200mg 3 times Weekly or 100mg Daily … Which is better?

[JohnnyMax]

Just curious as to whether someone has switched from from using it from one dosing protocol to the other, did you notice a difference? In total it is basically the same amount of medication a week, but is it better to have breaks in between doses or to hit it every day?

I am using the MWF @200mg Minocycline method right now, but eventually want to progress to every day @200mg. One thing I am noticing at this point, I may tend to get some extra inflammation and low grade fever, about 1 degree, on the days I do not use it, is this good as in the immune system cleaning house, or is this bad as in disease progression when not being medicated? How does one know?

John

[PhilC]

Hi John,

I think the answer may be: “it depends.” For a person in remission, the 3X/week dosing might be the better choice. For people in the early stages of treatment, daily dosing makes more sense — when they are ready for it (many people need to work their way up to it).

One of the main reasons I think that 100 mg per day is better than 200 mg three times per week is because the daily dosing should be much easier to tolerate. And that is a very good thing, not only because the patient is likely to suffer less, but because it also means there should be less of a need for things like NSAIDs, prednisone, Enbrel, Humira, etc.

Phil

P.S. It would have been better to ask the question before changing your dose. 😉

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[BonnieG]

So just curious….when you say 100Mg a day….is that once a day or does it mean taking 50Mg twice a day? My current MINOCIN is in 100Mg. pellets.

[JohnnyMax]

@PhilC wrote:

Hi John,

I think the answer may be: “it depends.” For a person in remission, the 3X/week dosing might be the better choice. For people in the early stages of treatment, daily dosing makes more sense — when they are ready for it (many people need to work their way up to it).

One of the main reasons I think that 100 mg per day is better than 200 mg three times per week is because the daily dosing should be much easier to tolerate. And that is a very good thing, not only because the patient is likely to suffer less, but because it also means there should be less of a need for things like NSAIDs, prednisone, Enbrel, Humira, etc.

Phil

P.S. It would have been better to ask the question before changing your dose. 😉

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your response. Initially I went the 100mg every day route, but had to take a break, seemed too much. Took a few days off, retried it again, still too much. So this time after taking a few days off again I went with the 200mg EOD and find this happening, so I asked. I think I will retry the 100mg daily again, maybe by system will be more receptive it to it this time around since I have been on the mino longer. I guess its just trial an error to find what works for you. The reason I was asking is because in the article on this site by Trentham, he stressed “every day”.

John

[JohnnyMax]

@BonnieG wrote:

So just curious….when you say 100Mg a day….is that once a day or does it mean taking 50Mg twice a day? My current MINOCIN is in 100Mg. pellets.

BonnieG,

I only have the 100mg capsules, so I was taking it all at once, though if I wanted would not be too hard to dump half out, have done that with other meds in the past with success.

John

[PhilC]

Hi John,
@JohnnyMax wrote:

Thanks for your response. Initially I went the 100mg every day route, but had to take a break, seemed too much. Took a few days off, retried it again, still too much.

What dose were you taking prior to trying to increase your dose to 100 mg every day, and how long had you been taking it?

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[JohnnyMax]

@PhilC wrote:

Hi John,
@JohnnyMax wrote:

Thanks for your response. Initially I went the 100mg every day route, but had to take a break, seemed too much. Took a few days off, retried it again, still too much.

What dose were you taking prior to trying to increase your dose to 100 mg every day, and how long had you been taking it?

Phil

Phil,

I had been taking doxycycline for about 2 weeks, 100mgx2 every day. Felt good without any issues, so figured I would move up to mino at 100mg once daily, but within a few days started to get some joint aches, so took a break of a few days. When I was on the doxy, I actually felt good, no NSAIDS, seems like they were taking care of everything on their own. I sometimes think maybe I should have stayed with the Doxy protocol instead of trying to work up to Mino.

John

[PhilC]

Hi John,
@JohnnyMax wrote:

I had been taking doxycycline for about 2 weeks, 100mgx2 every day. Felt good without any issues, so figured I would move up to mino at 100mg once daily, but within a few days started to get some joint aches, so took a break of a few days.

