Bartonella success stories using antibiotics?

jrpsf said...
He's having me start on a smaller dose to see how I do. If I handle it ok he'll up it from there. I can usually handle most things (jinx) I trust my LLND and adore him which has really helped this process.

I want to get back to things I enjoy. As you know Girlie I'm a die hard San Jose Sharks fan. If they're fortunate enough to go past the first round of the playoffs this year I want to go to games. What's the point of being a season ticket holder for 15 years ....I miss going but it's been too much for me and my son resents that we no longer have that shared time even though he understands why. UGH! Condolences to your Hubby. Things are due to turn around.

Awww...so you've been missing live hockey games?
For me...my hesitation to do planned stuff is because I just don't know what my pain levels will be.
I'm okay planning events like concerts...trips away with my husband - but haven't done much with anyone else.

I do have a day trip coming up in May with a friend...and it involves traveling on a bus for 2 1/2 hours each way...the entire trip will be about 9 hours long. I'm hoping I won't regret it. Don't know what I was thinking - must have caught me on a good day.

Canucks are still building...hopefully they will draft a few good players...
My husband is a die-hard Canuck fan.

Rikky1 said...
no worries girlie by that time you'll be on a good dose of gaba and will start feeling more comfortable doing things again. that's right i'm being positive!

If you say so, Rikky!

Yah, I'll be ramping up that dose...before that trip happens...

afiya4health said...
I'm so surprised at the amount of comments! But if we could get back on track, so has anyone gotten rid of it?

Someone replied that Chapelle and rwngmom got rid of bartonella. I've tried contacting rwnmom but didnt get reply so i will try Chapelle.

Sorry for the hijack!

Rowingmom's daughter.
Edited to add: Her daughter was on antibiotics for almost 2 years, then Buhner's herbs to finish treatment for another year or two.

k07 said...
Sebreg - what % healed would you say you are at this point? What are your remaining symptoms? Did you ever have a positive bart test?

I am not willing to try floroquinolones. Those potential side effects are worse than my current symptoms. I'm giving the mino/plaq/rif + herbs a shot right now and possibly adding dapsone this summer.

That is such a hard question. So long as I treat I am fatigued and low-level herxing (I do not believe there is any way around this for me) even with various detox therapies. I am much much much better, with a much improved baseline, and if I weren't treating I think I'd be 75-85%. My cognitive stuff is so much better. I still have a bit of a hard time with cardio (I think it induces mild herxes but not sure exactly what is going on). My main symptoms are the pain/swelling in my lymph nodes behind/under my ears plus residual fatigue (exacerbated by the treatments). The thing with the lymph nodes is that over time with effective treatments the size of swelling gradually reduces, very slowly, but it happens. But it is not fully reduced yet, I view them as indirect indicators of pathogen load! I have a strong sense they are a good measure, mentioned this to doc and he didn't think that sounded too crazy and was quite possible haha!

I still have some pathogen load. I really want to reduce this stuff as much as possible, but my intuition for my case is I need to reduce the pathogens to embers (I do not think full eradication is possible nor do I think necessary) and with good lifestyle stuff and things of that nature, supporting my immune system, managing stress, I think I can better hedge against the pathogens rising from the ashes. This stuff has wrecked me so hard for so long I never want to go through another hell like this, plus I want to hedge against all the potential conditions these pathogens might induce or drive.

I didn't have positive bart test, although there were what I was told told looked like bart organisms on a blood smear. That along with my symptoms and certain biomarkers like high VEGF led doc to clinical dx of bartonella.

It is a grueling journey. The abx and herbal antimicrobial treatments have really helped, but I usually notice slow improvement over months and months. Like moving a mountain inside my body, I think I mentioned that analogy in another thread! but it really does feel like that...

Part of me wants to invest in a rife machine and just see if that can help me, and if it does I could avoid any heavier duty antibiotic medicines and maybe shorten treatment time too. It is just such a big investment for something I'm not 100% will be effective for me. I think the fundamental concepts behind how it works for these pathogens makes sense but it'd be easier to invest if there was more rigorous evidence supporting the claims of these machines helping patients with these infections.

Thanks for letting me know what you think of the floroquinolones. I will keep this in mind for sure.

Sorry about pushing the thread sideways away from original question!!! but I am def curious about what various treatments people are pursuing or have pursued with success for bart...

afiya4health

I read a recently-released book called "Unlocking Lyme" by Dr. Bill Rawls and am so impressed by it that I keep mentioning it on here.

I've long known that there are people walking around with asymptomatic infections and I know we all want to be like them.

Dr. Rawls explains how the stage is set for chronic illness and provides details on ways to turn that around.

Healing from these infections isn't just about killing. It's about setting the stage for healing and health.

Here's a link to an article from Dr. Rawls' site and I think you'll see what I mean:

/rawlsmd.com/featured-posts/chronic-immune-dysfunction-lyme-disease

Now, I don't know if my experience "counts" but, I'll share it anyway.

I always thought I had Bartonella because my symptoms were mostly neuro. However, my LLMD stuck to his original Lyme Dx (I tested CDC positive for Lyme and only had LabCorp testing for the other infections). Since my symptoms were always mild, my LLMD was conservative with the abx he had me take and he remained insistent that they not only hit Lyme but, also Bart. My LLMD expected herbs to pick up where the abx left off (90% healed).

