my partner and I both got sick with Lyme around the same time.
we both got loud rumbling tummy symptoms which increased as the illness progressed.
we also got intolerant od sugars, carbs, and fiber to some extent - any f these would make the rumbling go ballistic and for my partner cause severe tummy swelling and distension.
because of the obvious gut symptoms, we were both tested for all common parasites via several of the leading labs used by functional medicine practitioners.
Drs Data comprehensive stool test with parasitology
and a side by side comprehensive stool panel with parasitology from Genova
they both use 3 stool samples collected over several days to increase the chances of detecting the organisms.
neither labs showed any parasites in either of our samples
or any other satisfactory explanation for our GI symptoms
no significant mold, yeast or serious bacterial imbalance or infection
they both detected mild imbalance in the gut flora and significant inflammation
we repeated the test around 3 months later - and again no parasites or known cause for our symptoms
later on as our symptoms were continuing we also got tested by both Ubiome and another upto date test looking for all common parasites as well as general gut inflammation markers etc
again no parasites were found - even by the PCR methods
( i should note that the tests did not agree on the proportions of bacterial genera in the stool which was disappointing - but the tests ability to detect parasites seems to hold up)
Ubiome has since been closed down and was likely a poor operation for consumers.
a change to full whole foods ketogenic diet ( v low carbs of around 20g a day max) reduced the GI symptoms dramatically and my partner began a good recovery at that point - returning to work within 12 months.
my reasoning around these experiences is as follows
whilst it's known that parasites may be difficult to detect in a single sample - between us, we had 20 samples tested in all, from two different individuals with 3 different leading labs ( 4 if you include Ubiome) - therefore it seems likely to me that if indeed parasites were present - then one of these tests would have detected them.
therefore it seems likely that our issue is not parasite related but something else.
something else that causes ongoing gut inflammation and imbalances in the gut flora, food sensitivities and intolerances, hypersensitivity etc ( all poss just downstream effects of inflammation in the gut upsetting the immune system and causing systemic effects as is a known mechanism)
I also have colonoscopy and gastroscopy with histology - gastritis was present in the stomach - and unusual coloration of the colon due to white blood cell infiltration - but the reason for the white blood cell infiltration was unknown.
likewise, the histology came back negative for an infectious cause of gastritis - but no one at the hospital has been able to answer my questions about
which bacteria they looked for and ruled out. I suspect only H.Pylori
i now suspect that the gastritis is in fact caused by Bartonella ( acc to Burrascano its the 2nd most common cause of gastritis after H. Pylori but i did not know that at the time)
Bart infects the endothelial cells - including those that line the digestive system - but they are v small indeed ( up to 400 or more would fit inside a single red blood cell, they are very hard to spot under a microscope, do not culture easily, etc and routine histology simply will not be looking for them).
we both have many of the classic bart symptoms - Fatigue, headaches, all-over pain, anxiety, rage, odd rashes etc etc but not so obvious as to make it leap out at us early on.
we have both improved somewhat on antibiotics that are somewhat effective for bart - clarithromycin, azithromycin, doxy - but herxing and liver problems have been a barrier to doing them for long enough ( Bart is known to be v difficult to treat with conventional ABX due to persister cells resistance to the commonly used drugs )
and similar for herbs like Houtty and Sida etc - we tried buhners protocol from his Bartonella book for 1 month and herxed so bad we could not go on - but we were better after we stopped - then relapsed again over the next 6 weeks - again typical of bart.
so my reasoning around what has been going on in our case is that Lyme with Bart has rendered the gut lining inflamed and super reactive leading to the many gut symptoms mentioned.
that the combination of Lyme and Bart is hard to treat adequately for all the reasons above and the fact that they are both immunosuppressive infections.
i am currently having some success with slowly building up to a comprehensive buhner bart protocol - similar to the own we used before - but starting with the immune system modulating herbs - then slowly adding n teh anti-microbials and stepping up slowly and going long - 12 months or more vs trying to go hard for 1month which we could not tolerate before.
i am now able to tolerate doses of the buhner herbs that would have put me in bed with herx symptoms before - am able to function fairly well most days at this level - and i am v slowly improving.
of course, these are just theories - but this is where my head is at right now after a great deal of study and thought - so I put them out there in case any of this resonates with you.
ps - ref albendazole - there was a recent paper discussed here on the forum that found the Azole drugs were very good at killing the persister cell forms of Bart which were not suceeptibl;e to conventional Bart antibiotics.
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