rowingmom

A herx is usually an increase of existing symptoms, although you may also find new symptoms popping up. The only way to tell if it is a herx is to decrease dosage, as you have done, and increase detoxing. If symptoms resolve it was a herx; if symptoms continue to escalate you are having a relapse. If, as you think, this is a new tic, that's entirely possible - tics do morph. If he is biting out of anger he may be dealing with increased brain inflammation and anti-inflammatories may help. We use OrangeNaturals (Canadian made) turmeric tincture as well as Meriva turmeric and Japanese knotweed. For DD ticcing is related to bartonella toxins produced by antimicrobial induced die-off as well as yeast/mold toxins (this includes internal candida yeast). Oregano oil is broadly antimicrobial so it could be impacting the gut flora. Make sure you are giving sufficient probiotics. Biocidin looks like a good product. I will have to investigate as we are taking many of those herbs individually. I would only be leery of the white willow for children.

Like you, we started introducing antimicrobial herbs into our abx mix before we weaned abx. We started with knotweed (1/4 tsp tincture TID) and raw garlic, and then added sida acuta (1/4 tsp tincture BID). It wasn't until after we had weaned that I started adding the other bart-specific herbs. We saw no increase in symptoms related to abx weaning. They were all related to die-off caused by introduction of herbs. When we weaned DD was pulsing minocycline, azithromycin, plaquinel, malarone and tindamax 3 days on 4 days off. To wean we discontinued one antibiotic each week until we were left with only azith (250mg QD). The next week I started increasing/adding herbs. One week after we weaned I increased sida to 1/4 tsp TID (which produced a ticcing flare which decreased within 2 weeks) and then 1 week after I added 1/8 tsp houttuynia QD, increasing houttuynia by 1/8 QD every week. Looking back, my dosage of sida was too high. 1/4 tsp = 32 drops, and I was giving that TID. At the moment we are only using 15 drops TID. One of the side effects of sida for us (both DD and I because I am taking an identical protocol) was hair loss. It is a good broadly acting antimicrobial though. Please be careful of trying to attain maximum recommended dosage. I tried this in the beginning. Knowing that houttuynia is used specifically for bartonella I really tried to reach the 1 tbsp. daily but herxing got too bad at 1/2 tsp TID - only 1/2 the recommended amount. Panic attacks and palpitations were the result for both DD and myself. When the panic attacks started I immediately stopped houttuynia and they resolved within 3 days. This is the only way to tell a herx from a relapse. I then resumed at lower dosages. We are now taking 1/4 tsp powdered herb infusion TID and are doing just fine. DD has no remaining bartonella symptoms. Long bone pain and headaches are just a memory. Everyone is different and everyone's bacterial/viral loads are different. What works for one may bring on massive herxing for another. You will not be able to tell the difference between herxing and relapse unless symptoms decline with decreased dosages and increased detoxing protocols. Please don't try too much at once. Nothing good will come of it.

Has Dr Bradstreet ever recommended the suppositories?

Like LLM's son, DD's ticcing is also triggered by molds and yeast. She currently has no other symptoms. I personally think you can spend a lot of money testing and still not find your answer. We treated for 2 years for bartonella, but found that DD's cognitive behaviour was being impacted by something that we either didn't test for or that returned as false negative. I don't know what it is, and at this point I don't care. The low dose herbal protocols we are using are working and she will remain on them for some time to come. And I have to agree with SSS. Many of us carry infections or even cancers that our immune systems are able to keep at low levels - that's what the immune system is for (think chickenpox that reactivates as shingles when the immune system is impaired). If your son's immune system is functioning properly, allow it to do so. Support his body with nutritious food, sunshine and some exercise. And rejoice that you have gotten him to that place!

No need for a yogurt maker or colostrum for the Easy Kit. Thank you for posting that information. The last time I looked at the Bravo site, this wasn't available. http://www.bravoprobiotic.com/index.php/component/content/article?layout=edit&id=9 Did you have any initial inflammation when you began Bravo?

