"I do not believe true solutions to our health problems will come from our lawmakers nor from mainstream medicine. Both groups are trying to solve the 21st century problems of nutrition and environment with 19th century medical thinking about diseases and drugs.
The Canary and Chronic Fatigue by Majid Ali, M.D.
"Dr. Lo also found the new mycoplasma in a number of non-AIDS patients -- previously healthy people who died very suddenly following a flu-like illness. These cases prove that this particular mycoplasma can infect people who do not have AIDS.
"Fortunately, mycoplasma can be controlled by readily-available antibiotics such as doxycycline or tetracycline. The fact that many CFS patients report that their symptoms improve when they take doxycycline causes Dr. Lo to suspect that the mycoplasma may be involved in causing some cases or symptoms of CFS.
"Unfortunately, Dr. Lo's work is still very much in the research stage, and a diagnostic test for the mycoplasma is not readily available. But if a physician suspects a CFS patient may be infected with the mycoplasma, it is safe to treat the patient with an anti-mycoplasma antibiotic, just in case, according to Dr. Lo.
"Some CFS patients report considerable improvement in their symptoms when they take antibiotics. "The burning feeling in my spine and head disappear," CFS patient "Ruth" told me, when she takes ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic. She added, "The joint pain -- especially the neck pain -- goes away, and I am able to think clearly when I take ciprofloxacin." "
http://www.chronicillnet.org/CFS/Ostrom/book_ToC.html
I find it interesting that these same drugs are the ones recommended to treat anthrax....
What is doxycycline?
Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic agent active against several bacteria. The use of doxycycline is warranted only under the supervision of a physician.
What are the side effects of doxycycline?
Adverse side effects may include nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; sensitivity to the sun; dark "furry" tongue, black tongue, or swollen tongue; or vaginal yeast infection. Serious side effects may include an allergic reaction (swelling of your lips, face, or tongue, difficulty breathing); a severe headache; vision changes; confusion; liver damage (yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, abdominal pain or discomfort, unusual bleeding or bruising, severe fatigue); blood problems (fever, fatigue, easy bruising or bleeding); or genital sores or itching.
"In the early stages of a disease, doxycycline may reverse that disease process. It is one of the tetracycline antibiotics, but it is not bactericidal; it is bacteriostatic -- it stops the growth of the mycoplasma. And if the mycoplasma growth can be stopped for long enough, then the immune system takes over."
Mycoplasma the Linking Pathogen in Neurosystemic Diseases, by Donald W. Scott, MA, MSc
[Cyprofloxacin approved for anthrax treatment]
The treatment consisted of oral tapered steroids and intravenous ACTH. I was re-hospitalized in 1993 with mycoplasma pneumonia and in 1995, tested positive for Mycoplasma incognitus with forensic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center by Dr. Garth Nicolson. Treatment with Doxycycline 100mg. BID and Acyclovir for three courses was completed. Though able to function, I was still hampered with chronic fatigue, night sweats, debilitating endometriosis, joint and muscle pain. To treat the remaining problems, I underwent Ozone therapy. This much debated and often criticized treatment by the mainstream traditional medical community brought me relief and returned me almost to my original state of health with on remaining symptoms of significantly impaired eyesight and joint pain. Dr. Gerald V. Sunnen, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of New York University reports that as early as World War I, ozone's bactericidal properties were used to treat infected wounds, mustard gas burns and fistulas.1 According to Dr. Sunnen, ozone has a long history for use in water purification.