Archive for the ‘Psychological Aspects’ Category

Bartonella With Dr. Brian Plante, ND

https://www.betterhealthguy.com/episode165

Episode #165: Bartonella with Dr. Brian Plante, ND

Last Updated: May 11 2022

Why You Should Listen

In this episode, you will learn about the vector-borne infection Bartonella.

Watch The Show

Listen To The Show
About My Guest

My guest for this episode is Dr. Brian Plante. Brian Plante, ND is a licensed naturopathic doctor with extensive training in integrative healthcare approaches. He specializes in working with patients suffering from complex immune dysfunction such as Lyme disease, chronic viral infections, environmental toxicity (such as from mold and heavy metals), autoimmune disease, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Additionally, Dr. Plante helps patients recover from functional gastrointestinal conditions, adrenal and thyroid disorders, and neuropsychiatric disorders. With each patient Dr. Plante meets, he conducts a comprehensive evaluation in order to get a complete picture and then creates individualized treatment plans to address that patient’s specific concerns. Dr. Plante is a graduate of the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, as well as a member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). He believes that one integral step in helping patients heal from complex chronic illness is by empowering them with knowledge and understanding. He facilitates this by patiently taking however much time is needed to investigate a patient’s symptoms and concerns thoroughly. Through compassionate listening, thoughtful instruction, and a steadfast commitment to helping patients experience lasting, positive change, Dr. Plante can combat the frustration patients often experience in their struggle to find answers. His goal with every patient with whom he interacts is to provide support and guidance in their journey toward achieving optimal health.

Key Takeaways

  • What symptoms provide clues for the potential of Bartonella?
  • Could Bartonella be an explanation for many neuropsychiatric conditions?
  • Might Bartonella play a role in SIBO?
  • What are the vectors through which Bartonella may be acquired?
  • What labs are useful for exploring the potential presence of Bartonella?
  • How often does mold exposure play a role in Bartonella patients?
  • Can Bartonella be a trigger for MCAS?
  • Can Bartonella be a driver of autoimmunity and immune dysregulation?
  • Might Bartonella play a role in hypermobility syndromes and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?
  • What role does Bartonella play in Morgellons?
  • What is the foundation for treating Bartonella?
  • What modalities can be helpful for terrain optimization?
  • What role do nutritional IVs play in Bartonella treatment?
  • Are antibiotics necessary in treating Bartonella?
  • What herbs may be helpful for addressing Bartonella?
  • How might oxidative therapies such as ozone, EBOO, and ozone plasmapheresis be used?
  • How often do biofilms need to be addressed?
  • What antimicrobial and immune-modulating peptides have a role?
  • Can Bartonella be fully eradicated?
  • Once a patient has recovered, can treatment be stopped? Or is there a maintenance strategy for longer-term support?

Connect With My Guest

http://BioResetMedical.com

See top link for transcript.

For more:

Category:

Bartonella, Herbs, Psychological Aspects, Testing, Treatment

The Bartonella Discovery Program

http://  Approx. 2 Min

The Bartonella Discovery Program

Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) Chief Scientific Officer, Timothy Sellati, PhD

Learn about an exciting research project that Global Lyme Alliance is fundraising for. It will uncover the “stealth” pathogen known as Bartonella that many Americans may carry. This study can help children, parents, and grandparents who suffer from psychiatric & neurological problems, among other physical illnesses. Learn more and donate at GLA.org/bartonella

https://www.globallymealliance.org/videos/dr.-sellati-explains-the-bartonella-discovery-program

Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) has launched a crowdfunding campaign in honor of Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May. GLA will use this campaign to bring attention to another debilitating illness that also affects many people with Lyme disease. The study will look at hidden bacteria known as Bartonella, a vector-borne pathogen that many Americans may carry. Bartonella can cause Bartonellosis, an infectious disease that can affect the brain, eyes, heart, and other organs. Bartonellosis can cause depression, anxiety, OCD, and encephalitis (which can result in seizures and coma). 

