posted
Ok, reading this is making some things start to make sense now, here's the deal:
I'm 35, was in the military for 10 years and during that period of time was bitten by lord KNOWS how many deer ticks. Probably on the order of like 40 - 50 tick bites if not higher. One time I apparently sat in a nest of them and looked down to see that there were literally HUNDREDS of the little buggers crawling all over my body.
NOW, It's 6 years after I got out, and I'm dealing with back pain, neck pain, knee pain, foot and ankle pain, numbness, muscle spasms, I've had shingles twice and had a weird ulcer develop on my eye, I've got such bad pain in my hands and fingers that I can hardly use my PC anymore. I wake every morning with numb feet that start hurting and aching as soon as I step off the bed, My blood pressure is up, my cholesterol is up, I've gained about 15 pounds in the last 2 years. I'm an active guy and have 5 kids to chase around, I've always been fit and skinny.
I've had two cervical vertebrae fused so far with another on the watch list, had an MRI for lower back pain with no conclusive results. ibuprofen does little for me, BUT, on the occasional bout of antibiotics it all seems to go away temporarily.
I had a doctor suggest it could be lyme, and I had a test that came back negative... no idea what kind of test. Never had the rash that I recall from tick bites, but several times when I got a bite it turned into a huge welt, sometimes it was purple. ugh.
Is it possible to have all these lyme symptoms and have a negative test on the lyme? I had finished antibiotics for a sinus infection like 2 weeks prior to the test.
Thanks! Andrew
Posts: 2 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2007
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Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Dear Andrew,
Yes, there is alot of documentation, including peer-reviewed articles, that it is possible to test seronegative while actually having lyme disease.
Speaking from personal experience --
I have had two known tick bites, two clear bulls-eye rashes, all the symptoms, and a positive spinal tap, but never had a "CDC positive" blood test.
Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis, based on all the evidence: history, symptoms, clinical presentation, and tests.
You certainly had the exposures, and you certainly have symptoms consistent with lyme disease. I have had most of the symptoms that you describe too.
So in my opinion, the chances are pretty good that you have lyme!
Where were you exposed to ticks?
You should find a lyme literate doctor as soon as possible to evaluate you.
I hope this advice helps you to get rid of these symptoms. My joint pain is much reduced after months of lyme treatment, and my numbness is virtually gone, as well as the wierd eye ulcer, which I have had in the past.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Hey Vermont_lymie, thanks for the response, I was mostly exposed in the woods of Virginia here, we know that there are lots of ticks with Lyme here, my daughter had lyme from a bite(strangely, she developed shingles right after I did and she's 8!), and both my dogs test positive for it. Maybe I should go to my vet for a lyme test if theirs are more accurate!
Posts: 2 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2007
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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SForsgren
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7686
posted
Sounds pretty clear. I would get an IGeneX Western Blot and a LabCorp CD57 as next steps.
-------------------- Be well, Scott Posts: 4617 | From San Jose, CA | Registered: Jul 2005
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Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Hi Andrew,
Virginia is full of lyme! I hope your daughter had enough treatment for her bout of lyme. And your dogs too!
Yes, please make an appointment with a lyme literate doc -- it may be the best thing that you do for your family. Take care and best wishes.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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