Bartonella?

Here is an extensive list of the symptoms of Bartonella by Dr. James Schaller: www.personalconsult.com/posts/bartonella-checklist.html

Dr Schaller also has done a lot of research on Bartonella, Babesia, Lyme and others. He is one that says that if the infections Bartonella and/or Babesia are present that one can't heal from Lyme. I would suggest that you do some reading about these things on his site. He seems to know what he's talking about.

For me, bartonella causes anxiety, twitching, numbness, sore muscles and feet, skin changes, lymph node swelling etc. The list that traveler posted is great to use as a self-assessment.

The meds that you are on do not specifically address bartonella in that combo. Generally doctors base treatment on either a quinolone or Rifampin. Then they add another med like mino, doxy, bactrim or occasionally zithromax.

The risk with the quinolones is tendon damage. It can be permanent so many people avoid those combos as a first choice. However, many have claimed to gain significant improvement from the use of meds like Levaquin and Factive. Most need to increase magnesium to help prevent tendon damage or use a pulsing method for further protection.

Rifampin also has risks. Especially for liver complications. However, bartonella can also cause liver enzyme elevations so you need a doctor that is willing to carefully monitor your liver if you take any meds.

Are you seeing a LLMD? I'm not medically trained, but I have done a ton of research regarding meds for Lyme and co and I have consistently seen that cephalexin is generally NOT effective for Lyme or co-infections. Ceftin, on the other hand and some of the other cephalosporins like rocephin are very effective. Flagyl is effective for the cystic form, and zith for the intracellular form, but I would definitely try to figure out why you're on cephalexin and what your doctor feels that will address.

That's odd if he has ILADS training. I would ask him where he heard about using cephalexin for Lyme. Perhaps he knows something new or has a study about it. Is he approachable and open to research that you do or is he more standoffish?

Ceftin or Omnicef are really common to use for Lyme since they are 2nd and 3rd generation. I take Ceftin with probenecid to increase the blood levels. Maybe you could ask about trying one of those since you don't seem to be having any type of allergy to cephalosporins.

I don't know about this. This is an old post but I was curious b/c my symptoms first popped up when on Keflex which makes me think it was a herx. So it may be effective for the right person.