I have a question I've always been wondering. Does lyme cause Fibro symtoms? Are they two separate things? Can you have both? I know you can have Lyme, which can cause Chronic Fatigue.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I think it causes the symptoms of Fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with FM for 20 yrs before I found out it was really Lyme & Babesia.
Gluten intolerance can also cause a lot of the same symptoms.
My pain is gone except for damage done to some of my joints. I used to hurt all over. (muscle and joint pain)
After Lyme & Co treatment I still had some pain and after going gluten free, all of my remaining pain left.
SOMETHING causes FM.. and I think it's infectious in nature. In most cases, TBI's.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and it went away with Lyme treatment.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
i thought lyme was fibro..
Posted by cactus (Member # 7347) on :
quote:Originally posted by sixgoofykids: I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and it went away with Lyme treatment.
Ditto.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I had fibro symptoms for 25 years, starting 10 weeks after a known tick bite. It turned out to be Lyme disease transmitted by that tick.
I have been able to stop all fibro pain with 150-300mg/day clindamycin abx. We're all different when it comes to which treatments work for us.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
There seem to be 2 types of fibro patients:
1) a more mild case of fibro that never progresses to additional lyme-type symptoms. It just stays the same year after year.
2) a case of fibro that just adds more and more symptoms as time goes by, including affecting intellect and memory.
Cases of #1 type of fibro are often resolved by taking an antidepressant. I have a friend who got rid of her long-standing fibro this way. Once she got so depressed, she went to a good psychiatrist and got put on Prozac and her fibro miraculously went away! She has to stay on the Prozac or it comes back.
Cases of #2 type of fibro are actually lyme disease.
I once heard a woman say that she could see the 2 types of fibro cases in her fibro support group. Also, I heard a doctor on the radio say that about 1/3 of all fibro cases are caused by depression and an anti-depressant will clear them up.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
One LLND gave a presentation and she said 95% of all cases of Fibro she's seen seems to be Lyme-related (i.e., Lyme treatment makes the Fibro symptoms go away).
Other things can mimic Fibro:
Magnesium deficiency - can cause muscle pain, cramps, spasms, among other things. In my case, what was diagnosed as Fibromyalgia actually went away when I started taking more magnesium than what was in my calcium supplement...so the ratio of 2:1 Cal. to Mag. was not sufficient for me.
Hypothyroid - may be subclinical; slows metabolism (including energy metabolism in muscles, leading to muscle pain).
Chronic Dehydration - can cause widespread muscle pain, especially in people who have other mineral/electrolyte imbalances.
Consumption of products containing artificial sweeteners - Nutrasweet (aspartame) is a known cause of neurological issues; studies show it is a known neurotoxin. I would not be surprised if other artificial sweeteners also fall into this category...
Food intolerances/allergies/sensitivities - sometimes these can also cause muscle/joint pain and other issues commonly mistaken for Fibro. (including depression! Kudos to the person who posted about gluten, as gluten is known to cause depression in some sensitive individuals).
Mitochondrial malfunction - what may actually be some form of mitochondrial disorder (mild) may manifest as muscle pain, fatigue, weakness, etc.
Other autoimmune disorders may also be misdiagnosed as Fibro...thinking specifically of MS here, but also things like Lupus and RA may also mimic symptoms of Fibro.
Chronic infections - includes Lyme, EBV, CMV, and others - often can cause toxin buildup and damage to joints, muscles, connective tissue, etc.
Adrenal Fatigue - may lead to similar symptoms as Fibro in some people.
And I'm sure there are others that could be added to this list...
It would be interesting if those who respond well to antidepressants actually had orthomolecular analysis to find out what imbalances are actually causing their symptoms instead - obviously a deficiency of antidepressants isn't the true cause, and I would be surprised if any of them could come off the antidepressants and stay healthy until whatever imbalances are actually treated (nutritioinally, usually).
Just my $.02...
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
The people who take antidepressants for fibro are actually suffering from depression. They wake up numerous times throughout the night as part of their depression.
Doing that will cause the symptoms of fibro in any healthy person. I have not only read studies on this, but it happened to me when I had a severe cold that stuffed up my nose terribly for weeks. I woke up all through the night due to not being able to breathe. It is a form of sleep deprivation that the person is suffering from. You never get into the deep REM sleep which is a necessity for health.
The antidepressants give them normal sleep, so the fibro symptoms go away.
That is my understanding of what is causing their fibro symptoms. But, the true cause of their problems is depression.
My friend is actually depressed and needs the Prozac to be in a normal state of mind and to sleep properly. So, that is how it functions in her case to keep fibro symptoms away.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Both of you are exactly correct!
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
I had pretty severe fibro. symptoms that went almost completely away with lyme tx.