Tick infested area - YES I am from Connecticut, I actually used to live in East Lyme, CT
Frequent outdoor activities - YES
Do you remember being bitten by a tick? No
Do you remember having the "bull's eye rash"?[BNo[/B] Any other rash? No Have you had any of the following? (CIRCLE ALL YES ANSWERS) 1. Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills, or flushing - YES TO ALL 2. Unexplained weight change--loss or gain YES Lost 12 pounds and counting in 1 month 3. Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina YES 4. Unexplained hair loss NO 5. Swollen glands: list YES - Neck Glands 6. Sore throat 7. Testicular pain/pelvic pain NO 10.Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction 12.Upset stomach yes 13.Change in bowel function-constipation, diarrhea yes 14.Chest pain or rib soreness yes 15.Shortness of breath, cough yes 16.Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block yes 17.Any history of a heart murmur or valve prolapse? no 18.Joint pain or swelling: list no 19.Stiffness of the joints, neck, or back YES 20.Muscle pain or cramps 21.Twitching of the face or other muscles yes 22.Headache yes 23.Neck creeks and cracks, neck stiffness, neck pain yes 24.Tingling, numbness, burning or stabbing sensations, shooting pains yes 25.Facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy) no 26.Eyes/Vision: double, blurry, increased floaters, light sensitivity yes 27.Ears/Hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain, sound sensitivity yes 28.lncreased motion sickness, vertigo, poor balance yes 29.Lightheadedness, wooziness yes 30.Tremor no 31.Confusion, difficulty in thinking no 32.Diffculty with concentration, reading no 33.Forgetfuiness, poor short term memory no 34.Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places no 35.Difficulty with speech or writing no 36.Mood swings, irritability, depression yes 37.Disturbed sleep-too much, too little, early awakening yes 38.Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol yes
I am not sure where i got this sickness from but i got my symptoms much faster then others it seems. It started with slight case of vertigo and me getting sick. a week later i had flu like symptoms, lasted about 1 and 1/2 weeks during which i had a 7 day dose of Biaxin (1000 miligrams a day) for 7 days. felt better until 4 days after finishing anti biotics.
Got an an airplane to NYC felt a preassure in my ear that started ratiating heat which spread to my eye, made my eye feel swullen but it was not, just felt pressure i guess. went to ER next day and doctors there clained i had nastagmus in my eyes did CT scan, came back normal. said i needed MRI with contrast if feeling got worse. Went a couple days had terrible vertigo, terrible fatigue and my neck was getting stiff. One night I woke up covered in sweet, felt like i had a stroke (obviously i did not).
Went to another ER where they did MRI with contrast, doctor thought i might have occlusion in my artery rushed me to another hospital Columbia (great hospital). Another MRI was done, dopplars were done on heart and neck, everything normal they said, even had lumbar punture (spinal tap). no MS, no anything out of the ordinary. They told me they had no idea what caused my pain and sent me home.
Came back home, still sick. Went to see doctor he thought maybe i had sinus infection, gave me another course of antibiotics, some kind of sulfate, very strong stuff. This gave me a raising, raising heart, i stopped its use after 4 days cause it was driving me mad. a couple days off meds started to feel sick again, went to another ER. they did not even test me said i had shingles gave me some scripts and sent me off.
Finally after all my research i found that all of my symptoms matched Lyme disease and actually found that the exact same thing happend to a woman the excact same way as it happend to me.
This is my story to a T except for time frame, all mine happened in less then a month.
Went to my doctor told them what i think i had after all research, she doubted it but reluctantly did lyme test and gave me 200 milligram dose of doxy for 30 days (standard). Had to struggle to get appointment with Infectious Disease Docotor through Keiser and also found very good Lyme Doctor out here which i have appointment on Feb 14th with but she said she will consult with infectious disease doctor to make aggressive treatment poosible. Lets hope.
Anyway I am sure of what i have plus i could have co-infection also (probably belbesia from my research). But which one makes me loose all this weight? Could it be from my eating habbits, during being sick i was not so hungry for a long time, never wanted to eat. Doxycycline seemed to work very quickly so far with me with some of the symptoms. This is my second day of 500 Mg and my neck is no longer stiff, arm and shoulder is not radiating heat anymore. Left side of head hurts slightly and my eye stills feels swullen but its not so that means pressure.
Anyway I hope to beet this sickness. Wish me luck. -Luke
Posted by David95928 (Member # 3521) on :
It looks to me that you are probably on the right track. Anticipate that there will be challenges in dealing with the medical system. Keep posting to ask questions and let us know how you are doing.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Most likely the babesia is what is causing the weight loss....but I'm not a dr. You have several symptoms of babesia...so be sure to find an LLMD [Lyme literate MD] ASAP. You can go to Seeking a Doctor here and ask for one in your area.
Ticks are very tiny, and you probably got bit and it fell off after filling itself and leaving you a nasty little present.
Be sure to get a Western Blot test done by Igenex or MDL labs.....ONLY. Other labs are a joke when it comes to testing Lyme.
Posted by Kentucky Girl (Member # 8587) on :
So sorry for you, you have had a rough month.
Thank goodness you did all the research and hopefully you can beat this pretty quickly.
Stay on the site, all of the best info is here for you to find.
Posted by JimBoB (Member # 8454) on :
It does sound like lyme, you have many of the symptoms I had. Only I GAINED weight, not lose it. WOuld like to lose 50 lbs.
The ducks are useless out there.
IF you can get it, check into the Bowen test too. Most accurate from all I have read. Jim
Posted by daniella (Member # 6753) on :
good luck luke hang in there and make sure you are treated LONG enough!
daniella
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
up for Luke
Posted by AP (Member # 8430) on :
My symptoms came on really quickly too... Actually, I was hospitalized with meningits and encephalitis right after I started the doxy. I remember laying in the hospital bed thinking "wow, a month ago, I was learning how to dive and surf in Hawaii... I was training for a marathon." It was really shocking that life changed so drastically.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
sorry you are having a hard time.
One month.You got it relatively early.You are lucky & that you are smart enough to do the research.
Hit it hard now.Don't wait and you will be ok. Make sure you treat for babs too.And what ever happens stay on the abx long enough.
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
up for luke
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi Luke it sure sounds like you have babs to me also-- I have both lyme and babs-- You sound like me--
They hammered me Quickly too- --Jay--
Posted by lymelady (Member # 6207) on :
You have done good research and quickly; congratulations. I never had a bull's eye either and don't know what happened but my symptoms were identical to yours with a few added ones. I had many of the same tests after visiting 12 different docs and still had no answer, took one whole year for me to find out I had lyme disease, which is a short time compared to many.
Babesia I think is the main culprit for the vertigo and loss of balance. It also causes the weight loss. I have had a terrible time with that and "babesia anorexia" I think it is called. Food is a big problem for me and I force myself to eat, often forgetting to do it for hours at a time sometimes all day. I have a big case of babs which is tough to get rid of.
I have made some headway with Bart, but babs hangs on and on. Bart may be the culprit for the eye problems. Do you have heel pain or shin pain or electic shocks running through your body? That could be Bart also.
Well the good news is after all these tests, you are somewhat healthy; the bad news is you have this miserable disease which is hell to get over. I have been at it for three years and just beginning to make a small amount of headway.
So it is 5 am and here I am at the computer so I guess I have sleep disturbances in that I can barely sleep at all. If it weren't for medication I would never sleep for one second.
Good luck and good work Lymelady
[ 21. January 2006, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: lymelady ]
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
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