Archive for the ‘Bartonella’ Category

She’s Battling Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasmosis, and PANS

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/shes-battling-lyme-bartonella-babesia-and-anaplasmosis-and-pans.-eileen-clossick-is-a-warrior

She’s Battling Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasmosis, and PANS. Eileen Clossick is a Warrior.

by Eileen Clossick on December 8, 2022

Eileen Clossick opens up about her Lyme disease, Bartonella, Babesia, and Anaplasmosis, and PANS in an effort to help others and spread awareness.

The puzzle pieces are finally starting to come together after going through what I now recognize was the perfect storm this past year: getting the Covid vaccine (& subsequently developing paresthesia in my legs), contracting Covid, going through an emotional stressor, and then being exposed to mold (and later finding out I have mold toxicity, or “mycotoxicity”). The floodgates were opened, and my body could no longer suppress the viral load it was carrying.

Experiencing Symptoms

I was experiencing such severe insomnia that I would go days without sleeping, even after taking four or five Benadryl at a time. I was having heart palpitations, night terrors, such severe brain fog that I couldn’t plan my days off of work without ending up in tears, tingling in my head as well as my legs, intrusive thoughts, dizzy spells, tinnitus, and neck stiffness. I was seeing black dots, snowflakes, and stars. I had weird neuro symptoms like dropping things all the time and mixing up left and right. I would wake up at night with shaking episodes because I couldn’t regulate my body temperature. And worst of all, I was experiencing a darkness and spiral in my mind that I have yet to figure out how to explain in words. By nature, I am a very joyful, energetic, and enthusiastic person, so I knew that this was not me, and something was deeply wrong. I was afraid to hurt a patient at work due to my exhaustion caused by severe insomnia, so I started calling out of shifts.

After a boatload of research, and visiting and calling multiple doctors and clinics, I finally got into a Lyme Literate doctor. I explained my story to her, all the way back to the onset of symptoms at 5 years old. She looked at me and said, “this is classic Bartonella,1 I’ll be shocked if it isn’t.” I instantly burst into tears in her office, and the only thing I could repeat was “no one should ever be told they’re just anxious for 20 years.”

Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)

If it hadn’t been for the flare up this past year, I may have never gotten the answers I needed. I was forced to ask the deeper question of what was really going on.

At the age of five, I had a sudden onset of severe anxiety, OCD symptoms, destructive behavior, night terrors, and sensory issues. It escalated to the point that I needed to be admitted to a children’s psych hospital for a little over a week. My doctors tested me for Strep (for a PANDAS diagnosis), which was negative. Unfortunately, they did not have the knowledge of tick borne illnesses or PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome). So, I was seen as a psych case, told I had a “delay in my neurological development” and prescribed psych meds at a young age. Over the years, I led a normal life, but always dealt with what I believed was an anxiety disorder. So I attributed other strange symptoms to anxiety throughout my life. There have been periods when it was worse than others, but overall, I tried incredibly hard to hide it from most people, because I hated that I struggled with it. If it hadn’t been for the flare up this past year, I may have never gotten the answers I needed. I was forced to ask the deeper question of what was really going on.

Multiple Tick-borne Diseases

thumbnail_image2 (1)-2-1When the full Tick Borne Panel came back, my doctor was correct in her assumption. I was diagnosed with Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, and Anaplasma. Along with these tick borne illnesses, I also had the Neural Zoomer Plus test done which identified blood brain barrier disruption2 and demyelination. With that, I was diagnosed with PANS. Along with those diagnoses, I was also diagnosed with 9 new food sensitivities and mycotoxicity. My doctor looked at me and said “you’re one tough cookie for walking around with all of this.”

Surprisingly, with each new diagnosis came a sense of relief. I finally had proof that everything I was experiencing was real. This illness can be dangerously misleading, and oftentimes cause me to doubt my own experiences, as I look normal from the outside and I have good moments and days when I feel like myself. Because a lot of what I endure is not outwardly visible to others, I have been challenged to put into words what I am experiencing, so I can let others in, especially those closest to me.

My Most Recent Flare

This past spring, I was having flashbacks to my childhood, and experiencing odd bouts of deja vu. My body was trying to tell me I was experiencing a flare, but I couldn’t read the signs. I was begging the Lord to give me sleep, fighting for rest in any way I could: putting my phone away 2 hours before bed, creating a nighttime routine, etc, all to no avail. Even when I did fall asleep, I was awoken by night terrors, pinprick sensations, or shaking episodes and required even more sleep aides to get back to sleep. I didn’t know if I was doing something wrong. All I knew was that I was struggling and needed help, badly. I didn’t know exactly what was going on at the time, but I knew that I was done taking the band aid approach offered to me. I didn’t want to just take more pills; I wanted to know why I was experiencing all of these random symptoms.

