Re: Teen with Lyme and mental health

[Guest guest]

Yes, Lyme can cause self destructive behaviors like cutting, as well as other

OCD behaviors and reduced impulse control. I am so sorry you and your daughter

are dealing with this. Where are you located? There are some important

articles that talk aboutthe psychiatric effects of Lyme. Also, Dr. Jonbes has

an article on interpreting the results of the Igenex test.

Take care -- if it's Lyme, she will get better with treatment.

Natasha

________________________________

From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@...>

Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 3:54:59 PM

Subject: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from Igenex

Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has anyone else

experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has done this several

times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just watchiing it happen. Today she

had a bad espisode, thank God not severe enough for hospital visit, but cut all

the way up the forearm many time. Any info on this would be greatly

appreciated. God Bless

[Guest guest]

Call Igenex and ask to speak to Dr. . Since your daughter is

under 18, he can help you with the results. Ask for the names of Lyme

doctors in your area. In the meantime, look here for an very helpful

explanation of Western Blot results:

http://www.mdjunction.com/lyme-disease/articles/dr-cs--western-blot-expl\

anation---lyme-facts

Depersonalization, or a feeling of " unrealness " , can be caused by Lyme

disease. Cutting can be a way to try to feel real. Hang in there and

best of luck.

>

> Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from

Igenex Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has

anyone else experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has

done this several times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just

watchiing it happen. Today she had a bad espisode, thank God not severe

enough for hospital visit, but cut all the way up the forearm many time.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. God Bless

>

[Guest guest]

We are in Oklahoma. We saw Dr. C in Missouri, who was excellent. We have a

follow up with him in January. However, we did not have the lab results back

yet. Hopefully, can get in touch with him today. Can you tell me the name of the

articles or where to find them? I am desparately seeking answers and

reassurance. Thank you so much for your response.

>

> Yes, Lyme can cause self destructive behaviors like cutting, as well as other

> OCD behaviors and reduced impulse control. I am so sorry you and your

daughter

> are dealing with this. Where are you located? There are some important

> articles that talk aboutthe psychiatric effects of Lyme. Also, Dr. Jonbes has

> an article on interpreting the results of the Igenex test.

>

> Take care -- if it's Lyme, she will get better with treatment.

>

> Natasha

>

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@...>

>

> Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 3:54:59 PM

> Subject: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

>

>

> Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from Igenex

> Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has anyone else

> experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has done this several

> times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just watchiing it happen. Today

she

> had a bad espisode, thank God not severe enough for hospital visit, but cut

all

> the way up the forearm many time. Any info on this would be greatly

> appreciated. God Bless

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I thought www.lymedisease.org had info on that..... Not sure..... Sorry

[Guest guest]

My daughter and a friend of ours both experienced the out of body feelings.  My

daughter was just diagnosed with Bartonella and Lyme. As I understood it was a

neurological form of Lyme. I hope you have a good Lyme doc.

Good Luck

Annie

________________________________

From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@...>

Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 6:54:59 PM

Subject: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

 

Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from Igenex

Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has anyone else

experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has done this several

times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just watchiing it happen. Today she

had a bad espisode, thank God not severe enough for hospital visit, but cut all

the way up the forearm many time. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

God Bless

[Guest guest]

How does your daughter deal with school? My daughter is trying online classes

and is struggling with that due to inability to focus and concentrate, as well

as the fatigue and pain. It's so hard for her to " feel " normal not being able

to do the normal stuff. How do you deal with her emotions? Some days are so

hard. Thanks and God Bless

>

> My daughter and a friend of ours both experienced the out of body feelings. 

My

> daughter was just diagnosed with Bartonella and Lyme. As I understood it was a

> neurological form of Lyme. I hope you have a good Lyme doc.

> Good Luck

> Annie

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@...>

>

> Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 6:54:59 PM

> Subject: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

>

>  

> Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from Igenex

> Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has anyone else

> experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has done this several

> times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just watchiing it happen. Today she

> had a bad espisode, thank God not severe enough for hospital visit, but cut

all

> the way up the forearm many time. Any info on this would be greatly

appreciated.

> God Bless

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My daughter is also dealing with extreme fatigue and pain, along with cognitive

impairment, visual and hearing impairment and then the usual heart issues. She

definitely doesn't feel normal, can't do normal things, etc.

I do my darndest to go out of my way to do things on her time schedule.

For example, when possible and she feels well enough, since she is awake at

night, we will go shopping at Wal-Mart or another 24 hour store at 1 or 2am.

Since I have to be up during the school year to take my other 2 kids to school,

we usually plan this for a Friday or Saturday, and then we're flexible if she

doesn't feel well.

Many times during the weekdays, if she gets hungry at midnight or 1am, before I

go to sleep, then I'll take her through the drive-thru at 's or Taco Bell

(if early enough, at Arby's), just so that she can do something at least

semi-normal for a teen.

I also have a good friend who is often up all night due to other medical

situations, and she has permission to take my daughter on a " spur of the moment "

situation to go out at night for a bite to eat, or shopping.

