here is what i deal with:

i constantly need to crack my joints, particurally in all my fingers due to stiffness, and to a less frequent extent, my toes. i also feel the need to crack my knee joints due to a tightness or stiffness in them somewhat frequently. i remember throughout the last couple of yrs having some pain in my knees; a memory of gym class with squats against a wall and having knee pain build up comes to mind. similar knee pain that builds up occurs if i squat and crouch and put pressure on my knees. i sometime have shoulder pain when i yawn (just listing things, dont know if they all relate).

also a lot of times when i speak to another person, i have trouble expressing what i am trying to say, not being able to come up with the right words and thus taking longer to respond and speech that can take a while to get to the point. in math class last yr, i sometimes needed to go over a concept frequently in order to fully understand it and not "blank out" when it came to tests. my voice is rather monotone as well.

doubt this is related, but recently with my ears, it now seem likes the outer flap at the front of the ear canal needs to be pushed out with my finger in order to relieve discomfort.

please help and tell me if this could be lyme possibly due to the tick back when i was 11. i'm scared that i might have and it and die early or be disabled for the majority of my life. would i be showing more symptoms if it was due to this since i'm now 18?

It took me about 18 years to have major problems because Lyme. After this, I pursued testing and was diagnosed with a positive Western Blot. Before this, I did have symptoms here and there, but nothing serious. So, I think it's very possible to have Lyme problems appear long after the bite.

Try not to worry. If anything, get tested & find an llmd. I hope someone will come along with more experience related to your symptoms to tell you more about that.

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Bye for now,
SAK

Hi! I'm not going to tell you that you do or don't have Lyme Disease. I will tell you that if it is a concern - then you should get yourself to an LLMD (Lyme Literate Doctor) as soon as you can and they will run all the tests to find out if you have it or not. They can do blood tests and clinical evaluations.

I understand that you're scared. I got it in my early 20's. And the only tick I remembered having seen I was eight. I'm pretty sure I got bit by another one, though, and that's what it was from. So, you could have had a more recent tick bite that caused the problem, too.

Welcome

The thing is, if you do have Lyme, you are still young and will probably respond well to treatment.

Do you have any other symptoms other than joint symptoms and pain?

Do you have these symptoms all the time or do they seem to come and go in cycles?

You're best course of action would be to have a consultation with a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD).

See the link on the left of the screen "Lyme Disease Association, Inc." ? Click on that and you should find contact information. When you call the LDA they will try to find an LLMD as close to you as possible.

You can also post in the Seeking a Doctor section here at Lymenet. Have your thread topic say something like "Need LLMD near (put your state name)"

Here's some other links that may help answer some of your questions:

Treepatrol's Newbie Links, pg. 1

Tincup's links for new members

Dr. B's Treatment Guidelines Nov. 2002

ILADS Guidelines Summary

LymeNet Vocabulary

Try not to feel overwhelmed. There's a lot of info here. Please ask questions and let us know how we can help, okay?

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Tabby

I would definitely see an llmd. It is good that you have found this support group. Ask questions here and read.......

Hi there. I understand what you are going through. You have these things going on and don't know what it is and it is very scarey. Like slcd said, you are not going to die.

Take the others advice and look for a Lyme Literate Doctor. My family is all ill with Lyme and we travel all the way to NJ. We like our doctor very much. He is definitely in the know.

I am from Maryland also. I would be more than glad to talk if you want to. Just click on my e-mail icon above where you would make a post.

Good luck in your search for a doctor. If you e-mail me, I can give you some suggestions.

Just e-mail me and leave your number, if you would like to chat.

Take care.

When my daughter (now 24) was about 14 her knees started hurting her so bad she would cry with the pain. She was bit by a tick at

10, I am pretty sure that is the one that caused her problems as I have never seen ticks on any pets since that time. I am so impressed that you have figured the relationship of that tick to maybe having Lyme.

Have you had any other smyptoms, like flu type things, Headaches, nausea, pain in any of your other joints? I would get myself to a LLMD ASAP, no sense messing with it. This way you will know or be able to rule it out. DO NOT go to an Infectious Disease doctor or your Family doctor.

Take the advice of the previous posts here and learn what you can here and accept the help from the kind people that offer their information.

Good luck!!

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ICEY

I have all the symptoms that you described and then some. (I'm not sure what is lyme and what isn't.)

The joint cracking and relieveing the pressure, I've been doing as long as I can remember. I do that squatting down to fix my knees that freaks everyone around me out.

I think I had multiple exposures and it took many years to get to a level that was unmanagable; which is when I put it together.

I think my body was fighting it somewhat sucessfully for about 10 or 12 years.

Oh, also, I have TMJ problems and the shoulder and ear stuff is related to the jaw.

Don't know if this helps but I wanted you to know you weren't alone in these symptoms.

Take care!