hi, i'm just curious about something. i;ve been posting alot trying to sort out my current medical condition and am wondering if there are any people who have been recently bit or diagnosed with lyme vs. people who have had symptoms for years and are finally getting treated. it's important to me, since i feel this early on in my questionable diagnosis i shouldn't have so many symptoms of chronic lymers and if i knew people were posting that were recently infected it might help me in the early course of this possible diagnosis.
thanks for any help karen
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Didn't you say you were bit one year before being tested for Lyme??
Posted by firepipersnurse (Member # 9637) on :
no, i don't even know if i was bit. i found two ticks on me and then peeled another "mole" off me. this all transpired in the past six weeks so i'm not sure if my symptoms are consistent with a new bite lyme diagnosis and am afraid i'm reading into chronic lyme posts consistent with my symptoms that may lead me to some other kind of diagnosis. sorry if i wrote i got bit a year ago but i don't think i did. karen
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Well, I'm confused by your question then. The symptoms for chronic lyme are the same as for "new lyme"...it's all the same....just the prognosis is different.
Posted by firepipersnurse (Member # 9637) on :
okay that helps. i just didn't know if someone just possibly infected would exhibit the same signs and symptoms of someone who was finally diagnosed years later. it seems my symptoms fit the bill, as they seem to fit the bill for a host of other illnesses however, they come and go and change daily. i just wanted to see if i was on the right track. basically, i'm just waiting to find out what it is i have. the waiting game is no fun. most times i think it's lyme, with the possible herx and all and then i start to wonder off and think, gee, maybe it's something else. thanks for replying, this site is incredible when it comes to responses, most sites see a "newbie" and you barely get one response never mind several like here.
karen
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by firepipersnurse: however, they come and go and change daily. ...... most sites see a "newbie" and you barely get one response never mind several like here.
karen
That's pretty indicative of Lyme.
Thanks....we try to take care of the newbies.
Posted by minimonkey (Member # 8693) on :
We've all been newbies at one time or another, even if we have been sick for years...
A lot of the mainstream literature will make it sound like there is a clear-cut first, middle, and late stage of lyme -- most llmds (and sufferers) say NoT SO! The symptoms can come on very quickly for some, in stages over several years for others.
Hope that helps
Posted by Virgil and Mary (Member # 9602) on :
For Virgil the tick was in his right arm and Right after the rash appeared he had terrible pain in his left leg. Things got worse from there. He is feeling better now but still has varying pains but nothing like those first few weeks.
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Many, many doctors said "You don't have Lyme because you don't have [insert symptom]."
Lyme is different in everybody. Lyme changes in most people. I've had Lyme for 19 years and the symptoms have changed repeatedly during that time.
I wasn't certain when I was diagnosed with Lyme, but it was the first diagnosis that felt right. I decided to try treatment and see what happened. The herxes made it clear to me it was Lyme. As have the improvements and the new symptoms that have arisen.
Posted by minoucat (Member # 5175) on :
In my years of LD/coinfections I've had a ton of different sx. The headache, confusion, fatigue, and joint pain were pretty constant; other sx came and went seemingly at random. This seems to be typical.
My husband got very very sick with the whole range of LD/Co sx within (we think) 6mo-1 year of being infected, with some symptoms appearing within the first 2 months. I, on the other hand, had a much slower onset, with fewer and less severe symptoms. Go figure. One difference is that he had multiple tick bites all his life -- perhaps the last one tipped the balance and somehow caused the illness to be much worse.
I now realize that a lot of my "LD" sx weren't from Bb, but from coinfections and, in the hubby's case, opportunistic viral infections and bacterial infections in the gut (from immune system suppression). You may have that going on for you, too.
One thing to remember in assessing your response to tx is that some chronic lymies are not treatment virgins -- they just didn't get the right treatment. And probably the wrong one (e.g., steroids to control the arthritis, or some of the right drugs in doses too low to kill the bugs but high enough to generate resistance).
These folks -- I are one -- tend not to respond as well to treatment. So don't get utterly freaked when you hear about us looooooong timers.
It's also astounding to find out how very differently people respond to both drugs and herbs, depending on their own body chemistry and genetics.
And finally -- "not everything is LD/Co" is an important mantra. You might have underlying and totally unrelated conditions that LD/Co are exacerbating. (assuming you do indeed have LD/Co}
Like many people, I did not test positive (in the strict lab interpretations) Bb or babesia; it was only my sx and my response to treatment that confirmed I had them and was on the right track.
Best of luck
Posted by robi (Member # 5547) on :
quote: my symptoms ............ come and go and change daily. karen [/QB]
Truly, deeply, utterly clasic lyme presentation. Have you been to an LLMD yet?
robi
Posted by Truthfinder (Member # 8512) on :
Fpnurse, I sure understand your confusion about "could I really have Lyme?" at this stage of the game. I went through the same thing even AFTER having a positive blood test.
And I know it seems like negative blood work for Lyme SHOULD indicate that you don't have it. But I hope you got straightened out on that part.
We here at LymeNet have lost a lot of our abilities, but talking is not one of them. Welcome to the board.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)