So the rash doesn't occur all the time, but there has to be SOMETHING that everone with LD gets sooner or later. I mean, I'm doing my share of research because I've had some unusual symptoms pop up in the last few days (muscle twitches, ears crackling when I swallow), but it sounds like Lyme Disease is the catch-all illness.
Let me see if I have this right: Basically, every symptom in existance could somehow be tied to this disease. There's no perfect way to diagnose it. The ticks who carry it could be anywhere and they're so small it's nearly impossible to detect them. In other words, it is a paradise for the paranoid.
Posted by minimonkey (Member # 8693) on :
I certainly see your point! But, no -- it isn't quite as catch-all as all that... when one has a cluster of symptoms that show up and persist, then it is reasonable to question whether Lyme might be present. Most of us chronic types have a whole bunch of symptoms that have appeared over the years.... changing, waxing and waning, but rarely disappearing entirely. There doesn't seem to be a definitive sign or symptom (except the bite/rash, but that doesn't happen to nearly everyone -- same goes for bell's palsy) that makes diagnosis sure fire -- generally it is a matter of looking at the entire clinical picture over time.
If one lives in a known endemic area, the likelihood may be greater of contracting it-- but Lyme can happen anywhere.
Certainly if one has a known tick bite, it would be most wise (IMO) to seek abx asap!
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hey GMayne,
Your post made me laugh...sorry, but it did
Yes, pretty much anything can go wrong with TBDs...it isn't any fun, but sure keeps you on your toes.
My best, Melanie
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
One Lyme doctor said that if you used to be healthy, then suddenly seem to be falling apart, suspect Lyme.
I think that says it: falling apart, symptoms showing up in more than one category (joint aches + brain fog, for example) that interfere with the ability to function normally.
Also be alerted when the symptoms are atypical for other causes. Atypical depression, atypical arthritis, atypical bloodwork, just might equal typical Lyme.
Regards, Shaz
Posted by lymie tony z (Member # 5130) on :
Definitive...
IMO...the stiff neck pain
...If you ever drank alcohol and got a hangover...but now your hangover either begins before you stop drinking or is more intense the next morning...
What really caught my ears was when Polly on Discovery channel mentioned feeling OLDER than you should...which brings in the achey joint/muscle/fatigued feeling.
When your mainstream duck gives you remedies for your old age arthritis like steroids or NSAIDS and your symptoms get excruciatingly WORSE and the pain makes you suicidal.
This would define lyme infestation....also...
Sleep disturbances...you can't seem to fall asleep for days and then you can't seem to get enough sleep...but the sleep brings you no renewal of energy.
When your heart starts doing flip flops in your chest...mitral valve prolapse for no apparent reason...
of course the MOST DEFINITIVE is when your doctor/doctors declare you're a hypochondriacal, malingering, pain medication seeking, psychopath.
Because they PREVIOUSLY know of NO disease that gives you all the symptoms you complain about...cuz they were probably absent when TBD's were discussed that day in med school...for about two hours... based on medical,scientific data collected in the stone age...
Those who don't have or are not educated in lyme disease don't even know it exists. Some that know it's political ramifications REFUSE to admit it exists...
Those DUCKS who KNOW it exists worry way TOO MUCH about their practices, homes in the hamptons, or girlfriends they have on the side, and don't want to negate their CASH FLOW that their practice allows for all these luxuries...
Cuz by God they deserve it cuz they spent 12 years of sacrifice to learn how to PRACTICE medicine...soooo they give you anti-depressants and send you on your merry way....and declare...
We don't have a problem with that disease in this state....
I guess I got a little off track....BUT then again that's another DEFINITIVE symptom...
Lack of concentration,focus,word, number or directional disabilities(brain fog).
Hope this clears it up for you....
It's NOT Paranoia when these things ACTUALLY happen to you.
IT'S Called TBD infection....lyme disease for short.
zman
Posted by David95928 (Member # 3521) on :
A sudden decline from good health for no clearly apparent reason is grounds to suspect. Add risk factors such as outdoor activities, other insect bites that are blown off as something else (I suspect some "chigger bites" I had just before developing numbness were actually nymph tick bites), symptoms that cover various body systems (muscles/joints/tendons, sleep disturbance, deterioration of memory and concentration) and you are getting warmer. You sound young and healthy. Most such people don't need magnesium supplementation but Lymies do.
You certainly could have been bitten in Riverside but you could maybe more easily have been bitten in Sonoma County. It could have been in the last few years or the last few years.
If you have a doctor who knows you to be sane and can really listen, you might try starting there. However, hearing "Lyme" seems to make a lot of doctors deaf (and psychotic). The good news is that the diagnosis and treatment situation is better her in CA than in much of the country. I am in Chico and there are several doctor here who will diagnose and treat.
I suggest you get right on this as you may have Lyme and be in your window of opportunity to be cured. Let it go on too long and you have a high risk of becoming chronic, like most of us.
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