All these years of treatment, and I could proudly say, despite multiple co-infections on top of Lyme disease, at least I DIDN’T have Bartonella (or, Bart, as we affectionately like to call it). Well that all changed this week.
I have come up positive for Bartonella, with symptoms to back it up, including recurrence of pain and burning in the bottoms of my feet, abrupt emotional changes, and potentially a few other symptoms that are shared by Lyme and other co-infections as well, such as headaches, fatigue, vascular issues, and more.
And because this is a journey we all walk together, I wanted to share with you this part of my journey too.
See, I’ve been in treatment with a Lyme Literate Provider (LLMD) for almost 10yrs for tick borne illnesses. I’ve been re-bitten in that time, had countless workups, lab tests, and treatment regimens. I’ve had many ups and downs trying to treat through multiple pregnancies and while breastfeeding, and yet still have always inched and sometimes sprinted towards healing. Here I am, feeling SO CLOSE to the finish line of full health/remission, and we cannot seem to shake my last remaining symptoms, nor improve my labs results as they pertain to Lyme specifically.
So my provider started digging for more answers, and in looking back at where I started, as well as evaluating the game plan up until this point, my LLMD and I decided to get a different test done for Bartonella than we had used thus far. She had a hunch that Bart could possibly be a sneaky little bugger interfering with my progress, EVEN THOUGH I had always tested negative for it from another reputable lab. Many of the symptoms overlap other tick-borne illnesses too, so it was hard to base this one solely off of symptoms alone.
Guys, this is the Lyme “game.” Guess, try, evaluate, revisit, never stop thinking outside the box, or back INSIDE the box even.
I’m now waiting on my consultation (it’s scheduled for later this month) to review the lab results and discuss a further plan. When I had the labs drawn a few weeks ago, my LLMD also started me on an herbal tincture, A-Bart, to see if that would help what I had going on in the meantime. This has seemingly started to stir up some symptoms, which both helps to confirm the lab results, and also terrifies me as it feels like such a step backward. At least I can find comfort in knowing I’ve been treating it (probably off and on over the years too, without realizing it, which would explain why the symptoms of Bart never became grossly obvious either). And there is also much comfort in knowing that this just might be the turning point in my healing I’ve been longing for since finishing my breastfeeding journey with my last baby and moving forward with more aggressive and targeted Lyme treatment.
*Sigh* So it goes! The road winds ever on. The good in all of this is that I firmly believe that this revelation, this knowing more about me and my inner battles, will ultimately lead me to my full healing. No pebble in the road is in vain.
Journey on, my friends! And together we will enjoy and embrace the journey.
Stay tuned for PART 2 where I will be sharing more about my symptoms, treatment plan, and more.
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