posted
Is there a point in Late Lyme where if you hadnt received treatment by then, certain conditions become irreversible. I know that Lyme can cause MS and other serious health problems. I figured that if Lyme had reached the brain or affected the nerves, then it was most likely damaged permanently. is this wrong?
i know a guy with lyme who has a serious droopy eyelid and hes on abx's now but i wonder if his eye can go back to normal. my left eye is sort of like this, justnowhere near to the degree that this guy has it.
Posts: 723 | From boston,ma | Registered: Jan 2011
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Good post Katrina, very interested to read replies!
Posts: 158 | From canada | Registered: Jan 2010
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
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posted
Lyme gets into all lyme patients brains and affects all lyme patients nerves. It is essentially a disease of the nervous system. And, the brain is part of the nervous system.
I had undiagnosed lyme disease for at least 10 years before a doctor figured out what was wrong with me. Burrascano type treatment got rid of all of my symptoms, including the extreme muscle weakness (a nerve symptom) I had had continually for over 5 years.
Burrascano type treatment got back the brains of 2 of my girlfriends who had had lyme for years and years (at least 20 years, misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia).
So, you are wrong thinking that nerve symptoms and brain symptoms are permanent. I had bells palsy(a nerve symptom) for 3 years and it suddenly went away one day all on its own. This was before I even got lyme treatment.
One of my girlfriends who had gotten really "stupid" due to lyme disease asked the lyme doctor at the first visit if she would get her intellect back. The doc said that if she ocassionally had periods of mental clarity, then the doc would guarantee that she would get her brain function back.
My friend had not had mental clarity for a long time. Nevertheless, she got her brain back entirely with treatment.
All of my friends and I were treated by Burrascano type doctors. So, this is the type of treatment that has gotten the results I am speaking of.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
Yes, lyme and other tickborne diseases can cause permanent damage -- either directly or indirectly. Some people have vision loss or hearing loss or even heart attacks. Others have neuropathy which may or may not heal.
Very few that end up on a ventilator ever recover. Some parts of the body regenerate better than others. People with ALS type symptoms seem to have a worse prognosis.
There is no way to know in advance who will or will not recover and to what extent. It could depend on genetics or past medical history or a million and one other factors.
People who develop dementia because of niacin (B3) deficiency do not always recover -- depends on how long the problem went undetected. Tickborne diseases can act the same way in my opinion.
All you can do is do your best to eat healthy and avoid toxins and find the best doc you can. But a lot will depend on you. If you smoke or drink then you are stacking the odds against recovery. Educate yourself about nutrition and tickborne diseases and keep a positive attitude.
Good luck.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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It's a good thing to keep in mind that many people who are struggling with tickborne illness are not just dealing with Lyme disease but the effects of other coinfections as well. I've been studying coinfections - polymicrobialism is the condition of having coinfections - and learning that their presence makes Lyme disease harder to beat in a number of cases. Differences in Borrelia strain and coinfection strain varies and produces different symptom presentations as well as severity.
As I've been on treatment, a lot of symptoms improved or went away with treatment for Babesia (which I had a positive smear test for) and symptoms like neuropathy in my feet improved. Judging from what I've read from others, many people experience improvement and some may have residual damage in terms of cartilage in the knees and other joints. It depends on the individual.
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Oh, and sorry to leave this out, but I have read some people have trouble with their heart - a certain percentage do - and I am not sure how lasting that damage is. Leslie Wermers is said to have died of a heart attack in her sleep, if I recall correctly - and that may have been Lyme-related. She was in "Under Our Skin" and barely over 40 when it happened.
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