Minocycline therapy for RA

[spfister]

I started the minocycline yesterday 100mg  2 x a day.  I was extremly dizzy and had nausea even after just one.  I will try again Monday but with only one 100mg capsule.  My question is, is this normal,  does it get better??  I can't imangine continueing with these symptoms.  I would take 50 mg on Monday but mine are capsules.  Does the Doxycycline cause this also, I maybe could switch.:(

[Maz]

[user=2270]spfister[/user] wrote:

I started the minocycline yesterday 100mg  2 x a day.  I was extremly dizzy and had nausea even after just one.  I will try again Monday but with only one 100mg capsule.  My question is, is this normal,  does it get better??  I can't imangine continueing with these symptoms.  I would take 50 mg on Monday but mine are capsules.  Does the Doxycycline cause this also, I maybe could switch.:(

Hi Spfister,

Early dizziness with minocycline is pretty common (likely because it passes the blood/brain barrier and has better tissue penetration than other tetras), but it generally passes after the body adjusts. This is one of the reasons why a low and slow approach is a good idea, gradually building up to tolerance. I had some dizzy spells in the beginning, but they passed within a month or two. When people start out on 50 or 100mg on a MWF, sometimes it helps to take the dose two hours before bed (a couple hours after the evening meal but staying upright for a couple hours). Dizziness might still occur the following day, but it may not be as bad.

For nausea, it's okay to eat a little something with mino….just nothing with minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, etc) as foods high in minerals will bind to all the tetras and render them useless in the gut. So something like apple sauce is a good choice just to settle the stomach. Early nausea is also pretty common, but usually passes, too. If it becomes unbearable, it's worth mentioning it to your doc, as he may be able to suggest something to settle your stomach (again nothing with minerals).

Doxycycline is generally not much better in terms of early nausea and may in fact be worse for some folk, so if you can manage to get through these early days, you will likely be better off with the mino, because it does have better tissue penetration.

Some people will buy the empty vegetarian gelcaps from their health food store in the beginning and split their capsules into two to make 50mg doses.

Does this help any?

Peace, Maz

 

[PhilC]

Yes, it is normal. Instead of capsules, you might want to try taking minocycline tablets made by Par Pharmaceutical. The tablets are designed to release the minocycline a little more slowly, so it isn't such a shock to the system.

Here's some more information about them:
http://www.rbfbb.org/view_topic.php?id=2581&forum_id=1
http://www.rbfbb.org/view_topic.php?id=3822&forum_id=1

As for doxycycline, it can also cause dizziness, though I believe it is less likely to happen compared to minocycline.

Phil

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

[whaleharbor]

I had it too.  I had it really, really bad.  So bad, in fact, that I panicked.

Fortunately, Maz (my angel) was there to talk me through it.  (thank you Maz).  Search the threads and you'll see how many listings there are for this.  You'll even still see my panic stricken original dizziness posting.

Fortunately for me, it resolved fairly quickly.

For me the early days are tough but they did get better.

Talk to your doc about it…he/she may be able to give you some tips and how to get past this.

– – whaleharbor

Minocycline 100mg every other day with food...lots of food: Zydus brand. Celecoxib 200mg twice per day: Greenstone brand.

[spfister]

Thanks everyone I will try to increase slower tomorrow with one 100 mg.  And see if that works.

I also had trouble withe the antifungal (Vfend), which I took when I had a fungal infection in my lungs last year.  I had to start out very slow and then finally got up to where I was suppose to be after weeks.  Had to take it for a year!.  This fungal infection was from taking Humira which wipping out my immune system:(  I think at the beginning of that therapy it  was killing off the yeast and candidia infections as it is also a treatment for candidia. That why the bad reaction. Now all my Doctors agree I cannot take anything that compromises my immune system.

 

Well I now know two people  on Humira, and I am going to explain to them how this antibiotic treatment can bring long term results without the dangerous side effects!

[Maz]

[user=2270]spfister[/user] wrote:

I also had trouble withe the antifungal (Vfend), which I took when I had a fungal infection in my lungs last year.  I had to start out very slow and then finally got up to where I was suppose to be after weeks.  Had to take it for a year!.  This fungal infection was from taking Humira which wipping out my immune system:(  I think at the beginning of that therapy it  was killing off the yeast and candidia infections as it is also a treatment for candidia. That why the bad reaction. Now all my Doctors agree I cannot take anything that compromises my immune system.

So sorry to hear you had this experience. Sounds like you'll need to be hypervigilant about candida from now on, Spfister. Minocycline is said to actually have been designed to cause less of a problem with candida than other tetras, but you may find you will need to do some gut healing and may be more predisposed to food sensitivies, as candida can be the cause of leaky gut. Some folk here will pulse in a systemic anti-fungal at intervals, like Diflucan, along with their AP, in order to keep candida at bay.

Peace, Maz

PS Probiotics are really important…they can prevent candida overgrowth while on AP, but won't reverse it once it takes hold, unfortunately…hence sometimes the need to pulse in a systemic anti-fungal.

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