Like Lyme disease, Bartonellosis is increasing in prevalence and can also go undiagnosed due to lack of awareness. Current antibiotic therapy for complicated Bartonellosis does not always eradicate the disease, and patients continue to suffer. The Bartonella Discovery Program is a project designed to help achieve the following:

  • To identify how Bartonella species interact with a patient’s immune cells, and how the intracellular, extracellular and biofilm lifestyles of Bartonella influence antibiotic susceptibility
  • To lay the foundation for drug discovery efforts to find antibiotic options that are more effective in killing and clearing these bacteria from patients
  • To use cutting edge tools to look for the bacteria in kids and young adults who suffer from an acute neuropsychological condition called PANS, and in older adults with dementia.

 “The importance of this study cannot be overstated because of the severe neuroinflammation and neuropsychiatric disorders some patients can suffer when infected with Bartonella bacteria,” says GLA’s Chief Scientific Officer Tim Sellati, PhD.

The U.S.-focused study is multinational and multi-site at premier academic institutions using top Bartonella and biofilm experts. Associate Professor Monica Embers, PhD, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Tulane National Primate Research Center who has studied the persistence of tick-borne infectious diseases despite antibiotic therapy, is The Bartonella Discovery Program Director. When asked about the impact this program could have on patients,

Dr. Embers said, “With this project, we aim to use sensitive detection methods to directly find the bacteria in patients who are suffering from clinical disease consistent with Bartonellosis.   This could tremendously impact patients who suffer from chronic disease that has been difficult to diagnose because if we can reliably detect the bacteria, it would offer direct evidence to support the diagnosis.”

Learn more and donate by clicking the link button below.

Admin at Global Lyme Alliance

Global Lyme Alliance

Email: info@globallymealliance.org

For more:

Category:

Activism, Bartonella, Psychological Aspects, research, Testing

Self-Image & Memory Loss

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/dear-lyme-warrior…help-self-image-and-memory-loss

Dear Lyme Warrior…Help! Self-Image and Memory Loss

by Jennifer Crystal on April 11, 2022

<span id="hs_cos_wrapper_name" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="text" >Dear Lyme Warrior...Help! Self-Image and Memory Loss</span>
As a Lyme warrior, how do I love and forgive this new version of myself, even though it’s not who I am at my core?

Lyme and other tick-borne diseases can change our lives drastically, especially with cases that go undiagnosed for a long time, or that hang on through months or years of treatment. Highly ambitious, highly active people might find themselves bedridden and unable to support themselves. I went from teaching full-time and skiing steep and deep terrain to living with my parents, barely able to climb a flight of stairs or read a paragraph. Unable to work or do the activities I loved, I began to question my purpose—even my very identity.

Here’s what I ultimately learned: my job and my capabilities only defined me if I let them. Of course, you feel sad, angry, and frustrated by the ways illness is holding you back. But ask yourself, besides skill, what did you bring to your job or activities? Was it a gregarious personality? An optimistic outlook? A sense of humor? Those qualities make up who you are at your core. I realized I could still lend a compassionate ear to a friend, find the humor in a ridiculous situation, or hold on to faith that things would get better, even when I was at my sickest.

It took many years of treatment, a shattering relapse, and many lifestyle changes for me to reach the state of remission I’ve now enjoyed for over a decade. Despite minor flare-ups, I have gotten better and better each year, able to do more and more. Am I back to my old life? No. But I’ve brought my old self into my new life—which includes working part-time, skiing, and living independently. I still lend a compassionate ear to a friend, find the humor in a ridiculous situation, and hold on to faith that things will get better. I’d argue that I love my core self even more for all that she’s survived, and for the vibrant new normal that she’s created.

You ask how to forgive yourself—and to that I must reply, for what? Now, this is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, because I spent years blaming myself for my illness, beating myself up for not taking better care of myself, going over and over and over what I could or should or would have done. But I didn’t cause my illnesses; a tick did. I didn’t cause my symptoms; pathogens did. Are there ways I could have better cared for myself, or times when I took my frustration out on others that I feel badly about? Sure. But I’m human. We are all works in progress. I believe that extending compassion and grace to myself has allowed me to accept illness and its effects as just parts of my life—not the definition of who I am.

It may help to write about who you are at your core: what makes you who you are? How can you bring those qualities into your new, evolving life? You might also try writing a love letter to yourself, or even to your illness. Finally, it may be helpful do some cognitive behavioral therapy with a therapist who understands tick-borne illness.

Did you start to have a temper with your memory problems?

