Anyone else? My thoughts are constantly racing--If I'm distracted enough I'm ok but the second I'm not my mind is going constantly. Obsessively repeating thoughts in my head, replaying songs or just thinking about anything.
Am I the only one?
Posted by AnnaL (Member # 18464) on :
This might be a symptom of bartonella. Are you being treated for bart?
-AnnaL
Posted by knobs (Member # 21928) on :
I was on Rifampin for 7.5 months but doctor took me off because she thought it was causing constant herxing. I did test positive for bart
Posted by AnnaL (Member # 18464) on :
Hmmm...I'd definitely bring this up with your doctor. Racing thoughts, OCD, anxiety, and related issues could be caused by bartonella, or it could be caused by something else entirely.
For example, something in your treatment (or just in life) could have nudged your neurotransmitters out of whack.
You could try one of the many psych meds. I found that for me a combination of an SSRI (Zoloft) and just a little Klonopin really helped sooth some of my OCD/repetitive thoughts/anxiety.
I also saw a wonderful therapist for cognitive-behaviorial therapy. She helped me learn how to re-direct my thoughts.
Obviously, everyone is different, and it took me a while to find the right combination of psych meds to treat those symptoms. But this sounds like it must be very uncomfortable to live with. I hope you and your doctor can figure out a way to help with this symptom!
-AnnaL
Posted by knobs (Member # 21928) on :
This is very uncomfortable. I'm currently on an SSRI (effexor). The racing thoughts just seemed to pop up around the time I started Ceftin (which I am going off in a couple days). Maybe it's that? I'm hoping! My life is certainly stressful as well right now.
Thanks a lot for your input, Anna.
Posted by Snailhead (Member # 18091) on :
I have this also. It is like someone is constantly changing the TV station in your head. Jump, jump, jump. I was dx as bipolar a few years ago; don't know if it is Lyme & co related or not. Mood stablizing meds may help; talk to your dr. if it is really bad. God bless you.
Posted by bigstan (Member # 11699) on :
I've got it and have had it for a long time. About two years that I know. I've read a lot on this and it appears to be Bartonella and Lyme related. It got really bad for me but is better. I would hear a commercial or jingle, music, or something someone said and my mind would repeat it over and over and over. Its called Musical Hallucinations.
At one time I kept hearing "the old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,: Ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be!!!
This was after hearing my mother sing this. It was repeating in my head 24/7 for a week or more.
Another song: Ev Vogue No, you�re never gonna get it (Ow!) Never ever gonna get it (No, not this time) No, you�re never gonna get it (My love) Never ever gonna get it
It was crazy I was losing my mind!
I stopped listening to any music for a long 1 1/2 years. At night it was hell trying to sleep. I take Lexapro. It helps I still have it but treatment is getting better for me. Here is an article on this problem and Lyme disease:
Musical Hallucinations In Patients With Lyme Disease
Raphael B. Stricker, MD, Edward E. Winger, MD
South Med J 96(7):711-715, 2003. � 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Posted 09/12/2003 Abstract and Introduction
AbstractMusical hallucinations are poorly understood auditory hallucinations that occur in patients with otologic or neurologic diseases. We report the first cases of musical hallucinations in two patients with neurologic Lyme disease. Both subjects were women with clinical and laboratory evidence of chronic Lyme disease, progressive neurologic dysfunction, and abnormal magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. There was no evidence of hearing loss in either case. Musical hallucinations had a sudden onset and took the form of patriotic or operatic music. The auditory hallucinations disappeared with intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy in both patients, but the hallucinations recurred when IV antibiotic therapy was discontinued in one case. Response to therapy was accompanied by an increase in the CD57 lymphocyte subset in one patient, whereas recurrent hallucinations were associated with persistently low CD57 levels in the other case. We conclude that musical hallucinations may be associated with neurologic Lyme disease. These auditory hallucinations appear to respond to IV antibiotic therapy. Patients with musical hallucinations of unknown cause should be tested for infection with the Lyme disease spirochete.
IntroductionMusical hallucinations are a rare form of complex auditory hallucinations characterized by repetitive and usually uncontrollable musical patterns that are unrelated to external stimuli.[1, 2] Musical hallucinations have been associated with infectious agents, neurologic disease, psychiatric illness, and various medications.[1-8] Although visual and vocal hallucinations have been reported in patients with Lyme disease,[9, 10] musical hallucinations have not previously been described as a neurologic complication of this disorder. We report the first cases of musical hallucinations in patients with neurologic Lyme disease.
Case Reports
Patient 1
Patient 1 was a 66-year-old woman with a 7-year history of Lyme disease, which was diagnosed on the basis of a tick bite, presence of an erythema migrans rash, and positive serology (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot) for the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. At the time of infection, the patient was living in Sonoma County, California. Over the years, she had suffered from recurrent musculoskeletal and flu-like symptoms, and she had been treated with various oral antibiotics including doxycycline, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin. She took aspirin intermittently for pain, and she had taken a stable dose of estrogen since menopause. She did not smoke and she drank alcohol occasionally. Recently, she had developed progressive fatigue, short-term memory loss, and logamnesia. Physical examination was unremarkable, and neurologic testing confirmed poor object recall and word searching. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis yielded a positive test for B. burgdorferi by polymerase chain reaction. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multiple bilateral white matter lesions consistent with neurologic Lyme disease. Rapid plasma reagin testing was negative.
The patient initially refused intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy, and she was retreated with clarithromycin and amoxicillin. However, after 4 weeks of this treatment she noted the sudden onset of musical hallucinations characterized by repetitive playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The music was bilateral, constant, and woke her at night. She stated that one of her earliest childhood memories was hearing patriotic music, which she did not enjoy as an adult. Tinnitus was absent, and auditory testing (tone conduction and speech discrimination) was normal. An electroencephalogram was normal.
She was treated with IV ceftriaxone and her musical hallucinations resolved completely over 4 weeks. However, her memory loss and logamnesia persisted, and she continued on IV antibiotic treatment for 9 months. The neurologic symptoms gradually resolved, and she discontinued antibiotic therapy. A single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) brain scan performed after 8 months of IV antibiotic therapy was negative for perfusion defects. The musical hallucinations have not recurred during 6 months of follow-up. The patient's CD57 lymphocyte level was initially normal on oral antibiotics, and the level increased on IV antibiotic therapy (Fig. 1).
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
breaking up the article so this neuro lyme patient can comprehend this since i have this problem too .. betty
quote:Originally posted by bigstan:
Here is an article on this problem and Lyme disease:
Musical Hallucinations In Patients With Lyme Disease
Raphael B. Stricker, MD, Edward E. Winger, MD
South Med J 96(7):711-715, 2003. � 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Posted 09/12/2003 Abstract and Introduction
AbstractMusical hallucinations are poorly understood auditory hallucinations that occur in patients with otologic or neurologic diseases.
We report the first cases of musical hallucinations in two patients with neurologic Lyme disease.
Both subjects were women with clinical and laboratory evidence of chronic Lyme disease, progressive neurologic dysfunction, and abnormal magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
There was no evidence of hearing loss in either case.
Musical hallucinations had a sudden onset and took the form of patriotic or operatic music.
The auditory hallucinations disappeared with intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy in both patients, but the hallucinations recurred when IV antibiotic therapy was discontinued in one case.
Response to therapy was accompanied by an increase in the CD57 lymphocyte subset in one patient, whereas recurrent hallucinations were associated with persistently low CD57 levels in the other case.
We conclude that musical hallucinations may be associated with neurologic Lyme disease.
These auditory hallucinations appear to respond to IV antibiotic therapy.
Patients with musical hallucinations of unknown cause should be tested for infection with the Lyme disease spirochete.
Introduction Musical hallucinations are a rare form of complex auditory hallucinations characterized by repetitive and usually uncontrollable musical patterns that are unrelated to external stimuli.[1, 2]
Musical hallucinations have been associated with infectious agents, neurologic disease, psychiatric illness, and various medications.[1-8]
Although visual and vocal hallucinations have been reported in patients with Lyme disease,[9, 10] musical hallucinations have not previously been described as a neurologic complication of this disorder.
We report the first cases of musical hallucinations in patients with neurologic Lyme disease.
Case Reports - Patient 1
Patient 1 was a 66-year-old woman with a 7-year history of Lyme disease, which was diagnosed on the basis of a tick bite, presence of an erythema migrans rash, and positive serology (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot) for the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi.
At the time of infection, the patient was living in Sonoma County, California.
Over the years, she had suffered from recurrent musculoskeletal and flu-like symptoms, and she had been treated with various oral antibiotics including doxycycline, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin.
She took aspirin intermittently for pain, and she had taken a stable dose of estrogen since menopause.
