In 2001 I received an academic full scholarship to college and began pre-med/ Neuroscience studies. I walked on to the college rugby, soccer and baseball teams at 2 D1 universities. I was sharp, athletic, and on top of the world. I became very ill and depressed before the second semester started. At this time I had a 4.0 GPA.
I have had Lyme disease and/or its effects since January of 2002. It started with severe joint pain and mood swings. This was my first year of college and I was 165 lbs at 3.5% competitive snowboarding body fat.
By January of 2003 I was 128 lbs and very ill. I had suffered vertigo, depression, mania, loss of appetite, and extreme joint pain with redness from my elbow half way up to my shoulder. I attempted suicide this year by taking 36 Valium with alcohol. I was severely frustrated with my condition and state of mind and no sign of any help.
In December of 2004 I was diagnosed with Lyme disease by a doctor in Albuquerque NM based on an EQUIVOCAL test for Lyme. I was treated for 6 weeks with Doxycycline 500mg/day. After this period I retested NEGATIVE for Lyme. My joints had improved but pain and redness was still present. My depression was still strong.
In 2005 I was hospitalized for visual hallucinations, and I was admitted in a psychotic and paranoid state. I was placed on Seroquel and Depakote. I couldn't handle the drowsiness and the idea of "needing" these drugs to stop the hallucinations. I left the hospital and immediately stopped the medication. Since this time I have suffered violent nightmares, grotesque images when closing my eyes, dreams of people mutilating eachother, and extreme paranoia of people. I have
In 2007 (this year) I now run a successful fitness business that earns over 500k per year. I have everything I could want or need, except good health. I have had some kind of illness at lease once per month for the past 5 years. This month I have had severe abdomen pains, moments of painful heartbeats, paranoia, swollen lymph nodes, abnormal LDH, granulocytes, platelets, high red blood cells, high white blood cells, and joint pain again.
MY QUESTIONS
Did I really have Lyme disease?
Who can help me and where should I start?
Is all of this recent stuff due to Lyme disease? Could I be in relapse?
It seems like most of my symptoms are neurological. Is this a separate set of issues or related?
MY HISTORY OF SYMPTOMS SUMMARIZED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
joint pain intense fatigue loss of appetite social withdrawal depression weight loss vertigo hallucinations paranoia mania/depression (very rapid cycles) abdomen pain chest pain swollen lymph nodes
Posted by hillaryb (Member # 10049) on :
I can't answer all of your questions, but have you printed out & read Dr. Burrascano's "Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines" at the Ilads website? There's tons if great info, plus a checklist of many symptoms of Lyme: http://ilads.org/guidelines.html
It's very possible that you never killed all of the Lyme bacteria, and that your neurological symptoms are because of a relapse. It's also possible that you have an untreated co-infection or virus.
For help finding a doctor near you, go to the California Lyme group on Yahoo:
There are a lot of people from there from SoCal. Unfortunately, there aren't many LLMDs down here. I know of 1 in San Diego and 1 in Ventura. I have seen the doctor in San Diego & they might be good for you since you are very interested in health & fitness. PM me for more info.
Good luck finding answers!!!
edited to add: PM means "private message." To send one, click on the little icon of two people & an envelope.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
welcome lemon! i sent you my newbie package now by PRIVATE MESSAGE!
to read PMs, go to top of left hand corner under HELLO by flashing light or in my profile!
you need to get a western blot igm and igg test drawn and sent to IGENEX, CALIF. check my detailed info on that around pages 10-15.
in there are lists of symptoms by body sections, etc. look it over good!
we all get neurological the longer we have had this.
glad you saw my separate post to you; tried to catch you so you would get answers immediately vs. witing 1-2 for them! Posted by sfcharm (Member # 9392) on :
Posted by jblral (Member # 8836) on :
Have you joined the California Lyme yahoo group? If not, it's a good way to find support groups and docs in your area.
just want to make sure of my newbie package that you saw on page 1 about the 24/7 1-800 SUICIDE HOTLINE since you are having so many bizarre things happening to you and you mentioned your earlier suicide attempt. we are about you!!! Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by hillaryb: It's very possible that you never killed all of the Lyme bacteria, and that your neurological symptoms are because of a relapse. It's also possible that you have an untreated co-infection or virus.
Absolutely! Don't let a negative test stop you from proper treatment. Lyme is serious business. I doubt you were ever "free" of it.
You still had symptoms when you stopped the meds. You need to take antibiotics until you are symptom free for at least 2 months.
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