Before Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and possible bartonella ravaged my brain, my memory was incredibly sharp. Thankfully, I still have a very strong long-term memory, which certainly helped as I was writing my memoir. But my short-term memory was affected by tick-borne illness, and that has been incredibly frustrating. If you find yourself getting upset when you can’t remember someone’s name, or yelling at yourself when you pour orange juice on your cereal, know that you are not alone. It’s normal to get mad when an illness is robbing you of what you know to be your normal capacity.

It’s also important to know that tick-borne diseases can cause psychiatric manifestations, including angry outbursts. If you’re feeling short-tempered, it may be a reaction to symptoms, but it also may be a symptom in and of itself. Finally, you must remember that fighting tick-borne illness takes a lot of energy, meaning you have none left over when something small but frustrating happens. This can cause what some people refer to as “Lyme rage,” that is, having an immediate temper flare over something that otherwise wouldn’t rattle you.

There’s no shame in talking to your LLMD about temper flares; your doctor may be able to alter your medications to help you. It also may help to see a Lyme Literate psychiatrist, and/or to talk to a therapist to figure out good coping skills when your temper does flare. Each of these steps helped me. My memory issues have improved as my tick-borne illnesses have abated. I still have moments of extreme frustration, but they’re fewer and farther between. With the right support, things can get better!

***

For more blogs, click here.

Writer

Jennifer Crystal

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her work has appeared in local and national publications including Harvard Health Publishing and The Boston Globe. As a GLA columnist for over six years, her work on GLA.org has received mention in publications such as The New Yorker, weatherchannel.com, CQ Researcher, and ProHealth.com. Jennifer is a patient advocate who has dealt with chronic illness, including Lyme and other tick-borne infections. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her via email below.

Email: lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com

_________________

For more:

It’s a frightening thing to suddenly forget words or why you are standing in a room.  Lyme/MSIDS does a number on you in virtually every way possible.  Finding support during this time helps keep sanity.  Just knowing others struggle with similar things is cathartic and gives you hope for recovery.  I’m happy to report that after 5 years of treatment and a few relapses I have my cognitive capabilities back and no longer struggle with them.

Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects

Top Killer for Chronic Lyme is Suicide

https://themighty.com/2017/09/lyme-disease-suicide/

The Importance of Reaching Out If Lyme Disease Has Left You Feeling Suicidal

By Annie Perkins-Rosenberg

Editor’s note: If you experience suicidal thoughts, the following post could be potentially triggering. You can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741.

Article excerpt:

The important message of this article is to help those out there who deal with the psychiatric manifestations, the judgments and the daily struggle of living life with a complex disease like Lyme. It can be heavy some days, and anyone can have dark questioning moments pass through their minds. When those moments do arise, it can be complicated to find someone to trust and to talk to. Quite often, Lyme patients are paying for treatments out of pocket and this does not leave much money left for proper psychiatric help. With the limited time in office visits with our doctors, there is not much time left to talk about how we are feeling emotionally, and our doctors are generally not trained psychiatrists, as much as we wish they were. With Lyme disease being largely unknown, others close to you may judge you and you may feel like there is no one left to talk to. Even if there is, the psychiatric disturbances the disease can cause can make you feel like there is no one out there who can understand you, no one who can listen to you and no one to reach out to, but there is. There always is.

One of the techniques the author used was Googling the suicide prevention hotline so she had a plan if things got dark.  She also removed anything bothersome and overwhelming to her, set boundaries, learned to speak up, and found a small group of people on the same journey as her for comfort.  She also reminded herself that each day she was getting better, that she was healthy and could beat this.  When the dark thoughts came, she sought out help.

All, great advice.

The following abstract by Dr. Bransfield is telling:

LAD contributed to suicidality, and sometimes homicidality, in individuals who were not suicidal before infection. A higher level of risk to self and others is associated with multiple symptoms developing after acquiring LAD, in particular, explosive anger, intrusive images, sudden mood swings, paranoia, dissociative episodes, hallucinations, disinhibition, panic disorder, rapid cycling bipolar, depersonalization, social anxiety disorder, substance abuse, hypervigilance, generalized anxiety disorder, genital–urinary symptoms, chronic pain, anhedonia, depression, low frustration tolerance, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Negative attitudes about LAD from family, friends, doctors, and the health care system may also contribute to suicide risk.

