I'm enquiring about a friend and wondering if his symptoms sound like lyme disease.

Bascially he's been a very fit guy for many years - lots of cycling and running etc. Hes had some trouble over the years with his sacro-iliac joint and lumber region. The chiropractor helped him in the past giving, telling him he had one leg longer than the other and giving him a lift to wear on his short leg. In the last 6 months however this pain has gotten much worse and he is now unable to exercise - finding walking difficult. His doc beleives it is a disc problem - the chiropractor tells him that his SI joint is out of place on one side. The doc is telling him he will need an operation, but he doens't really want one.

Lately he has also been getting nerve symptoms down his legs - numbness, burning pain and uncontrolled contractions.

Anyhow - I'm just wondering if maybe he has undiagnosed lyme disease. Its not common in this part of the world but hes lived places where it is. I would like to pick your collective experiences and brains before suggesting this to him (I don't want to say it if its totally unlikely).

It sounds like this friend has a herniated disc...I'm not a doc just a lymie....

Lyme could be the etiology that causes many things to go wrong in our bodies....ms,lupus.als, etc...
It's always a good thing to check out all possibilities if for nothing else to rule them out.
Back surgery is never a sure thing cuz they don't know enough about it....
IF it is lyme abx's may resolve the pains...then you will know for sure even without a lyme test.............zman

You may want to run the symptom list by him to see if there are things that he is experiencing that he may just not be aware of. It would be impossible for any of us to say for sure with this one...but, if in doubt, it is always best to be educated and evaluated by a doc that specializes in Tick Borne illnesses.

Symptom Check List: http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/021063.html

You are a good friend...
My best,
Melanie

yeah his doc thinks its a disc problem but I'm not convinced. On his docs advice he quit exercising and got much worse than before which seems odd if it was a disc problem since hes removed the main stresses from his back. I don;t know about other sypmtoms - I know he had IBS like problems in the past but was able to control that by changing his eating habits. Are IBS like symptoms associated with lyme disease ?

Sorry, we use the short version for many terms here, and it is confusing at times!
ABX is short for antibiotics. This may help you with abbreviations:

Abbreviations for Lyme-speak: http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/020494.html

I have SI problems and I plan to have this surgery in the future. After listening to the dr at the seminar, I KNOW I will never have conventional surgery for an SI or spinal problem!

Check out this website.....
www.laserscopicspine.com

I was VERY impressed with the procedure and the doctor.

Your friend might have LD or a tick borne infection. Good idea to give him the symptom list and have him note what is wrong.

I think all PTs and Chiros tell people they have one shorter leg! I've been told that and I know others who have been too.

I would never, ever recommend back surgery. I know too many people who were far worse afterwards.

Sounds as if there is much exploring to be done.

I am new to posting on here, been here reading for a long time though.... My Daughter has Lyme and has had it for 14 years and was "officially" diagnosed in March. She was a competitive figure skater during the whole time she has had Lyme but worked through the pain since it was "sports" injuries that was causing all her problems and pain. She went to physical therapy 4X's a week for her SI problem. It got worse with treatment. Since she was such an active athlete and skating puts lots of impact on your body, the DR's always said that it was skating related. She can't skate any longer nor can she teach the sport she put her whole life into. She has had every test known to humans and all were OK. Her chiro said after years of treatment perhaps she had fibromyalgia (she was 14) I am not a speciaist by any means, but I would sure have your friend get a WB test before he lets anyone cut on him. By the way, we live and have lived for my daughter's whole life in areas where there is NO Lyme Disease.......So they say.

Good luck