Well that explains it. It was too much, too soon. Whenever I start something, or increase my dose, I always wait at least a month before trying to increase the dose further. I learned the hard way that trying to go too fast is counterproductive. Actually, I already knew that, but what I didn’t know is how fast is “too fast.”

@JohnnyMax wrote:

When I was on the doxy, I actually felt good, no NSAIDS, seems like they were taking care of everything on their own. I sometimes think maybe I should have stayed with the Doxy protocol instead of trying to work up to Mino.

Personally, I think most people should start out on doxycycline. It has fewer side effects than minocycline and is better tolerated. Many doctors (and their patients) seem to prefer starting out with minocycline because it “works better,” but in the early stages of treatment it can work a little too well and end up being more of a curse than a blessing. In some cases, it leads to the patient completely abandoning the treatment. Of course, that can also happen with doxycycline, especially if the patient has been ill for a long time and is started on too high of a dose, but the probability is lower.

Note: I am not a physician. I am just reporting my personal opinions which are based on research, personal experience, and reading the reported experiences of others.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[JohnnyMax]

@PhilC wrote:

Personally, I think most people should start out on doxycycline. It has fewer side effects than minocycline and is better tolerated. Many doctors (and their patients) seem to prefer starting out with minocycline because it “works better,” but in the early stages of treatment it can work a little too well and end up being more of a curse than a blessing. In some cases, it leads to the patient completely abandoning the treatment. Of course, that can also happen with doxycycline, especially if the patient has been ill for a long time and is started on too high of a dose, but the probability is lower.

Note: I am not a physician. I am just reporting my personal opinions which are based on research, personal experience, and reading the reported experiences of others.

Phil

Phil,

I think you are right about that, especially the part about people wanting to give up because of the possible reaction of too much too soon. I know it has crossed my mind, but not about to, the alternative is the other drugs that are used that can really mess you up. Thanks.

John

[A Friend]

@PhilC wrote:

Hi John,

I think the answer may be: “it depends.” For a person in remission, the 3X/week dosing might be the better choice. For people in the early stages of treatment, daily dosing makes more sense — when they are ready for it (many people need to work their way up to it).

One of the main reasons I think that 100 mg per day is better than 200 mg three times per week is because the daily dosing should be much easier to tolerate. And that is a very good thing, not only because the patient is likely to suffer less, but because it also means there should be less of a need for things like NSAIDs, prednisone, Enbrel, Humira, etc.

Phil

P.S. It would have been better to ask the question before changing your dose. 😉

John,

I like what Phil has written, and think for some patients it could be the better plan.

However, some people/patients might have a greater need for a “rest” in between medication days, with more time to add lots of probiotics to replace the gut flora killed off by the antibiotics — flora that manufactures our needed B vitamins. Also, for people with more of a tendency for yeast/overgrowth (some don’t even know they have this tendency and may never have seen evidence, which could be systemic) … and still need a super probiotic to replace good flora… using such as Dr. Ohhira’s 12 plus, at least for a time. (I’ve heard a well-known CCNutritionist say she puts one of Dr. O’hhira’s pills on her bedside table and takes it during the night — that might be helpful for every night.)

Dr. Wm Crook years ago mailed me copies of Research papers showing that people vary greatly in their susceptibility to develop yeast/fungal overgrowth. One paper stated that some people (rather rare) do not develop yeast overgrowth no matter what they do). This problem can cause many more problems; and many develop these diagnoses because of overgrowth in the gut system, and not being able to make B vitamins — even as some of their other big problems are addressed.

