Artemesin and Malarone for Babs

Can anyone tell me the side effects of taking both of these at the same time plus I am taking Bactrim. Will I have a bad herx?

I take malarone/zith, for 4 days, then bactrim/zith for 3 days and keep repeating. I also add in ART during the malarone days and 1 day of bactrim (4 days on, 3 off). It helped me turn the corner!

Hi Maria.  How often will you be taking Artemisinin and what dose?  I think adding Artemisinin for treating Babs is beneficial.  You may have a herx, but in the long run I think it will help.

Good luck!

I will be taking 200 mg of Arteminisin 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. Plus I take Malarone 250 mg 2x a day every day and 1 bactrim 2 x a day every day.. He has me Pulsing the arteminisin..

Hi Maria.  I am not familiar with pulsing Arte.  When I take it, I take 100 mg three times daily. 

Ticker-you have to take a break with art,it can be taken many ways-4 days on, 3 off, or 3 weeks on, 1 off. Apparently, an enzyme builds up which makes it ineffective, so you need to take a break to stop this cycle. My LLMD explained it, but I forget exactly how it works.

Thanks beths.  I guess I should have said that the way I pulse it is by taking it daily for two to three months and then stopping.

Ticker-you can't take it daily. You have to take a break-3 weeks on, 1 week off is the max you can take it straight for! (My LLMD told me this-he's the one that wrote the book!)

Hi beths.  Not all doctors prescribe meds and supplements to be taken the same way.  Each case is different and treatment should be based on what the doctor thinks is best for each person.  There are well-known Lyme doctors who do not prescribe Artemisinin three weeks on and one week off just as there are well-known Lyme doctors who do prescribe it this way.  I think what is important is what works for each person. 

Post Edited (ticker) : 3/26/2009 7:56:55 PM (GMT-6)

Hi All! I just popped in to say that when I took Malarone and Artemisinin, the side effect was kidney and liver disfunction! Don't know if it was from die off or from the drugs themselves. I thought I tolerated them well until my blood test proved otherwise. My suggestion is to make sure your doc does regular blood tests to be sure you are OK. Interestingly, I think I remember I did not take breaks from the art. Took the drugs for a couple months, then had to quit. It took the ND about 5-6 months to get my organs back to normal range.