Lyme/Bart and Stomach

What kind of GI problems have you all experienced from Lyme (or Bart specifically since it's known for attacking the gut)? What eventually solved it (if anything did)?

Anything and everything...I'm really curious to compare to others who have experienced it.

Traveler-

Thanks for sharing. When I first became infected, one of my first very noticeable symptoms was sudden, severe nausea (so bad that I would run to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up, but I never actually would). At the same time the nausea started, I also developed bloating like you mentioned, and other GI issues like minor reflux, belching, etc. None of these issues could be traced to any cause (no allergies, not food-related, had EVERY GI test in the world and everything was "perfectly normal")! Finally, when I found out I had Lyme and had my first LLMD appointment, he said yep...lyme (and specifically Bartonella) will cause those GI issues.

Do you remember an old member from a few years ago? Her name was "Mystery Illness". I am so thankful for her and that she posted about her symptoms. During the year I had no idea what was wrong with me, I started googling all kinds of my symptoms and started looking into Lyme. One day, Google pointed me in the direction of one of Mystery Illness's posts where she described her symptoms in lots of detail. She literally had almost all the same GI issues as me (down to the very specific issue of reflux & belching). She said it would happen to her hundreds of times a day...and eventually found out it was Bartonella.

I contacted her out of the blue, even though she was then inactive on the forum, and she emailed back and forth with me and helped me realize I may have Lyme and that I should get tested. I'm so thankful for finding her posts and for this forum where people are so open about what they are going through.

Ok...I just realized I went off on a huge tangent!!! Sorry!

BDL-LOL 19 pancakes to show off. Ha ha!

My stomach issues were my first symptoms that really stood out. I have lots of acid reflux, heart burn, bloating, no hunger feeling, rotten feeling in stomach, cramps, gas/burping, tender (could not wear tight pants even if they fit fine), nausea, sensitive to mostly everything.

Years ago I thought it was dairy intolerance. I wish that was all it was. I went on an autoimmune protocol diet and cut out most of the foods. I was down to about 5 foods I could eat and still didn't feel good. I was finally diagnose with SIBO just before finding out I have Lyme. SIBO was treated with a certain kind of abx that is supposed to stay in your digestive track. It worked as long as I stay away from sugar and carbs/starch. Not really a fun way to live, but my stomach feels better and actually I really don't care about food any more. I really miss a drink now and then more than I miss cake or pizza. Food is more of a pain at this point.

Also, every morning I start my day with L-Glutamine. I know that this has helped rebuild the mucosa lining in my stomach. I also take a doctor prescribed probiotic. I am very careful of what I put in my mouth. I should be grateful, my stomach is manageable at this point. I feel that it has healed a great deal since I have started treatment for lyme.

I forgot to add. I sometimes take bitters before my meals if needed. I always take a digestive enzymes with my meals to.

Interesting, but how do you guys know that the GI issues are Bart related and not caused by Lyme? All 3 kids have GI issues but I never did! Oh, there we go! I feel like I don't fit in anywhere LOL

I've been showing symptoms for about 20yrs, and have had gastro-intestinal issues for about 13yrs.

It started with reflux, GERD, gastritis - then I developped intestinal issues. For many years, I had severe and sudden intestinal cramping with diarrhea during the night. I had to get up 3 times a night (about 4 days a week) with cramps/diarrhea that made me cry. They were so severe that I had to take off all my clothes cause they were drenched in sweat after 2 minutes of cramps, my hair totally wet...
Then I started to react on food. I would eat something (a few years back, my dr discovered this was caused by histamine intolerance) and 10mins later (stopwatch puntual) I had to run to the bathroom with heavy cramps and diarrhea. I still have this when I eat something I shouldn't...
I was diagnosed with IBS, inflamed bowel, leaky gut, total intestinal dysbiosis (complete strep overgrowth).
During Lyme treatment, they discovered that my stomach isn't working enough. Gastroparesis.

I have both Lyme and Bartonella. But my dr is convinced that the gastric issues are caused by Bartonella.
This is btw how my sister was diagnosed with Bartonella: our dr was convinced she had Bartonella, but the tests kept on coming back negative. At the end, he dicided she should have a stomach biopsy. He then tested (PCR) that sample for Bartonella, and it came back positive! Stubborn doctor

Thanks, Traveler. Your post makes sense and is helpful.

I never really think of GI problems as having to do with the nerves, but it really makes sense if you think about it. I'm now wondering if some of my GI problems are because of nerves in my gut reacting differently than they used to. Hmmm...

