My younger sister is 15 and has been having some issues with anger. It doesn't seem like she knows how to deal with anything other than screaming at people. She even put her fist through the wall about a week ago when she got in an argument with my mom.
My mom and I both have Lyme and I've suspected for quite a few years that my sister might have it, too. She had ADD-type problems when she was younger and has had some various unexplained physical symptoms (not sure what they all are but I know she's had bad headaches for a while).
Anyway, my mom is open to the possibility that my sister has Lyme, too, but my dad and brother think I'm crazy and just seeing Lyme everywhere. My brother things our sister is just a normal 15 year old girl (although I argued he's never BEEN a 15 year old girl) and my dad just thinks I see Lyme everywhere and since it's so non-specific in it's symptoms he doesn't think I should jump to Lyme.
I'm looking for information and articles about Lyme and teenagers/adolescents, especially anger, rage, and other neurological and neuro-psych symptoms. I want to have information I can to back up my suspicions. I just hate it when people don't believe that I know what I'm talking about.
Thanks!
--Annie
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I had a LOT of "Lyme rage" earlier on in my illness. And it was much different than just being frustrated and angry with being sick. I couldnt control it and it terrified me because it just wasnt like me at all to act like this.
Often after an outburst, I would just fall asleep. So one dr suggested the possibility of temporal lobe seizures caused by Lyme. Either way, my LLMD assured me it was being caused by the spirochetes and that it would get better. While I still have many debilitating symptoms, the Lyme rage HAS gotten better with treatment. MUCH better thank god.
But I think if I had gone through that at age 15, it would have been much harder to decifer whether or not it was hormones/adolecense or something else. My parents always joke about how crazy i was at 15 - very specifically 15 too. It is a horrible age for girls, but since your sister has other suspicious symptoms as well, then I would guess that there's something else going on.
I remember an article that was published in a popular magazine a while back about a teenage girl and her neuropsych symptoms that they were later found to be from Lyme and Bartonella. I wish I could remember the exact info so I could find it for you. You probably remember it too...
This is also a GREAT article and may help your dad see how Lyme rage is a real possibility.
Aggression and Lyme Disease
by R. Bransfield http://www.mentalhealthandillness.com/Articles/AggressionAndLymeDisease.htm
some more articles about Neuropsych Lyme: http://www.lymesite.com/neuropsychiatric_lyme.htm
[This message has been edited by SunRa (edited 30 May 2005).]
Many mom's here can help you with info and there should be a lot of posts in the archives if the search feature would work.
Our daughter has made numerous suicide attempts and been very dangerous to others..Tell your mom that she definitely needs some type of help..
Also ILADS has a brochure about what the psychiatrist should know about lyme disease..It has a lot of psych symptoms listed.
Tell your mom good luck and if I can be of any help, please have her email me..lymemomtoo
Ask your sister what is it that she wants.
If she is highly apposed to a Lyme description let her read,"ANGER" by Thich Nhat Hanh
It helped me tremendously deal with extreme Bartonella rages...
Healing thoughts,
~sizzled~
I'm just having a hard time separating the "normal" teenage stuff and what could be Lyme. I myself started getting really sick with Lyme when I was her age but my symptoms were much more defined and I had more physical complaints. It's possible, though, that my sister is having more physical symptoms and I just haven't heard about them.
I'll try to talk to her at some point this week. I'm not sure she's open to the possibility of Lyme but I do know she asked for a symptom list a few years ago so maybe she's more open than I think. And maybe she suspects she could have Lyme, too.
Some of the problems I'm dealing with are 1) whether to take her straight to an LLMD (probably Dr. Jones since we're in MA and my sister is only 15) or have her tested through Igenex with a local doctor. 2) How to convince my dad and brother (and possibly sister) that she has Lyme. She had a test (probably an ELISA, she never found out what test) done last fall and that was negative but even if it was a western blot, it was probably just done at a local lab so it's pretty meaningless.
