I have a lot of questions, and the more I start to research Lyme disease, the deeper the rabbit hole goes. Maybe some of you can help shed some light.
I’m almost certain my mother has lyme; she has the textbook symptoms and it’s scary to see how it’s affecting her cognitive ability. She’ll trail off in the middle of a sentence or not be able to recall common words. She can’t drive anymore and my father or I have to accompany her out so she has someone to hold her hand for support because of her balance, or just to step onto or off the curb because her joints and legs give out. The problem is, she won’t see a doctor. I know she has a lot of fear, but I don’t know what to do for her without a proper diagnosis. Every time I bring up seeing a Lyme specialist, she changes the subject so I can’t even have a conversation with her about it.
On top of that, I’m trying to figure out my own health issues. I returned from a trip to India October 2016 and was feeling somewhat ill, and tested positive for a common parasite. No big deal, it seemed to resolve itself without antibiotics or treatment. The worst of it was 1.5days in the middle of it where it felt like the flu, I was achy, couldn’t get warm, fever, nausea, weakness, and could barely stay awake I was so tired.
I got “better” but I feel like my energy levels never fully recovered. I was back up to maybe 85% normal energy. But over the past few months my energy levels have gotten worse. I thought it was just stress or depression brought on by coursework this semester among a couple other things going on at the time, but now that I’ve been on summer break for a few weeks I’m still seeing no improvement. It got to the point halfway through my spring semester where I couldn’t work out anymore because of how drained I felt, and even simple tasks like taking out my garbage or washing a few dishes felt overwhelming. This is totally out of character for me. I’m a very motivated, productive person and when I see something that needs to be done, I usually do it promptly. I’ve never had to turn in so many late assignments before, and all because I felt so stressed and tired and couldn’t focus half the time when I did sit down to work.
I really don’t know what to do, for my mom or for myself. I’m almost certain she has lyme, but she won’t go to a doctor. As for me, I honestly don’t know if I have Lyme, which is why I’m hoping someone can offer some advice. My main symptom is fatigue. Any other Lyme type symptoms I have don’t seem nearly as severe as I’ve heard many Lyme sufferers describe, and could be attributed to any number of other things, so I’m trying not to be a hypochondriac about it, but these are the symptoms I can recall. More frequent headaches (which I thought was from not sleeping well), frequent muscle aches in my back and shoulder areas even though I haven’t been working out, for a while I felt mild nausea throughout the day even though I wasn’t sick, occasional heart palpitations and twitches which I think everyone gets sometimes, I’m easily chilled, concentration problems, joints feel somewhat stiff in the mornings and my fingers especially stiff when cold (I brushed this off as a welcome-to-adulthood new reality of life), and the glands in my neck have been swollen for months. Not noticeable to others, but I can feel they are swollen. Has anyone with lyme also had rib discomfort? I don’t know if this is related or not, but my rib cage makes an odd grinding sound/sensation when I move certain ways, sometimes even making my breath wheeze in and out of my lungs when I’m not breathing. I don’t want to make it sound more dramatic than it is, because most of the time I brush it off when I’m having any of these symptoms, it’s only when I look back that I see a consistent pattern, and considering I would spend a lot of time outdoors in tick infested regions, and knowing now it’s very likely my mother has lyme, I thought I would look into it more.
What I’m asking is, should I be tested for Lyme based on these things? Is that a viable possibility? And what kind of test should I get? I don’t want to waste time and money on a test that won’t be effective, or test for Lyme if it’s something completely different.
I just don’t know what to do. I almost wonder if it’s in my head, but I feel trapped in a body that refuses to function at a normal capacity. My energy levels are around 65% at this point, with some days better than others. It’s frustrating not to be able to do what I’m used to doing, and it’s worrying me not knowing what’s wrong. Even if I’m barking up the wrong tree, I’d rather be able to rule out Lyme for sure and start looking for answers elsewhere.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
Hi Charissa. It is possible that you have Lyme Disease. I have Lyme and Babesia and do have rib pain. Lyme Disease can be a very individual disease. However, I am not a doctor, and the best way to know for sure is to be tested and see a Lyme Literate Doctor. The most effective test is the IGeneX Lyme panel with co-infections. Depending on your insurance/financial situation, this test can be nearly $1,000. If you are open minded about testing, I would recommend finding a practitioner in your area that uses Bioresonance Testing. This can find Lyme and Co-infections at a much lower cost. I spent over $5,000 in Western medicine tests before I went to an Asyra (bioresonance) practitioner who identified my Lyme and Babesia. My Asyra scan was $65. Then I took those results to a Lyme Literate Doctor who clinically diagnosed me. This is just my advice having traveled this crazy journey…