We are currently treating our son with Rifampin to target bartonella. We hadn't seen him herx for months until we started the rifampin. We've had to back off of it for a few days at a time because he's been very, very moody, uncooperative and just plain short-fused. This was an issue we'd long forgotten about until now. Whoa! Bartonella is REALLY an issue in this child and I'm not surprised in the least. We brought two 12-week-old kittens home 2 years ago, and we named one of them "Ripper." You can imagine why, huh? Yes, he nearly ripped me apart in the car, and scratched my son several times once we got them home. My son and I decided a few months ago we'd change their names from CJ and Ripper to Bart and Ella.
My question: Is it always difficult to erradicate bart? Are my son's 'new' herxes surprising to anyone?
Posted by Lymeblue (Member # 6897) on :
Bart is not that bad as other co-infections. 4 months of treatment I've heard is enough. Good luck.
Posted by krazykt1 (Member # 3739) on :
On the other hand, maybe the "aggressive" kitten would'nt be tearing people up if it wasn't infected with bart.Myself,my kids and grandkids all are being txed for bart.
Mood-wise it's been a horror show for years. I think bart is a bi-ch!
Posted by troutscout (Member # 3121) on :
I've seen many suffer for a long time trying to beat bart.
Trout
PS....Treat the cat also..or get rid of it.
Posted by Amareo (Member # 1454) on :
I was on a combo when I had bartonella...but I had a combo when I had bart...(mycoplasma f., lyme, bartonella). We felt like we got it under control fairly quickly, but I never really had the manic episodes/psychosis that you hear about with some bartonella cases... I was treated with IV rocephin for the lyme, and zithromax, and then we added SMZ to the mix. the SMZ seemed to work really really well. I was also on Mepron but Im not sure if that was at the same time as the others..... SMZ had fairly few side effects also.
Has your son been tested for mycoplasma fermentans? It also causes the same neurological and psychological things that bartonella causes.
------------------ Lishka
Posted by lymemomtooo (Member # 5396) on :
Krazy,,We agree..Bart is horrible and not easily erradicated here..We just hope we catch any of the suicide attempts in time and a magic cure is soon in the wings..
llmd and llpsych are working hard to get her well...But a short course of abx would not be our answer..a long course of abx didn't do it.
Posted by Biting Back (Member # 6018) on :
Thanks everyone, for your replies. Nope, the kitty wouldn't be ripping everyone up if he wasn't infected with bartonella. They're outside cats, but I still think the best thing to do here is tell them goodbye. Husband is not wanting to do this, so I'll probably make the arrangements.
My son just seems to go off on us, and it's very unpredictable. Guess we'll just keep pounding at bart until it's gone.
Thanks again.
Posted by Mo (Member # 2863) on :
You could treat the kities empitically with Zithromax..
Cat scratch fever is normally self limiting, when one does not have chronic Lyme and other chronic infections. But..Bart has also been found in the gut of ticks.
Boy, those symptoms sound familiar..
Rifampin can be very effective, used long term in high dose, and of course with monitoring for liver function.
We had thise very symptoms relieved by threatment with Rifampin and Mino (or you can combine with Doxy).
Myself, my three year old and son were all prescribed treatment at the same time (with different LL's) Talk about yer disfunctional family through the initial herx's, lol.
At least most of the time we each took turns going postal.
After several weeks, we both felt like we came back 'into' ourselves.. distinct feeling of a return to a 'sense of self' is the best way I can describe it.
Forge ahead! And stay monitored..there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Children with Tuberculosis are treated with Rifampin for nine months to a year.
Mo
[This message has been edited by Mo (edited 13 May 2005).]