Not that it's a substitute, but for some social interaction, my daughter " hangs

around " in a lyme room chat during the night while she is working on her school

work online.

Hopefully some of those ideas will help get your " creative thoughts " going.

I've found that I can't consider anything " normal " with my daughter, and I just

try to be creative in coming up with ideas that get her out of the house on days

/ nights she feels up to it.

As for emotions, I'm still working on how to deal with it all. I get very upset

when she's always so negative, most especially because she does a lot of yelling

at me about anything and everything. Though I understand that it's hard to be

positive, if she would at least think a little bit positive I think that she

would feel a bit better. She's always the most grumpy and negative when she

first wakes up in the evening. I think that the transition from sleep to

waking, is very painful for her. Once she's been awake for a couple of hours,

she is usually in a better mood and is laughing at things that are said in lyme

chat, or comments on facebook, and sometimes tv shows.

How old is your daughter?

Charlotte

iamwhimsy@...

http://whimsy.t35.com

Re: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

How does your daughter deal with school? My daughter is trying online classes

and is struggling with that due to inability to focus and concentrate, as well

as the fatigue and pain. It's so hard for her to " feel " normal not being able to

do the normal stuff. How do you deal with her >

>

>

[Guest guest]

My 13 yr old son (Lyme & Bartonell), has panic attacks focused on a certain

teacher. Since he has new teachers every year, he hears that one might be mean

and then that's the class that he panics about and can't attend. He is on a 504

plan and the school has been VERY cooperative with him not attending class and

doing his assignment in the library. It's tough because this year it's science

so he is missing labs and learning out of a book instead. The school should

work w/ you as long as you have a dr note stating the conditions that are

causing problems for your child related to school.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried therapy for panic attacks? Our dr is to

the point of, let's try it to see if it works, otherwise we might have to put

him on IV. Anyone have success w/ this kind of therapy? I will probably try

therapy myself (Lyme, Bart & Babesia) because I have driving panic attacks. At

this point, the brain might just need to be rewired and maybe it isn't even a

symptom anymore. Just a thought.

Elaine

[Guest guest]

Yes, it is VERY hard to see your teenager crying because of the stress of going

to school and facing a class. This should have been over after the first day of

kindergarten

He has been on zoloft and buspirone (anti-anxiety) for much of this year and

we've talked about putting him on lamictal (anti-seizure also used for mood). I

am on this, and it does help somewhat, but I don't want to keep masking his

symptoms and piling more mental health drugs on him. With that being said

though, we have to do whatever we have to do to help him. Has your daughter

ever tried therapy? The therapist I spoke w/ said it's hard to weed out if it's

a symptom or result of being sick for so long but, either way, therapy should

help w/ some coping tools. We are also stopping Rifampin to see if anxiety gets

worse, even w/ him not going to class. This might help us determine if it's

still a symptom of Bart or result.

best wishes,

Elaine

>

> Zoloft, seroquel and cymbalta have all helped various members of our family

with

> Lyme and Bart/Babs related anxiety -- especially Zoloft (which also helps with

> OCD behavior I would add).

>

> My daughter is going through panics about being back in school -- a nice

problem

> to be back so she is stressed, but not great that she is so stressed it seems

to

> be making her sick again. Back on cymbalta for her.

>

> I hate how hard this is and it makes me crazy to see my children crying with

> " stress " that is all in their heads. I guess that is where stress always is,

lol

> (wryly). The cause is a roving target, one day one class, one day another,

one

> day social issues and the next her future. We can't control any of that, and

> the idea of getting out of her room into a fairly large middle school seems to

> be the root of it -- sort of " this is not where I thought I'd be in life in

8th

> grade... " Plus the fact that middle school just is not great for most people.

I

> think it's been fairly benign for my older daughter , and younger too

actually,

> but they stress anyway. Sigh.

>

> Natasha

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: ecckwalk <ecckwalk@...>

>

> Sent: Tue, September 28, 2010 4:49:56 PM

> Subject: [ ] Re: Teen with Lyme and mental health

>

>

> My 13 yr old son (Lyme & Bartonell), has panic attacks focused on a certain

> teacher. Since he has new teachers every year, he hears that one might be

mean

> and then that's the class that he panics about and can't attend. He is on a

504

> plan and the school has been VERY cooperative with him not attending class and

> doing his assignment in the library. It's tough because this year it's

science

> so he is missing labs and learning out of a book instead. The school should

> work w/ you as long as you have a dr note stating the conditions that are

> causing problems for your child related to school.

>

> I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried therapy for panic attacks? Our dr is

to

> the point of, let's try it to see if it works, otherwise we might have to put

> him on IV. Anyone have success w/ this kind of therapy? I will probably try

> therapy myself (Lyme, Bart & Babesia) because I have driving panic attacks.

At

> this point, the brain might just need to be rewired and maybe it isn't even a

> symptom anymore. Just a thought.

