WEBSITE THAT I FOUND

[sam6386]

PRINT AND CIRCLE ALL YES ANSWERS ( 20 yes represents a serious potential and Lyme should be included in diagnostic workup )
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
The Tick Bite (fewer than 50% recall a tick bite or get/see the rash)
Rash at site of bite
Rashes on other parts of your body
Rash basically circular, oval and spreading out (more generalized)
Raised rash, disappearing and recurring


Head, Face, Neck


Unexplained hair loss
Headache, mild or severe, Seizures
Pressure in head, white matter lesions in brain (MRI)
Twitching of facial or other muscles
Facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy, Horner's syndrome)
Tingling of nose, (tip of) tongue, cheek or facial flushing
Stiff or painful neck
Jaw pain or stiffness
Dental problems (unexplained)
Sore throat, clearing throat a lot, phlegm ( flem ), hoarseness, runny nose


Eyes/Vision


Double or blurry vision
Increased floating spots
Pain in eyes, or swelling around eyes
Oversensitivity to light
Flashing lights/Peripheral waves/phantom images in corner of eyes


Ears/Hearing


Decreased hearing in one or both ears, plugged ears
Buzzing in ears
Pain in ears, oversensitivity to sounds
Ringing in one or both ears


Digestive and Excretory Systems


Diarrhea
Constipation
Irritable bladder (trouble starting, stopping) or Interstitial cystitis
Upset stomach (nausea or pain) or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)


Musculoskeletal System


Bone pain, joint pain or swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome
Stiffness of joints, back, neck, tennis elbow
Muscle pain or cramps, (Fibromyalgia)


Respiratory and Circulatory Systems


Shortness of breath, can't get full/satisfying breath, cough
Chest pain or rib soreness
Night sweats or unexplained chills
Heart palpitations or extra beats
Endocarditis, Heart blockage


Neurologic System


Tremors or unexplained shaking
Burning or stabbing sensations in the body
Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Weakness, peripheral neuropathy or partial paralysis
Pressure in the head
Numbness in body, tingling, pinpricks
Poor balance, dizziness, difficulty walking
Increased motion sickness
Lightheadedness, wooziness


Psychological well-being


Mood swings, irritability, bi-polar disorder
Unusual depression
Disorientation (getting or feeling lost)
Feeling as if you are losing your mind
Over-emotional reactions, crying easily
Too much sleep, or insomnia
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Narcolepsy, sleep apnea
Panic attacks, anxiety


Mental Capability


Memory loss (short or long term)
Confusion, difficulty in thinking
Difficulty with concentration or reading
Going to the wrong place
Speech difficulty (slurred or slow)
Stammering speech
Forgetting how to perform simple tasks


Reproduction and Sexuality


Loss of sex drive
Sexual dysfunction
Unexplained menstral pain, irregularity
Unexplained breast pain, discharge
Testicular or pelvic pain


General Well-being


Phantom smells
Unexplained weight gain, loss
Extreme fatigue
Swollen glands/lymph nodes
Unexplained fevers (high or low grade)
Continual infections (sinus, kidney, eye, etc.)
Symptoms seem to change, come and go
Pain migrates (moves) to different body parts
Early on, experienced a "flu-like" illness, after which you have not since felt well.
Low body temperature

Allergies/Chemical sensitivities



Maybe this will help some people so I decided to put this up...I seem to have a lot of these symptoms. I am still going crazy searching the internet for things :( I wish I could go back to being my old self again. My anxiety is taking over and wont stop.

[gorbybelle]

Thanks for the idea but I have done the baths - they do help a little - at the moment I am having horrible itching spells - prickly/nettle rash type itch - so am worried the baths might make this worse !!

this itching thing? could be 'herx' related - what do you think

[JackieCalifornia]

Gorbs,

This is a bit off the wall, but have you tried Epsom salt/magnesium baths or foot soaks?  It might help the muscle pain, but it might not.  

[gorbybelle]

I can easily circle 30 plus - of the symptom list above - had 'tick-bite' [removed tick] about 3.5 years ago.

muscle pain has always been my worst - unrelenting - symptom.

[wonko]

There are a handful of symptoms on this list that I never had, but I did experience the vast majority at one time or another during my Lyme.

