Posted 8/1/2019 10:32 AM (GMT -5)
Yup, i had this. Bad. Also have bartonella but i have a ton of psychological symptoms so i can't pinpoint if this is a bart thing, another infection or toxicity. I hallucinated so badly for a while and mixed with paranoia so bad that i was convinced for nearly 2 months that i had been kidnapped and brought to another planet and all the people around me were in on it
First off, you deserve a lot of credit for coming on here and addressing this. Suffering through it is a nightmare, i can't imagine how tough it must be as a caregiver looking at an invisible disease. Your son is dealing with a lot, constantly hallucinating makes you think you are going crazy, it wears you down.
Every turn I've made with this disease the biggest factor in stabalizing me and reducing the extreme issues has been detoxing. I tend to believe that although the infections are a factor, those of us who deal with the worst psych symptoms have the worst neurotxin load.
Try to avoid psych drugs if possible. They're brutal and can cause withdrawal, this is fixable without them. Now, there are times when it's necessary to lighten the burden on someone but try to keep as a last resort. His brain is still young and can heal from this.
Everyone is different in which toxins they have so different binders and detox methods may work differently. Personally charcoal never helped me at all. Bentonite clay has, as well as modified citrus pectin and chlorella. Grab whichever is cheaper.
Caveat before heavy detoxing- keep his electrolytes up. Not sugary stuff like gatordate but rather good sea salt, himilayan pink salt or electrolyte mixes like Matrix Electrolyte and BodyBio Elyte. This is super important.
I would like to recommend things like home made bone broth or fermented coconut water (for potassium) but mast cell and histamine issues are common with toxicity and bartonella so they could be tough on him. If you're going to try one though i def recommend bone broth. Load it full of parsley, carrots, seaweed and other good stuff full of minerals.
Back to detoxing- you want to get rid of neurotoxins. In my experience infrared saunas and epsom salt baths are best. Considering you live in GA and it's summer you don't have to pay for an IR sauna, you have one available every day- the sun. Park a car in the sun mid-day with the windows up until it gets hot. Have him drink some electrolytes prior to going in and after as well (you lose a lot of salt and iodine from sweat). Start slowly, only have him do it until he sweats a bit so you can monitor things. Afterward have him take a cool shower to bring his temp down. See how he feels the next day. I built myself an IR sauna but never use it in the summer because the sun is free.
You can try the same with epsom salt baths. You may not want to start off with really hot water because if he sweats along with the epsom salt it could be too much. May not though, you just have to trial.
Not a bad idea to take binders before either of these detox methods.
Your gut is also a large source of toxins. Keep sugar intake low as well as starchy carbs for now. You can add in some apple cider vinegar for yeast and see if that helps. Pathogens like candida and klebsiella produce a lot of toxic byproducts.
Mast cell and histamine issues seem to be common with bart and toxicity also. Avoiding histamine foods as well as taking quercetin and inositol helps me with mast cell flares.
Rifampin and minocycline are a pretty good combo for bartonella. Has he seen any improvement there? I personally had the most die off when i took Houttuynia and Isatis per Stephen Buhner's bartonella protocol. Be ready with binders if that happens, though.
For me it's all about toxicity and environment. I hope some of this can help him and take some of the strain off of you, as well. I can't give too much of an insight on doctors as all of mine are in the D.C. area. If I'm not mistaken there are a few in Florida but others here may have more insight on that.
Please reach out if you need anything else