What are the chances that Lyme is present for a long time but the symptoms are very severe? Specifically can someone have Lyme from a bite back in the 70's or 80's and slowly notice symptoms that are not as severe as many experience on this site? Thanks
Posted by geo (Member # 18333) on :
Matt - I do believe this is possible based on your overall health, immune system, diet, lifestyle etc. Lyme can also go "dormant" or into cyst form and wait for an opportune time to come out (weakened immune state). I believe it can also be retriggered by vaccines (for example, the Lymerix vaccine was known to cause this) and via steriod injections for pain relief.
Posted by Tim in PA (Member # 29363) on :
I believe I've had Lyme for at least 3 years now. However, I was only diagnosed 6 months ago and until quite recently I had no symptoms that I was aware of. My symptoms were so mild that I didn't notice. It took a skilled doctor to notice the subtle signs and the subtle irregularities in my blood work. So I think it is possible to have chronic Lyme without having very severe symptoms.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
For sure. I was bitten as a child.. had many health problems over the years but managed to teach school for 21 yrs before Lyme stopped me in my tracks!
It took another 6 yrs before I was diagnosed and treated.
Posted by tick battler (Member # 21113) on :
YES. I am a good example of someone who lived with it for many years. I always had stomach issues since I was a teen (which recent parasite treatment really helped) and had knee arthritis pain right after college which I thought was from overuse as a college athlete. But a few months later I also had a high fever and muscle aches in my legs for about 6 months, which gradually went away. Then I thought I had chronic fatigue since I had dull headaches and dry eyes and just felt tired. I became a very light sleeper.
I went on with my life and it gradually got better but the random aches and pains never went away. If I didn't exercise, my body would become very stiff and sore. I had a full career (but did develop carpel tunnel in my arms from typing on the computer) and then relocated to PA where I for the first time noticed a couple of tick bites over the years. I started having very vivid nightmares where I would open my eyes and hallucinate for a minute until I totally woke up. I also would have night sweats for the first time. I would feel awful if I got less than 7 hours sleep. My stomach became worse. I suspect that I had added babesia to my infection load at that time.
I got married and then after delivering my twin boys, I developed carpel tunnel again and was so sore and stiff and exhausted. My feet became numb and tingly and I couldn't wear sneakers for a year because they were too tight. I gradually felt a bit better and then finally realized I had lyme after my twin boys and my husband became very sick. I never became as sick as they did, but I tested positive for it and know that all of my issues over the years were due to lyme.
I feel that much of the population is infected but that symptoms can range from none at all to being bedridden. I feel it depends on your genes and detox capabilities, immune system, load of infection, environmental factors and many other things as to how ill you become.
tickbattler
Posted by MattH (Member # 30846) on :
Tick Battler, do mind if I ask how you attacked your lyme and how long did take to recover? Did you go after parasites as well? Thanks
Posted by tick battler (Member # 21113) on :
I did Humaworm parasite cleanse first and that really helped my stomach but I have had to do other parasite treatments since (Caprasite was best for me). I tried taking some abx for a couple of days and had terrible bloating, nausea and nightmares. Considering I was already feeling OK, I was not willing to get much worse during treatment since I needed to focus my attention on healing my family.
My kids and husband did 2 years of abx and made some improvements but then plateaued. I then found an alternative practitioner who did electrodermal screening and used Nutramedix herbs (Samento, Cumanda and Burbur) and GSE to heal the disease complex. We all went on the herbs and gradually got better within a year with not too much herxing. I feel it was the herbs and healed us. We are still working on mineral deficiencies and leaky gut (candida) but the machine shows that the lyme and coinfections are gone.
It was the EDS machine that helped me stay the course, as I didn't see improvements in my family for a couple of months. The EDS machine would show the infection load decreasing with each visit. And it could tell us if certain herbs or meds were actually killing the infections.
Hope this helps.
tickbattler
Posted by 365SunnyDays (Member # 29969) on :
That describes my experience exactly -- I've had Lyme for years and years, most likely. And I always had fatigue and some weird ailments. But not until I got very run-down by working and exercising non-stop did I get more ill, with autoimmune and other more serious conditions. All that seemed totally unconnected until a wise doctor connected all the dots.