One week in – some questions

[hotspur2904]

I've been on Aknemin (100mg Minocycline) twice a day for just over a week. Should I be asking my doctor for generic Minocycline or is an equivelent ok?

Sadly the day I started, I had to have another steroid injection because I was in so much pain.  These normally tend to last me a monthy or so however after a couple of days on the Minocycline, the pain returned. Could this be a reaction to the Minocycline?

I'm taking one first thing in the morning with just water and a probiotic. I'm then taking 90mg Arcoxia and 15mg Lansoprazole with my evening meal and my 2nd Minocycline two hours after dinner.  As I'm not seeing an AP doctor I wondered if anyone could tell me if I'm on the right track and whether there is anything else I should be doing or changing at this stage.

Simon 

[lynnie_sydney]

Simon – Minocin MR is the brand in the UK manufactured by Wyeth, Aknemin is an alternative brand manufactured by Reckitt Benckisser. The original brand was manufactured by Wyeth, so am not sure of any differences. The drug itself is called minocycline and there are generic versions of it i.e. cheaper versions without a brand name. Brand is usually said to be better, because of the unknown content of permissable fillers in the generics.

Your increased pain levels on the minocycline are very likely to be a herx response – and the degree of this is possibly related to the high starting dose of 200mg daily. If it were me, I'd be looking at reducing the dose and the number of days, certainly to begin with (and possibly to continue if you do well on this). Herxing should always be tolerable, the idea is to kill pathogens, not the patient. Additionally, the antibiotic cant do its work with inflammation acting as a barrier. So, I'd be considering a reduction in the regime and speaking to my doc about doing so. Lynnie  

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)

[Maz]

[user=1526]hotspur2904[/user] wrote:

I'm taking one first thing in the morning with just water and a probiotic.

 

Hi Simon,

It's optimal to take the probiotic with a two hour window, well away from the antibiotic. The reason is that the probiotic is replacing the good bacteria in one's gut that the antibiotic wipes out as it passes through. Taken at the same time and the probiotic is wiped out, too. The idea is to take the probiotic as a chaser to the antibiotic a couple hours later.

My doc recommended I take more probiotic than is recommended on the side of my bottle. So, I actually quadruple the amount – bottle says to take 2 and I take 8….4 after morning dose and 4 after evening dose. On my days off, I just take my probiotics all at once, but you're daily dosing your mino, so you'd stick to same schedule of taking yours. Everyone seems to find their optimal dose of probiotic and (sorry to be graphic, but) it's usually gauged by consistency of stools.

Hope this helps some!

Peace, Maz

[judy cash]

Maz,

Concerning probotics: I can't figure out how much I need to take, so I'm wondering what do you mean, ” the optimal dose of probotic is gauged by consistency of stool”I don't mean to intrude on Simon, but this may help me to determine the dossage..Thanks

Judy

[mkbeeliever]

[user=1504]judy cash[/user] wrote:

Maz,

Concerning probotics: I can't figure out how much I need to take, so I'm wondering what do you mean, ” the optimal dose of probotic is gauged by consistency of stool”I don't mean to intrude on Simon, but this may help me to determine the dossage..Thanks

Judy

Yes, I need to know what this means too!  Thanks for asking Judy!! STOOL, my favorite subject! 😯

[Maz]

[user=1504]judy cash[/user] wrote:

Concerning probotics: I can't figure out how much I need to take, so I'm wondering what do you mean, ” the optimal dose of probotic is gauged by consistency of stool”I don't mean to intrude on Simon, but this may help me to determine the dossage..Thanks

Hi Judy and Michelle,

I'll share in my own words (below) what I've learned from reading about leaky gut syndrome and systemic candida. With about 80% of the immune system in the gut, it is worth researching all this for one's self. E.g. In the RBF Winter eBulletin an article was shared describing how intestinal microbes had been linked to RA:

https://www.roadback.org/emailblasts/ebulletin_winter09.html

Intestinal Microbes in Etiopathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Recent research out of Finland supports the hypothesis that imbalances in intestinal microbiota are strongly connected with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18528968?ordinalpo…

Antibiotics basically destroy the fauna (natural pathogen balance) in the gut – both good and bad, and, when that happens, people usually wind up with diarrhea due to an imbalance of fauna/flora in the gut. An extreme case would be a case of clostridrium difficile, for instance, where an overgrowth of a nasty organism can occur, causing a very painful inflammatory condition producing diarrhea and bloody stools. Bacteria are needed to break down foods and if there isn't enough good bacteria (and even some of the bad work synergistically with the good), then food isn't properly digested and it just comes out in liquid or chunks.

