It's gotten to where it's a general over all....all the time pain or burning. Alcohol seems to help it a bit

Interestingly, my suspicion is that, for me, it is not the GI system per se, but rather the innervation to the GI system. In fact, at the start of this relapse, I had non-stop vomiting. After 4 weeks of this, they stuck me in the hospital and did several tests. Among them were scopes, both upper and lower. The GI found that I was having seizures of my GI tract, something he had heard of but never before seen. They gave me seizure medicine and the vomiting promptly stopped.

My initial illness was meningitis (I was diagnosed by a spinal tap positive for Bb), and so my CNS has been severely affected. So not terribly surprising that more nervous system stuff would be happening just masquerading as things such as GI and cardiac stuff.

Mine has been burning again since April (it started back in 2000) about a year after my first lyme syptoms appeared only they didn't know what I even had back then. If you find anything that helps or just need to lean on someones shoulder with all this, feel free to email me.

In addition to neurological and cognitive sequelae that one would expect from such an infection, I've got a few significant cardiac problems, eye issues, and several GI problems (in this current relapse). I also have a mystery pancreas problem which may or may not fit into the story I'm about to tell...not sure yet...

Now we know the eye stuff is related to the brain stuff (we've actually been able to measure the progression and resolution of the inflammation in the visual system as I improve and relapse). And a long time ago, when I first had cardiac issues, a LL cardiologist in NY (btw, he was one of the guys that diagnosed Clinton's heart problem -- how's that for six degrees of separation?) did lots of testing and determined that it was the preganglionic innervation of the heart that was problematic. For non-neurologists, that just means it wasn't the heart itself, but rather the part of the nervous system that goes to the heart and tells it what to do that was messed up. I've also always had significant Gi issues, but typical Gi tests fail to find anything significant (except for another GI bug I picked up along the way).

Now this relapse, I have gobs of neuro stuff again (and a screwy spinal tap). I have even more cardiac stuff, but again, it seems to be less about the heart itself and more about the innervation of the heart (this according to another cardiologist, not LL this time, but similar impression). And this non-stop vomiting I had ended up being due to seizures (that is, a neurological cause as opposed to something wrong with the actual GI parts, and I was put on klonopin btw).

Now I'm having gallbladder stuff but no stones are showing up... am wondering if it is spasming b/c of neuro input problems again. similar hypothesis for other issues (including the heart related chest pain and so forth). So, in short, I'm wondering if 90% of my symptoms, while located all over the place, are actually caused by those stupid bugs still in the NS.

The CNS & PNS (peripheral nervous system) inervate everything in the body, so indeed, the brain is (indirectly) connect to the stomach, intestines, lungs, heart, you name it. So, when they are finding that the organ or body part that is messed up or in pain is not having problems directly, on occassion we are finding it is the inervation of those organs/body parts that is problematic and those problematic body parts that haven't been tested yet, well now I'm just down right suspicious.

Cranialsacral Therapy and/or Massage Therapy can really help with this.

Everything in the body is connected. It all makes sense.