Can you herx on Cholestyramine? Please help Me
Raven
supposed to take 4 packets a day of the Questran Light. This is
day # 2 of it, and I feel like I'm dying. Is this
the "intensification reaction" Dr. Shoemaker taks about...?
Where can I get more information on this. How long is this herx
thing last?? Help!
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jmspaesq
Here is the information and links I have about this therapy. Dr
Shoemaker describes it as an'intensification reaction' but
distinguishes it from a herx, because a herx is caused by die
off of bacteria whereas Questran does not kill the bacteria, but
theoretically treats the effects of the bacteria's as yet
unidentified neurotoxins.
He advises pre treatment with Actos to minimize or prevent this,
and he prescribes Actos to help minimize the effects even if
there was no pretreatment. He observes that this intensification
reaction is worst in those with longest duration and greatest
severity of symptoms especially neurological ones.
It is those patients especially who require pretreatment.
Chronic Lyme disease: Symptoms, vision and new approach to
treatment based on a theory Of neurotoxin-mediated Illness
Ritchie C Shoemaker & Kenneth Hudnell
Chronic Lyme Illness Center, Pocomoke City,
Maryland, USA; US
Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and
Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Triangle Park, North
Carolina, USA
chronic neurotoxic symptoms refractory to antibiotics in
51 patients following a tick bite were treated with
cholestyramine (CSM) according to a protocol previously used
successfully in patients with Estuary Associated Syndrome. Prior
to treatment, the chronic Lyme disease patients, 27 with and 24
without a positive Lyme diagnostic test, had a statistically
significant deficit in visual contrast sensitivity (VCS),
greatest at 6 cycles per degree of Equal arc, relative to 23
control patients. The Lyme positive-test patients averaged 7.9
symptoms and the Lyme negative-test patients averaged 5.9
symptoms before treatment.
Following CSM treatment, all patients had abatement of
their clinical syndrome; VCS scores and the number of symptoms
equaled control values. A symptom intensification reaction,
similar to but more intense than the Herxheimer reactions
experienced previously during antibiotic treatment, occurred
early in CSM therapy, especially in patients ill longer then
three years. The intensification reaction was reduced with
pioglitazone therapy or prevented by pretreatment with
pioglitazone, a known peroxisome proliforator- activated
receptor (PPAR) agonist. No relapse of symptoms was observed in
patients followed for as long as 11 months
These results suggest that VCS measurement is a useful
tool for assisting in the diagnosis of chronic Lyme Disease, and
that CSM treatment restores VCS and provides symptomatic relief
in chronic Lyme patients, presumably by greatly enhancing the
elimination rate of endotoxintn(s) released by Borrelia
spirochete lysis before and/or during antibiotic treatment. The
intensification reaction my result from differential gene
activation by mobilized toxin(s) which induces release of
cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, but can be
countered or blocked by the PPAR gamma agonist activity of
pioglitazone. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and
does not necessary reflect EPA policy.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM CHOLESTYRAMINE
Cholestyramine (CSM) is an FDA approved medication used to
lower elevated levels of cholesterol. It has been used safely
for over twenty years in millions of patients who have taken the
mediation for extended amounts of time You have been given a
prescription for CSM to be used for only a short period of time
to treat your chronic, neurotoxin-mediated illness.
The FDA (6/28199) ruled that there was no reason to
expect an increased risk to health from CSM in a group of
patients who have illnesses such as pfiesteria, ciguatera, and
blue green algae syndromes compared to those who don’t. Your
prescription is given to you under this FDA exemption.
Cholestyramine is not absorbed. Provided it is not
taken with food, it binds cholesterol, bile salts and biological
toxins in the small intestine. Because it binds toxins tightly,
the toxins will not be reabsorbed; the CSM-toxin complex is
excreted harmlessly in the stool provided there is no exposure
to toxin or reacquisition of toxin. The CSM treatment will
remove all the toxin over time, curing your chronic, toxin-
mediated illness. Most patients are cured in two weeks, but
depending on the amount of toxin in your body, the time
to cure may be longer.
Used at the FDA approved dose of 9grams of Questran (we
use the brand name because of its greater effectiveness), or 4
Grams of Questran Light, taken four times a day, there are side
effects that are potentially annoying but are not dangerous and
should never prevent you from finishing your treatment program.
Our trial treatment protocol attempts to anticipate the possible
troublesome side checks; you will be given two additional
prescriptions to keep on hand "just in case."
Reflux of stomach acid, also called heartburn or
indigestion, is common. It is experienced early on in
treatment. The symptom abates spontaneously in most patients
within a few days. A medication to stop over production of
stomach acid, taken before beginning the CSM doses, can prevent
heartburn. Mixing the CSM in apple juice, cranberry juice or
dissolving CSM, first in hot water and then adding ice, helps
reduce heartburn.