7 months into antibiotics treatment and thankfully the list of daily symptoms is shorter now!

[sam6386]

Thank you so much for all that you have done!

[JackieCalifornia]

Think about calling your dr's office tomorrow and telling them that you are very anxious and give an example of how anxious you are ("I'm so anxious that I can't.....").  Perhaps they would prescribe something for you.  It's their call, I don't know anything about anti-anxiety meds, but given how you feel, a call to your dr sounds like a good idea if a cup of tea and a warm bath aren't doing it for you.  

I'm not a dr or medical person, I don't think anyone here is, so that's why you need to call your dr when you run out of coping techniques.  

[sam6386]

thank you so much for your responses. you are really helping me with all of this. my anxiety is off the wall...just I honestly cannot focus on anything what so ever right now and its crazy because I start my new summer classes tmw :( I don't even want to go. I can't handle this. When I went to the doctor she had said everything else was fine. But I am still worried. Maybe I do have this and my liver wasn't or isn't damanged that much to actually show up. (which really in my eyes wouldn't make any sense if I am having these symptoms for weeks/months now) Everyone is saying I am posting too much but honestly I do not have anyone to talk to. You guys have been so great and patient to me I appreciate it all. It has helped me a lot. I am sorry about my stress and anxiety but I cannot even control this. Its at that point that I am literally insane.

[JackieCalifornia]

Good for you for taking the (I know!) big step of going to your family, and doing the right things to get diagnosed and treated.  

Try to put the Hep C out of your mind until the day the tests are do:  you can't do anything else now than what you are doing, and torturing yourself mentally just wears you down.  Everytime it pops into your head, say to yourself:  "Okay, I will deal with that on [Thursday]" or whenever the appointment is.  

It's learning to 'self-soothe'.  You know how babies will adopt little mechanisms to comfort themselves, like rocking, or thumbsucking, or hugging a blankie or teddy bear?  Try making a mantra out of 'I will deal with that on Thursday' and then go do or think about something else.  When I feel overwhelmed by something, I realize it's because I feel out of control over it, so by putting the event into a box 'on Thursday', it re-establishes some control for me.  If you're religious, pray.  If you're not religious, try meditation (which is a form of prayer and vice versa).  Both help bring calm to the mind and body.

*IF* you do have Hep C, you will deal with it 'on Thursday'.  For now, focus on today; you have done everything you can, and leave the worry 'for Thursday'.  You can do it.

And it's good that you are not having unprotected sex, but I hope that using protection extends beyond just vaginal sex.  There is so much in the world that makes it seem like everyone who is a 'player' is having a lot of sex all the time, but don't be fooled into that.  It's just not true.  Think of yourself first and take care of yourself.  The rest can wait.

I've not taken doxy, so can't comment on that, sorry.  

[sam6386]

I have also been having dry skin sometimes on my hands and face and my eyes seem to be dry/itchy/blurry. do you think this is associated w.Lyme? and I am also on Docy for about 3 and a half weeks. Any insight on this?

[sam6386]

Thank you so much for your advice. It is just so hard I cannot tell them what I have done. and no I am not having unprotected vaginal sex anymore. I can't do that to myself all over again. I am just so upset and overwhlemed now that maybe I have Hep C. what if I do? how could I tell them that? I hate thinking like this and Im praying that I do not have this. I just honestly don't know what to do with myself anymore. I told them I had gotten tested for Hep. C and they already know about the Lyme. If I have Lyme I will be more then happy/grateful for that and I will thank g-d everyday.  

[JackieCalifornia]

I can tell you are having a hard time with all this, and anxiety makes the physical problems even worse to cope with.

Unless I have you mixed up with someone else, I believe you've said you're concerned about confiding in your parents about your health and your worries.

I totally understand:  when I was probably about your age, I felt the same way.  Now that I'm a parent, however, I know for absolute certain that I would want my child to confide in me, no matter what was going on, so that I could help.  Your parents might surprise you with how open minded they are.

If however you do not want them to know about activities you have engaged (or are engaging) in that cause you to worry about STDs, and you also have Lyme going on, my first suggestion would be to stop the STD-risk behavior.  If you need help to do that, then there are confidential places you can seek that help.  

