Looking for answers

Hey there,
I’m looking for answers to a unexplained chronic health issue. For a little less than a year now i’ve been experiencing what i believe to be possible bartonella/brucella symptoms. Last fall i came down with this unexplained illness. I had a gurgling/loud/upset stomach for weeks. I could barely eat and what i could eat usually came out faster than normal. I had food sensitivities to things i previous had no problem consuming before. I had alot of dry skin on my body on mainly my palms, soles of feet and head. A high heart beat which came off and on for about two months. Dry eyes and mouth. Peeling skin on hands and feet, mostly feet. Red dots under skin on palms, not alot but one or two occasionally and they would last for hours. Dry cough and some sinus issues that lasted off and on for a month or so. Neurological symptoms such as shooting nerve pain and internal body vibrations that would wake me up and make me anxious. This has also given me bone pain all over my body. Over time these slowly have faded away but are still somewhat present. I’ve went to my primary doctor for almost three months after having these symptoms. After many blood tests, nothing was noticeable to her. The main one that concerned me was the elevated but still within range wbc count. I haven’t went to the doctor since but i am considering going back now to see if i can take a brucella and bartonella test. I am aware i probably will have to seek out an LLMD which will be out out pocket cost. I currently been getting more and more joint pain. Mainly in my elbows which i’ve never had a scares the hell out of me. Also this seems to mess with my immunity. Has anyone been able to cure bartonella or brucella? Also is this contagious via saliva? Has anyone spread this to their spouses? If anyone can advise me in anyway i would be grateful for your help.

Post Edited (User02) : 6/20/2023 11:31:15 AM (GMT-8)

I’ve done a stool test about two times initially in the beginning. Nothing was found in the tests. There are times when i examine my stool and see little white pebbles recently. I didn’t think parasites would cause neurological symptoms. There are times where my brain feels inflammed. During the acute period of this i felt like something was attacking my brain stem. I wake up sometimes with the shakes/internal vibrations. Also whatever this is seems to cause little bruises. I have a bruise that has never gone away.

Post Edited (User02) : 6/20/2023 7:07:07 AM (GMT-8)

User02 said...
Hey there,
I’m looking for answers to a unexplained chronic health issue. For a little less than a year now i’ve been experiencing what i believe to be possible bartonella/brucella symptoms. Last fall i came down with this unexplained illness. I had a gurgling/loud/upset stomach for weeks. I could barely eat and what i could eat usually came out faster than normal. I had food sensitivities to things i previous had no problem consuming before. I had alot of dry skin on my body on mainly my palms, soles of feet and head. A high heart beat which came off and on for about two months. Dry eyes and mouth. Peeling skin on hands and feet, mostly feet. Red dots under skin on palms, not alot but one or two occasionally and they would last for hours. Dry cough and some sinus issues that lasted off and on for a month or so. Neurological symptoms such as shooting nerve pain and internal body vibrations that would wake me up and make me anxious. Over time these slowly have faded away but are still somewhat present. I’ve went to my primary doctor for almost three months after having these symptoms. After many blood tests, nothing was noticeable to her. The main one that concerned me was the elevated but still within range wbc count. I haven’t went to the doctor since but i am considering going back now to see if i can take a brucella and bartonella test. I am aware i probably will have to seek out an LLMD which will be out out pocket cost. I currently been getting more and more joint pain. Mainly in my elbows which i’ve never had a scares the hell out of me. Also this seems to mess with my immunity. Has anyone been able to cure bartonella or brucella? Also is this contagious via saliva? Has anyone spread this to their spouses? If anyone can advise me in anyway i would be grateful for your help.

Welcome to the forum.
Sorry you have this going on but glad you made your way here.
This forum is a great place for support - we have a lot of members with experience and knowledge.
I had some of the symptoms you wrote about:
I had undigested food in my stool…
I also had nerve pain and the internal vibrations… and joint pain as well.

I’m happy to say I am in remission!

Is it contagious through saliva? As far as I know Lyme and CO’s aren’t contagious via saliva.

if you have not watched it already

this is the best primer on bartonella - pathology, diagnosis and treatment is by the world leading mainstream bartonella researcher prof Ed Breischwerdt - and the best known board certified MD who specialises in treating Bartonellosis patients Dr M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njywmmpjiku&t=4s

after 6 months is the point by which these infections are generally regarded as a chronic infection

treatment from that point onwards is more difficult -
there are some rules of thumb some people use - but i don't think they are very helpful - as treatment courses tend to be so individual
it also depends significantly on your overall health aside from the bartonella infection
eg any co-morbidities you have - eg diabetes, thyroid conditions, obesity etc ,
or what other infections you are carrying

and general foundational behaviours for good health - like how well you sleep, how good your diet is, how well you are managing stress, and if you are exercising
since our immune system is ultimately what musty control these infections - these steps can be seen as foundational to recovering health.
many people find their treatment only progresses once they get these areas under control

treatment after 1 year is still likely to be easier than treatment after 5 years

regarding working while treating - it may be possible - but again, strength of reactions to treatments also varies widely - some people become extremely sick while initially on abx - others function relatively normally
perhaps some extra tiredness, more headaches, some nausea etc
for those that do react - over time as the bacterial burden decreases these reactions may also decrease

regarding transmission via saliva - officially not - but see my answer above - as there is still a lot we are learning about these diseases.
my personal opinion is its not a black and white matter - but other factors cloud the issue also.

for instance when one family member is exposed - there is always the possibility that other family members were exposed to the same vector and so have become infected that way - rather than via saliva.

for instance, if we took an example of a family with pets - if the family dog caught fleas from a cat that got infected from a rodent it ate - then several or all family members could become infected by incidental flea bites from one of the pets - in this case not all family members would necessarily show the same symptoms.
there are case reports like this in the peer reviewed literature

this can be one of the hardest areas to come to terms with with this group of illnesses - as before encountering this illness its easy to have the impression that all the answers must exist - and we therefore just have to look them up - but in many cases these diseases have only been discovered in the last few decades, their presence in the human population is only just emerging - and we simply do not have all the answers yet.