work out to an equivalent oral dose of 30 grams for a human being, which I think is probably far too high (there may be severe side effects) and would be too expensive, since propentofylline is sold in 100 mg tablets. Propentofylline is in fact a medicine used for dogs; the dog oral dosage is 10 mg per kg.

In terms of mitigating the effects of high glutamate (which acts to over-activate the NMDA receptors), high dose transdermal magnesium is useful, as magnesium blocks the NMDA receptors.

Given the improvements I had on rocephin does this mean I have a bacterial infection and/or neuro inflammation
I felt noticeably more tired the day after stopping it and began to become foggy.
I've tried citicoline in capsule form and it doesn't seem to do much for me personally. Maybe the injections are more effective? it is labelled as for hypoxic injuries like mine. I should have bought the injections and tried them

ampicillin is a beta lactam antibiotic that may help with glutamate transport

 

[Hip]

Given the improvements I had on rocephin does this mean I have a bacterial infection and/or neuro inflammation
I felt noticeably more tired the day after stopping it and began to become foggy.

Nobody can provide a definite answer, but my own hypothesis is that the dramatic reduction in brain fog and fatigue that some ME/CFS patients experience when taking Rocephin may be due to the ability of Rocephin to lower brain levels of glutamate.

The fact that you became tired and brain foggy again so quickly the day after you stopped Rocephin, suggests that it is not the antibacterial effects of Rocephin that made you feel better (because these antibacterial effects would be more long lasting), but suggests it might well be the ability of Rocephin to lower glutamate that made you feel better.