How "screwed" am I for having Bartonella, despite catching Lyme early

This is such an important point that people need more than just doxy when first treated. the ticks are dirtier than ever and I tell people to take doxy for 1 month with artemesin 200 mg 3x/day with Argentyn colloidal silver (2 tsp twice daily). You will get better.the trickiest part is figuring out the infection. Bart is such a mood maze...good luck

I think I've had Bart before I got Lyme. Schaller says you can get it from a variety of things: animals, fleas, even flea feces.

http://www.publichealthalert.org/Articles/jamesschaller/ignore%20bartonella%20and%20die.html

I first started having a) sore soles in the morning and b) violent/sudden emotional responses in spring 2007. If something upset me, then all of a sudden I would hit myself or hit my boyfriend or scream or something, out of nowhere, without having planned to do so. It was completely out of my control. I tried CBT but it didn't help. the only way I could avoid it happening was to avoid heated conversations.

This symptom got extremely bad while I was on Biaxin and Plaquenil recently, and while I stopped taking my Japanese knotweed which I'd been using for a few months. I was losing control several times a day and was afraid to leave my house. Also I had meningeal swelling- felt like there was something weird happening in my brain.

My doctor switched me to zithromax, which goes into the CNS better, and now the symptom is gone - I can't even lose control like that if I try. I have a phone appt today to check up on this - I hope I continue to get treatments that prevent or cure whatever is making me reactive like this.

about the adrenal fatigue:

I've had many of the symptoms for years. The symptoms began in earnest after the first time I was anorexic. Long-term stress can cause adrenal fatigue. Symptoms I experienced:
-having to eat frequently, not able to maintain blood sugar for long periods without eating
-felt like eating in order to get energy and motivation even if not hungry (eating causes a temporary increase in cortisol)
-low blood pressure, dizzy upon standing
-poor recovery from illness or exercise
-general fatigue, low motivation - none of the drive I had before
-feeling better in the evening than in the morning (cortisol cycle is messed up so that it's higher in the evening, whereas it should be higher in the morning)
-trouble falling asleep
-poor stress response, can't mount the body response

All these symptoms got much worse while I've had Lyme. My doctor also noticed:
-sweaty hands and feet, excessive underarm sweating, especially when nervous or surprised (due to excess adrenaline, from having too little cortisol and thus less negative feedback on the adrenaline)
-excessive startle reflex
-noise sensitivity, because unpredictable noises cause a startle reflex in me every time they happen
-feeling faint or dizzy when standing after sitting or lying
-wavering pupils that can't hold a contraction (see the pupil test for adrenal fatigue)
-low body temperature (avg around 96.5)

I did the DiagnosTechs Adrenal Stress Index but didn't mail the samples in time, so I have to redo the test. But we are pretty satisfied from my symptoms that I must have something going on with my adrenal glands. Will be good to get the test done and to start treatment.

I hear that it's important to take care of adrenal issues in order to get better from Lyme.

I hope this is not a long endless road to recovery as I was also discovered to have bart later - last month in fact. I am going into my second month of Levaquin. As I did not have the monthly lyme cycle this past month with spasms, headaches etc. I am thinking much of the lyme is under control. The LLMD told me 2-3 months of Levaquin would eradicate the BLO if I can tolerate it. So far, so good.

I as well was diagnosed with Bartonella and not Lyme. My doctor wants to put me on plaquenil and some antibiotic. It all started when I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and on my last blood test they found me positive for the BART. I haven’t taken the medication yet because I’m so concerned on these die offs my doctor told me about and how sick I’m going to feel. I’m supposed to get married in a few months and now I’m being told this horrible news. I don’t believe I have any systems yet I feel great. Has anyone heard of anybody being cured of this co-infection they call bartonella?

Martha's Vineyard said...

Igenex can find lyme in anyone's blood. But if it is really a problem and taking over then the CDC will pick it up.

That is not true. I only had one band positive in all my test from my former LLMD and other DR's. I was tested repeatedly and it was always negative.

The thing is I remember pulling ticks off of me, i remember the bulls eye rash and I went to a DR to show him. He denied it was Lyme and blamed a spider.
My health continued to decline till i was bedridden and I went to a a LONG list of Dr's....some of whom told me I was nuts and that nothing was wrong with me.

Finally after an MRI, the DR. at the hospital said it looked like Lyme to him. He suggested I see an LLMD who was 100% convinced I had lyme even though the test were negative. I had ALL the symptoms and my cd57 was extremely l,ow. My former LLMD said he thought the Lyme and co-infecgtions were hiding after so many years and explained they are good at that AND he explained that testing is not 100% accurate. We found out rather qucikly that my body was unable to deal with the amount of drugs he was giving me. Before he came up with another solution he was run out of businss.