"stretch marks" on "healthy" sibling--would you treat?

[momslove]

As DD with PANDAS/PANS is being treated for lyme and Bartonella, we mentioned our DS also has "stretch marks". He is healthy and "typical". The NP treating DD said DS should be treated for bartonella if the stretch marks are in fact bartonella rash. What would you do?

[rowingmom]

With the improvements we have seen using Buhner's protocols I would suggest starting your DS on the bartonella herbs. The combination Buhner uses is synergistic and broadly antibacterial, but specific enough to target a bartonella infection.

 

DD's remaining physical and mental bartonella symptoms (after 2 years of abx treatment) have resolved completely after 1 year on very low dosages (lower than those suggested below) of these herbs.

 

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

 

His book:

 

Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Mycoplasma and Bartonella

 

is very in depth and should be read by anyone dealing with bartonella.

[SSS]

How old is your son?

 

Honestly, that's a super hard question to me.

My youngest is 7, and is 'healthy and normal', as you say.

After what I've been through with dd9,

I don't want to rock dd7's boat to save my life.

I don't know, I think it would kill me.

But, at 7, she has hit every milestone with flying colors,

successful at school and social situations, etc.

Our LLMD's have said: no symptoms, no treatment.

[rowingmom]

"Stretch marks" are symptoms though... If the child was totally asymptomatic I would say don't treat and let the immune system function as it should.

 

But the stretch marks are a sign of skin/endothelial involvement that the immune system is unable to resolve.

[momslove]

Our DS is 18. He recently graduated from high school--an honor student who played varsity sports. He is working a summer job picking berries and rocks. He is going to college in the fall. I add this to emphasize that he has no "symptoms" other than the "stretch marks".

[rowingmom]

Ah Ha. Varsity sports. Which ones? Our DS is also 18. Just graduated (yesterday - Yay!) with honours who plays/played significant amounts of sports, especially ones with pads (hockey, lacrosse).

 

I have found that if he is slashed or hit on an area of his body where the pads/guards are in close contact (kidney pads, shoulder pads), that he will develop skin striations that look much like "stretch marks".

 

When I first saw these I was in a total panic because, although positive for bartonella, DD has never had a stretch mark so I had nothing to compare with. I still don't. But after a while DS's marks fade and show up elsewhere - always associated with sports impact.

[SSS]

Our DS is 18. He recently graduated from high school--an honor student who played varsity sports. He is working a summer job picking berries and rocks. He is going to college in the fall. I add this to emphasize that he has no "symptoms" other than the "stretch marks".

** I would not treat.

Congratulations to you and rowingmom on your DS's graduations! I am happy to hear how well they are doing :-)

[ktdommer]

Knowing what I know now, I would further test. I treated a seemingly healthy child with symptoms we blamed on braces and sport injuries. I knew he would have stressors attending college for engineering. It would have been a gamble as to whether or not he would become sick.

I would have never tested him for Lyme had his brother and myself not have tested positive. Things showed up like low testosterone, weak adrenals, viruses, Lyme and babesia. We had no idea. He was an athletic honors student. Treated and testosterone now a healthy level, adrenals good, jaw pain gone, hip pain gone. He says he can focus better and doesn't frustrate so easily. He never did, but he noticed a difference. He is on all herbals now and symptom free. Never any signs of Bart like his brother or myself.

This is just my opinion. Was it the right one? Don't know. Hope so!

It is a big decision.

[momslove]

Our healthy DS played baseball and basketbell--so no impact from sports pads. His stretch marks are across his back. Family doc shrugged at "stretch marks". We joked that he grew too fast, now about 6'4". He is very lean/thin. My DH was also tall and thin at that age. The Nurse Practitioner who said he should be treated if they are, in fact, from bartonella has not seen him. She is treating our daughter. She said that "bartonella likes the brain" which is particularly frightening to us because our DD has suffered immensely from severe OCD, primarily...

[momslove]

Knowing what I know now, I would further test. I treated a seemingly healthy child with symptoms we blamed on braces and sport injuries. I knew he would have stressors attending college for engineering.

 

 

What were the symptoms you blamed on braces and sport injuries? Interesting--our DS is planning to pursue an engineering degree.

[Missmom]

I would not treat if there are no other symptoms. They may very well be just stretch marks. What part of the body are they located? My pandas son had strech marks on his butt. He is typical pandas and we are not in an area where Lyme is even considered. Not even one LLMD in our whole state. I took him to our dermatologist and he says they were typical stretch marks from growth spurt. They are now gone with no Lyme treatment only augmentin for pandas.

[smartyjones]

just my opinions. . . I do consider stretch marks a symptom. for myself, after being on a remedy for bartonella for ~3-4 months, I got a mark on my upper leg and wondered why I had a mark like a cat scratched me. sometimes i have to wonder how I make it through life.

 

for ds12, 1-2 years after ds10 was diagnosed pandas and subsequently many other infections, he started having symptoms. . . fears, separation anxiety, intense exercise-induced asthma. . .for some reason, I hemmed and hawed as to if this was infection related -- likely due to cost of treatment. I wanted to take him to ds's doc but was procrastinating as to if I 'really' needed to. I remember saying to dh, are we just waiting for him to fall apart before we take him? a week or so later, he had intense 'bad thoughts' while going to sleep. yep - I guess we were.

 

tough call on what to do about treatment. I would advise you to watch him closely, keep a journal of things that cause you to wonder. what did your NP suggest for treatment? and adding things that strength the immune system may be something to consider.

[ktdommer]

Moms love: blamed braces for TMJ pain. blamed soccer for hip pain and this constant need to stretch. Oh, and forgot he had swollen glands for 9 stinking years that the PCP said was just the way he was. I believed her!! 6 months into Lyme treatment glands normal. Today symptom free.

Stretch marks are tricky. There is a difference in Bart marks and stretch marks. My son has both. Doctor had me feel the difference. One was smooth and one you could feel rougher surface like a rippling of the skin. From a distance both looked the same. Ones on his arm were not the way a stretch mark would run. I would not second guess what they are and have an ILADS doc look at them. Had Bart marks when underweight. Went away with IV abx. Came back strong. Now overweight some are dark purple. Others white.