> Elaine

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I set my daughter up with a 504 plan. All the teachers know how her disease

effects her ability to learn and we've discussed ways they can help. If the

teachers see her space out or get that glazed over look they tap her desk gently

or ask her if she's getting what they're saying. In the past they gave her

chunkated tests and she was given a word bank because her memory was so shot.

She's also given more time to do tests because her processing speed is so low

and she can take her tests in a defferent room because any noise makes it a

nightmare for her to concentrate. I also get weekly reports from the guidance

counselor so I can make sure she's not falling too far behind. Unfortunately

right now she's struggling but we're all on top of it.

Homebound was pathetic the year we had to do that. They couldn't find or keep a

teacher so I ended up teaching her. That was when her body was real bad but not

her brain.

Feel free to email me if you have specific questions.

akannielm@...

Good luck!

Annie

> >

> > My daughter and a friend of ours both experienced the out of body

feelings.  My

> > daughter was just diagnosed with Bartonella and Lyme. As I understood it was

a

> > neurological form of Lyme. I hope you have a good Lyme doc.

> > Good Luck

> > Annie

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ________________________________

> > From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@>

> >

> > Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 6:54:59 PM

> > Subject: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

> >

> >  

> > Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from Igenex

> > Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has anyone else

> > experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has done this several

> > times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just watchiing it happen. Today

she

> > had a bad espisode, thank God not severe enough for hospital visit, but cut

all

> > the way up the forearm many time. Any info on this would be greatly

appreciated.

> > God Bless

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I'm a single parent. Dealing with her emotions can be very difficult.

She's found quite a few things that help her. She talks with friends, writes,

does art, listens to music and sometimes lets me help :~) I just talk honestly

with her. I validate that it completely sucks. Then I remind her that she's

going to get better and sometimes we cry together because it's hard for both of

us. I remind her that other people have it much harder when she's in a space to

be able to hear that and I remind her of the positive things she's learning,

like an ability to have empathy that many people won't ever know because they've

never been through an illness like this. Again I really have to feel her out.

She has to be in the right space for those talks. But I really think it's

important that I validate how hard it is but not let her sink too deep into self

pity.

After our last Lyme doc appointment ,where he told us she was reinfected, we

cried together and on the ride home she said, " I'm going to be a tough old

lady. " We laughed and I said, Yes you are. You're already pretty strong.

When she gets rageful we have it set up that we have seperate places in the

house to go. If she refuses I either leave the house for a bit or go to my room

and watch some TV. Then I just try to not say alot. Sometimes she wants me there

when she's sad and sometimes she needs me to just let her be. I take my cue from

her. On days when I'm too stressed to be the Mom I want to be, I tell her. The

most important thing I've learned is that I can't pretend I'm fine. It doesn't

work because sooner or later the stress will spill out. If I don't try to hide

that I'm having a hard day it's much easier.

I hope that helps some and answers your question a little.

Remember to breathe :~)

Annie

________________________________

From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@...>

Sent: Tue, September 28, 2010 3:23:43 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

 

How does your daughter deal with school? My daughter is trying online classes

and is struggling with that due to inability to focus and concentrate, as well

as the fatigue and pain. It's so hard for her to " feel " normal not being able to

do the normal stuff. How do you deal with her emotions? Some days are so hard.

Thanks and God Bless

>

> My daughter and a friend of ours both experienced the out of body

feelings. 

>My

>

> daughter was just diagnosed with Bartonella and Lyme. As I understood it was a

> neurological form of Lyme. I hope you have a good Lyme doc.

> Good Luck

> Annie

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: thumpersmom7 <thumpersmom7@...>

>

> Sent: Sun, September 26, 2010 6:54:59 PM

> Subject: [ ] Teen with Lyme and mental health

>

>  

> Our 15 year old has possible Lyme. We received the results back from Igenex

> Friday, but no Dr. available to intrepret the results. Has anyone else

> experienced " out of body " experiences of cutting? She has done this several

> times,and says she isn't the one doing it. Just watchiing it happen. Today she

> had a bad espisode, thank God not severe enough for hospital visit, but cut

all

>

> the way up the forearm many time. Any info on this would be greatly

>appreciated.

>

> God Bless

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Tricia. Along w/ the zoloft and buspirone, he started taking (about

3 wks ago) GABA 3xday for 750mg total. It is w/in a capsule of other herbs

recommended by our dr. He is also taking drops of Psy-stabil, a homeopathic

mix. He started these after the panic for this most recent class started, so

I'm wondering if the panic now stems from the fear of another panic. Or, maybe

these supplements just aren't helpful to him or take a while to take effect.

What do you think?

I wish you and your daughter well. This is so difficult on so many people!

Elaine

[Guest guest]

Thanks. Yes, I think most of it is the fear of the fear. I found something on

line today about Cog Beh Therapy and it sounds pretty successful. I tried it

when I was driving and I do think it might help after you've worked on it a few

times. Don't know about for a kid though.

Elaine