"Killing a Fly with a Nuclear Bomb!

[GG7]

What is the best antibiotic to treat Strep? We asked our doctor for something stronger than Amoxicillin. She told us that Amoxicillin is the strongest antibiotic for strep and "is like killing a fly with a nuclear bomb." We believe that she has no idea what she is talking about. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[rowingmom]

You will not have much luck convincing a non-PANDAS believing doctor to treat PANDAS properly. Please don't waste your time trying to do so. Look for a specialist.

[GG7]

Thanks for all of your insight. Yes, very frustrating! We have been seeing our primary care pediatrician until we could get into see a pediatrician that specializes in PANDAS. We have an appt. with him on 9/9.

[airial95]

And Amoxicillin is no even close to being the strongest antibiotic to fight strep. Case in point: Amox stopped working on strep for me close to 30 years ago...and back then it WAS one of the strongest you could take.

[beeskneesmommy]

Amox alone is worthless for us. However, Augmentin is "souped up" Amox with clavulanate acid. This is an appropriate Strep attacker, but did not hold out in longevity for us. The best combo (for us, bit not for everybody) is Augmentin and Azithromycin (this is the same as "Z-pack"). This combo was a game changer for us. Also, a short run of Rifampin will go after Strep and many people (including ourselves) have reported positive results.

[nicklemama]

She doesn't know what she's talking about. Amoxi is like swatting an elephant with a fly swatter. My son takes augmentin. Other kids take azithromycin or cefdnir or similar class of drugs. Clindamycin is the big gun.

[lulu4]

It can depend on what part of the country you live in as well. Some abx are more effective in certain geographical regions. Amazing stuff. I wonder how many docs know that. Our PANDAS specialist told us.

[JoyBop]

I just wrote about this in another thread. Our infectious disease doc explained why Amox is no longer effective for many people. I forget the percentage but I think it was around 80%. Will have to look for the literature. Anyway he said that many people now have an enzyme that deactivates Amox and renders it ineffective. Amox still works in the Petri dish to kill strep but obviously not in people that now have this enzyme. If you google it you will see countless studies that look at strep in kids. It has been known for quite some time that it is certainly not the most effective treatment, and definitely not overkill!!! I would find a different doctor to treat for this condition.

[JoyBop]

This may be a clue:

Beta-lactamases are enzymes (EC 3.5.2.6) produced by some bacteria that provide resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics like penicillins, cephamycins, and carbapenems (ertapenem) (Carbapenems are relatively resistant to beta-lactamase). Beta-lactamase provides antibiotic resistance by breaking the antibiotics' structure. These antibiotics all have a common element in their molecular structure: a four-atom ring known as a beta-lactam. Through hydrolysis, the lactamase enzyme breaks the β-lactam ring open, deactivating the molecule's antibacterial properties.

 

Beta-lactam antibiotics are typically used to treat a broad spectrum of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

 

Beta-lactamases produced by Gram-negative organisms are usually secreted, especially when antibiotics are present in the environment.[1]

[Hopeny]

Plain Amoxicillin does not seem to do much for my kids, we've had better success with augmentin (amoxicillin with another agent), biaxin , rifampin zith and cefdinir. I would more say amoxicillin is like trying to keep the dam closed with one finger

[EAMom]

Share this with your doctor http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=981

[EAMom]

also from IOCDF:

 

"Use of augmentin has anecdotally been found to be more effective at a relatively high dose as well as the cephalosporins (cephalexin, cefdinir) and azithromycin."

 

http://www.ocfoundation.org/PANDAS/