I have just set up an appt for my son's girlfriend at the end of August. I had to beg and plead to get her to agree to go. This is the absolute last doctor she will agree to go to... as too many doctors have blown her off and she has no insurance. I just need to pick the right doctor.
Oh and did I mention that we don't have anything easy to diagnose...
We have only had very low titers on IgG for Bartonella hensalae and multiple doctors have blown us off here in TX.
Several of us across 2 families are sick with something that causes bartonella symptoms including headaches, extra capillaries & veins, pain in feet to name just a few. Animals in homes have either tested 1+ (not infected) or 4+ (highly positive) at national vet labs in NJ by western blot.
My labs just came back from Igenex and they were only 1:40 IgG (which is to be considered negative). Awaiting bloodwork for 2 more people. There is a note on the labs that states that positive IgG could be cross reactive with B. quintana.
Is Dr F easy to work with? Does he require tons of lab testing?
I need someone to treat my son's girlfriend before she gets any sicker. She is headed off to college next week along with my son. I need your suggestions and opinions. Posted by mbroderick (Member # 5220) on :
Have you tried calling any support groups in your area? They generally have feedback on lost of local docs. There's a link on the upper left side of this page. Call rather than email if a phone number is listed . . .
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
Here is info on Galaxy lab. They have made a specialty of this disease. But expensive, I hear. Most knowledgeable docs go by symptoms instead.
Are you thinking this is only bartonella, and not other tickborne diseases as well?
Posted by mjbucuk (Member # 843) on :
My sons both got lyme and babesia in NJ.
After moving to TX, son #1 got a positive bartonella test; then son #2 got very sick and got many skin manifestations of bartonella.
Next, girlfriend of son #2 began to get sick; she had positive IgG for bartonella, and more recently has positive Lyme western blot (suspect that it was transferred from son via kissing ... remember we have now learned infective dose is 1 bacteria, and gums bleed more with bartonella).
I have developed symptoms, and so has girlfriend's mom. Bartonella (or whatever it is) has likely come from a cat we inherited from my third son --- cat is highly positive.
The weird thing about this cat is that it tested highly positive at national vet labs, but at galaxy labs was negative--- and it was also negative at a third lab that tried to culture the same blood sample.
We are going to give Dr F in AZ a try because we could get in to see him fairly soon. Son's girlfriend is going downhill fast with short term memory loss. She left for college today with my son. Cannot afford to have her wait until October or November to see Dr C in MO.