3 year old son positive for Lyme and Bartonella - anyone with experience?

Well here's the next family member with Lyme. My son! He doesn't seem to be symptomatic although he's only 3 years old so its hard to tell too much. His IGeneX results were as follows:
IGG - Band 41: IND
IGM - Band 28: +
Band 34: +
Band 39: +
Band 41: +++
CD 57: 25
CD 57%: .9
B. henselae Igm: negative
B. henselae IgG: 80 ( which evidently does not necessarily mean "active" infection)

His current doctor is an Integrative Pediatric Neurologist. She works specifically with chronically ill children - ADHD, allergies, autism, etc. She has treated Lyme before - although its not her specialty - and she is familiar with and likes Buhner's protocol. If I decide to have her treat my son, she will immediately put him on Zithromax (not sure of dose yet) for 1 month to see what happens. Then she will most likely follow that up by adding in another antibiotic (not sure what yet) and continue to monitor. At some point, depending on his response, she will continue treating with herbs. Most likely the herbs will continue long term.

Is there anyone out there who knows if this sounds like a good protocol? My gut is to stay with her because she knows my son well and we will get good attention from her. However, I'm also concerned that maybe I should take him to a pediatrician that specializes in treating Lyme (whoever that may be). Any thoughts from anyone who has been down this road with the kids?

I say to not wait another moment and start treating with her. While she treats him you can then look for another doctor if you want. Key is to treat as soon as possible. I can tell you that with the experience that I have with doctors in general, she sounds like one of the better ones out there.

And if she is covered by your health insurance, then that is a major bonus.

Our LLMD treated our daughter (then 10 years old) for abx for 2 years for IND lyme and positive bartonella through Igenex.

She was treated variously with Bactrim (but was allergic to that so we switched to), biaxin, and rifampin for the first year. During that time the LLMD tried to wean to samento/banderol, but our daughter relapsed. No wonder because it doesn't really address bartonella, but I didn't know enough at the time to object.

She had improved to approx. 60% by the end of the first year. The next year the LLMD treated with various combinations of plaquinel, malarone, azithromycin, minocycline and tindamax. Tindamax caused huge herxing of both bartonella and PANS symptoms and had to be pulsed, malarone resulted in improved cognitive/executive function which was not maintained after discontinuation (I should have paid more attention to that effect).

The herx responses to the pulsed tindamax combinations became increasingly weaker, and after some time we then weaned to Buhner's full bartonella herbal protocol (minus l-arginine because I can't be sure we don't have viral issues). At that point our daughter was at approx. 80% and her bartonella IgG titers had declined from 160 to 80 and her ANA declined from positive (speckled type) to negative.

1/4 of the recommended dosages of all herbs from Buhner's bartonella protocol kept her at 80% for 8 months, when on a whim I decided to add CSA (from the babesia protocol) to the mixture. After a significant babesia herx (air hunger, dry cough, chest pressure, thigh pain) caused by my over-enthusiastic dosing our daughter was clinically diagnosed with babesia as well (even though all testing through Igenex had been negative).

So now we continue on a combination of the full bartonella protocol (minus l-arginine) and the full babesia protocol (although we are both unable to add more than 1 drop of bidens - I am also treating myself for what the LLMD has clinically diagnosed to be the original infections passed congenitally to our daughter).

The babesia herbs caused such an improvement in cognitive and executive function for both of us, it is noticeable (the teacher called 3 days after we began CSA to inquire what was going on).

Our daughter has recovered from all symptoms listed below to approx. 99%. Her only remaining issue is a small, unnoticeable amount of motor ticcing. I have improved as well on the combo protocols, what do you know - I wasn't suffering from perimenopause as both my doctor and endocrinologist assumed.

Here is her timeline:

DD13 - Born 2001 with light/sound/touch sensitivity. Loss of speech/fine motor ability 2 weeks after 15 month MMR vaccination.

2004 - Dx ADHD, sensory disorder (light, sound, touch), motor delay (with toe-walking), hypotonia, oral apraxia.

2008 - MMR booster and insect bite (bruise-like rash) - motor/vocal tics, emotional lability (including rage), age regressive behaviour, low level OCD, urinary frequency, diminished fine motor ability, insomnia, loss of executive function. Waxed and waned with strep/viral infections.

2010 - Dx ADHD, Tourettes, Aspergers, motor delay, probable PANDAS.

Jan 2011 - shin/forearm pain, cyclic IBS, foot (sole) pain, dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, anxiety/panic attacks, pick-like skull pain, pain and stiffness at base of skull, tingling in extremeties, chills and hot flashes, extreme fatigue, nightly fever.

June 2011 - Igenex PCR positive bartonella, Negative ELISA, Negative lyme (IND IgM kDa 41; IND IgG kDa 39, 34. kDa 41++). CD57 18. Positive ANA (speckled type), heterozygous A1298C MTHFR. Multiple Abx, methyl B12, methylfolate, P-5-P, herbal, homeopathic treatment with LLMD.

Jan 2013 - Bartonella IgG titers declined from 160 (Jun 2011) to 80. CD57 16.

April 2013 - Weaned from abx treatment at 80% improvement. Continued with Full Buhner bartonella herbal protocol, Terry Wahls/PerfectHealthDiet gf/cf/sf diet. Minimizing EMF exposure.

Sept 2013 - CD57 45.

Oct 2013 - All symptoms (PANS and pain/fatigue) 95% resolved. No flares with viral or other infections. Herxing remains with changes in herbal protocols.

Nov 2013 - Clinical babesia diagnosis. Improvement to 98% with addition of Buhner herbal protozoan treatment.

Dec 2013 - ANA titers negative. PANS symptoms resolved. Regular classroom requiring no accommodations. B+/A student.

Mar 2014 - Continued improvement in cognitive/executive function with increased dosages of cryptolepis/sida/alchornea (CSA) tincture.

Sept 2014 - Continued improvement with the addition of red root and bidens. Resolution of EMF sensitivities with low dose cilantro tincture and diatomaceous earth. 99%

I would suggest that you stay with your present integrative doctor (especially if that is what your gut is telling you) because she may be open to the use of the herbal protocols.

Our daughter knows full well that she and I travel this path together. If I had been the only symptomatic one, I would not have pushed so hard to find healing.

A mother with a sick child never gives up. Keep looking for healing and you will find it, with as Don (Heather's Dad) says, a few paradigm changes along the way.