Hello, I'm new to the forum. My 22 year daughter has been suffering with Lyme and Bartonella since she was 19 years old. She's been in and out of psych wards 9 times. She started a Lyme treatment with an LLMD last year and made remarkable progress. After 9 months she grew weary of the regiment and cut back on most of it.

She is now back in the psych ward with psychosis. Not sure if we have to start all over again or should I try to look for a quicker treatment. Some people say they do well with an IV treatment. Some people go to Infectious Disease Doctors. My daughter would prefer not to do the whole regiment that might last years.

supplements, biofilm and clay, herbals and some antibiotics

hello and welcome to the forums

absolutely none of us want to do a long drawn out treatment

unfortunately, after around 6 months - once these infections become chronic - unless you are extremely fortunate ( and you have no way of knowing if you will be in this v small percentage of people up front ) - there are no short but effective treatments. so long treatments are the only effective ones.

people who tell you otherwise are likely to be trying to sell you something - or are simply misguided

i don't tell you this to diminish your hope or optimism - but to give you a sense of realism of what to expect
- and in doing so - help you opt for a treatment that is likely to work

(people will find it hard to endure 2 years of consistent treatment if they somehow believe treatment "should be" shorter or easier)

i wish it wasn't so - but its better to know what to expect and plan accordingly - than to have false hope that is repeatedly dashed

for info - the closest we have right now to a relatively quick but effective cure is Dr H and his high dose pulse dapsone protocols - which is 2-3months long - but there are some provisos
-he doesn't use it unless people have already failed standard antibiotic combinations and lower dose dapsone protocols -
and
-its a very intensive program needing close supervision by Dr H - or a practitioner trained by him -
so its not really accessible to many
-not everyone responds well - it often has to be repeated for several cycles with gaps in between - which turns into a long treatment again

in general once lyme is chronic - and co-infections like Bart or babseia or anaplasma are involved ( the majority of cases ) something like 2 years of combination antibiotic therapy - along with lifestyle changes - supplements and supportive therapies is a reasonable expectation for most people

it can take less - and it can take much longer - but there are studies recently showing severely ill people taking typically something like 2 years on average - this is with good diagnosis of infections present and with tailored targeted protocols for each patient.

progress is often determined not only by the antibiotics used - but also by identifying and rectifying other potential blocking factors - holding the patient back. these can be anything from hormonal issues, nutrient deficiencies, gut problems, stress, sleep issues, undiagnosed co-infections etc etc -

speaking of co-infections - bartonella in particular is highly associated with frank psychosis - especially in young adults - so this could be a factor in your daughter's case
bartonella is often very stubborn and often needs different drugs vs lyme to target it effectively

some LLMDs say that once a person had made some good headway - even if the relapse its rarely all the way - and recovery the second time can be somewhat easier


i hope its of some help

feel free to ask more questions - we are a helpful bunch here