It's really important to replace the good bacteria (probiotics), particularly so while on longterm abx, because flora overgrowth (yeast) can occur in the gut making everything much worse. Candida literally grows hydra, or roots, into the gut lining and creates a leaky gut syndrome.  This sets one up for food sensitivities, as food then leaks through these tiny perforations into the surrounding tissues and the body senses them as foreign invaders…and voila!…this is why many rheumatics find they also have food sensitivities or full blown food allergies developing. Both systemic candida and food sensitivities can create a situation that mimics the disease…as in an RA flare. My best layman's guess is that flora/fauna imbalances in the gut have probably already set the scene for an AI disease to evolve long before it actually erupts overtly and lots of the conventionally used DMARDs destroy the good bacteria in the gut, often making things worse.

In a nutshell and a good, healthy-looking stool is a nice medium brown color, solid, easily passed and should come out in one piece, looking a bit like a banana in shape (6 or 8 inches long). Ideally, one should be having 2 or 3 bowel movements a day. So, by working up slowly on the probiotics, much like one would do with antibiotics, an optimal dose can be achieved by checking stool color, shape and consistency. If constipation occurs (usually darker stools that appear as smaller bullets) , then probably wise to back down. If stools seem loose with no solid form, then probably one needs to increase probiotic dose.

Once candida/yeasts grab hold in the gut, they are very hard to eliminate, so starting a probiotic immediately as one begins AP (or even before in preparation) is a very good practice. Probiotics can prevent candida overgrowth, but can't reverse it once it starts, unfortunately, especially when one is on longterm antibiotics.

Hope this helps a bit? Just my personal interpretation of material I've read, so others might like to share any tidbits they've gleaned, too. 😉

Peace, Maz

[lynnie_sydney]

Just a further note here. If there are food sensitivities involved, increasing the probiotic wont affect the stool or heal the gut. Sensitivities can be caused by a number of things, such as years on salicylate-based medications, which includes many NSAIDS. 

This article by Leo Galland MD, considered one of the top authorities on Leaky Gut, is very comprehensive. The summary on page 9 indicates that a number of measures are required to address it. Lynnie 

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)

[Trudi]

[user=27]Maz[/user] wrote:

Hope this helps a bit? Just my personal interpretation of material I've read, so others might like to share any tidbits they've gleaned, too. 😉

Hi Maz–

I was interested in this, too.  Thanks for the explanation.

Trudi

Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?

[judy cash]

Maz,

Thanks for the information. and thanks for all the explaining….. It gets so confusing sometimes……………..I didn't know, that there was so much to know about “poo”:blush: 

Love and Best Wishes to all,

Judy

[Maz]

[user=1504]judy cash[/user] wrote:

It gets so confusing sometimes……………..I didn't know, that there was so much to know about “poo”:blush: 

:roll-laugh: Yea, you're right about that, Judy! I got familarized with “poo talk” a few years ago when I was liver flushing for a gall bladder issue. It was talked about in all its visual, multi-coloured-textured glory on the yahoogroup I joined and I kind of got de-sensitized to it after a while and it doesn't offend my sensibilities anymore. We had some threads going on parasite cleansing a while back and the topic came up a lot then, too. Thank goodness we all have eachother here, because it's not the kind of thing one really discusses, even with a best buddy!

Don't worry, Judy….in a few months all the lingo and chatter will be second nature to you here, especially if you follow all the links people post or use the search box above for subjects you aren't understanding fully….or just ask…sometone is bound to chime in to help.

Peace, Maz

[hotspur2904]

Thanks Maz and Lynnie (as always!) for the feedback.

Lynnie, I'm going to look into Minocin MR as an alternative to the Aknemin.  Whilst I'm herxing/aching, it is tolerable so I am going to stick to my current dose for the foreseeable until the pain goes/worsens.

Maz thanks for the advice on the probiotic.  I will also watch my stools!!! :blush:

Simon

[judy cash]

Maz,

You are such a dear, to help us the way that you do. I read most of the post daily and I have learned so much. You know it is so wonderful to have this site and all the information that the internet offers. It is so nice  to be able to type in questions instead of looking the doctor in the eye and ask such embarrassing questions.:blush: We really must consider ourselves lucky to have found this site and all you experienced “angels”. I hope someday I can be one of the “angels” who can help others. What a wonderful calling it is. Oh I must stop before I get all teary eyed:crying:.

To our healing!!!!!

Judy

[Author]

Posts