By indirect calculations, it is estimated there are possibly over 1,200 LAD suicides in the US per year.

http://  Approx 1 Min

Robert Bransfield, MD, DLFAPA, private practice, Psychiatry, in Red Bank, New Jersey, discusses direct methods that can be used to acquire statistics related to suicides that are a result of Lyme and associated diseases

For more:

One of the best pieces of advice I got on the journey from another patient was, “don’t get depressed about being depressed.”  In other words, accept the fact there will be dark days with dark thoughts.  Don’t beat up on yourself over this.  Accept it and look forward to tomorrow which will be better.

While the topics regarding Lyme/MSIDS are endless, dealing with pain and insomnia are two issues that can really help with mental health.

For more:

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention detoxing at this point as well as not detoxing properly can also lead to pain:

Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research, Treatment

Disorientation & Lyme

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/where-am-i-disorientation-and-lyme-disease

Where Am I? Disorientation and Lyme Disease

by Jennifer Crystal on April 22, 2022

<img src="https://www.globallymealliance.org/hubfs/Gala%20PR%20Image-54.jpg&quot; alt="Where Am I? Disorientation and Lyme Disease“>
Do you know what it’s like to have Lyme disease and suffer from disorientation? It can result in confusion or forgetfulness.

The other night while making dinner, I thought of something I needed to add to my to-do list. I walked a few feet into my home office, got to the center of the room, and stopped in my tracks. “What am I doing here?” I said aloud, looking around in confusion.

It’s a feeling many of you have probably experienced: walking into a room to get something and forgetting what you came for; or being in the middle of one task, starting another, and forgetting the first (luckily, I did not leave dinner burning on the stove). Sometimes we can chalk these moments up to the forgetfulness that comes with aging. Sometimes we’re just tired at the end of a busy day. In some cases, these incidents may be early indications of serious conditions like dementia.

And for many, forgetfulness and confusion, particularly as they relate to disorientation, are due to Lyme disease. In their book Conquering Lyme Disease: Science Bridges the Great Divide, Brian A. Fallon, MD and Jennifer Sotsky, MD note that the most typical cognitive effects of Lyme disease are “short-term memory problems (especially working memory), word-finding problems, dyslexic changes, executive problems (difficulties with planning and organization, difficulties with multitasking), and mental slowing.” For some patients, these effects can lead to “spatial disorientation such that familiar routes become suddenly difficult to navigate or appear unfamiliar.”[1]

Luckily for me, even at my lowest points of illness, I never got so disoriented that I didn’t actually know where I was. In those days it might take hours to remember why I walked into a room—I might wake up in the middle of the night and jot down that all-important item on my to-do list—but now, years into remission, I usually remember my task within a few minutes. Drs. Fallon and Sotsky write, “Such errors are readily recognized soon after the fact, but may be sources of alarm or perplexity to the patient and to his or her family.”[i]

For some Lyme patients, alarm bells indeed ring, because the disorientation becomes severe. They may suddenly get lost driving home from work, or go for a walk and not recognize their own neighborhood. They may have to call a family member or neighbor for help. Some stop driving altogether, or won’t go places without company. Disorientation can leave Lyme patients feeling frustrated, angry, confused, and ashamed. It can be yet another blow to their independence.

The good news is that with adequate treatment, disorientation usually gets better or goes away. Neurological symptoms of Lyme disease occur when the Lyme disease bacteria (spirochetes) cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the central nervous system. The infection causes inflammation in the brain, which can manifest in a host of neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Once the infection gets treated, symptoms often subside (though due to Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions, they may get worse before they get better). In other words, though you may literally get lost, with the help of a good Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) you can  eventually find your way.

Sources

[1] Fallon, Brian A., MD and Sotsky, Jennifer, MD. Conquering Lyme Disease: Science Bridges the Great Divide. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018 (314-15).

[i] Fallon, Brian A., MD and Sotsky, Jennifer, MD. Conquering Lyme Disease: Science Bridges the Great Divide. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018 (314-15).

Writer

Jennifer Crystal

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her work has appeared in local and national publications including Harvard Health Publishing and The Boston Globe. As a GLA columnist for over six years, her work on GLA.org has received mention in publications such as The New Yorker, weatherchannel.com, CQ Researcher, and ProHealth.com. Jennifer is a patient advocate who has dealt with chronic illness, including Lyme and other tick-borne infections. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her via email below.

Email: lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com

Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects