Diseases and Conditions

Babesia Like Organisms (BabLO):
Consideration, Signs and Symptoms

Copyright c 2010 Dr. Wayne Anderson

Disclaimer: given the fact that Borrelia and the co-infections all have the same mechanisms of action there is significant symptom overlap. These symptom pictures are meant to be used as templates that will vary given the diversity of the >100 Babesia subspecies and the individual patient’s co-morbidities, strengths and weakness.

Overview: When a patients symptoms are predominately head and neck you must think of BabLo. When the patient has depression, anxiety, panic disorder, oCD, ADD with sweats that are worse at night, think BabLo. If the patient has severe memory and cognitive dysfunction with the same sweats as above, BabLo must be considered. For the patient (with any of the above) that also has temperature intolerance, layering clothing at night due to chill then throws off the bed covers due to overheating, BabLo cannot be ignored. If this same patient has racing or irregular heart rate and it is worse at night you are getting even closer to confirming BabLo. Air hunger can come with it. If the patient (with any of the above) describes their headache as weird, pressure, moving sensations, hot or cold, worse behind eyes, crown or in the occipital area consider BabLo. Babesia causes severe insomnia that is resistant to treatment.

General BabLO Considerations:

• moves very slowly in its chronic form. Can take years to develop a clear chronic symptom pattern.
• Affects the brain and head; any atypical or exaggerated symptom related to the head must be considered.
• Can cause headache, occipital and/or frontal (especially behind the eyes), or the sensation of pressure without pain.
• most predominate symptoms are related to cognitive and memory processing.
• Can cause severe mental health symptoms, could manifest as any diagnosis in the DmS IV.
• Sweating can remain a symptom in the chronic form, can be drenching, especially at night.
• Little body pain except the wrist/hands and/or ankles/feet
• Can have severe temperature instability, hot to cold, with the predominance to chill.
• Patient can have heart racing (autonomically mediated) usually short runs of tachycardia or PCV’s, often at night, with a normal cardiac evaluation.
• Can have other autonomic nervous system disruptions causing SoB, orthostatic hypotension.
• Symptoms can be aggravated when present with other co-morbidities, metal illness, etc.
• Symptoms can be aggravate by other functional metabolic disorders, PmS and especially menopause and andropause.

BabLO Symptoms Sorted by Organ Systems:
Chief Complaint: Usually mental and/or emotional
Head:

• Disabling problem with short-term memory, concentration.
• Progressively disabling memory.
• Difficulty with direction.
• gets lost in familiar place.
• Difficulty with simple linear thinking.
• Severe depression (can have suicidal ideation).
• Fear! Fear!, Fear!, oCD, anxiety to panic.
• Any symptom from the DmS-IV.
• Pressure sensation (more than headache), occipital, crown and behind eyes.
• Various sensations in the head, hot spots, numbness, crawling, crown tenderness. Hypothalamic Dysregulation:
• Severe sleep disturbance, delayed sleep onset and frequent waking, with difficulty falling back to sleep.
• Weird dreams to nightmares.
• Temperature intolerance, hot and cold with chill dominant.
• Can have occasional fever, but usually can’t get warm.
• Sweats, can be drenching, worse at night.
• mild fluid imbalance, overloaded or dehydrated.
• Appetite swings, can’t get enough eat, or no appetite

BabLO Symptoms Sorted by Organ Systems:
Chief Complaint: Usually mental and/or emotional
Head:

• Disabling problem with short-term memory, concentration.
• Progressively disabling memory.
• Difficulty with direction.
• gets lost in familiar place.
• Difficulty with simple linear thinking.
• Severe depression (can have suicidal ideation).
• Fear! Fear!, Fear!, oCD, anxiety to panic.
• Any symptom from the DmS-IV.
• Pressure sensation (more than headache), occipital, crown and behind eyes.
• Various sensations in the head, hot spots, numbness, crawling, crown tenderness. Hypothalamic Dysregulation:
• Severe sleep disturbance, delayed sleep onset and frequent waking, with difficulty falling back to sleep.
• Weird dreams to nightmares.
• Temperature intolerance, hot and cold with chill dominant.
• Can have occasional fever, but usually can’t get warm.
• Sweats, can be drenching, worse at night.
• mild fluid imbalance, overloaded or dehydrated.
• Appetite swings, can’t get enough eat, or no appetite