questions:

is it normal progression of the disease to have musc spasm come later? nerve pain? osteo arthritis? does the Bb make you more susceptible to these some how?

and the biggie: i suspect my minerals are all out of whack...but how do i figure out what i need?

i have been following dr. b's supp protocol from the beginning.

i'm a 54 yr old woman---have been "changing" for a year or so---do hormones affect the mineral balance?

i've been hypoglycemic since i was 16-but had it under control...it seemed better as i got older. now it's ok if i eat right-but cravings are worse.

I've seen a lot of posts from people who were in remission, then had surgery and all their Lyme syptoms kick up again. Perhaps the stress on your body from the surgery was enough to kick it up again.

Hormones and minerals are all related, and I'm sure some of the pros will be along to answer your questions. The cravings - is it sugar cravings? Lyme loves sugar, and I know I got kicked really hard with those cravings when I finally started abx. Don't give in to the cravings. It sucks, but you have to do it.

In the meantime, if I were you, I'd get myself to a LLMD as fast as possible. Not all LLMD's are familiar with the herbalist approach, so you may want to consult a professional herbalist as well. Post on seeking a doctor and be sure to specify your state and area in your title.

Testing can be very inaccurate, as you may have seen from posts to this site. A true LLMD will make a clinical diagnosis of you, and not rely solely on test results. As you've had it a long time, your body may just be too tired to produce antibodies to the tests.

Hang in there. People care.

I'm sorry but I don't have any answers or suggestions for you. I'm new to this lyme diagnosis and fairly new to this board.

I just want you to know that I'm keeping you in my prayers. I know it must be frightening and frustrating to start having symptoms again after feeling so much better. I do know (from my own experience and from posts on this board) that healing from this disease is usually a slow process with steps and leaps forwards and backwards.

Hang in there. Most of us will get better--with time and work.

The Bb will cause different symptoms than the Lyme. But, there is always a lot of cross over. It sometimes seems when people post symptom lists for different co-infections, that it's really the same list in different order.

What are you craving? I'm a believer that if you are craving something, it is either something your body needs or something within your body needs.

If you are craving sweets, it's probably the second. Some believe Lyme can cause sweet cravings because it thrives off sugar. Yeast can definitely cause sweet and carb cravings to help it live.

But, if you are craving things like spinach or chocolate, your body might be in need of minerals. Chocolate has minerals, but we usually mix it with so much milk and sugar it's too diluted.

Sorry you are doing badly, so am I and it is devastating. Except I only felt good for a short time.

My whole body is falling apart with this disease. At one point I had so much breast milk, looked like I had my breasts done and my shirt would be wet. Totally destroys hormones and nothing has been showing up on tests except overactive thryoird for a short period of time, due to oversupplementing of iodine. My fault but I knew I had underactive thyroid before I knew I had lyme.

I had muscle spasms so bad that all my muscles stuck to my body and I looked like I had lost 20lbs in 2 days, total convulsions and spinal cord vibration. Suspected co-infecionssss from the start and still do.

Have heard many times people relapse after surgery. Late lyme is for life as far as I can see. Can't be ignored, has to be addressed and managed, and always considered when feeling bad. Have to watch what you eat, drink, lifestyle habits etc. Stress management bigtime. Surgery is not natural, body sees this as a assault, lyme sees the weakness and invades.

After my c-section is when the real trouble started for me and then contracted a virus or bacterial infection that let it thrive and I am fighting desprartley to fight this and am having trouble.

And I am a young 33 and it is kicking my ass.

Had my minerals checked and they were completely out of whack. Some were so low, like seleium it was a wonder I was alive at all and didn't get every virus floating in the air we breath. Doctor said multi vit/mineral. Metals are high too. So much going on cant' keep it all straight.

I would say see your llmd and see what he says, cause tests are unreliable.

I would just do what you know has worked in the past and see your doctor. I know it is hard. Very difficult disease to deal with and there are so many other factors involved. I think not just other tick borne disease, but other viruses we come in contact to like herpes family of viruses and never mind the increasing amount of bacteria out there, especially antibiotic resistant ones that are not managed well either.

Hope things improve and you get some answers soon.

what kind of test do you use to test minerals? how accurate is it?

and how do you figure out what to take when they are so inter-related. i have a really good llmd-but he won't know about this.

Also did your LLMD ever use the CD57 count to determine your recovery?..a count of over 180 consistently helps prevents relapse, shows the immune system is built up again.