Bloating and belching can also be caused initially by CSM.
Fortunately, those side effects are rarely a major problem.
Constipation is commonly seen. Many patients simply
increase their consumption of fruit or fiber products. such as
psyullim (Metamucil) to avoid this problem. A non-absorbable
sweet tasting liquid sorbitol in a 70% solution, taken one
tablespoon four times a day with food, will hold water in the
stool, making bowel movements soft and preventing constipation.
Even though sorbitol tastes sweet it will not worsen your
diabetes or make you gain weight.
Because many patients with chronic neurotoxin-mediated
illnesses have diarrhea or more frequent, softer stools, this
side effect of CSM can become a welcome, early benefit.
CSM has been extensively tested in multiple clinical trials
involving patients with chronic, neurotoxin-mediated diseases.
The benefit has been substantiated by a double-blind placebo
crossover study. The study was terminated prematurely due to
ethical considerations: withholding treatment could not be
justified, given the clearly demonstrated prompt clinical
benefit.
Your physician will be following your treatment carefully.
If you have questions regarding any phase of your treatment,
please notify your doctor promptly, there is no detail too small
to ignore in cases like yours. You will be given special tests
of visual contrast sensitivity on a regular basis. Your
treatment will continue until your symptoms have resolved and
your visual contrast is normal. Your physician will review your
case in detail as your treatment progresses.
Hi Joel,
Just checked in on lymenet, saw you were contacting researcher
on Questran. Didn't know if you had the info. or not, but
thought I'd give it to you just in case.
McCready Outpatient Services Center
Ritchie C. Shoemaker, M.D., P.A.
Family Medicine
Weight Loss
Chronic Neurotoxin Illnesses
1604 Market St.
Pocomoke, MD
21851
410-957-1550
shoe...@shore.intercom.net
http://www.lymediseaseaudio.com/shoemake.htm
http://www.chronicneurotoxins.com/learnMore.cfm
http://www.actos.com/about/whatis.htm
What Is ACTOS?
ACTOS Works To Lower Blood Sugar
What Is ACTOS?
ACTOS is clinically proven, once-a-day prescription medicine
available to lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2
diabetes. When diet and exercise alone do not control blood
sugar levels, ACTOS can be used by itself or in combination with
other diabetes pills (sulfonylurea, metformin), or insulin to
lower blood sugar.1
ACTOS is a member of the newest class of oral diabetes agents
called thiazolidinediones (THIGH-ah-ZO-li-deen-DYE-owns; TZDs).
Drugs in this class are insulin-sensitizers. These agents help
reduce insulin resistance (the body’s inability to effectively
use its own insulin), a condition that has been identified as
one of the major problems in type 2 diabetes. Drugs like ACTOS
make your body more sensitive to insulin and thus help improve
the body’s ability to use insulin.1
ACTOS Works To Lower Blood Sugar
In people with type 2 diabetes, there is a danger of developing
harmful levels of sugar in the blood. ACTOS works by helping the
body use its naturally produced insulin, or administered insulin
in type 2 diabetes, to help burn sugar as a fuel and reduce the
harmful buildup of sugar.
Copyright © 1999, Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. and Eli
Lilly and Company
>
>
Joel M.Shmukler, Esquire
Director, LymeCURE 2000
Lymeron
used it with success, Are there people out there that have had a permanent
reduction in symptoms after using Questran?
Can questran be used concurrently with abx treatment? And have there been
any studies done with people that are coinfected with babesia?
Also I am wondering if actos is really all that safe in people that might
be prone to blood sugar abnormalities?. It seems like it might lower blood
sugar to the point of hypoglygemia? Is this a correct assumption? Would it put
additional stress on the pancreas to regulate sugars? I don't really know the
physiology so I am just guessing here..... What are people's LLMD's saying
about questran,,, What is the Buzz?
Kara Kyriaka Tyson
Cholestyramine protocol of 2 months.
At about 2 weeks I herxed with severe stomach pains. But it
all went away.
I dont know that it helped one way or the other. I am
neutral about the medication.
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Mariah's Mommie
constipated and gassy. Are you married? If you are, you're husband may
ask you to sleep in another room until this flare is over.
Unfortunately, unless you stop taking it
this reaction will continue. I know, I took it. And it wasn't for lyme,
it was for chlorestorel
Empty~Nest~Cape~Cod
Helen~Jim~Mariah
AllenKathy
BailieBoy
it mentioned somewhere else but there were no details.
THANK YOU!
Lisa