Unfortunately, when these tick borne illnesses and other infections have crossed the blood brain barrier and gone systemic after being in the body for years, antibiotics alone do not work. These bugs are quite intelligent. They create a biofilm to protect themselves. So, while I will most likely be on antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs long-term, the road to recovery involves so much more than just antibiotics. I have yet to meet a single person who healed from long-term Lyme/coinfections with antibiotics alone. In fact, I experienced some of the worst die-off symptoms (herxing) after starting some of the herbal regimens prescribed by my ILADS doctor. From someone coming from healthcare and working with pharmaceuticals, I had no idea how potent and effective some of these herbs could be.

The Healing Process

thumbnail_image0-1In addition to medications and supplements, there are other supportive therapies to help my body and mind heal. Since this has gone undiagnosed for so long and crossed the blood-brain barrier, I will be undergoing treatment for the next couple of years. There are numerous routes to take, so treatment may look different at different points in time over the next couple of years. Because my immune system has been suppressed for years, I need to do everything I can to help boost it. I am currently taking Immunoglobulins. There are many diet and lifestyle changes to make as well to help boost my immune system and decrease the inflammation in my body and brain.

For me, I’ve found that the best medicine of all is being with people. It’s often seeing others and socializing that pulls me out of the never ending darkness or mental spiral that I can’t escape alone.

And, since my body has been stuck in a fight or flight mode (sympathetic state) for so long fighting infection without me knowing, I have to help my body learn how to re-enter the parasympathetic state (or, rest and digest state). For me, I’ve found that the best medicine of all is being with people. It’s often seeing others and socializing that pulls me out of the never ending darkness or mental spiral that I can’t escape alone. When I was a kid, nothing worked, so I am thankful that I have found something that does work. There are other simple things I’ve found effective such as laughter, music, prayer, and being in nature. There are also certain therapies like cold-water exposure, craniosacral therapy, EMDR therapy, & neurofeedback, that help my body shift from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic state. Our bodies heal best in the parasympathetic state. I could create a whole other blog post just on all the treatment and therapies involved. Keeping track of it all is a full time job in and of itself!

And as I mentioned, there is something called the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (or “herxing”). I don’t have a worst enemy, but even if I did, I would not wish this on him or her. Basically, as the bacteria die off, they release toxins, so all of the symptoms you’ve experienced come to a head and get worse before they get better. But, as people have told me, even though it’s a living hell, it’s something to celebrate, because you know you’re hitting the nail on the head. Since most of the symptoms I have experienced have been neuro and psychiatric, and because these bacteria have crossed the blood brain barrier and caused PANS, most of the herxing involves worsening of the neuro and psychiatric symptoms. “In PANS and PANDAS, autoantibodies target healthy proteins or receptors in the brain, principally in the basal ganglia, a region of the brain responsible for motor movements, learning, cognition, and emotion.”3 Because I’ve had this for so many years without knowing, there will be a lot of bacteria that need to die off, and lots of herxing to go through, but I am determined to go through whatever I need to in order to get to the other side. It’s taken me years to arrive at this point; I can’t expect to heal in a month or two. As I begin to experience some days in between herxing where I feel like myself again, I am hopeful for complete healing in time and better days ahead.

There is also the issue of mycotoxicity. Who knew mold could wreak such havoc on your brain and nervous system? When not excreted from the body, it gets stored in fatty tissues, including the brain, which explains why everything got worse when I had a new mold exposure. For whatever reason, people with Lyme & co-infections don’t flush out toxins from their body like the average person (many of these people also have an MTHFR gene mutation).

Due to the ups and downs of these illnesses, many weekly appointments, and the financial burden that comes along with all of this, I made the decision to move home to Rhode Island and go ‘all in’ on my healing journey. Although this has felt like rock bottom all around, I am challenging myself to view this situation in a new light. What if this is an opportunity to give my body the rest, space, and time it needs to heal? What if the “falling apart” of my old life, is actually a new path falling together? What if I can use this as an opportunity to spread awareness, and therefore alleviate the suffering of others? What if I can heal completely, and then get back out there, further my degree, and work with the kiddos (& their families) who battle PANS/PANDAS?