I don't think gluten free is good enough - what we really need is to be glyphosate free. http://www.drlaurendeville.com/articles/genetically-modified-foods-gm-gmo-care/ Despite the official consensus that GM foods are safe for consumption, though, there is cause for caution. For the most part, GM foods contain a gene from an organism called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, which, when expressed, produces a toxin called glyphosate. This is the active ingredient in the insecticide called Roundup, which kills insects by poking holes in the gut lining. According to the EPA, glyphosate is toxic to insects only and has no effect on humans or animals. However, some data links glyphosate with birth defects, miscarriages, infertility, behavioral disorders, and even autism. Even more compelling to me as a naturopathic doctor is the fact that since the 1996 introduction of GM corn and soy into the US, inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders have been on the rise. Admittedly this is only a correlation, and may not be causative. However, I can verify in my practice that intestinal permeability, or so-called “leaky gut” syndrome, is strangely prevalent. (I make this diagnosis when according to blood food sensitivity tests, patients develop IgG reactions to more than twenty different foods.) I can also verify the connection between the gut and overall health. More cause for concern: glyphosate is a chelator, which means it binds to positively charged elements and compounds (such as trace minerals and nutrients) and doesn’t let go. Plants treated with glyphosate may therefore be deficient nutrients, and the evidence suggests they are primarily low in manganese, zinc, and iron. Although there are studies on both sides of the fence on this issue, it stands to reason that if true, animals eating nutrient deficient plants will then develop nutrient deficiencies themselves. At any rate, it is certainly the case that free-range poultry and grass fed meat are substantially higher in essential fatty acids (EFAs) than their agro industry counterparts, and I wonder now whether these issues are related. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx While Monsanto insists that Roundup is as safe to humans as aspirin, Seneff and Samsel’s research tells a different story altogether. Their report, published in the journal Entropy, argues that glyphosate residues, found in most commonly consumed foods in the Western diet courtesy of GE sugar, corn, soy and wheat, “enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease.” Interestingly, your gut bacteria are a key component of glyphosate’s mechanism of harm. Monsanto has steadfastly claimed that Roundup is harmless to animals and humans because the mechanism of action it uses (which allows it to kill weeds), called the shikimate pathway, is absent in all animals. However, the shikimate pathway IS present in bacteria, and that’s the key to understanding how it causes such widespread systemic harm in both humans and animals. The bacteria in your body outnumber your cells by 10 to 1. For every cell in your body, you have 10 microbes of various kinds, and all of them have the shikimate pathway, so they will all respond to the presence of glyphosate! Glyphosate causes extreme disruption of the microbe’s function and lifecycle. What’s worse, glyphosate preferentially affects beneficial bacteria, allowing pathogens to overgrow and take over. At that point, your body also has to contend with the toxins produced by the pathogens. Once the chronic inflammation sets in, you’re well on your way toward chronic and potentially debilitating disease. In the interview above, Dr. Seneff reviews a variety of chronic diseases, explaining how glyphosate contributes to each condition. So to learn more, I urge you to listen to it in its entirety. It’s quite eye-opening. The research reveals that glyphosate inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, a large and diverse group of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of organic substances. This, the authors state, is “an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals.” One of the functions of CYP enzymes is to detoxify xenobiotics—chemical compounds found in a living organism that are not normally produced or consumed by the organism in question. By limiting the ability of these enzymes to detoxify foreign chemical compounds, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of chemicals and environmental toxins you may be exposed to. Be careful of the grains you use to replace wheat in your cooking. If they are heavily sprayed with glyphosate they may be producing as much gut damage as gluten. Rice, especially brown rice sourced anywhere other than California can be high in arsenic because of the arsenic pesticides once used on cotton (for boll weevil infestation). These areas are now used to grow rice. Rice has a natural affinity for arsenic and will pick it up where ever it is plentiful in the environment. Arsenic is concentrated in the outer husk.

Here is our experience with Virapress, a bovine sourced immunoglobulin: http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=22503&hl=virapress#entry172901 http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=22330&hl=virapress#entry171698

Could you switch the beds to get the trundle into the boys room?

I agree with kayanne. PANS/PANDAS is not always caused by strep. In our daughter's case it was caused by a Bartonella hensalae infection. Bartonella (cat scratch disease) is frequently one of the lyme coinfections, but can be a stand alone infection as well. It can be carried by various arthropod vectors (fleas, bed bugs, ticks), and is often the cause of neurological/psychiatric symptoms. http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/Breitschwerdt%20J%20Neuroparasitol%20Review%202012.pdf

Buhner's suggestion is to immediately take an immune booster like Astragalus. He recommends taking it daily in endemic areas. I would take at least the recommended dosages on the bottle for a couple of weeks. It will help your immune system tackle any infection before it gets a foothold. You can take it in addition to the doxy.

Dr Zhang sells his own capsules called HH - one source here: http://www.drrons.com/chinese-herbs/ which I think may be double strength and WoodLandEssence sells the tincture: http://www.woodlandessence.com/herbal.htm We use the powdered herb from 1stChineseHerbs. 1/4 tsp powdered herb made into infusion, cooled and taken. 3x daily. http://www.1stchineseherbs.com/houttuynia_cordata.html In talking to Buhner's associate the other day I enquired about the safety profile of 1stChineseHerbs' products, being they are often sourced from China. She said they are 3rd party tested for metals and other contaminants and that she and Buhner have no problem recommending them.

