Hey Bartonella, you're rude.
Good morning my lovelies! I am coming to you from a sleep-deprived state, as the past few weeks have been absolutely AWFUL for my sleep. But more on that later. I want to start off by saying I hope this post doesn’t come off as too woe is me, but to be honest, I’ve been feeling pretty frustrated by my overall health lately, and want to share this feelings with anyone else who might be feeling the same. For all intents and purposes, I am a pretty healthy person. At least I think I appear to be from the outside. I exercise, eat well, take my vitamins, brush, floss, you name it. However, this summer lead me to the discovery of my Bartonella infection, which I’ve been treating since July.
I guess before I really dive in, we should talk about how I came to the discovery of Bartonella. If you’ve been following me for awhile, you may remember my “Lyme” diagnosis last summer (2018). To make a LONG story short for those who are new, I received this “diagnosis” from 2 naturopaths, and my regular physician confirmed it to the best of her ability, not being a Lyme Disease specialist. Come August 2018, after taking 8 weeks of Doxycycline to treat said Lyme, I received a fourth opinion from a Hopkins infectious disease specialist, who told me in fact I did not have Lyme. Lyme disease is something that can be incredibly hard to diagnose, and it it widely disputed amongst the medical community. Nonetheless, I took his Hopkins word for it, and stopped the Lyme treatment all together, and stopped seeing my two previously mentioned naturopaths (neither of which I really liked if we’re being honest). It should also be noted that I was previously tested through ELISA and the Western Blot test (two of the Lyme Disease blood tests, but none on the market are totally accurate. Leading to the increase in misdiagnoses).
Something that the naturopath was able to detect was the fact that I had high levels of Epstein Barr Virus (which I already knew), MTHFR gene mutation, mold toxicity, and I also discovered I had Candida by taking an Organic Acids Test offered through Great Plains Labs via Equilibrium Nutrition. Needless to say, Lyme disease or not, there was a lot going on in my body, which explained my feeling poorly.
Fast forward a year, and I am still feeling worn down, CRAZY bloated, exhausted, and frustrated. I also hadn’t done anything to treat the issues previously stated. However, I basically refused to believe that while serious, EBV, candida and mold were my only issues. I was also confused why 3 doctors would tell me I did have Lyme in the first place. June (2019) I decided to open the books back up, and find another Lyme disease doctor who could help me with my situation. I reached out to the Global Lyme Alliance to have them supply me with a list of LLMD (Lyme Literate Doctors) in my area. This lead me to my current doctor, which I am grateful for. My doctor tested me AGAIN (hello 31st and 32nd vial of blood in a year!) for Lyme disease, as well as Bartonella (based on symptoms I had listed in our initial consultation). He was still suspicious of whether or not I had Lyme, but based on my symptoms, he was pretty sure I had Bartonella. This time we tested through Galaxy Labs and IgeneX, the two leading labs in Lyme Disease and Bartonella infections.
After waiting a few long weeks, I received my labs confirming high levels of Bartonella bacteria in my blood, and another inconclusive Lyme result. The Bartonella diagnosis would confirm my frequent sore throats (once a week), quick-onset flu-like symptoms, muscle pain, headaches, neck stiffness, swollen glands, malaise, low grade fevers, and more. I began an herbal protocol in July 2019 because I refused to go back on antibiotics (given my preexisting stomach issues).
I’ve been on the protocol for 8 weeks now, and am slowly starting to feel better. While I don’t feel 100%, my doctor does think the Bartonella treatment is working, which should lead to me HOPEFULLY feeling a little more normal as the months progress. At the moment, I am not sure how much longer I will need to be on the herbs. They are not my favorite, and have caused me to deal with significant bloat, as well as some weight gain due to slow digestive elimination…if you catch my drift. I am beyond frustrated, but trying to remind myself that it’s all part of the process, and hopefully I’ll feel better once I finish the herbs and address the Candida.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any tips for how I can reduce my personal bloat, or if you have any questions about Bartonella! I am here as a resource for you all, and will do the best I can to answer any of your questions. Hopefully the next time I come on will be for a more positive reason! :)
xo
