I had this conversation today.
“Are Babesia symptoms better?”
“Which are those?”
“You have had Lyme for 10 years. Let me try to make it
simple.”
Here is -- I hope -- an easy way to remember Babesia
symptoms and others.
Rule of 3s.
3 pathogens.
Each pathogen has 3
prototypic, characteristic symptoms.
A patient yesterday what to know if she was different
because she has Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
First off, she does not have and never did have Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever. The positive test shows
cross reactivity to other related species of Rickettsia.
As a rule, it doesn’t matter what else you tested positive
for, outside of the big 3. They get
better. Almost always.
The big 3 pathogens
may not get better. They are tenacious
and hang on despite best efforts.
Lyme is variably
pathogenic. The other two are
opportunistic conspirators. They hit
you when Lyme has knocked you down and jump into the fray.
We start with an alliteration.
Borrelia (Lyme),
Babesia and Bartonella.
These are stereotypic
symptoms. You may have a few or none of the above. But here it goes:
Lyme: Fatigue. Pain (tends to come and go) and brain fog (cognitive dysfunction).
Babesia: Night
sweats (at times fevers). Air hunger. Depression,
especially random tearfulness.
Bartonella: Pain, not joint (shin, heel, neck,
headache), craziness (irritability,
anger, rage, psychosis and others) and rashes.
After I presented my rules of 3s, the patient said: Yes. Nigh sweats and air hunger are
improving. Mood is better. Babesia symptoms.
You might want to know why these pathogens are different
from all others. Why won’t they just leave?
Narrative of
persistence.
We explain persistence of pathogenic microbes with a science based, biologically plausible
explanation.
Lyme: Context is
always important. A few points. Doctors have argued about the existence of
chronic or persistent Lyme symptoms for decades. First: no such thing. Then: Post-Lyme syndrome, autoimmune residua.
Now: Post treatment Lyme disease syndrome. The new term is a concession to science. Science
informs it has thus far been impossible to eliminate Lyme from mice, dogs and
monkeys. Further, some studies prove persistence in humans after treatment.
Lastly, Lyme is about impossible to eliminate in a test tube. The experts who
propose no chronic Lyme have been wrong on the first two account are sure that
got it right this time. Even if
organisms persist, additional treatment hurts patients and doesn’t help them. Patients have chronic persisting
infection. Long-term antibiotics make
symptoms go away, frequently only temporarily. The other side has been wrong
2/2 times. Shall we go for 3?
Babesia: If I failed to mention it. I did. Lyme is pantropic, meaning it goes
everywhere, infects virtually every tissue and organ. Babesia
is organ specific – blood system. It’s
minions exclusively inhabit red blood cells.
Clinically we know it doesn’t go away because it keeps coming back. We side it hides or sequesters in small blood vessels (capillaries), the spleen and
bone marrow. The mechanism is not fully
understood. In general, the immune system functions poorly within cells.
Bartonella: Lives
in cells lining blood vessels. Hides inside cells or sequestered in the
intracellular milieu. This is a safe
harbor against the immune system.
Clinically the thing is difficult to kill.
We have effective
treatments for the all the above.
Some new things are working. If you would like to learn more call our office for a consultation.
