This may be a dumb question but with Lyme, do the symptoms get worse towards the afternoon and evening? I seem to feel better when I wake up in the morning but by about 3pm I feel terrible.
Also I have not yet been diagnosed with this but am in the process and I have an appt for an MRI tomorrow. My question is, will it be ok to get the contrast with the MRI?
Thank you, Jenny
Posted by astriapage (Member # 17120) on :
I also feel better in the am compared to the pm.
I just woke up from a 4 hour nap!
Posted by bebfire (Member # 18096) on :
Hi Jenny, There are no stupid questions here!
My symptoms get bad around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. That's my cue to take a nap! Everyone is different with lyme!
As you read and research information on lymenet you will find that some people are really really sick and can't get out of bed while others can get around and do well.
Some people have jobs and go to work with lyme where as some can't even do simple chores!
Don't sweat the MRI contrast. For me, there were no effects at all. It can be annoying with all the noise that goes along with the MRI machine but it's not bad at all! All the best for you!
Blessings! Posted by FuzzySlippers (Member # 13658) on :
Hi Jenny,
I still experience this sometimes. I've been in treatment for Lyme and co-infections for just over 8 months.
Prior to beginning treatment though, I felt positively wretched in the afternoons and evenings. Unlike you, I did not have any energy in the mornings. I still don't. lol
For me, once I started treatment for Bartonella (a Lyme co-infection), that marked increased in the yuckies in the evenings eventually resolved for the most part.
Good luck with the MRI. I had one a few years ago (and I was sick with Lyme/Co's at the time and didn't know it). I did just fine with the procedure. The contrast made my bowels loose afterwards though. I had to spend some time near the bathroom once I got home. (Hope that's not too much info!).
Fuzzy
Posted by jenny76 (Member # 18205) on :
Thank you guys! I know that the MRI contrast can make people that have some sort of an underlying condition worse so I am reluctant to do it but the Neuro wants the contrast.
Will these current symptoms get better or am I going to get worse? I don't see the LLMD until Dec. 1st so I am just hoping I don't get worse, this is bad enough. Does treatment make you feel worse too?
Jenny
Posted by FunkOdyssey (Member # 15855) on :
I have this same rhythm to my symptoms, and I attribute it to the diurnal variation of cortisol levels which are your body's primary anti-inflammatory and alertness-promoting steroid. Cortisol is at its highest in the morning when you awake and drops gradually throughout the day, with a notable trough around 3pm, when even perfectly healthy people get a bit sluggish and some populations take a siesta (ours reaches for a coffee to medicate through it).
Posted by bebfire (Member # 18096) on :
Hi Jenny, My suggestion is that you try to be positive about what you are going through. This is a journey and it will take you to all different highs and lows.
I'd like to think that you will get better with treatment. To answer you question, it can get worse during treatment on antibiotics ( also known as: abx)
When you take abx there is a term called the "herxeimer reaction", or "herx" which means your body is reacting to the abx.
The Herxheimer reaction (also known as Jarisch-Herxheimer or "herx") occurs when large quantities of toxins get released into the body as the bacteria, the like Spirochet bacteria in lyme disease die, due to antibiotic treatment.
My first treatment in August of 2007 was for only 2 months. I started to "herx" at around 3 weeks. I had no idea what was going on because I thought I was getting worse!
I didn't know about lymenet.org so I asked my doctor. She told me about it and she wasn't even a lyme literate doctor..it's a known medical term that is linked to other treatments besides lyme.
I began to feel so much better after 6 weeks and felt even mo' better after 8 weeks.
The unfortunate thing, as you might discover yourself, is that my MD was not a LLMD (lyme literate doctor) and after the 8 weeks, she said that I shouldn't need any more treatment. So we stopped.
Now I know so much more about this disease. I have gone untreated now for almost one year and urged my doctor to do another lyme test.....long story short...tests were still positive....the previous 8 weeks of abx did NOT do the trick. I was so niave!
My primary doctor doesn't know what to do and my HMO won't cover any more treatment!
I have found a LLMD and I look forward to treatment as nothing feels worse than having untreated lyme disease. If I herx, and I probably will, I know that "this too shall pass". I am new to this site but lyme is not new to me.
hang in there!!
You are in the right place, Jenny!
Blessings!
Posted by jenny76 (Member # 18205) on :
Can you tell me what the symptoms of a Herx are? They sound scary.
Jenny
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
jenny, do NOISES/SOUNDS bother you? they do me, so i had them PUT ME UNDER FOR MY MRI!! **********************************************
I always have refused to get the gadolinium dye injected in me even tho the doctors would insist.
They could always see what they needed to without it including the lesions they found.
Not to scare you but I saw some lawyers advertising on TV for clients that were injected with the dye.
Apparently people are having problems with it if they are contacting lawyers. IT'S FREAKIN DYE!!!
We are so intimidated by these drs sometime because we want to know what's going on.
Your instincts are feeling fear for a reason, because you already know it can't be good. Listen to them.
You may not have any reaction, but why take a chance.
Good Luck with your MRI,
Gael
Posted by glm1111 (Member # 16556) on :
Jenny,
Just wanted to give you a You will be allright,
Gael
Posted by jenny76 (Member # 18205) on :
quote:Originally posted by glm1111: Jenny,
Just wanted to give you a You will be allright,
Gael
Thank you so much. By the way, can Lyme cause lesions?
Jenny
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
I to am worse in the afternoon or as the day goes on. Anyone have an idea why that would be? I would think with an underlying disease, it could and would cause pain at any time. However, sleep helps a lot to restore your body, immunity and resistance so your resistance is higher in the morning than after a long day. That is my thought on the subject.