Mother's intuition or "gut feeling" is a wonderful thing. It has never lead me astray. You know your child and his responses better than anyone. You subconsciously know more than you think you do. Not very scientific, but it seems to work for me .

A couple of previous posts on effects of live attenuated vaccines/flu mist: http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=21723&hl=%2Blive+%2Bvaccines#entry172154 http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=22398

I would say you are doing the right thing by not treating when symptoms are not an issue. Concentrate on gut health (probiotics, fermented vegetables) which will support his immune system and by generally supporting health in general by choosing unprocessed, mostly organic foods (the Dirty Dozen anyway), outdoor activity in the sunshine, etc.

One of the moderators on the HealingWell Lyme forum had good luck healing her long time (25 year) bartonella infection using just houttuynia. I prefer the many faceted approach.

Not with malarone (250mg/100mg QD) which she took continuously with minocycline and azithromycin from the end of Sept 1012 until mid Nov 2012 and then pulsed with mino/azith/plaquinel/tindamax until mid March 2013. She herxed with air hunger, chest pressure, sighing and dry cough with 1/4 tsp (30 drops) CSA BID. So that would be 10 drops BID of cryptolepis, and 10 drops BID of alchornea. She had been taking sida for 8 months before that with no issue. Our sida herx was hair loss. She is now taking 17 drops CSA BID with no problem.

DD had similar, if not as pronounced, cognitive improvement with malarone.

Houttuynia is pretty essential for bartonella. It is the main part of Dr Zang's bartonella protocol.

We had huge improvements with cognition/executive function using an herbal mixture that treats protozoan infections. Cryptolepis/sida/alchornea from WoodLandEssence

Nice! Please consider also that it may not only be the elimination of the offending proteins that's causing the improvement, but also the elimination of the high levels of glyphosate commonly used on and found in these items that is allowing the gut and it's microbiome to heal. Glyphosate is sprayed on fields before planting, again at high rates on GMO grains to rid the fields of weeds, and again before harvest to accelerate seed drying. Glyphosate is also used as a desiccant for non-GMO grains and legumes. GMOs have been developed, not to increase crop yield or nutrient value, but to enable plants to withstand the larger amounts of glyphosate needed to combat weed resistance. Conventional dairy/beef/pork/poultry producers feed animals GMO grains extensively. Glyphosate residue bioaccumulates, especially in fatty tissue and dairy fat. The only way to insure that you are not eating glyphosate is to buy organic. Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416 Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise. Residues are found in the main foods of the Western diet, comprised primarily of sugar, corn, soy and wheat. Glyphosate's inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes is an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals. CYP enzymes play crucial roles in biology, one of which is to detoxify xenobiotics. Thus, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. Here, we show how interference with CYP enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport.

Buhner's bartonella protocol: http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/ BARTONELLA Research is ongoing, this is the most up to date protocol: • Sida acuta tincture (from Woodland Essence or julie@gaianstudies.org) ¼ tsp 3x day for 30 days • Hawthorn tincture, same • Japanese knotweed, (tincture, same dose (from same sources as Sida acuta, above), or capsules from Green Dragon Botanicals 2 capsules 3x daily) • EGCG 400mg +- daily • Houttuynia (Yu Xing Cao – 1st Chinese Herbs, powder – use “LYME” code at checkout for 10% off) 1 tbl daily • L-arginine 5000 mg daily in divided doses • Milk Thistle seed, standardized, 1200 mg daily All for 30 days. PLEASE NOTE: If you have active herpes, chicken pox, or shingles DO NOT USE L-arginine. Sida acuta is a broad spectrum antimicrobial and could well produce die-off, along with OLE. Reishe will support immune function, so the immune system may become more involved in killing off infection, thus die-off.

Thanks very much for posting!

Gut dysbiosis can cause acne.

Did you get the reference for this? You come up with the best information on GMO's and glyphosate 3bmom! Much appreciated.

DD developed high liver enzyme levels and then an allergic reaction to Bactrim. All over urticaria; eye lids, scalp, everything. Our LLMD switched her to biaxin and we never had another problem with antibiotics. We used a biaxin/rifampin combo for bart with no problems other than whenever we would try to wean, DD would relapse. Our first indication of infection with a babesia-like-organism was DD's air hunger herx (feeling of chest pressure, sighing, dry coughing - she had never experienced these symptoms before, even with malarone. They were completely new for us.) with CSA, a combination tincture of cryptolepis, sida and alchornea. She had previously tested negative for B microti and B duncani through Igenex, so who knows what she has. CSA seems to be fixing the problem. We will be adding more herbs for babesia in the future.