Almost there

[Stephen898]

Was wondering if any of you experience being very achy when you wake up in the morning. Once I stand up and start moving the pain subsides. I also notice that when I exercise or become hot from exercise it goes away. After 10mos of abx's  I am getting close to feeling normal again. My LLMD has me rate how I have felt each day on a scale of 1 to 10.  At the beginning of treatment I was 4's and 5's for the first 3-4 mos. and very slowly started getting better. In recent months Flagly got me to 8's and 9's. I seem to be hung up at 8's and 9's with achiness, slight neck stiffness and facial nerve sensation. My ear ringing is a lot less now. Getting back to my original question I had two thoughts. Could be inflammation that settles from sleeping or I still have that 97.7F body temperature which I understand that a low thyroid can create some of these symptoms. Some people say that 97.7F is the low end of normal and considered normal. Any thoughts?

[gorbybelle]

good to hear you have improved quite a lot - I get morning stiffness - [more often than not] - something that seems to help me is using a 'loofah' or similar in the shower to improve circulation - it is wierd but sometimes excersise helps and yet can also make me feel worse !

hope you are soon feeling a '10' .

best wishes - gorbsx

[patsy10]

I have those morning issues as well.  It has never really gone away.  I have aches and pains all day long too but morning is the worst.

I think it's inflammation or damage from the bacteria but I don't know for sure.

I am very happy about your progress.  Sounds like you are on the road to recovery.

[wonko]

I think it is a consequence of inflammation.  I have very similar to what you describe.  I wake up stiff/painful, and can start to "gel" if I sit too long without adjusting.  But moving around helps it a great deal.  Just how stiff I am, and just how much movement it takes to loosen up, varies for me.  

Morning stiffness is a "hallmark of inflammation" according to the rheumatolgist I saw before my diagnosis.  I've had blood inflammation markers (SED and c-reactive protein) come back high, too (though I think lots of people with Lyme have inflammation that doesn't show up in the blood work).

My bilateral joint pain/stiffness was one of my last major symptoms to present before I began treatment, and seems to be one of the more persistent now nearly 7 months into treatment.

I don't have an exceptional body temp.

I'm glad to hear about your improvements at 10 months, it is very encouraging!

[JackieCalifornia]

Sounds like you are make great progress!  That's very good to hear.

I was very achy before I started treatment, but it subsided over time.  By the time I was on Flagyl, I had no more body aches.

I assume you were tested for coinfections?  If not, that might account for some of the symptoms you continue to have.

My LLMD keeps saying I have low thyroid, but I tried the thyroid meds and they upset my stomach, so I said let's just wait till everything else is sorted out and then I'll think about thyroid meds.  However, at my most recent dr visit, my thyroid was looking better.  Hard to tell what's up.  If your dr wants to try you on a course of thyroid meds, you might think about it just to see what happens.  When at my lowest, my temp is in the 96s, when feeling good, in the 97s.  Haven't seen 98.6 for a looooong time.

For a while I was having neck creaking but it's gone now -- it seemed to me it might just be garbage (dead bacteria; random fluid) trying to find its way out of the inside of my head, but that's just speculation.

Again, good for you to make such excellent progress.  It's very heartening, besides being really good news for you.