It's hard sorting out my own illness, even seven years after my diagnosis, but it's so much harder trying to sort it out for someone else.
Thanks!
--Annie
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Lyme Disease Awareness Products
Click here to see my Lyme journal.
so sorry you have to face this, but glad you are your sister's sister 
I vote strongly for getting to Doc J.
He can definitively rule Lyme in or out with lots of testing and eval that (should it be Lyme and other TBD's) would provide a solid foundation medically to provide to the rest of the family, and that would set her on course for treatment or other avenues (should it not be Lyme)
..many don't realize he was/is a general pediatrician for many many years..and knows enough to send you on the right avenue should it not be Lyme..he often refers many varying problems to other path of investigation and does not ever think all problems are TBD's, on the same token there's noone who knows TBD's better than him. He trumps all practicing LLMD's by a long shot. What a mind.
It also would take all the pressure of trying to figure this out off of you.
If she has been carrying Lyme a while at her age, her WB even from Igenex may possibly not be positive by many people's standards (not allot of antibodies fighting the illness)..but Doc J can interpret each band on IgG and IgM along with everything else.
While we still have him, we should use him..and learn from him. He would give input on your case too..and I'll tell you tidbits from Doc J off the top of his head can be like tiny gold nuggets. He often gives input for other family members
Sounds like Lyme and Bartonella (together) are solid suspects and better to know sooner than later if that's the case.
Oftentimes, hormonal changes at this age bring these infections to the forefront.
Besides, you could see my son Ryan's gecko he brad and hatched, Gracie..who the girls and Doc J have taken in and are spoling rotten.
My son had major rages and extreme psych symptoms from Lyme along with allot of other things (extreme end of the spectrum, many are less severe but still suffer profoundly), for him it was Lyme and Bart and they have reversed with treatment for infection (no psych meds).
I did read your other post including some other suspicious symptoms and the fact you and your Mom have Lyme also raises cause for evaluation.
All the best,
Mo
[This message has been edited by Mo (edited 31 May 2005).]
thanks,
Lisa
We just had the third death from lyme. Tell them to adjust their attitude before there is another victim.
Start with her thyroid--hashimotos is a disease of teenage girls--one in 5 women have thyroid disease--your dad can't argue with that--maybe with that step you start this journey, my thyroid was the first thing that was diagnosed.
Linda
I admire your willingness to help your sister, even though others disbelieve you. Your sister will see that some day, not to worry. I have sisters, too.
In the meantime, stand your ground lovingly.
I think Columbia University may have some information on neurological lyme that may be helpful:
http://www.columbialyme.org/flatp/lymeoverview.html#symptoms
You may have been there before. Anyway, I would look at the adult symptoms and symptoms for children.
Also, in looking up sites for you I came across the link for a teenage based support group in PA.
http://www.lymepa.org/html/lymeteens.html
The group requires screening to become a member. Commonsense tells me this may verify your age as well.
If you are unable to actually join and log on yourself, I suggest contacting Doug Fearn. He seems to be the head of this group.
His email is located at the bottom of the web address I gave you.
Maybe he could put a question out there to the group for you and answer you personally.
Firsthand info from Lymenet has been very helpful for me in dealing with my daughter's disease. (I thankfully don't have lyme and really needed some help understanding it.)
I hope this helps. It is painful to see someone you love struggle with lyme.
By the way, I showed my daughter (she is ten) your site a few nights ago. We admire your bravery and the hard work you are enduring on your road to wellness. Love the music, too!
Take care and keep us up to date on how it goes!
Big forgetful P.S. My daughter has bouts of rage with her pain. She is mad at everyone in her path when she is hurting. Even and especially those of us trying to get to the source and help her.
She just gets such "out of your mind pain". Later after a rageful fit she calms down into her old self.
You can almost detect the remorse on her face sometimes. I think she realizes somewhat how she was when she was raging and feels sorry for it.
Sorry I forgot to mention that pertinent info!