posted
I have stumbled across 3 or 4 references to
Crohn's and Lyme disease, all of them in passing
with little info.
I have also read several references to children
with congenital Lyme who manifest with
psychiatric and / or developmental issues such
as bi-polar, autism, profound depression, etc.
Again, in passing, no real details.
I've told you all about my daughter with
the "classic" Lyme symptoms who recently began
treatment. Now I am wondering if perhaps I have
Lyme and passed it to my 2 kids? Or am I just
seeing Lyme behind every bush and under every
rock?
In brief - I spent my life outdoors and have
pulled hundreds of ticks off myself. I worked
as a wilderness guide, just part of the job 20 -
30 years ago, no [known] worries then. I
developed "Crohn's" 20 years ago. I have had
the diagnosis reversed and been re-diagnosed
with it several times. I also developed
intermittent depression and intermittent
insomnia. I have aches and pains, some muscle
weakness, but nothing huge like my daughter
has. I have attributed it to aging. Also do a
word search thing, can't think of words but have
learned to compensate by picturing the object,
then picturing the spelling of the object, then
I can think of the word. I just wrote this off
as a brain-glitch. I'm quite functional now,
but there have been periods of several years
total, at different times, when I was completely
bed ridden with the Crohns.
Nicole (recently diagnosed with Lyme by an LLMD)
was born premature with an Autism-like syndrome
which eventually resolved (long story) and
developmental delays which also resolved.
Always sick with asthma and allergies.
Developed strange anxieties around 7 years,
became socially withdrawn. She developed full
blown "classic" Lyme symptoms around 13 year's
old, sick ever since, SERIOUS neuro psychiatric
involvement.
My son, also born premature, suffers from
profound depression and mild bi-polar disorder.
He is also very frequently ill. He catches
everything that goes around, particularly the
stomach flu and sore throats.
Is there a connection here, or am I getting all
paranoid and jumping at phantom boogie-men?
Dara
Posts: 93 | From Illinois / Ontario | Registered: Jan 2008
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
dara
yes, there are connections!
i'm pretty sure crohn's is 1 of the 300 OTHER ILLNESSES MIMICKING LYME; bi-polar....most mental illensses are caused by tick or co-infection bite too.
go to treepatrol's newbie links, found at top of medical. skim thru there and look for the name of ART DOUGHERTY!
he showed all 300 other illnesses related plus med links showing the similarities between example
lyme and crohns
lyme and bipolar
some of his wonderful links are gone; but he has a VAST NUMBER of well-documented facts!
since it's the time it is, might be good to go there and do some searching; you'll find it very rewarding.
i was so impressed by art's work when i 1st got here to lymenet! huge labor of love and hundred/thousands of hours spent doing this for the lyme community.
My daughter has Lyme and so does my granddaughter. My daughter has had a sore throat since she was 12 years old. Never tested positive for Strep. Like her MD always treated her for............hmmmmm
She was bit when 11. She is now 27. Been treated since 24. Undiagnosed for all those years.
My granddaughter was born with Lyme. Problems at birth and only weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. Her main symptom has been High fever, and vomiting, like the stomach flu. That is why your sons symptoms jumped out at me. She was diagnosed at 3 and is now nearly 6.
Just thought that might be of help.
I will say some prayers for your little ones.
HUGS and good luck,
-------------------- ICEY Posts: 468 | From Las Vegas NV | Registered: Jun 2005
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hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
Hi Dara,
You've found some important pieces of your family's health puzzle. All the symptoms you mentioned can be linked to Lyme disease, but it may not be.
I believe you and your son would benefit from a consult with a LLMD. You have a bunch of good information for the physician to work with.
After I was diagnosed I began reading about Lyme. I noticed the symptoms my husband complained about were Lyme sysmptoms. He didn't believe he had Lyme. But, he saw an LLMD for evaluation, had some testing done, and had a CDC positive Western Blot. Yep, he had Lyme.
My oldest daughter missed 19 days of school one year with a repeating 'virus'. She would get headaches, fevers, bright red cheeks, and would be sick for several days at a time. She started having seizures...non-epileptic seizures after surgery. She was evaluated by a PA at a LLMD's office. She was not diagnosed with Lyme at the time. On the trip home she had a cold, it morphed into the flu-like illness with a severe headache. She was diagnosed with Lyme one month after having a positive Elisa test dismissed by one physician as being "not positive enough." This diagnosis was about 7 months after her tick bite and rash. She didn't tell anyone about either the bite or rash...or the symptoms she began having. She thought they were just the normal aches & pains of an active teenager.
She had a 6 week bout of constipation when her digestive tract malfunctioned. The bacteria caused a malfunction in the nerve controlling digestion...like it was paralyzed or partly paralyzed. The digestive illness gradually faded as pain began to build in her body. Pain remains her most significant and limiting symptom.
My middle son and daughter got sick one fall weekend with different symptoms. One child had a high fever & an odd mosquito-bite like rash popped up, along with painful joints in his kness, elbows & hands; the other child had a full body rash that was a little itchy. Both ended up with migrating moderate to severe joint pain within a month and other seemingly unrelated symptoms. I took them to a LLMD for evaluation. One was diagnosed with Lyme. The other was not. The joint pain continued in both children, with pain so severe one child would stand still in public crying and holding her leg . The pain would be gone in 10 minutes and everything would seem normal. This child was diagnosed with Lyme 4 months after she began having symptoms.
My youngest son & daughter became sick with another set of symptoms that came & went...fevers, red ears, stiff necks, painful bones and joints, whiny & clingy behavior was not normal for them...again, to a different LLMD for evaluation...again a Dx of Lyme, but a long 8 months after their symptoms began. One LLMD evauated them earlier and thought they had symptoms consistent with Lyme, but kept putting off treatment, saying it was too dangerous to give kids that young medication. Allowing this disease to ravage their bodies unchecked is much more dangerous than treating with antibiotics if you properly monitor the children.
You may notice other symptoms in your family as you read more about this disease. You may also remember things from your past that semed odd, or didn't seem important then.
Follow the yellow brick road.
I'm glad you're here and you're learning.
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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