She did not smoke and she drank alcohol occasionally.
Recently, she had developed progressive fatigue, short-term memory loss, and logamnesia.
Physical examination was unremarkable, and neurologic testing confirmed poor object recall and word searching.
Cerebrospinal fluid analysis yielded a positive test for B. burgdorferi by polymerase chain reaction.
Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multiple bilateral white matter lesions consistent with neurologic Lyme disease.
Rapid plasma reagin testing was negative.
The patient initially refused intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy, and she was retreated with clarithromycin and amoxicillin.
However, after 4 weeks of this treatment she noted the sudden onset of musical hallucinations characterized by repetitive playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The music was bilateral, constant, and woke her at night.
She stated that one of her earliest childhood memories was hearing patriotic music, which she did not enjoy as an adult.
Tinnitus was absent, and auditory testing (tone conduction and speech discrimination) was normal.
An electroencephalogram was normal.
She was treated with IV ceftriaxone and her musical hallucinations resolved completely over 4 weeks.
However, her memory loss and logamnesia persisted, and she continued on IV antibiotic treatment for 9 months.
The neurologic symptoms gradually resolved, and she discontinued antibiotic therapy.
A single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) brain scan performed after 8 months of IV antibiotic therapy was negative for perfusion defects.
The musical hallucinations have not recurred during 6 months of follow-up.
The patient's CD57 lymphocyte level was initially normal on oral antibiotics, and the level increased on IV antibiotic therapy (Fig. 1).
****************** very interesting; thx for posting this stan hugs
Posted by Beautiful Disaster (Member # 21882) on :
I've had this, before I even think I got Lyme. It's like the channel is changing in my head constantly and I can't turn it off. I hate it. Racing, racing thoughts. Almost to the point where I get stuck in it and can't do anything about my problems because I keep just "thinking" about them and then performing the tasks that I worry about is almost impossible, I freeze because it's so daunting.
Posted by njlymemom (Member # 15088) on :
possible bartonella
Posted by njlymemom (Member # 15088) on :
also mycoplasma
Posted by Cindy Ss (Member # 20797) on :
Ok I thought it was just me! Wow you learn something everyday from this website and its contributors.
For me during my first 2 weeks of Doxi this summer, Michael Jackson had just died and his music was on constantly.
One night I had the song "Black or White" going on and on and on and on and on all night long in my brain, I never slept that night.
It was like in the movie Ghost (if anyone has seen it) when Patrick Swaye was singing "I'm Henry the Eight I am" to Whoopie Goldberg while she was trying to sleep to get her to agree to help him.
Very bizarre I was afraid to listen to his music while on vacation. It has happend a few more times with other song but not quite so sever. I guess the abx are working for me somewhat in that area.
I will mention this to my LLMD on my next visit to see if he has ever heard of this from his patients.
Very interesting,
Cindy
Posted by knobs (Member # 21928) on :
I can handle the musical hallucinations but it's the unexplained thoughts that are really annoying!
Posted by Sarah182 (Member # 15774) on :
Same here.
Mornings are the worst. As soon as I wake up my mind starts going.
Thoughts just shoot into my head out of nowhere. It went away for awhile but now it's back and I wish it would go away again.
It causes a lot of anxiety...or maybe it's the other way around. Really don't know.
I don't have problems with the music though.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Does the dosage of the SSRI need to be higher?
I did not even realize I had this problem until it suddenly STOPPED.
Wow. What a novelty, for the mind to be still.
Carol
Posted by AnnaL (Member # 18464) on :
My experience with my SSRI was that I started out at a very low dose (25 mg) and over a few months, gradually increased it as I continued cognitive-behavioral therapy to learn coping strategies to re-direct my thoughts.
My current dosage is 175 mg (Zoloft). I had to be careful each time I increased the dosage because for a few days my symptoms would be increased. My head was buzzy and I felt ramped up.
But then after a few days, as my body adjusted, the increased dosage really helped.
It took a lot of fiddling with medications; luckily my psychiatrist was amazingly helpful and carefully considered what dosage/medication would work best.
-AnnaL
Posted by Renee K (Member # 21220) on :
I had this and it was stopped by using natural progesterone...before my doctor knew I had Lyme.
Recently he changed the cycle of the progesterone, having me off of it for a week, after a few days the symptoms started coming back
So something to do with hormones in my case.
Posted by Radha (Member # 8464) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
hugs