So sorry to hear you are dealing with this.
I have seen lyme rage first hand with a grandson. It is truly frightening! His post rage reaction was the same as your daughter's...no memory of having said or done the things he was told he done.

One mother I spoke to at the time, had a particularly hard time. Her son actually took a large knife out of the deawer and chased his father with it. Again....he had no memory of it. I recall that these parents did see a professional as recommended by their son's LLMD, and was prescribed meds to help with it.

Those lyme spirochetes get into the brain and raise all kinds of havoc. Rest assured that these rages will subside as treatment progresses. In the meantime, you have my utmost sympathy as I have witnessed them and they are truly horrifying.

By the way...these rages happen to adults, too as many here can testify to.

My best to you and your poor daughter.....nan

She is on treatment and we believe these times to be her reaction that the spirochetes are dying off.

You probably already know that as a herxheimer response or as we call it here herx.

I just wanted you to know that I empathize with you, as I know how difficult this time can be.

When my daughter snaps out of her rage and back to her normal self she often says she doesn't remember her terrible behavior.

It feels like a personality disorder would, I think. It does make for some interest coping by all.

At least we have begun to link it to her symptoms of pain and see it for what it is.

I wonder if there is anything natural out there that would have a calming effect without having risk or side effects.

call dr. charles jones in ct. he's the children's expert for lyme and coinfections..he cured my son...he had rages for 3 years..then treatment..then gone!

dr. jones # 1-203-772-1123.

you really need a children's expert, and someone who knows bartonella..what you're explaining is textbook...

Just didn't want you to think rages occur only with bartonella!

Like Lisa's boy, my grandson's rages were gone in 2 years....total cure thanks to Dr. Jones after 6 years!

he's the one to talk to : every child responds differently to every med. you need to have him seen by dr. jones.

call him : 1-203-772-1123. He's he expert. Don't wait, as the emotional part and rages WILL get worse and can turn psychotic or suicidal...many moms on here have written about their children and such episodes....

but htey have gotten help and it's turned around.so there is a light...just don't wait...go to someone who knows hte right treatments, and tests to do to make sure of what tick diseases she does have..k? it's a long process...it was almost 2 and 1/2 years for my son...

I"ll keeep you both in my prayers.

I am in the same boat. My 5 yr. old told me last night during his most recent rage that he was going to punch my needle (my port)!

We just met with Dr. J on Thursday for my 2 children with rages. They have congenital lyme. One thing that was interesting was that when I asked if my mycoplasma fermentes could have been passed onto him as a co-infection, he said probably and that it is an especially nasty bug regarding neuropsych problems -- it makes some people crazy. It has to be treated with very specific drugs as well.

Dr. J is also looking at other co-infections. We are also having our children observed by other specialists (with his recommendations) regarding brain injury due to spirochetes. He is definately worth the wait and cost.

I had this symptom very badly when I was on abx and its so awful to go through and for my family to deal with as well.

I'm too tired to read the above responses, so I apologize if I repeat anything...

you said she sometimes doesnt remember and feels disorientated after these outbreaks. Make sure her dr is very aware of this. Has she had EEGs to look for seizure activity?

I think temporal lobe seizures can cause this behaviour, I may have the type wrong though. There are so many different types of seizures, but I would definitely talk to your dr about that possibility. An excellent LLMD mentioned the seizure/rage connection in a lecture I saw once.

Although... unless she has an outbreak or similar brain activity during the actual EEG, then it may not show up. The 48 hr EEG may be more helpful and she can get one she wears at home.

I still have most of my neuro symptoms, but the explosive and uncontrollable rages are one symptom that responded very well to treatment, particularly the IV which got into my brain better. I hope that gives you both some hope.

I hope this is helpful as well:

Aggression and Lyme Disease

by Robert C. Bransfield, M.D.

"Several years ago, I admitted a patient with Lyme disease (LD) to a psychiatric unit. He was paranoid and assaulted five police officers in an episode of rage. During the hospital stay, the patient went to the river behind the hospital to watch the Fourth of July fireworks display. When the fireworks began, the patient jumped into the river. It appeared the loud noise was responsible for an acoustic startle reaction.

At the same time, a female patient with LD was also on the unit. She described puzzling symptoms that consisted of episodes of rage and intrusive, horrific homicidal images. In both cases, the aggressive tendencies improved with treatment.

In reviewing cases involving LD patients, another patient described an incident where someone else pulled into a parking space that he wanted. Jumping out of his car, he knocked the other driver unconscious. Still another patient stated he was driving on the highway when a motorist beeped their horn. He lunged out of his car and began pounding on the windshield of the car, then suddenly stopped in bewilderment because he did not understand or recall why he was behaving in this manner.
A female patient was arrested for shoplifting during a state of confusion. I can cite many more examples. One study of death row inmates demonstrated that 100% were neurologically impaired.

Adler methodically interviewing hundreds of patients over a period of years, it was clear that certain patterns were emerging. The same problems were being seen in too many patients. A causal link was becoming increasing apparent.

It is my intention to methodically look at the association that does seem to exist between LD and aggressive behavior in a minority of chronic LD patients.

It is well recognized that LD causes dysfunction of the central nervous system (CNS). Many other conditions which cause CNS dysfunction are sometimes also associated with violent behavior, i.e.: strokes, brain tumors, lupus, MS. head injuries, developmental disabilities, carbon monoxide poisoning, syphilis and other CNS infections.

When reviewing the pathology associated with aggression, we can see dysfunction of a number of different brain areas. To briefly review the physiology, there is a hierarchy of functioning within the CNS, which has developed through evolution. When we go from the most advanced to the most primitive areas of the brain, the hierarchy consists of the prefrontal cortex, other cortical regions, para limbic associative areas, the limbic system, and the brain stem and hypothalamus.

These centers function together with many feed forward and feed back pathways that are both stimulatory and inhibitory. Injury to a higher center can result in a dysfunction or a loss of a function. Injury to an inhibiting pathway will cause a decline or an inability to inhibit that function. As a result, brain injury leads to a decline in our ability to fine-tune our adaptive abilities in an effective manner.

In the case of aggressive functioning, injury can lead to apathy (a failure of stimulation) and/or aggression (a failure a inhibition, modulation, or association)

Now let's look at the association between Lyme and aggression. The first reference on this subject in the medical literature I could find was made by Fallon, et al in 1992 in 'The Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Lyme Borreliosis", in which he described a man acutely sensitive to sound was so intensely bothered by the noise his three-year-old son was making that he picked him up and shook him in a sudden and unprecedented fit of violence.
Other cases can be found in medical literature cited at Lyme meetings and in newspaper reports. The phrase "Lyme rage" continues to appear. There are discussions that some "road rage" is caused by "Lyme rage".

I would estimate aggressive behavior has been a significant issue for approximately fifty patients with LD that I have evaluated or treated, although many more have reported some symptoms associated with aggressive potential. When aggression does occur, it may only be present for an interval in the progression of the illness.

Control over physical well-being is lost with Lyme, but much more disturbing and debilitating is the lack of control or normalcy of the mind both emotionally and cognitive - perhaps worse during a flair when all symptoms often rear their ugly heads.
Since this is aggression associated with a CNS infection, it can potentially be treated and prevented.

When regional epidemics of violence occur, LD and other causes of encephalopathy should be considered. We should exercise every option to prevent crime with medical treatment."