posted
Has anyone here had, or heard of someone who has had, a stroke or permanent brain damage from Lyme Disease?
The left side of my body has been weaker since not long after being diagnosed (2002) and a neurologist told me that I had brain damage from my brain swelling from the Lyme (which was also causing my migraines.)
A couple of years ago I suddenly lost feeling in the left side of my body (face, leg and arm) and most of the use of it. It lasted for a few weeks before it started to slowly return, but it has never gone back to even where it was before this event.
My primary physician blew me off (didn't believe in Lyme Disease anyway) and told me it was all in my head (which I had to laugh about, because yeah most brain stuff is! lol) and there are no LLMDs in my area. So about a year later a neurologist (after sending me for a brain MRI and finding nothing - but still SEEING my symptoms) sent me to the pain management doctor I use now. He told me that one of two things had happened. HE believes I had a stroke (from the migraines which are caused by the Lyme) in such a small part of my brain that it can't be seen on an MRI. He said the other option is that the brain damage has gotten worse and that it caused all of the issues. He said he really has no way of knowing which it was unless I want him to autopsy my brain. HAHA
I'm recently divorced and have a 4 year old that I have primary custody of which has made me start thinking about all of this again...I'm terrified that if it was a stroke it could happen again when I'm home alone with her.... Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas?
Posts: 415 | From Canton, GA United States | Registered: May 2004
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massman
Unregistered
posted
I had a stroke in 2001 that I feel was lyme related. Apparently began to talk a bit screwy, friend took me to hospital.
Was totally out for 4 days, when I woke up I could not read (had been a compulsive reader for 40 years before that. Some days still spaced out, others not bad at all.
There are lesions that show on the MRI.
I feel that it is lyme related as I am from MA + spent literally almost every weekend + all vacations outside from ages 15 to around 33.
I meditated a lot after the stroke, some studies show it helps a LOT. Easy to do but takes time.
Could you teach your 4 year old how to call for help + what to do if anything happens ?
And are your docs yapping about low fat BS ?
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posted
My pain doc doesn't treat Lyme but he does believe that whichever it was, it's definitely because of the Lyme related migraines. Because of that (although he's always on my case about losing a little weight) he hasn't tried to blame it on my diet or anything (I'm not THAT overweight anyway...)
Do you ocassionally still feel like that side of your body is very weak? Also, does that side still ALWAYS "feel" less than the other side? What's funny is I can still feel the Lyme pain, but if you stick pins in me or any of those other annoying doctor tricks...I really don't feel it like I do on the other side...
I'm not sure if I can teach her or not. She's pretty smart, but honestly she's a little precocious...one of those kids you be afraid to teach to call 911 cause she'll do it then just because she knows how! lol And honestly, I don't KNOW what to do if anything happens. It took me almost a year to get any answers the first time and I just had to suffer through it and listen to my doctor tell me I was crazy...thank God for the neurologist that told me even though my brain scan was clean she KNEW that something was very wrong!
Posts: 415 | From Canton, GA United States | Registered: May 2004
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massman
Unregistered
posted
slcd said: "annoying doctor tricks..."
That is NOT a trick. It is part of an exam to test how well your nerves are conducting feelings.
Certain parts of the skin can show what nerves may not be working correctly.
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posted
lol I know it's not a trick. I just always tease my doctor that I couldn't feel it very well for the last couple of years and it's just annoying to my good side! :-)
Posts: 415 | From Canton, GA United States | Registered: May 2004
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TIA's do not always show up on an MRI. My brother probably had one of those probably 10 years ago. He became disoriented and had vision problems while playing basketball. His was not lyme related. He was only 35 I think at the time.
He finally got an appointment with an alternative medicine doc who gave him a couple doses of the bloodclot dissolving medicine they give to stroke victims. You are not supposed to give the medicine unless if it has been less than 3 hours since the stroke. He had the IV's 2 or 3 weeks after his episode -- was still having vision problems. He pretty much fully recovered except he had to go on high blood pressure meds.
A brain SPECT scan would give you more info than an MRI or an MRA but it depends a lot on the radiologist who reads it.
If it was me I would take something like Wobenzyme or lumbrokinase to help with bloodflow. Also all of the brain antioxidants you can afford -- things like vitamin E, good fats like flaxseed or fish oil, pycnogenol (pine bark extract), CoQ10, turmeric or curcumin, maybe even gingko.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
GNC here I come then!
Posts: 415 | From Canton, GA United States | Registered: May 2004
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Cass A
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11134
posted
Dear Slcd,
I got seizures from Lyme, and was unconscious for over half an hour one time. Other times, I was asleep, and my husband had to deal with it.
My LLMD recommended LUMBROKINASE, which is the enzyme that breaks up blood clots, and is given to handle strokes. I took that for about a year--it's a systemic enzyme so you take it at least 30 min before any food.
Rechts Regulat (you can get this in the U.S. from BioPure) works better as an over-all blood thinner.
Other herbs that work on the brain Bea Seibert wrote about here. I'd add Huperzine-A to that list--Buhner recommends that one.
Also, the brain is a very, very high-fat organ, so good fat, like coconut oil (I personally love Coconut Cream Concentrate) is important, too.
Another thing that has been talked about here quite a bit is hyperbaric oxygen. This could provide some of the healing levels of oxygen your brain and nerves need. I haven't done this myself, so can't speak from personal experience on that.
Best,
Cass A
Posts: 1245 | From Thousand Oaks, CA | Registered: Feb 2007
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