Earlier diagnosis = earlier treatment, and therefore, better outcomes.

thumbnail_image3As I’ve mentioned before, I am open about my journey, in order to spread awareness, and to one day fight alongside and achieve victories for others, so that no one will ever go misdiagnosed for so long like I did. Earlier diagnosis = earlier treatment, and therefore, better outcomes. Because of the frequent mental spiral I experience, especially during this past year, I have doubted many of my decisions. However, since I discovered all of this, I have not for one second doubted that I was handed this cross so that I can one day help others with a similar cross. They say people who battle long term Lyme & co-infections with a purpose and reason to get through it, have better outcomes than those without a purpose, and I have most definitely found mine. No one should go misdiagnosed for 20 years, and then have to fight so hard just for a diagnosis. No one should have to go to therapy to process 1) the trauma that comes along with PANS, and 2) the shock of going misdiagnosed for so long. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to regain their health after it was the medical field that missed the bigger picture.  No one should be treated as though they are crazy by certain doctors who have not been trained in or educated themselves on tick borne illnesses (as well as PANS, molecular mimicry, etc), because it’s often a complicated and “controversial” topic.

As passionate as I am about this, I am also realizing there are emotional, spiritual, & mental components to work through as well. I could also write a whole blog post (or book, truthfully) just on those aspects alone. I am learning that I can’t expect to heal while holding onto anger and resentment towards all those who couldn’t help me more when I was a kid, or even this past year. I am also learning to be patient with myself as I process the aftershocks, all the emotions that come with it, and some of the painful memories.

It was only when I came to a place of deep acceptance, that I achieved a sense of peace.

For more GLA blogs, click here.

Endnotes

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, PANS

Bartonella in Malignant Melanoma, A Preliminary Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7998106/

 2021 Mar; 10(3): 326.
Published online 2021 Mar 10. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10030326
PMCID: PMC7998106
PMID: 33802018

Bartonella henselae Detected in Malignant Melanoma, a Preliminary Study

Marna E. Ericson,1 Edward B. Breitschwerdt,2 Paul Reicherter,3 Cole Maxwell,4 Ricardo G. Maggi,2 Richard G. Melvin,5 Azar H. Maluki,4,6 Julie M. Bradley,2 Jennifer C. Miller,7 Glenn E. Simmons, Jr.,5 Jamie Dencklau,4 Keaton Joppru,5 Jack Peterson,4 Will Bae,4 Janet Scanlon,4 and Lynne T. Bemis5,*
Lawrence S. Young, Academic Editor and Olivier Sparagano, Academic Editor

Abstract

Bartonella bacilliformis (B. bacilliformis), Bartonella henselae (B. henselae), and Bartonella quintana (B. quintana) are bacteria known to cause verruga peruana or bacillary angiomatosis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependent cutaneous lesions in humans. Given the bacteria’s association with the dermal niche and clinical suspicion of occult infection by a dermatologist, we determined if patients with melanoma had evidence of Bartonella spp. infection. Within a one-month period, eight patients previously diagnosed with melanoma volunteered to be tested for evidence of Bartonella spp. exposure/infection. Subsequently, confocal immunohistochemistry and PCR for Bartonella spp. were used to study melanoma tissues from two patients. Blood from seven of the eight patients was either seroreactive, PCR positive, or positive by both modalities for Bartonella spp. exposure. Subsequently, Bartonella organisms that co-localized with VEGFC immunoreactivity were visualized using multi-immunostaining confocal microscopy of thick skin sections from two patients. Using a co-culture model, B. henselae was observed to enter melanoma cell cytoplasm and resulted in increased vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) production. Findings from this small number of patients support the need for future investigations to determine the extent to which Bartonella spp. are a component of the melanoma pathobiome.

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Category:

Bartonella, research

All About Kids With Lyme, PANS, & Mold Illness

https://vimeo.com/765481249  Video Here (Approx. 1 hour 30 Min)

Ticktective with Dana Parish: All About Kids with Lyme, PANS, Mold Illness

Learn about the signs of Lyme and co-infections in children in this installment of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s TICKTECTIVE podcast.

Dana Parish, co-author of the book CHRONIC, interviews Charlotte Mao, MD, MPH, a Harvard-trained pediatric infectious diseases physician and Invisible International’s curriculum director.

In this discussion, Dr. Mao reviews Lyme testing, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric symptoms (PANS) triggered by Bartonella, and how mold toxins can complicate the course of illness.

