Flagyl help?

[Invida]

Hello to everyone. How are you? I pray you're well and feeling great.

I have a question about Flagyl and not being able to get in to see an LLMD for several months to be tested for Lyme. If I can't get anybody to see me soon, would taking something like Flagyl help me some at least until then? I have two bottles of this medication for recurring bacterial infections. I also have some Valtrex for ocular breakouts. Is that something that could also help? I'm sorry if this is a really stupid question, but I wonder if taking these could help me with some of the symptoms if I do have Lyme.

[JackieCalifornia]

"I'm just wanting to get better so much that I'm reaching"

That means the bugz haven't got you in a corner -- YOU GO!  :)

[Invida]

Hi. :) Thank you guys for replying. It helps me a lot. I'll ask about the cancellation lists. I think I'm just wanting to get better so much that I'm reaching. I appreciate the information.

[Ephedra]

I get further with illness by self medicating than I would with any doctor.  Therefore I do a lot of self medicating...  I am not necessarily encouraging it, even though it may sound like it..

Flagyl attacks the cystic form of the Lyme bacteria.  Lyme has 3 or maybe even 4 different forms that we need differing antibiotics for.  That's why with Lyme, we are often given multiple different antibiotics.  And then of course, there are the coinfections that you need to worry about as well.

Will Flagyl help you in itself?  Probably not much.  However, if you are planing on getting tested for Lyme it may help you in that area as there will be more bacteria in the open to detection rather than enclosed in it's cystic form.

Hopefully I'm making since.  Flagyl is a rough medication though.  If you really do have Lyme, you should feel some sort of die off reaction with Flagyl.  You could actually feel worse with it.  It can be hard on the liver as well.  Therefore when we take Flagyl for Lyme we usually do not do so for more than 4 weeks at a time.

Hope this helps..  Lyme is one tricky bacteria...

[JackieCalifornia]

Can you be put on the cancellation list at the doc's office?  Tell them how far away you are from their office (how many miles or hours away) so they can have you on their list if someone isn't able to keep their appointment.  Stuff happens, and a slot might open up.  Playin' all the angles.  :)  

Hang in there!

[Invida]

Hi. Thank you. :) That makes sense. I don't know why I mentioned the other medication since it's an antiviral. I will most likely have to use the Flagyl for the recurring infections I have, but I wondered if it would help with anything else if I have Lyme. With the way my symptoms are, it hurts to think of having to go so long without being able to do anything about it.

[JackieCalifornia]

It's a fair question, but I would not self-medicate.  Which antibiotics are used depends on what infections you have, and there is a long list of different infections you might might that came from the 'Lyme' ticks.

If you self-medicate, it may cause your blood tests to come out oddly -- your doc needs a clear reading of what infections you have, so that you can be treated with the right meds at the right dose for specific infection(s).  

In addition, using antibiotics without an MD's direction to do so risky not only for you, but also for the rest of us, because it is to easy to create antibiotic-resistant bacteria if the meds do not completely kill the infection, in terms of what meds, what dose, and for how long.

If I were on a desert island with no chance of seeing a doc for a year, I'd consider self-medicating ... but not otherwise.  Sorry.