Long Term Users Who Changed Dosage

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--- rheumatic Long-term Users Who Changed Dosage . . .Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 17:10:42 +0000From: bsgttx@...To: rheumatic Hi Deb,I, too, would love to see replies to your question below.Deb wrote: I would appreciate hearing from long-term users of the APwho have met with success after changing dosages. I know Dr. Brownused a protocol of 100 mg. M-W-F, with the idea that the bodybenefited from rest between dosages. I know that Dr. Trentham usesdosages of 200 mg. daily, with the idea that the higher dosages aremore likely to control the disease. [end of quote from Deb]Hope Ethel will give us her views on this. I personally hesitate toincrease to every day because of past, significant malabsorptionproblems connected with prolonged antibiotic (penicillin type)usage. However, if I could increase the frequency, without illeffects, that might sometimes be a helpful thing.bg

Here comes the moment of truth -

All patients with severe and/or long standing disease were started on IV clindamycin or lincocin in dosages decided by Dr. Brown after interviewing and examining the patient. Oral therapy also varied from patient to patient as he probed to see what dosage was right for that patient at that particular time. The dosage often changed during the course of therapy. Because the organisms believed to be the causative factor in these diseases only divide between 24 and 48 hours, he did not generally prescribe the antibiotic to be taken daily for three reasons - 1) to lessen the amount of toxins released in the system and therefore reduce the Herxheimer affect, 2) to avoid building up hypersensitivity to the drug, and 3) to try and avoid or minimize gut problems, BUT, there were times when he did prescribe daily for specific periods, and I've known some of his patients that would be on one antibiotic in the AM and another in the PM, or on one antibiotic for maybe six weeks alternated with another antibiotic for six weeks. Dr. Brown was constantly probing (changing medications) to see what worked best for each patient at each stage of the therapy.

Sometimes you can lessen a flare by increasing the dosage until the flare subsides. I remember one woman in my support group back in Missouri. She and her husband were going to Washington, D.C. to visit a daughter and she went into a major flare about two weeks before they left. I suggested she up the dose, but she didn't and the drive to Washington was one of pure misery. When they arrived she had to be carried to her bedroom on the seond floor. The next day she saw Cap Oliver, M.D. and he immediately upped the dosage. In just a few days the flare subsided. I've known this to happen over and over again - it depends on all the factors causing the flare.

Then there was a woman in Minnesota I corresponded with for years. She had been on the antibiotic for several years but her labs just refused to budge on the 100 mg. three times a week, so I suggested she up the dose. Sure enough, those labs began to move in the right direction.

Let's not forget the drug-induced flare. In that instance it's often adviseable to lower the dose until the flare subsides. Dr. Brown use to start patients on as low as 25 mg. (made up especially by the drug company for him) once or twice weekly, and gradually increase the dosage. Nolamine (an anti-histamine, probably no longer available) and Nystatin were often prescribed.

We are all different. What works for you does not necessarily work for somebody else. You are the sum and substance of all that has happened to you from the moment of conception - genetic makeup, viral and bacterial infections, environmental exposures, etc. You are unique. What caused one disease in you may cause another disease in someone else. It depends on the condition of the host - you. BTW, the stronger the immune system, the better your chances of warding off problems.

BG mentioned malabsorption problems - something just about everybody with chronic disease has whether they realize it or not. I strongly recommend digestive enzymes w/ hydrachloric acid with each meal. Personally, I like Twin Labs Super Digestive Enzymes - www.needs.com. If you need more HCL, they have a product with just pepsin and HCL. Vitamin and mineral supplementation is necessay. Also do not forget the essential fatty acids. Believe me, they are essential. I take 2 TBS of Spectrum flaxseed oil in 1/4 cup low fat, organic cottage cheese daily.

The whole goal of this therapy is to find and eliminate infections anywhere they may be lurking in the body. This may require different or joint therapies from time to time. You want to take the least amount of medication necessary at any time to achieve your goals. Once remission is achieved, some people require a maintenance dose. With these organisms becoming resistant to antibiotics, we may eventually have to find other methods of dealing with these problems - diet, cleanses, micro-electric devices, etc. Dr. Hulda and Dr. Schulze both say there are no incurable diseases - and neither recommend toxic drugs.

With so many new people in the group, let me also mention something else I learned from Dr. Lida Mattman, a noted microbiologist who wrote the textbook Stealth Pathogens - Cell-Wall Deficient Organisms. Sometimes one organism will overlay another. The true cause of your problem may be that covered organism. It may take one antibiotic to get rid of the first organism and another to reach the second one - another reason for the constant probing.

The medical establishment is slowly but surely discovering what we've already learned - our problems are mostly infectious or environmentally caused. There is no one protocol. With most doctors still not understanding this, we are sometimes left to make our own decisions. If you do have an open-minded, helpful physician treating you, it is strongly recommended you keep a journal that you can share the highlights of with him/her on each visit in order for him to prescribe effectively for you.

I've really 'rattled' on here but hope your question has been answered, Deb and bg. If not, get back to me again.

For those of you in the group who have been on the therapy a long time under the care of knowledgeable physicians and are still having problems, take a look at http://www.chronicneurotoxins. Better yet, get Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker's book - Desperation Medicine - available on the site at $14.95 plus S & H. It's an eyeopener - one that should be on every physician's desk. It just could be the answer for some of you.

Ethel