For more:

Category:

Bartonella, Lyme, Mold, PANS

Bartonella Update: Best Brain Fog Options

https://www.treatlyme.net/guide/kills-bartonella-a-brief-guide  Video Here (Approx. 5 Min)

Updated: 1/18/23

Marty Ross MD Discusses Rifamycins, Azoles and Methylene Blue for Bartonella Brain Fog

Bartonella Treatment in Lyme Disease—A Lot Has Changed

The latest laboratory experiments suggest effective Bartonella treatments must do more than kill growing germ forms—they should also kill hibernating persister forms of Bartonella and include agents to remove biofilms and fibrin nests.

Persisters and Biofilms

Research published in 2019 and early 2020 is changing the approach I take to treat Bartonella. Previously, research showed Bartonella has rapidly growing germ forms; therefore, the antibiotics I recommended in the past treated growing forms only. New research shows that Bartonella also has non-growing forms called persisters. Think of a persister as a hibernating form of the germ that ignores most antibiotics and immune system attacks. This new research also shows that Bartonella forms protective sugar-slime coverings called biofilms. These biofilms can block the immune system and antibiotics from reaching Bartonella. This new research is based on petri-dish laboratory experiments.

Bartonella-Fibrin Nests

In addition to these key findings, some with chronic Bartonella may require enzymes to break up nests of Bartonella and the blood clotting protein called fibrin that can form in narrow and small blood vessels. These Bartonella nests limit blood flow to tissues and may block antimicrobials and the immune system from killing these germs. Lumbrokinase, a group of enzymes that come from earthworms, is very effective at breaking up fibrin. Other options include nattokinase or serapeptase, but these enzymes are much weaker than lumbrokinase.  (See link for article)

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Category:

Bartonella, Bartonella Treatment, Biofilm, research, Supplements

3 Reasons Lyme/MSIDS Patients Remain Sick: Dormancy/Persisters, Biofilm, Co-Infection

https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-019-3495-7

Metamorphoses of Lyme disease spirochetes: phenomenon of Borrelia persisters

Parasites & Vectors volume 12, Article number: 237 (2019) Cite this article

Abstract

The survival of spirochetes from the Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) complex in a hostile environment is achieved by the regulation of differential gene expression in response to changes in temperature, salts, nutrient content, acidity fluctuation, multiple host or vector dependent factors, and leads to the formation of dormant subpopulations of cells. From the other side, alterations in the level of gene expression in response to antibiotic pressure leads to the establishment of a persisters subpopulation. Both subpopulations represent the cells in different physiological states. “Dormancy” and “persistence” do share some similarities, e.g. both represent cells with low metabolic activity that can exist for extended periods without replication, both constitute populations with different gene expression profiles and both differ significantly from replicating forms of spirochetes. Persisters are elusive, present in low numbers, morphologically heterogeneous, multi-drug-tolerant cells that can change with the environment. The definition of “persisters” substituted the originally-used term “survivors”, referring to the small bacterial population of Staphylococcus that survived killing by penicillin. The phenomenon of persisters is present in almost all bacterial species; however, the reasons why Borrelia persisters form are poorly understood. Persisters can adopt varying sizes and shapes, changing from well-known forms to altered morphologies. They are capable of forming round bodies, L-form bacteria, microcolonies or biofilms-like aggregates, which remarkably change the response of Borrelia to hostile environments. Persisters remain viable despite aggressive antibiotic challenge and are able to reversibly convert into motile forms in a favorable growth environment. Persisters are present in significant numbers in biofilms, which has led to the explanation of biofilm tolerance to antibiotics. Considering that biofilms are associated with numerous chronic diseases through their resilient presence in the human body, it is not surprising that interest in persisting cells has consequently accelerated. Certain diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria (e.g. tuberculosis, syphilis or leprosy) are commonly chronic in nature and often recur despite antibiotic treatment. Three decades of basic and clinical research have not yet provided a definite answer to the question: is there a connection between persisting spirochetes and recurrence of Lyme disease in patients?

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6287027/

The Emerging Role of Microbial Biofilm in Lyme Neuroborreliosis

Enea Gino Di Domenico,1,* Ilaria Cavallo,1 Valentina Bordignon,1 Giovanna D’Agosto,1 Martina Pontone,1 Elisabetta Trento,1 Maria Teresa Gallo,1 Grazia Prignano,1 Fulvia Pimpinelli,1 Luigi Toma,2 and Fabrizio Ensoli1
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer
 

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in North America and Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii in Europe and Asia, respectively. The infection affects multiple organ systems, including the skin, joints, and the nervous system. Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) is the most dangerous manifestation of Lyme disease, occurring in 10–15% of infected individuals. During the course of the infection, bacteria migrate through the host tissues altering the coagulation and fibrinolysis pathways and the immune response, reaching the central nervous system (CNS) within 2 weeks after the bite of an infected tick. The early treatment with oral antimicrobials is effective in the majority of patients with LNB. Nevertheless, persistent forms of LNB are relatively common, despite targeted antibiotic therapy. It has been observed that the antibiotic resistance and the reoccurrence of Lyme disease are associated with biofilm-like aggregates in B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii, and B. garinii, both in vitro and in vivo, allowing Borrelia spp. to resist to adverse environmental conditions. Indeed, the increased tolerance to antibiotics described in the persisting forms of Borrelia spp., is strongly reminiscent of biofilm growing bacteria, suggesting a possible role of biofilm aggregates in the development of the different manifestations of Lyme disease including LNB.

