Tell me about your joint pain! How/ when does it hurt?

[bluebird4500]

Hi everyone,

The reason I ask is because I never really considered that my knee pain I get sometimes could have anything to do with Lyme, but now I'm wondering.  I always just attributed to me having a weak body. My friends would laugh at me, saying I was like an old lady.

When I would get knee pain, it would be if i did the treadmill, walked really fast/ intensely, or biked.  Or the other day when I did an aerobics class. It was my first one and my knees felt hot inside and sore afterwards.

The pain for me using just feels like pain, like the joint or bone or something. Sometimes hot inside.

So my questions are:

1) Do they hurt ALL the time?

2) Or do they hurt with mild/ vigorous exercise?

2) What does it feel like when they hurt?

Thank you, and sorry for all the questions! Just trying to arm myself with as much information as I can for my next doctor appointment with my Lyme doctor.

[JackieCalifornia]

fwiw, bad knees is one of the classical symptoms of Lyme -- even nonLLMDs recognize it, and it's sometimes called 'Lyme arthritis.'  

If you google/search for --

lyme arthritis knee

-- you'll find lots of mention of the condition in medical papers etc.  

Unfortunately nonLLMDs will sometimes focus on the knee symptoms and not realize the more subtle effects Lyme is having on the brain and other body parts, as well as on hormones and the endocrine systems (thyroid, etc.).

I think I've read that the reason the knees are popular with the bugz is that they love cartilage (which has low blood flow compared to muscle, for example) so the immune system doesn't go there as much, giving the bacteria safe haven.  

I've read here and elsewhere that one reason blood tests for Lyme tend to not show the infection after a while is that the bacteria migrate into tissue and out of the blood stream, and of course it's blood that docs tests. "Tissue" would include cartilage.  

(Lyme bacteria also have the ability to cloak themselves in a slimy shield called a biofilm where the immune system can't see them.  I don't know if biofilm is classified as tissue, tho I'm thinking not ... it just goes to show how sneaky the bacteria are, and why medicine is having such a hard time coming to grips with it.)

[Ricobord]

I haven't had any joint or muscle pain or arthritis.  My primary complaints have been neurological (brain fog, cognitive & memory problems, headaches, ringing in my ears, loss of sense of taste), GI problems/pain, rib pain, a few vision problems, tachycardia, and side effects of Lyme, such as deficiencies in magnesium (that caused twitching), vit B12, and Vit D.  

Sorry I can't help you on comparing the knee pain.  If you do have Lyme, I guess you'll find out if the knee issue is Lyme or week knees when you get better! :). It could even be both.

[mojogal]

I agree with Jackie. Everyone is different in how their Lyme presents itself. I have joint pain at different time with no rhyme or reason. The Lyme doctors, when they don't have a positive test result, has to just go by the symptoms. I have tried to stop putting myself in a certain category because it never works.
Good luck to you.

[bluebird4500]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah, I have a slew of other cognitive problems that I believe are Lyme related- brain fog, confusion, anxiety, bizare stress reactions (that have randomly gone away lately), word recollection problems etc.

The knee thing, I am just not sure if it has anything to do with anything, or whether i just have weak knees lol.

But yeah, it does seem that Lyme really is so different for every person.

[JackieCalifornia]

One certain thing about Lyme is that it is different in everyone.  Everything else is up for grabs.

Some of us have more neurological (brain) effects, others have more body aches and pains, and some have joint problems (often knees) as a main complaint.  That's part of what makes it hard for docs who don't truly understand Lyme to come up with a diagnosis.  

So I'd say just listen to your own body and make notes when you notice a symptom, then take the list with you to the doc.  What matters is what you feel.  

Since maybe half of people with Lyme also have other diseases that the same ticks bring, it's important for the doc to know all *your* symptoms to deduce whether you might have one of those 'bonus' diseases, because those infections often need different meds from Lyme.  I had Lyme and babesia, which is like malaria; others have bartonella, and a few others.

So just stick with how *you* feel, and don't try to make it fit into a standard model.  I found keeping daily notes were important, because my memory was so lousy when I was sick.

Hang in there!