I am wondering if any of you have one or two stellar articles that I could send to my sister-in-law to convince her to consider infections/parasites/metals as a potential source of her son's problems.
My nephew is 14 years old and has been labeled as ADHD and bipolar since he was 7 or 8. He has been to dozens of psychiatrists and therapists, to no avail. Recently he got kicked out of his high school for getting in fights and constantly talking about guns (his parents are very anti-gun and have never exposed him to guns!). When he visited us last week, I remarked to his mother about his constant cough, and she replied that "he's always sick." But she has never linked his psychiatric issues with his physical issues.
My s-in-law and her husband will be a hard sell to consider Lyme & coinfections or PANDAS, as they are very wedded to conventional medicine (my father-in-law is an MD).
Anything you might have to convince them would be welcome. Many thanks!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I don't have links on that, but tell them to order the Body Ecology Diet. I bet it would help him!!!
Posted by Anthropologista (Member # 35483) on :
Hi Landers--here's a great article in Psych Today: it's an excerpt from Pam Weintraub's book. See Part Three (click the link at the bottom of the page) for Dr. B in NJ's work on Lyme and aggression, in both children and adults.
If your S-in-law and brother live within travel range, Dr. B would be a wonderful psychiatrist to consult about your nephew.
Posted by Anthropologista (Member # 35483) on :
"There is growing evidence that some children with ADHD symptoms actually have Lyme disease. Lyme’s effect on the brain can appear as increasing anxiety, irritability, chronic depression, cognitive decline and memory loss, and much stronger ADHD tendencies.
Lyme Disease, like its predecessor syphilis, is called “The Great Imitator” since it can affect the entire body in a myriad of ways. It is often misdiagnosed as ADD, ADHD, rheumatoid arthritis, autism, depression, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, and more. The co-infection bartonella has been associated with neuropsychiatric disease."
Posted by high brix (Member # 23676) on :
"Adolescent hormonal surges and the emotional turmoil wrought by Lyme disease at once camouflage and exacerbate each other mutually. Thus, children tend to be unruly, hard to please and prone to atypical emotional reactions. A child who is misbehaving in class should not be dismissed as a 'bad kid'. Lyme can catalyze inappropriate behavior and commentary. Many patients retrospectively realize that they were out of control but in the event were unable to intercept their behavior. Misattribution as to the origin of behavioral perturbations is the rule. The development of aberrant personality traits can be gradual or even situational, further obscuring the medical etiology. An acute break from normal behavior can serve to highlight the abnormalities and suggest the need for evaluation. Thus, dysfunctional behavior and intellectual incapacitation are bitterly recalled by LD patients when they finally realize how their interpersonal relationships, school and vocational conduct were negatively impacted."