Dear Stephen,
I have an important question and you are the only person that may have the answer. Dr. Joel Morenlader at Duke Neurology diagnosed me with Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome following courses of cipro and levaquin that I took 16 months ago. However, my naturopath suspects I have lyme disease, although a titer and a PCR test say differently. She thinks that since I have had short-lived flare-ups in the past, I probably had a severe herx reaction when I took the fluoroquinolones. Personally, now that I am piecing this together, I think I was reacting less severely in the past to the levaquin I was repeatedly prescribed for sinus infections. Regardless, I just had a tick bite a month ago that caused a nasty rash and my PCP put me on doxycycline. Therefore, I figured there is no harm in hedging my bets and naturopathically treating for lyme too. Or is there some harm? She put me on samento.

After researching it, I saw that Dr. Lee Cowden claims that its antimicrobial effects are due to the quinovic acid glycosides on which quinolone antibiotics are based. I told my naturopath and called Nutramedix. Both assured me that there are no quinolones in Samento and there won’t be any similar reactions. Reviewing the chemical structures of both leads me to believe there are no similarities, I can’t be sure they won’t have similar reactions. I already started using the samento and have been feeling much worse. Is this just a Herxheimer reaction or am I potentially worsening my FTS symtoms by taking the samento? Please get back to me soon. I am suffering horribly already and extremely frightened by the prospect of making matters worse when I desperately want to get better.