You're probably right about wasting time trying to attach each symptom with it's specific infection. It can be hard just living with the symptoms until we heal and not fully understanding why they happen (or which infection is causing them). I should work on that...until then, I question everything :)

Traveler, what you said about the nerves in the gut made me think about one of my symptoms. One of my earliest symptoms that popped up when I first got sick was belching. Within about 2 weeks I had developed unexplained belching, nausea, constant muscle twitching, numbness in my arms, internal vibrating, blurry vision, floaters, shooting pains, weight loss, the list goes on! So it's obvious when I look back, this was the beginning of my Lyme Disease showing up.

There is no cause to the belching (or nausea) that any GI doctor could find. I do not have yeast, no mold, etc. It's not related to food either or allergies. It's almost like a different reaction my gut is having. It appeared with all my other symptoms at the exact same time. Even if I drink something (water included), I belch from it. It's like a quick gas build up or maybe the nerves in my gut just react differently now because of nerve damage from the Lyme or something.

I've met others with Lyme/Bart who have this same symptom. My LLMD has also seen it. It doesn't seem to be one of the most common symptoms, but it's out there. Others who have experienced this symptom said after Bart treatment, it went away. So maybe it's that.

I wonder if this is related to nerves in the gut acting up?

Could be! I've looked into that, though it doesn't really explain why the act of putting even plain water into my stomach would result in gas. That's why I was thinking of a nerve issue or bacteria causing the strange reaction. Weird...

This is a really old thread I came across while searching for bartonella GI symptoms. Those who read my posts know I have Lyme and bartonella and gut dysfunction with IBS-C or recalcitrant constipation. I've had a lot of worsening symptoms for weeks to months now, as I've continued plugging along trying to treat the 3 B's with Buhner's herbal protocols. Last night I had bloating so bad I looked 6 months pregnant!!

I see the doctor tomorrow and will ask about more GI testing for Candida overgrowth, SIBO, leaky gut, and food allergies/sensitivities to see if any of those are involved. I recently had comprehensive stool analysis and stool culture that tested for parasites, bacteria, viruses, H. Pylori, and some other indirect lab markers. All normal. Not a thing was found. I'm also going to ask about hormones and neurotransmitters. I'm sure they're all depleted and likely contributing to all my dysfunction.

My gut has been worse along with most everything else. If I eliminate all the other stuff, then I'm left with Lyme and bartonella and having to hope that eventually, I'll turn a corner somewhere up the road and these symptoms will resolve. The constipation and gut issues worry me the most because they have been constant for 2.5 years now and haven't really responded to anything all this time, while other symptoms have fluctuated more or only occur occasionally or have responded somewhat to the herbs.

Has anyone had long term gut issues that eventually resolved by treating Lyme or Bart?

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Here are all the gut symptoms I've had thus far:

- Lifelong tendency toward constipation
- Unexplained belching (early symptom)
- Bloating off and on over the years
- Silent reflux symptoms
- Sudden onset of IBS-C that responded to nothing but magnesium citrate 2.5 years ago
- intestines felt like they were being squeezed flat by a vice
- bizarre shapes and formations of stool revealing that intestines were constricted
- poo that smells like a sewage plant
- Not feeling movement (peristalsis) from onset of IBS-C until I took a single capsule of S. boulardii last Nov
- since Nov: occasional intestinal pain; gurgling, bubbles in lower intestines especially after taking magnesium; passing lots of gas; crazy bloating starting under breasts down to pelvis, especially at night after taking magnesium; sometimes stomach or intestinal pain when eating; sore places in intestines

Checked out with multiple tests by GI doctor in late 2015. All was normal, thus the IBS diagnosis.

I've had bartonella for a long time, and I've had most of the same symptoms. I've been slowly getting better in the last couple years. I no longer have constipation, and the bloating is manageable at least.

I'm trying to remember what seemed to help.I think artemesia annua and garlic helped my stomach feel better in general. I did a parasite cleanse, and it seemed to help some, even though I didn't really have that bad of a parasite problem. For some reason taking azithromycin seemed to help the bloating.

I think over the last couple of years, I've taken so many herbs and antibiotics that are supposed to give you diarrhea as a side effect that somehow the constipation went away. Also they probably got rid of the bartonella in my stomach. Andrographis and cat's claw seemed to be especially good. I also started taking boneset and it seemed to help.

I still get a bad episode of bloating once in a while. It is strange that is usually happens during the night or right after I get up and before I eat anything or take any herbs. When I get a stomachache I usually drink ginger tea, but sometimes it doesn't help much.

That sounds a lot like mine. Sugary things always make me sick. I'm not sure if digestive issues like that could be caused by anything else, but it sounds like you could possibly have Lyme, bartonella or parasites. I don't think what you are having is reflux, especially if you don't have heartburn, I'm not a expert though, so I don't really know.