Hello all, Having a really rough couple of months; a week ago I went to ER because I couldn't tolerate GI pain, anxiety, insomnia, sweats....I'm on mepron/zith right now but my LLMD and I are now strongly suspecting bartonella....In my 9 years of treatment, I've never addressed Bart..Anyone getting their butt kicked by bart, and if so, what antibiotic do you think is better? Any ideas are greatly appreciated.. I've had so man tests lately for parasites, metals etc.....but i've never addressed Bart. Sometimes we lyme patients get a strong gut reaction to try something new....I think this might be my next step. Thanks so much!
Posted by Love my kids (Member # 32876) on :
My two kids and I both are chasing Bart, along with Babs, Lyme, etc. Bart is a beast. Yes, we tried rifampin and levoquin. Could not stay on levoquin long enough because we developed tendon issues. Please do your research on this one. Some docs give you Magnesium in high doses before starting and during treatment with Levaquin. Be Very careful! You can wind up with permanent tendon damage.
Rifampin did not touch my bart. My daughter did improve but it's still lurking.
Posted by droid1226 (Member # 34930) on :
Both work well but your gonna need something to get it inside the cell too. Bartonella is so much smaller than a spirochete and burrows.
Plaqenil maybe. I'd discuss intracellulars w/ your dr.
I know a girl who didn't respond to oral rifampin, but then IV worked amazing. Oral worked with me but i stopped cause I'm on so many others but I'll go back.
Posted by lifewithlyme (Member # 4557) on :
Thanks so much!!
Posted by lax mom (Member # 38743) on :
I was on Septra (Bactrim DS) for Bart last year.
Posted by lifewithlyme (Member # 4557) on :
I'm allergic to Bactrim ...any thoughts on levaquin?
Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
I took Levaquin- twice- began treatment with it, and ended treatment with it.
I loaded up on oral magnesium and vitamin C, and every single night while on Levaquin, I forced myself to do an
Epsom salt bath with 3-4 cups of salt, very warm water, for at least 20 minutes, and body brushed beforehand.
Every night, I was so paranoid about tendons. I think it helped. I also did not exercise while on Levaquin-
In between Levaquin treatments, I did some rounds of Cipro and Rifampin (not very long periods)
Byron White A-Bart (months), Beyond Balance herbal Bart tincture, Zhang's HH2 capsules, and Cowden herbs for Bart.
(Not all at the same time, lol. But did my best to keep knocking it down and out.)
There are some LLMD's that feel like Levaquin is the best antibiotic for Bart. I am glad I did it. And glad I was careful.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
See this page of "The Lyme Disease Solution" talking about meds to treat bart and how to take them:
Surprise and TF: thank you so much!! going to call dr tomorrow and see if he'll work with me on this...if you get a chance, can you tell me what your specific bart symptoms were?
Thanks again; you guys are the best
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
I don't believe I had any bart symptoms, but I tested positive for bart through Igenex.
Bart could have been the reason I had horrible episodes of abdominal pain every so often--even had to go to the ER once for it when it lasted 10 days. I had many tests, colonoscopies, etc. that found no cause for this pain. But, all that stopped at some point, so it was likely from bart.
Also, I had 2 episodes of feeling like the soles of my feet were burned. It happened in the afternoon and lasted for hours. These are the only symptoms I had that are known to be caused by bart.
I had no problem with the Levaquin. I continued my weight lifting while taking it.
Here is Burrascano discussing bart symtpoms:
"Indicators of BLO infection include CNS symptoms out of proportion to the other systemic symptoms of chronic Lyme. There seems to be an increased irritability to the CNS, with agitation, anxiety, insomnia, and even seizures, in addition to other unusually strong symptoms of encephalitis, such as cognitive deficits and confusion. Other key symptoms may include gastritis, lower abdominal pain (mesenteric adenitis), sore soles, especially in the AM, tender subcutaneous nodules along the extremities, and red rashes. These rashes may have the appearance of red streaks like stretch marks that do not follow skin planes, spider veins, or red papular eruptions. Lymph nodes may be enlarged and the throat can be sore." (page 24)
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
If you never have treated bart, it is high time that you did. Nearly every single lyme patient has babesiosis and bartonella both. So, many good lyme docs automatically treat their patients for all 3. They call them "the Big 3."
Once you've treated for the Big 3, then if there are any symptoms left, you start to look for other causes. But, it is basic treatment to treat a lyme patient for bart. So sorry this was not done early on for you!
Posted by lifewithlyme (Member # 4557) on :
TF - thank you so much!! I have a call in to my LLMD; just waiting for a response. I can't believe in all the years (15, 9 years of treatment) I've had Lyme, I never treated Bart. And right now, my symptoms are: horrible stomache pain (I also went to the ER on May 3rd; of course they found nothing - the dr only asked if my husband is hurting me and do I hear voices in my head...nice, huh?), sweats, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, lumpy shins that produce bruises when I press them (weird, I know)....I really hope he's on board with Levaquin... Thanks again and I'll provide an update. You don't know how much you've helped me.
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
I don't think TF is the common patient BTW....most people on here fight bart for years.
Posted by lifewithlyme (Member # 4557) on :
So...my llmd has refused to give me any meds for Bart. No reason, he just wants to "keep me on the stuff I've been on"...was so desperate that I showed up to his office today. Despite the fact there were NO patients there, he refused to see me. Nice, huh?
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
...any thoughts on levaquin?