here is a list of possible Lyme symptoms

1. Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills, or flushing
2. Unexplained weight change--loss or gain
3. Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina
4. Unexplained hair loss
5. Swollen glands: list areas____
6. Sore throat
7. Testicular pain/pelvic pain
8. Unexplained menstrual irregularity
9. Unexplained milk production: breast pain
10.Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction
11.Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido
12.Upset stomach
13.Change in bowel function-constipation, diarrhea
14.Chest pain or rib soreness
15.Shortness of breath, cough
16.Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block
17.Any history of a heart murmur or valve prolapse?
18.Joint pain or swelling: list joints_____________
19.Stiffness of the joints, neck, or back
20.Muscle pain or cramps
21.Twitching of the face or other muscles
22.Headache
23.Neck creeks and cracks, neck stiffness, neck pain
24.Tingling, numbness, burning or stabbing sensations, shooting pains
25.Facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy)
26.Eyes/Vision: double, blurry, increased floaters, light sensitivity
27.Ears/Hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain, sound sensitivity
28.lncreased motion sickness, vertigo, poor balance
29.Lightheadedness, wooziness
30.Tremor
31.Confusion, difficulty in thinking
32.Diffculty with concentration, reading
33.Forgetfuiness, poor short term memory
34.Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places
35.Difficulty with speech or writing
36.Mood swings, irritability, depression
37.Disturbed sleep-too much, too little, early awakening
38.Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol

here's my story
www.ildf.info/page3

With time...it gets better.

Trout

Have the same problems as you do. All the same chemicals that you mentioned. It just about drove me nuts. The smell of bleach, gasoline, household cleaning products, glues, etc would make me feel instantly insane, and shakey. Good luck, the MCS stuff is a nightmare.

You've located what I'd call the definitive article. It's all in there. My dx was the metallothionein (MT) disorder they mention in the article plus undermethylation, which was determined through a battery of tests at the Pfeiffer Clinic near Chicago, also mentioned in the article.

I am familiar with much but not all of what is in the article because PST deficiency is really at the root of the MT disorder. They say that heavy metal accumulation is actually a RESULT of PST deficiency.

The fundamental goal is to get more bioavailable sulfur into our systems. Mg supplementation is needed with PST -- where have we heard that before? So if lyme also depletes Mg, that's a double whammy for PST'ers. And leaky gut is a part of PST. Where have we heard about leaky gut and yeast? Maybe it's PST deficiency chronic lymies need to overcome to get over lyme.

We also want to cut our losses on phenols, as you suggest, absolutely. Shun food colorings and flavorings. You might find an old Feingold cookbook at a second-hand bookstore that would help with that. For more severe cases like autistics, or when we're having a flare-up of sensitivity, a gluten-free/casein-free diet is in order, or at least a yeast-free diet (not too dissimilar).

I've been good about avoiding food coloring, but I forgot about syrups, and this article specifically mentioned vanillin. Someone slipped me a vanilla latte' not too long ago (before I read this article) and my head spun for hours thereafter.

This and other articles I've read mention that up to 32% of the caucasian population is genetically predisposed to some degree of PST deficiency, and many of us chronic lymies have also wondered about heavy metal issues (mine was actually diagnosed). Maybe it's actually the PST-prone population, who is predisposed to heavy metal issues, leaky gut, and chemical sensitivities, that is particularly prone to suffering from lyme, moreso than people with different genes.

It's definitely something to think about. That article will give you the tools to help yourself, and you can decide which ones you want to try.

Good luck,

My mother and I use to laugh - although it is not funny - about an exterminator that, because he liked me, would come to my apartment and spray almost continously - this of course made me so sick, and that is when my Lyme symptoms reached its peak and I was basically bedridden for a year.

I have just begun my second family of antibiotics and with my first dosage, I had a sleepless night of heart tachy and palpitations and breathlessness - This too, I believe, is due to my chemical sensitivity - I'm really not sure how to even proceed if I can't tolerate any antibiotics.

And I definately have a wheat/gluten (not sure which) problem - my head will go blank - very spacey and then for hours my heart will race. I'll also get exzema on my hands from it.

I can't go in a pool - If I do, I'll break out in a gross rash that will itch incredibly due to a bad chlorine allergy.
So, yes, the long and short of it is I have horrible chemical sensitivities with Lyme...

The inability to tolerate chlorites in a pool is part and parcel of the PST deficiency. Chlorite is a substance that interferes directly with the suflation process so necessary for detoxification.

Please do yourself a favor and get real cozy with the information in the article posted by ibrakeforticks.

Anyone else get this too? I would like to read the article since I can't go near chlorines now either.

I was doing hot water exercises followed by spa & that's when my rashes started....

my LLMD: "well there could be some stagnant lymph that we have to clear. Take these homeopathic products (they contained alcohol that made me worse)

Then he said that we need more anti-biotics.
So I took flagyl and I had some mild herxes and a little head clearing. The chemical sensitivity was still there very strong.

Now im on Plaquenil. Had this for a year strait.