Some Answers to Concerns About Long-Term Antibiotics

Answers to Concerns About Long-Term Antibiotics

Many doctors, and patients, raise concerns about the long-term effects or side effects of antibiotics, and are frightened of the CAPi [1]’s because of this. Doctors, especially, need a little support for going against the grain of their training.

On the issue of side effects-
As I noted in a ThisIsMs post, the side effects of MS are devastating disability and death. Kinda puts a scale on things, doesn’t it? Similarly:

The side effects of Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgiai [2] are minimally functional existence, depression, unrelenting pain.
The side effects of Rheumatoid Arthritis are unrelenting pain and encroaching disability and dysfunction.
The side effects of Alzheimer’s Disease are… well, you get the picture.

The side effects of the antibiotics commonly used in CAP’s for Cpni [3] are intestinal upset from killing bowel flora, nausea if not taken with food, and some idiosyncratic effects for different people. All of these are transient, and mild or can be handled with counter agents (such as supplementing bowel flora in between antibiotic dosages).

The main side effects patients with Cpn have are actually die-off reactions from Cpn bacterial kill. Patients who do not have Cpn (or other significantly endotoxic bacteria) will not have these typical die-off reactions to Cpn. These, then, are not “side effects” but actually main effects.

Long term antibiotic use is harmful- Many antibiotics, especially the tetracycline family such as the doxycycline used in most CAP’s or minocycline, have been used long term (i.e. for years) without harmful effects. They have been used this way as immunomodulators, in low dose protocolsi [4] (such as for arthritis) and at regular doses for acne.

Flagyli [5]/Tinidazole are potentially carcinogenic-
Studies of carcinogenic effects are done on rats with huge doses not used in humans, and are taken continuously to produce these effects. This is another good reason why these medications are pulsed in the CAP's rather than taken continuously. Note: Cpn left to proliferate in tissues is potentially carcinogenic as well.

Doesn’t long term use of antibiotics create bacterial resistance?
The use of two anti-replication antibiotics which work on different proteins in the replication process (e.g. doxycycline and azithromycin combo) is done specifically to minimize the possibility of resistance. Taking NACi [6] to kill the infectious Elementary Bodyi [7] stage of the Cpn organism and Flagyl/Tinidazole further minimizes resistance because, as Dr. Charles Strattoni [8] noted in an article by this name, “Dead Bugs Don’t Mutate.” Additionally, these antibiotics are not the ones used to treat the dire acute disorders where potential resistance could bbe fatal such as acute septicaemia, acute meningitis etc. So any potential resistance is unlikely to influence treatment of such emergency disorders.

Won’t antibiotics cause yeast infectionsi [9]?
If you don’t supplement regularly with probiotic flora you can get intestinal Candida imbalance (dysbiosis). Supplementation, plus appropriate use of antifungals for existing infections (nystatin, diflucan, oregano oil, etc.) will prevent this.

On a related note: Cpn can infect the bowel quite significantly. Dr. David Wheldoni [10] has observed, "The resolution of fungal infections is quite remarkable. I've seen people with long-term dermatomycoses (unresponsive to antifungals) which have paradoxically resolved with Cpn treatment." Many of us with what we thought was chronic yeast infection noticed that after a month or two on antibiotics our “yeast problem” resolved quite a bit. The problem was, in fact, that bowel Cpn was the more central problem, and as it resolved so did other bowel problems. Resolving bowel Cpn also enhances the bowel immunei [11] system, since Cpn can infect immune cells. Additionally, the secondary porphyriai [12] can cause bowel and stomach problems that resolve as the Cpn infection causing the porphyria resolves.

To summarize-
You can reinforce with your doctor:
That the “side effects” of otherwise untreatable diseasesi [13] are much more significant than the side effects of these common antibiotics.
That these antibiotics were especially chosen to have minimal long term effects,
That they are used long-term for other diseases simply as immune modulators,
That the more toxic ones (e.g. Flagyl) are used in pulses minimizing their harm potential,
That the dual abxi [14] prevents resistance from arising in long term use,
That the gut flora effects can be readily balanced by probiotic flora supplementsi [15] and by anti=yeast medications (e.g. nystatin, diflucan) or herbs.
That the use of NAC instead of amoxicillini [16] not only further protects gut flora, but protects the liver as well.

Development of antibiotic resistance in Chlamydia pneumoniae

I'm quite frequently asked whether the development of antimicrobial resistance in C. pneumoniae is likely, particularly when starting with one antibiotic or when adding metronidazolei [5] intermittently. To be honest I think the emergence of antibiotic resistance is unlikely, given that the organism in not actively replicating while in the cryptic formi [17]. I've put a new page on my website which discusses this: http://www.davidwheldon.co.uk/resistance.html [18] Do forward comments and criticisms.

(Editor's note: I've attached this post to the Handbook as-is so that readers may see Dr. Wheldon's article directly on his site through the provided link as well as the discussion here at www.cpnhelp.org [19] . That way readers will have access to the most up-to-date version should he edit it on his site. Jim K)

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D W - [Myalgia and hypertensioni [20] (typically 155/95.) Began (2003) taking doxycycline and macrolide and later adding metronidazolei [5]. No medication now; just supplementsi [15]i [15] and IR sauna. Morning BP typically 105/75]