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https://www.fortunejournals.com/articles/serological-and-pcr-evidence-of-infection-in-105-patients-with-sppt.html

Serological and PCR evidence of Infection in 105 Patients with SPPT

Alexis Lacout1*, Marie Mas4, Michel Franck2, Véronique Perronne3, Julie Pajaud2, Pierre Yves Marcy5, Christian Perronne3

*Corresponding Author: Alexis Lacout, Centre de diagnostic ELSAN, Centre Médico–Chirurgical, 83 avenue Charles de Gaulle, 15000, Aurillac, France

Received: 11 December 2020; Accepted: 22 December 2020; Published: 05 January 2021

Citation: Alexis Lacout, Marie Mas, Michel Franck, Véronique Perronne, Julie Pajaud, Pierre Yves Marcy, Christian Perronne. Serological and PCR evidence of Infection in 105 Patients with SPPT. Archives of Microbiology & Immunology 5 (2021): 139-150.

Abstract

Introduction: The main aim of this study is to determine the nature of the exposure of patients presenting with polymorphic signs and symptoms to the parasite Babesia, through the study of serology. The secondary aim is to report the different serological or PCR results observed in these patients.

Material and methods: The following serologies were performed in all patients looking for: Babesia divergens, Borrelia, Bartonella, Coxiella burnetii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The following PCRs were performed looking for: Borrelia spp, Babesia spp, Bartonella (Bartonella spp, B. quintana, B. Henselae,) Coxiella spp, Anaplasma spp, Ehrlichia spp, Rickettsia spp, most often on several matrices (venous blood, capillary blood, urine and saliva).

Results: In this study, 105 patients were included, 62 females and 43 males, sex ratio F/M was 62/43 = 1.44; mean age was 45.5 year old (range; 5 years, 79 years old).

  • Of the 105 serologies for B. divergens, 41% were found to be positive.
  • Of the 104 serologies for Borrelia, 19.2% were found to be positive.
  • Of the 95 serologies for Anaplasma, 27.3% were found to be positive.

Borrelia spp, Babesia spp, Bartonella spp, Coxiella spp, Anaplasma spp, Ehrlichia spp, Rickettsia spp were found by using rtPCR.

Conclusion: Our study has shown that patients with SPPT/PTLDS, a syndrome close to fibromyalgia, could harbor several tick borne microorganisms. Microbiologic analyses should thus not be merely limited to Borrelia’s research alone.

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**Comment**

These relatively recent studies (within the past few years) reveal what Lyme literate doctors and their patients have been experiencing from the beginning.  They also reaffirm what many independent researchers have globally been writing about for years.  There are many other reasons patients remain ill as well but these three are biggies.

Yet, reality is best summed up by the following quote from the first study listed above:

Three decades of basic and clinical research have not yet provided a definite answer to the question: is there a connection between persisting spirochetes and recurrence of Lyme disease in patients?

Isn’t that sad?

The same, of course, can be said of biofilm and coinfections as well. Decades have gone by with no definitive answers because The Cabal doesn’t want the truth to be known. Why? Quite simple: a chronic, relapsing illness doesn’t fit their “vaccine” narrative which is the favored golden calf and cash cow of research institutions and our government, which have a cozy relationship with Big Pharma and Big Media.  This is quite convenient for all of them as they control all the messaging as well as threaten, censor, and ban doctors who dissent.

This has been blatantly exposed during the time of COVID but is nothing new.  Lymeland has been riddled with the exact same issues for 40 years.  Unfortunately, even well-meaning advocates and patients evidently can not see this and continue to demand more money and become giddy when they get it from the very agencies behind this debacle, who are incidentally profiting from it.

It’s a hot-mess for sure, but one thing is certain: we must stop playing into their hands by being ignorant or filled with “hopium,” a term I use to describe how hope can become a drug that stops you from thinking critically, logically, and honestly.

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Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Biofilm, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, research, Rickettsia, Testing