posted
Has anyone been treated for bart-related GI problems? My 9yo daughter had GI as her primary sx and was doing well until about a week ago. Wondering whether bart might be our culprit.
She was supposed to go off abx in 2 weeks and now this.
What does one do to treat a child for bart? Dr. B says zith, but that's what she's already taking. Maybe need to up the dose to 500mg daily?
I'll call the LLMD in the AM, but was hoping for input from you folks also. Thanks!
-------------------- Getting older is when we would rather not have a good time than have to get over it. - Oscar Wilde Posts: 386 | From Radnor, PA - where the ticks run free | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I definitely felt improvement of my GI symptoms when I treated bart with rifampin. However the herxes made everything worse.
If I had to do it over again I would go slower and detox alot more.
Best wishes
Posts: 925 | From California | Registered: Sep 2004
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Jill E.
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9121
posted
I know that Bart can cause GI issues, although my Bart issues are far worse in terms of central nervous system stuff.
When my LLMD and I were trying to figure out what to put me on (I'm limited due to post-Ketek issues) he did say that Zith is what is used frequently in pediatric Bart and maybe I would be able to tolerate that (even though I'm an adult).
A Lyme-literate pharmacist I spoke to also said that Zith is usually chosen for pediatric Bart.
However, I'm on Rifampin now. Because of my sensitivies, my LLMD prescribed a less-than-pediatric dose for me, that had to be made at a compounding pharmacy. I started at that, ramped up very slowly, and eventually switched over to regular Rifampin.
Even on the tiniest dosages, I herxed like mad, or had severe side effects of the medication, I don't know.
But you could ask about having Rifampin compounded at low doses - it was liquid, and could be measured out in very small increments.
Jill
-------------------- If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me? Posts: 1773 | From San Diego | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Hi, Bart can definetly cause GI symptoms. I never tested positive for it but my LLMD at the time, Dr B, treated me for it with levaquin, and the symptoms went away. I don't no if levaquin would be recommended for a pediatric case though. Hopefully your daughter's LLMD will have a good suggestion. Good Luck
Posts: 58 | From NY | Registered: Dec 2005
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
According to Dr. F., enlarged lymph nodes in the abdomen can confirm the diagnosis of the GI presentation of bart by doing a cat scan.
I spoke to the LLMD and he wants to take her off abx for two days and see if she improves. I mentioned C. diff as a concern and he said S. boulardii for that - she already takes that daily (3-6 billion CFUs) - so he then said to lay off all meds including the diflucan and see if she improves.
If not, I'll raise the idea of bart and see where we go from there.
Thanks again, everyone!
-------------------- Getting older is when we would rather not have a good time than have to get over it. - Oscar Wilde Posts: 386 | From Radnor, PA - where the ticks run free | Registered: May 2006
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