Overcoming Bartonella disease and managing Autism
Guest
Debbie Kimberg is the definition of the word 'BRAVE'. She is a writer and doubles as an advocate. She is a mom of autistic children and has gathered a wide range of experience in taking care of and trying to find solutions for her kids.
Sammy Kimberg is her son and was diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum and having Bartonella disease after a series of tests and disappointing results that would have left other parents discouraged from finding solutions.
In this episode, both mother and son share their story of managing this medical condition.
Topics Discussed
Debbie's story about how she learned about her and her children's condition.
"Sammy was not severely autistic as a young toddler but as he continued to progress through school, he had several behaviors that qualified him to be autistic. when he was in middle School we stumbled on a Doctor who tested him for something called Bartonella, which is an infection just like Lyme. Sammy tested positive. I and my other children got tested and we were all positive."
Learning about Lyme's disease
"I was born and raised in St Louis, I had never met anyone with Lyme disease before. You think okay, well, we are going to get some antibiotics, everything is going to be so much better. He took his first antibiotics which was augmentin and it damaged his pretty sweet mild kind of personality. He started having fights and became verbally more aggressive. Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria called perrella. There are 300 strains as they call it, but it's variants like COVID.
Everybody talks about Lyme but the star in our story and what we are seeing a lot in the autistic community is the infection called Bartonella."
Sammy's experience dealing with Bartonella
"I had a lot of issues in school. I did bad consistently getting D's and C's and I was in special education class. Sometimes my teachers help me in the hallway and stuff. Some of the medications helped me a lot in school, but some of them made me a lot worse."
How Sammy went from being a picky eater to having a voracious appetite
"I think one of the big things to point out is that the picky eating went away. He was more food aversion. It's like you are pregnant and you look at stuff and he's like yeah that doesn't look good more than the textures themselves. 8 weeks into treatment and all of a sudden he would be doing everything and not only was he eating everything he was eating a ton."
Debbie's advise on how to navigate Bartonella and Lyme's disease
"If the mum or dad has things like issues with anxiety, depression , OCD , panic mood swings, bad temper or autoimmune disease, they should consider getting their kids screened because he could change their lives and trajectory. The sooner you do it the better but if you want to get screened there's a problem because the CDC has not acknowledged that these kinds of infections can cause the symptoms in children. One big reason that CDC had that opinion, is because the lab test doesn't work and if it doesn't work the research isn't going to work either. The way to find doctors that will be able to treat these diseases is through your Facebook line groups. Also, people can DM me. If you need help, I will help."
Sammy shares a bit of his plans and his support systems.
"I am planning to go to the University of Texas and double major in music and computer science. My biggest support is definitely my mum and doctor. My support at school were some teachers, they were always nice."
Recap
· It's okay to say no when something doesn't feel right. You know your child best, so continue to advocate for your family, and look elsewhere for answers if your questions concerning your family's health aren't being answered.
· Consider getting your child screened if as a parent, you have a history of mental related issues no matter how mild it was (is).
· Sammy's treatments didn't cure his autism but it cured the symptoms related to bartonella and Lyme disease.
If you have a child or family with this condition and you are finding it difficult to access a good doctor, visit www.projectline.org to get a doctor's directory.
Connect with Debbie
Debbie's website: www.debbiekimberg.com
Instagram and Tiktok: @hijacked brains
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