Once the STD concerns are taken care of, then would there be any reason not to confide in your parents about the Lyme?

Carrying this burden by yourself is huge.  You are clearly a strong person, and you are trying very hard to figure it out, by getting yourself to doctors and looking on line and trying to think it through -- that is very adult behavior.

What is also adult, though, is to look to those who love you for support.  We can all talk among ourselves on this website, but there is no substitute for love and care from those with you every day.  It's not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength, to take that leap.

Your anxiety may lessen when you have that support, and your parents can surprise you.  Mine sure did at various times --

If you were my child and came to me, what could I do but take care of you and help you get well?  Very few parents would react differently.  Think about it.

Hope you're feeling better soon --

[mrs_k75]

I have been having the same raised bump rash as well. It disappears anhd reappears too. You're the first person besides myself I have heard of having this.

[margypops]

PS I get the raised rash disappearing and returning all the time.... also dermographism I thought it was allergies

[margypops]

I had a ton of yes,s all the ear ones eye one s I am certain its what I have now I need the anti biotics to get rid of it....Atleast I have been given a LLMD near me...and even if the darn Doc said he didnt think it was Lyme he gave me a paper order for a lyme teeter test and a throid test so I will check out tjhis at the Lab this week. seeing all those symptoms I get  made me realise, I dont agree that anxiety causes all these things it can be part of some I used to get anxiety but not now , I get a bit overwrought at times,

[sam6386]

I appreciate your help so much! thank you for everything! I have work now but feel free to messege me or comment on here. I will be back at 4. again thank you

[gorbybelle]

an LLMD. will make a diagnosis based on symptoms - tests for lyme are not reliable - also you will need more than 4 weeks of antibiotics - if treating lyme

I will do some reading on Hep C later - I don't know much about it, so can't comment on it.

pain around the 'bra' area is also common to lymies.

[sam6386]

usually the achyness from knee down is more bothersome when walking up stairs even just very slowly or when I take walks (trying to excersize but not over doing it) What have you experienced symptom wise? and treatment wise? How long have you had Lymes disease? has it gotten better or worse?

[sam6386]

sometimes yes sometimes no. things are on and off I guess. My achyness from the knee down is not that bad and my stiff neck seems to be better although it is  still here. I Have always had abdominal pain when doing excersize (on my right side) like my muscle is in discomfort usually from fast walking. The abdominal area still bothers me. Not like "oh I can't function or do anything but it is bothersome.) If I press on either side of the ribcage (where the ending of my bra is, its bothersome and sometimes I have pain there too.) It seems to travel pelvic pain was bad a few days ago, now its gone, but it was there before too...do you think I need more Doxy? on friday of this coming week it would be 4 weeks. Do you think Hep C has similar symptoms? From what Ive read it seems so... :(

[gorbybelle]

I am sorry I can not help you with your Hep C /lyme question.

your symptoms neck/chest/pelvic pain/'wandering' muscle pains/IBS/anxiety - all fit with lyme - are you feeling worse since starting 'doxy' ?

I had very bad anxiety after just a couplem of days on 'doxy'.

[sam6386]

Does Hep C cause a false positive test on Lyme Disease? I am so scared I have this....I am being a Hypocondriact I know but I really can't help it. I have had unprotected sex and it says its rare to get Hep C from that since usually is blood to blood contact but I am literally freaking out. The doctor said everything on my blood tests were fine but my stools are all messed up. Diarhea/constipation at times and my bowl movements seem lighter then usual (in color) I am totally going crazy. I want to just cry. My muscles all over my abdomin hurt I believe by the liver too and by both rib cages. :( evcen down below in the pelvic area these are on and off and seem to travel from one place to another. Sometimes more then one area at a time. What does this sound like to you :(

[gorbybelle]

anxiety alone can cause a lot of the above symptoms and anxiety is a big factor  with lyme disease - all the ifs & buts - the unknowledgeable docs. - the differing treatments - the unreliable tests - it goes on ....

my advice to anyone who remotely suspects they have lyme, is to find a lyme literate doctor [LLMD.}  - in my opinion this route will lessen any 'unnecessary' anxiety.