[Kiwayu]

LoriO- Kiwayu had a few days where his tummy was bothering him even on the probiotics. Doxy does irritate the gut. I had given Kiwayu U-gard for a few days along with the probiotics. Just remember a lot of things cannot mix with the doxy so they must be given at a different meal.

[Janet]

Well, I spoke to soon. Lizzy didn't want to eat her grain tonight (although she was eating her hay) and was acting like her tummy was bothering her. Nothing major but still not quite right.

I am going to double check with the vet in the AM but I think I am going to stop the doxy until the probiotics I ordered arrive. Hopefully that will be in the next day or two. My poor girl!!!

See what your vet says, but I would think it would be more important to keep up the doxy.

Remember that every time you "miss a dose" or stop before the completion of the sequence, you are contributing to the "survival of the fittest (resistant to the medication)" bugs.

[Iride]

Cornell has been recommending treating Lyme-infected horses first with Tetra IV (catheter) for one or two weeks I think, and to then follow that up with the oral Doxy.

They say the initial intensive Tetra treatment right away, followed by the oral Doxy, is a more effective treatment than oral Doxy alone. Of course, it is inconvenient to have a vet come in every day to administer the Tetra via catheter, but if it works, it's well worth it. Many horses do respond well to the doxy alone. I suppose it might depend upon the severity of the infection (?).

Also - after treatment with either antibiotic, the blood should not be retested again until a few months have passed. The titers often show a rise during and soon after treatment even when it's working, and you won't really know where you're at unless you wait a period of time before you re-test.

[Boston Chicken]

Iride - my horse had that exact treatment, and it didn't work. Strangely, the cheaper oral teramycin or similar (I'm sure it's not spelled right) worked on him. He was on that for 45 days and it did the trick

[Iride]

Wow, BC that is interesting. Glad to hear the oral worked! I guess it goes to show... each horse is an individual and needs to be evaluated and treated as such. Down with Lyme!

[LoriO]

Well, fingers crossed but she was doing better today. She was standing at the gate clamoring for breakfast since she hadn't eaten her dinner the night before. BM emailed me to let me know she ate dinner tonight too. Whew!!

[HandsomeRansom]

Cornell has been recommending treating Lyme-infected horses first with Tetra IV (catheter) for one or two weeks I think, and to then follow that up with the oral Doxy.

They say the initial intensive Tetra treatment right away, followed by the oral Doxy, is a more effective treatment than oral Doxy alone. Of course, it is inconvenient to have a vet come in every day to administer the Tetra via catheter, but if it works, it's well worth it. Many horses do respond well to the doxy alone. I suppose it might depend upon the severity of the infection (?).

Also - after treatment with either antibiotic, the blood should not be retested again until a few months have passed. The titers often show a rise during and soon after treatment even when it's working, and you won't really know where you're at unless you wait a period of time before you re-test.

I guess its common practice around my area to do the 6 week alternation of tetra and I think its oral doxy.
Administering the tetra in the winter is such a drag though... its so syrupy (is that a word!?) But for my 2 friend's horses who've been dealing with Lymes, they've both responded well with wearing the catheter for a while. We saw improvements in about a week and a half in both of them.

[Kiwayu]

Kiwayu update: Today Kiwayu has been on doxy for 21 days and he was a fire breathing dragon. I put him on the lunge line for about 5 minutes just to evaluate his lameness. He wouldn't stop bucking and was troting beautifully in the beginning. Then after 2-3 times around he just fell apart. It was like he hurt so bad and couldn't move anymore. I'll be speaking to the vet in about 5 days to see what our next move is.

[Posting Trot]

I guess I'd just like to suggest a couple of things. IN my experience with my horse, even though she began to feel markedly better after 2 weeks on the doxy, she wasn't 100% for several months after the treatment. She had to be rehabbed because she'd lost muscle, she was still a bit sore (mechanical changes caused by lyme disease but that did not immediately disappear after treatment), etc.

In other words, I am not surprised that he started looking bad after several minutes of bucking and acting like a fool.

It's a good idea to check in with the vet, and even have the vet come back out to evaluate him. But, maybe (and I don't mean to be critical here, just throwing this out as a possibility) you're expecting too much improvement too soon.

[Luie's Person]

It's extremely heartwrenching to see your horse uncomfortable for soooooo long -- all those months: finally getting to the cause, the treatment, the recovery, the rehab.....

There's controversy about every single aspect of this disease, and that simply heightens the frustration. That said, I agree with Posting Trot about not letting our curiosity regarding progress get the better of us. The disease seems to wax and wane too much for random 'checks'. It was absolutely painful for me to have Luie *totally* out of work for 3 months, and then 3-4 months of super gradual, super slo-mo rehab. I think I've posted this before -- I didn't think of doing anything with him until I could palpate and massage his back,hind end and shoulders without getting any negative reaction for an entire week. Lots of false hope during that process, let me tell you!

