Dunno. Did you look at the ILADS website/Treatment Guidelines to see what they say? I don't recall if they address it.
I just looked at my old blood tests when I was on Lyme meds, and my GFR and creatinine were always well within spec, so I'm not much help here, tho one of my kidneys was damaged years ago when my appendix ruptured (to quote the docs: "We would say you have appendicitis, but you don't look sick enough." Bad call, fellas.)
Even with that history, my kidneys manage to keep up with the game, so no ideas on what's causing yours to be on overload. Maybe you're killing the bugs a little too fast?
So it may be the consequence of the particular meds you are on.... dunno.
I am curious if you tried cholestramine or welchol pills for detox? I use the welchol because I can't drink liquid meds. As far as the kidneys, I dont know either, sorry
So sorry to hear this Ricobord.
How much water do you drink each day (not including other drinks)?
My doc was insistent that I must drink at least 6 litres a day (which is nearly 11 pints) to protect my kidneys while I am on antibiotics. Lyme produce heaps of toxins and once you add in abx which are excreted daily, the more water you drink, the more you help your kidneys do their job.
If it does turn out your body just cannot handle those abx, you may be fine with some other ones.
My volume is fine, so I am drinking enough and the kidneys are indeed processing, just not well enough.
I think I will need to switch abx. I remember the PA saying that the Bicillin is excreted by the kidneys, which would be a big relief to my gut. I had gallbladder pain early on so Rocephin wasn't a good choice then. It might be time to switch to IV Rocephin. Last time in, my doc said I was okay to switch if needed.
I will also ask about cholestyramine and welchol. My Lymie friend who I saw yesterday also recommended the cholesytramine.
Burascano recommends both of those scripts for detoxing for Bart's . I feel the welchol is working but cholestramine is more common.
I am re-doing my 24 hr creatinine test today and getting blood tests in the morning. I have been off all abx and associated meds for a week now, and while it's clear I'm still infected, I don't feel as crummy as I did before I stopped. I can do more around the house and don't feel like I have to force myself to do anything. I still have very limited stamina, but either I was dragging from all the meds, or because I had too many toxins circulating that the kidneys weren't eliminating. In that sense, going off abx has been eye opening.
If my kidney function is improved, I will got on an antibacterial herbal protocol for up to a month. Then, hopefully, the kidneys will be recovered enough to resume Rx abx. I am concerned that if we have to take it slower because of my kidneys, my treatment will take a lot longer. :(
My PA on Monday said that I won't see much of an increase in Lyme symptoms until about a month off abx, but if the Bart is going to come back, I would see those symptoms in a week or so. So far, so good.
Just a note to say hang in there and take care --
Keep us posted -- J.
Good luck, I hope you hold out without a bart relapse.
Fingers crossed for you.
Got my follow up kidney test results back. After a week off abx, I improved. Yayy! It's small, but it's in the right direction. My Creatinine is down from 1.46 to 1.26. (Normal is below 1.1 My eGFR is up from 39 to 46, so I still have a ways to go. They want to see it above 60.
Back in October, a couple months before diagnosis, my eGFR was only 59. "Normal" is usually 90 or above, so I believe Lyme had already affected my kidneys. (I had mild pain in the left kidney area in the month before I was diagnosed, but none since. I thought it was the adrenal gland, as I had nearly all the symptoms of "adrenal fatigue syndrome.")
I guess this is well enough to proceed with my new herbal protocol. I have no idea how this will all play out. I did start googling Lyme and Kidneys and found a case study of someone with Lyme with such poor kidney function, the poor person had to go on dialysis for 5 months. They dubbed it "Lyme nephritis." The good news is the patient had an "excellent outcome." I don't know if that means the patient survived, or the patient fully recovered or something in between Hard to know what doctor parlance is.
I am just praying my kidneys can recover and hold up well enough to get through a long enough treatment to cure the Lyme!
I think 'excellent outcome' probably means definitely excellent. Otherwise, it would be 'good outcome', below that 'poor outcome' or something.
Do keep us posted on what herbs you are taking and how they affect you!
3 cheers for Rico and each of her kidneys! :)