I am not confirmed to have lymes yet but I suspect that I do. In either late November or early December I found a tick on my leg and pulled it out and flushed it down the toilet.
Looking back I know that I should have kept it to get it tested. I had no rash so I assumed I was fine.
Come late janurary I started to have weird symptoms. Burning and tingling feeling going down arm, legs, back, and really bad pelvic and hip pain. Along with abdominal pain and joint pain in my ankles and knees.
I went to the ER they did a CT scan and a urine test. Told me I had a UTI and found a dermoid cyst and sent me on my way. Took all of the antibiotics and nothing got better,
and my gynecologist told me that my ovarian dermoid cyst is so small that it shouldn't be causing me any pain.
I also started having new symptoms- ear pain, fatigue, foginess, bad memory. I got a lymes test (western blot) that my gp ordered and of course that came up negative but I was also on antibiotics at the time for the so called UTI the ER told me that I had.
Symptoms just keep getting worse and I'm in pain almost everyday. This time, during my period I realized that my right breast was swollen and had a few lumps in it and really hurt my shoulder and arm area.
I had a doctor check it, told me it's most likely cysts but ordered me a mammogram and ultrasound to be sure (I go to that in Friday) I read that fibrocystic breasts can happen due to lymes.
Today I feel a burning aching pain on the right side of my back in the middle just below my shoulder blade. It feels like it can be my liver and it really hurts.
Anyway what I'm wondering is, do my symptoms sound like lymes disease? Can symptoms like this happen all that fast? My parents keep telling me I'm goin crazy but I'll come home from work or school and just cry on the couch because I'm in pain.
I'm only 22 and a few months ago I felt normal. Now I feel like can't be a functioning person anymore I'm having trouble focusing in school and work.
Can anyone relate ?
(breaking up the post for easier reading for many here)
It's possible. Have you had any tick bites? New Jersey has tons of Lyme. (LYME, not lymes)
Perhaps you could find a doctor willing to sign off on a Western Blot through Igenex Lab?
www.igenex.com .. Test #188 and 189 You can order the test kit for free, find a doctor to sign the order, then send the money when you send the blood to the lab.
I don't see any symptoms you've listed above that can't be connected to Lyme disease in patients or that aren't "typical". Lyme can affect any and every part of your body.
The best advocate for helping you is YOU. Read all you can and educate yourself so you can get yourself the help you need. OK?
Brussels
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13480
posted
It looks very similar to when I first got lyme.
I got a tick, got the EM rash, took doxy, was then positive for Elisa AND Westernblot.
The rash disappeared, no symptoms.
About a month after antibiotic, strange symptoms appeared, nothing too bad, but funny stuff like you describe.
These increased fast, I declined very fast. About 4 months after that, I was in bed, barely able to stand up.
Westernblot had become negative (I did 3 of them, only the first was positive, before doxy).
My daughter was bitten a year after me. She was 2, and she had tummy problems right away, after tick bite. In a month after tick bite, despite amoxy, she got so many symptoms, including arthritis.
It takes years for some people to manifest symptoms after an infected bite. Some people never get symptoms, even.
But some people, like daughter and I, had symptoms either right away after bite, or in a couple of weeks. In less than 6 months, we had a full blown lyme disease, in the brain, spine, gut, eyes, joints, you name the place...
With treatment, we improved and now we are both lyme free.
Look for proper help. Normal doctors cannot help because they will NEVER believe on lyme with a negaitve Westernblot.
There are special labs in the US (like Igenex) that are more sensitive.
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
Thank you everyone for all of your responses. Now my next question is... how do I go about finding a good doctor that I can trust will be able to treat me?
-------------------- ntjones Posts: 5 | From New Jersey | Registered: Feb 2017
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 31149
posted
It sounds like lyme. You can post here in Seeking a Dr. Just ask and people will send you names they recommend. You are wise to keep pursing this. Unfortunately I gave up and it got much worse before I finally accepted I had it.
There are some good books you can read: Healying Lyme and co infections, Buhner, and Cure Unknown (Weintraub). Hang in there, you're in the right place!
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Yes, your symptoms sound like Lyme symptoms.
I am finding that a simple remedy is helping take down tissue pain for me - I get turmeric powder in bulk at the health food store, dip 00-size empty capsules into it and take a couple a day. I can feel it working fairly quickly to take down joint and muscle pain.
Fatigue can be due to loss of magnesium, which gets used by the bacteria, thus we don't have enough for our cellular ATP cycle.
We experiment with taking magnesium here, re which kind we can tolerate. For example, I tolerate magnesium glycinate well, and there are several varieties of magnesium.
We're all different and need to find what's going to help us. Hope you connect with a good Lyme-treating doctor soon!
It's very possible that you may need to really focus on treating now and take a temporary raincheck on your school activities. School will always be there, but you need your health back in order to manage it and everything else.
Since you are recently bitten, you will have a chance to get your health back. But you need to focus on doing so, and with a good treating doctor. Try to get your family onboard with learning about this REAL illness! And REAL need to treat!
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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