Good luck! Glad to hear there's improvement happening!

[LoriO]

This has been such a help having this thread to share and discuss what we are going through.

It is because of threads like this that I was able to identify the possible signs of Lyme disease in Lizzy and get her tested early. And to be able to hear what everyone else has experienced during the treatments and the length of time for recovery, well it just makes things so much easier to deal with!!!

Figured since we are bummed out about the Lyme, at least we can be happy about one thing...all the help and support we have gotten here from fellow horse owners dealing with Lyme!

[sid]

I just finished my 3rd round of Doxy for my mare, Hanna, within one year. First time we did 30 days of Doxy and had almost immediate improvement. She relapsed within 2 months. Next time we went 60 days with the Doxy...same thing almost immediate improvement. Relapsed within 4 months. This last round was for 90 days -- this time it took about 10 days for her to go back to "normal".

She has never shown lameness, but grumpy to the point of not wanting to even be groomed -- very girthy and irritable.

If she relapses again after this 90 day Doxy regimen, our plan is to go the tetra IV route. Very, very frustrating.

BTW, her titre wasn't "off the charts", yet it's hard to kick this bug.

[Wicky]

My horse was diagnosed with Lyme last September - he also had acute arthritis of the coffin joint. We treated him with 90 days of doxy and (knock on wood) he has never been better, and early this month two Lyme tests were negative. My vet had horrible (neurologic) Lyme herself, so I trust her judgement with this disease.

[RiverBendPol]

You guys need to treat with as high a dose and for as long as you can possibly convince your vets to allow. 45 pills, 2xday for at least 6 weeks has been our recent norm. It is almost impossible to "get rid of" Lyme disease. Also, be SURE your guys are on serious pro-biotics before, during and after their treatments. Initial treatment of 7-10 days of IV OxyTetracycline is highly recommended nowadays in the tick-filled NorthEast. Personality change (either way) is one of the most important symptoms to look for, along with changing lameness, stiffness, etc.
Knocking on wood, right NOW and for the moment, we seem to be symptom-free here in Maine but I think daughter's beast in Delaware may be the next to join The Club. Again. Naturally, she just sent in entries!

[sid]

Hanna's first 2 rounds of Doxy were with 50 tabs 2 x day. The last 90-day round was with 70 tabs 2 x day. I put her on a probiotic -- she never had any side effects from the treatment.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed this does the trick!

[Luie's Person]

I can't believe I was so slow in picking up the dog's pain -- but then -- I don't ride him!! (Verrry lucky dog ) Bear had Lyme 2 years ago and was on doxy for 4 weeks, seemingly recovered by end of treatment. He started treatment at an excellent emergency hospital --lyme was discovered during his hospitalization for 'labrador disease' aka eating all manner of anything available. Titre was checked last year - he was fine then....

So this time, I'm having Bear treated by Luie's vet. He's on oral doxy for 3 weeks (*same length of time as Luie*), ledum palustre and pain meds. Hopefully, this will work as completely as it has for Luie. Sheesh! ***Still need to get myself tested*** I can recognize some sympoms. Has this thread made anyone else conscious about their own vulnerability??? Here's to our collective health!

[LoriO]

Since my Dr knows that I ride and have a horse, he has me down to get regularly tested for Lyme disease every year. Smart DR!!!!

[Kim]

My oldie (29), Chutney, had a fever this weekend. The vet came and took blood but seems to think it is ehrlychia rather than Lyme. She had been stiff last week, but now is 100% sound - but has a fever...We started on doxy last night.

[touchstone-]

It sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice, but I thought I'd throw my experience out there too in case it's reassuring.

I didn't really see improvement in my horse until about week 3 of doxy (55 pills 2x/day). Then he steadily got better. I did not do the Tetra.

Also: I heartily agree with posters who said not to grind the pills. He was much more willing to eat the full ones. I added pancake syrup to his grain to make them stick because he's pretty picky, and a probiotic for good measure.

Good luck! I know how frustrating this can be.

[Kiwayu]

A little Update: Kiwayu was slowly getting better, but as of this morning had a set back. I went down this morning and Kiwayu was having trouble walking behind. He was SO STIFF!!!!! I checked on him later today and he was still bad, although not as bad. I took him for a walk to see if he'd walk out of it. He tripped a few times and it was like his hind end would buckle a little. I spoke to the vet and she said he could be having a bad day. Told me to check him tomorrow morning, call her with an update and if he's still bad she's coming back out. Lovely...

He's also been COVERED in hives the past 2 days. My poor guy.