Knowing what I know now, I personally would probably still have chosen the MWF schedule for myself I did, because I already knew the preceding two years of illness had caused my own chronic illness to turn into something more serious… even though I’d never seen evidence of it, I indeed had systemic yeast/fungal overgrowth. Dr. Wm C. suggested I take Diflucan longterm, and get a trusted physician locally to supervise. I had a great ENT in the Austin area who did this for me for about 4 months, and it turned the tide at that time… but this was before I went on to gradually get worse when I did not know I didn’t have enough minerals to neutralize and flush out the acidic wastes through the kidneys. I think that happened because I had underestimated the “enemy” and when I was feeling much better, thought I was almost well.

AF

[Lynne G.SD]

Hi Johnny;
You do not have a signature line below your postings so I have no idea which disease you have.If it is SD one really should try to suck it up and take 200mg mino a day because this thing is a killer.If it’s Lupus very small dosages work best because Lupies seem extremely sensitive.If it’s RA and co. 50mg every other day seems to be the best way to start.If a herx hits it’s easier to control,SD and MCTD people don’t herx nearly as much and dosage should be constant as mino inhibits an enzyme needed to make collagen.If an SDer does herx it is likely that there is an other infection going along for a ride,Lyme and Strep seems to be the most common

[lynnie_sydney]

John
If you’d like to use a signature – which comprises information that will come up each time you post and which will help others to respond helpfully, you can do this: go to your User Control Panel (above left), click on the Profile tab, then the Edit signature option. Put as much info about your diagnosis and date, past and current treatment etc as the character limit will allow, then click on submit. You can change this info at any time by going through the same steps.

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[JohnnyMax]

@Lynne G./SD wrote:

Hi Johnny;
You do not have a signature line below your postings so I have no idea which disease you have.If it is SD one really should try to suck it up and take 200mg mino a day because this thing is a killer.If it’s Lupus very small dosages work best because Lupies seem extremely sensitive.If it’s RA and co. 50mg every other day seems to be the best way to start.If a herx hits it’s easier to control,SD and MCTD people don’t herx nearly as much and dosage should be constant as mino inhibits an enzyme needed to make collagen.If an SDer does herx it is likely that there is an other infection going along for a ride,Lyme and Strep seems to be the most common

Lynne G,

So far tests have shown only Sjogren’s, which I already knew from the symptoms. Not too much info about this, either on this site or in the book for some reason, guess its the oddball of the group. Nonetheless, I have to deal with it and really have not gotten the dosing down yet. As you said, different issues respond better to certain dosing programs, just have to find the one this one responds best to. Thanks for the info!

John

[PhilC]

Hi John,

Although I answered your question as best as I could, I did so without all of the facts. Now, reconsidering your question, my answer is: “Probably neither.” Why? Both are probably too high since you just started treatment very recently.

For patients with less severe or early disease, the IV or IM treatment may not be required as they experience the same result using oral medication exclusively. The optimum standard dosage for these patients is minocycline or doxycycline 100 mg. once daily, Monday, Wednesday and Friday or tetracycline 250 mg. twice daily Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

See: Treating Less Severe, Early Disease

Another (important) quote from the above web page:

“There is no single protocol which works for everyone; each patient is different.”

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[JohnnyMax]

@PhilC wrote:

Hi John,

Although I answered your question as best as I could, I did so without all of the facts. Now, reconsidering your question, my answer is: “Probably neither.” Why? Both are probably too high since you just started treatment very recently.

For patients with less severe or early disease, the IV or IM treatment may not be required as they experience the same result using oral medication exclusively. The optimum standard dosage for these patients is minocycline or doxycycline 100 mg. once daily, Monday, Wednesday and Friday or tetracycline 250 mg. twice daily Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

See: Treating Less Severe, Early Disease

Another (important) quote from the above web page:

“There is no single protocol which works for everyone; each patient is different.”

Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the additional consideration and recommendation in my problem. I emailed Dr S about it, but he never responded, so I made a judgement call as best I could. I decided to try to add one morning dose of 100mg minocycline to the day after my 2 x100mg dose days, so now I do, 200, 100, 200, 100 etc. Been a week or so since I started it, no low grade fevers so far, handling it well, so will see what the next few weeks bring. Thanks again for the concern.

John

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