Mycoplasma and testing for other microbes

[MMC]

We had our ds12 tested for lyme and mycoplasma pneumoniae. Lyme was negative. Mycoplasma was positive...Ig Abs 357, with test showing normal as 0-99. The IgM test was negative. Doctor started him on zithromax, 250mg a day for 2 weeks. Has been on it 3 days now. He hasn't felt well at all last 2 days...weird stuff, no energy, can't sleep well, heart palpatations. Could this be herxing?

 

He is normally just on penvk 250 a day, to prevent strep. Twice, in the past, he has been taken Augmentin 1200mg a day for 4 weeks...but, this did not eradicate any symptoms. He mainly deals with tics. We just can't seem to get rid of them. Were hoping for more improvement this summer, school starts in 2 weeks.

 

We know he is immune deficient, tested positive for hypogammaglobulinemia. The doctor is explaining a lot of his issues are also PITAND related. Has him on various supplements, including glutathione (using expensive liquid). He has had plasmapheresis (January) and one round of IVIG in April. Insurance has denied any further IVIG at this time.

 

We will re-test for mycoplasma in 3 weeks or so. If not gone, will ask for more abx. We just wonder if there are other co-infections should we be testing for. I have seen several mentioned on the forum. It seems you have to request your own testing, since the doctors don't necessarily do it. It was my idea to test for lyme and mycoplasma. I learned about these from this forum, of course. Appreciate any suggestions...thanks.

[JTs-Mom]

What lab did you use for the Lyme testing? If you had it done through a commercial lab such as LabCorp or Quest, you might want to consider having it redone through a specialty lab (IGeneX, Medical Diagnostic Lab, or Clongen) if you have any reason to suspect Lyme, such as a history of tick bites.

 

I think you've covered the 'main' three... strep, Lyme, and mycoplasma... that cause the type of symptoms typically seen on this board (i.e., tics, OCD, emotional lability, etc.) Bartonella is a coinfection sometimes seen with Lyme that causes a lot of neuro issues, so that may be one to check for. I've also read about Epstein Barr and yeast overgrowth causing related issues.

 

We had our ds12 tested for lyme and mycoplasma pneumoniae. Lyme was negative. Mycoplasma was positive...Ig Abs 357, with test showing normal as 0-99. The IgM test was negative. Doctor started him on zithromax, 250mg a day for 2 weeks. Has been on it 3 days now. He hasn't felt well at all last 2 days...weird stuff, no energy, can't sleep well, heart palpatations. Could this be herxing?

 

He is normally just on penvk 250 a day, to prevent strep. Twice, in the past, he has been taken Augmentin 1200mg a day for 4 weeks...but, this did not eradicate any symptoms. He mainly deals with tics. We just can't seem to get rid of them. Were hoping for more improvement this summer, school starts in 2 weeks.

 

We know he is immune deficient, tested positive for hypogammaglobulinemia. The doctor is explaining a lot of his issues are also PITAND related. Has him on various supplements, including glutathione (using expensive liquid). He has had plasmapheresis (January) and one round of IVIG in April. Insurance has denied any further IVIG at this time.

 

We will re-test for mycoplasma in 3 weeks or so. If not gone, will ask for more abx. We just wonder if there are other co-infections should we be testing for. I have seen several mentioned on the forum. It seems you have to request your own testing, since the doctors don't necessarily do it. It was my idea to test for lyme and mycoplasma. I learned about these from this forum, of course. Appreciate any suggestions...thanks.

[kimballot]

hello -

 

I'll ditto what JT's mom said and also say that 250mg of zith sounds very low for micoplasma. My son was put on 500 mg with a micoplasma exposure, and he did very well. We switched him over to omicef and he did poorly - then back to 500mg zith and he is doing well again. We will probably lower him down to a prophylaxis dose in a month or so.

Edited August 13, 2010 by kimballot

[trggirl]

What does it mean exactly if the Mycoplasm IgG abs are high and the IgM abs are negative? Since the antibody is not elevated, would these results cause problems with a child? My daughter had similar results so I am just trying to figure it all out.

 

We are trying Augmentin again but I am not seeing the dramatic results that I did last time. Last time she had tics though and it was definitely Strep. This time she got sick on July 4th with an unknown virus and has been very hyper with brain fog, but no tics. I'm wondering if I should try a different antibiotic. I would love to hear how Zithromax works for you in a week or two.

[tired mom]

A few months back it seems like Biaxin was the miracle drug for the myco. Augmentin will do nothing if the symptoms are from the myco. After 3 months of 1000mg biaxin followed by a month of zithtromax(500 mg.)some symptoms remain. I am waiting to hear from the doctor to see where the IgM levels are at currently. They have remained very high for the last 10 months despite the antibiotics. I wish I could be of more help but I too am still searching for answers and the right protocal. Best of luck...

[JTs-Mom]

Trg Girl - An elevated IGG may be causing problems or it may not. Here's what LabCorp says on their website:

 

Significant concentrations of M. pneumoniae IgM and/or a four-fold increase in IgG levels between the initial sample and the convalescent sample indicate an active or recent M. pneumoniae infection. Increases in IgG, without IgM, can also be seen with a re-infection.

 

Ditto what Tired Mom said... Augmentin will not help if the symptoms are from mycoplasma. A macrolide abx is typically needed (e.g. azithromycin/zithromax or clarithromycin/biaxin).

 

Tired Mom - I came across a few abstracts recently on macrolide-resistance being seen with mycoplasma. Since you are still seeing elevated IGM after such a long period of time with abx, you might want to check into this. I believe there are alternative abx that can be used such as minocycline or levofloxacin, depending on the age of your child.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1140515/

 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/k5741331xk0xm922/

Edited August 13, 2010 by JT's Mom

[tired mom]

Trg Girl - An elevated IGG may be causing problems or it may not. Here's what LabCorp says on their website:

 

Significant concentrations of M. pneumoniae IgM and/or a four-fold increase in IgG levels between the initial sample and the convalescent sample indicate an active or recent M. pneumoniae infection. Increases in IgG, without IgM, can also be seen with a re-infection.

 

Ditto what Tired Mom said... Augmentin will not help if the symptoms are from mycoplasma. A macrolide abx is typically needed (e.g. azithromycin/zithromax or clarithromycin/biaxin).

 

Tired Mom - I came across a few abstracts recently on macrolide-resistance being seen with mycoplasma. Since you are still seeing elevated IGM after such a long period of time with abx, you might want to check into this. I believe there are alternative abx that can be used such as minocycline or levofloxacin, depending on the age of your child.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1140515/

 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/k5741331xk0xm922/

JT's Mom - Thank you for the information. I phoned Dr. today but results were not in yet.I am glad now because when she calls Monday if the IgM's remain high I will mention these alternative abxs to her. My daughter is 18 now and we found this Dr. 4 years ago and she has been great. It is nice to find a dr. who listens and is not afraid to think outside the box. Thanks again!!

Edited August 13, 2010 by tired mom