The Buhner-recommended herbalist I consulted is quite confident I've been dealing with Bartonella as well as Lyme....and herbs are what are closing the gap.

I don't care what I have - I just want to be as healthy or healthier than I was when I got bit by the tick.

Well, I consider myself 99.5% healed. At this point, I'll have super-minor flares of tingling and such. While it took a long time to get where I'm at, I'm really really happy to be where I am.

Everyone has the potential to heal.

jrpsf, what did you feel with the rifampim? for me it was an uneasy dull pain in my right side.

The LLMD I've been seeing told me that antibiotics weren't much better for Bartonella than some of the alternative options out there, which came as a surprise. I figured I'd mention it, to see what you guys had to say, being that this thread's here.

We were discussing Babesia, the last time I visited her, but she was more keen on treating for Bart this time around. A lot of my symptoms do indicate that, and I tested positive for it, which is cool. Kind of. I've never gotten a positive result before, so it's nice. She said that the results showed the infection has found a way to evade my immune system. Something about the IgG versus the IgM numbers, I forgot. The Lyme test was still negative, but had a couple of the telltale bands again.

Anyway, not sure about the abx effectiveness for Bart comment. Part of her motivation in saying that to me could have been our concerns about the state of my GI. She thinks I have a problem with fungus in my gut, and my sinuses. I'm to be doing things for that.

The Bart, she's got me doing a few supplements, and tinctures - one from Beyond Balance, BART-1, and one from Woodland Essence, a mixture she asked them to make.

I really don't know. We'll see.

Must work hard.

Best wishes.

I wish I had read this thread before I started antibiotics. The reason I even decided to take antibiotics was to take care of the bartonella, which was giving me the worst symptoms. Rifampin did nothing for me. Azithromycin actually helped some but I'm not sure what it was killing. Of course I was on doxy and then mino for the lyme, but I kind of had I feeling that I would have had to take one of them for 6 or 8 months for it to help.

My stomach couldn't handle it so I quit. I would have kept going if I really thought it was helping, though.

My theory is that maybe if you have a certain strain of bartonella (maybe b. henslae, which I don't have), it helps, but antibiotics certainly don't seem to cure bartonella every time.

Notime4lyme said...
I wish I had read this thread before I started antibiotics. The reason I even decided to take antibiotics was to take care of the bartonella, which was giving me the worst symptoms. Rifampin did nothing for me. Azithromycin actually helped some but I'm not sure what it was killing. Of course I was on doxy and then mino for the lyme, but I kind of had I feeling that I would have had to take one of them for 6 or 8 months for it to help.

My stomach couldn't handle it so I quit. I would have kept going if I really thought it was helping, though.

My theory is that maybe if you have a certain strain of bartonella (maybe b. henslae, which I don't have), it helps, but antibiotics certainly don't seem to cure bartonella every time.

If Rifampin doesn't work...there's Rifabutin.
(And also the fluoroquinolones which seem to be the most effective)

It can take a long time to get bart knocked back...as in many months...to even years.
Also, according to some LLMD's Babesia needs to be treated - even if you think you're asymptomatic (for Babesia)

Hi Dollface. I see you have posted several times but have not been welcomed to the forum yet.
Sorry about that.

Am I correct in thinking you are seeing Dr M (Bart guru)?

I typed up a huge paragraph and there was a computer glitch and it disappeared. Hate when that happens!

I have been treating for over three years now and many symptoms have resolved, but my first and my worst symptom is still with me.

Your cat story reminded me of mine
In 2016 I had a bad cat bite that got infected...was very close to getting IV Abx for it. The cat died ( well he was put down due to his illness) The vet thought he had an undiagnosed heart condition and a blood clot had travelled down to his back legs. (Called saddle Thrombus) I had already been treating Bart and Lyme for a year and a half when this happened.
Around this time I was taking breaks from treatment and I went through a time where my symptoms seemed to be worse.
In hindsight, I wonder if the cat gave me another dose of Bart...and it took hold because of my carelessness with treatment.

You've made good progress so far...hope you continue and achieve full healing soon!

It certainly could be bart...or lyme...or babesia...

My symptoms are still changing...and I'm +3 years of treatment.

I did already have bart prior to this cat bite...but I think he gave me another 'dose' ...and it coincided with my gaps in treatment....unfortunately.

But, i've had cats all my life...and have had several bites through the years...I have often wondered if I've had a smoldering infection for many years...although I have been very healthy...except for a few anomalies.

Well, they WERE systematically resolving...but I had plateaued after over a year on bartonella abx.
So I self-treated Babesia for several months and knocked off another symptom.
Now, I'm seeing a LLMD in Washington DC.

So, no, not seeing Dr. M. But, I have watched the Webinar he did on Bart a few times (I think it's still available on the Galaxy Lab website?)

I also email with someone who is slowly ramping up the Bart protocol (he's seeing Dr. M) so yours' was familiar.

I believe he is on Rifabutin though instead of Rifampin. (paired with Biaxin)

I did have an Igenex lyme positive test...and then a year after treating bart (and then subsequent cat bite) - I tested positive via pcr at a lab here in Canada - one that's not even known for testing tick borne diseases.

Savings? They were gone a long time ago....Washington DC is not a cheap destination for me.
West to East coast flights are $$$$

My doctor and I attributed the tingling and burning sensations I had to bart, and they have been vastly reduced by antibiotic use. Burning is completely gone and the tingling is mild, and transient.