Hello Everyone!
For over 20 years I’ve been experiencing muscle pain, fatigue, mental fog and arthritic pain especially in my knees, hips and shoulders and loss of any feeling in my fingers and toes. I’ve seen literally dozens of doctors that attributed these issues to traumatic injuries occurred during my military service.
In July of this year, I started to experience extreme weakness in both legs. In August I woke up one morning to find my right leg paralyzed, no feeling at all on my skin, but a burning pain on the inside of my thigh and couldn’t feel my testicles. I spent a week in the hospital, had a Spinal Tap and was diagnosed with Diabetic Amyotrophy, given pain killers and released.
Two weeks later my General Practitioner called me and said I need to start with Doxycycline for two weeks because I was positive for Lyme Disease. I took the Doxycycline for two weeks and still had extreme neck and shoulder pain, still couldn’t feel my fingers or toes and still had extreme pain in my right leg, couldn’t sleep and still had mental fog.
I was re-admitted to the hospital and was immediately put on IV anti-biotics. The next morning the lead doctor took me off of the IVs and said I needed to have another spinal tap. I took the second spinal tap and was put back on the IV anti-biotics.
The next morning, the lead doctor took me off of the IVs again, told me I was crazy and discharged me from the hospital, none the better.
My GP sent me to Regensburg University Hospital who conducted neurological tests on me. The tests involved inserting needles in my thigh and shocking me with electricity. They also did blood work. The University doctor called me that evening and said tests indicated that borreliosis was still active in my body and put me back on a three week Doxycycline regimen. They also put me on steroids and medicine for extreme depression.
After all this, no relief! I found a Lyme Specialist who really seems to be Lyme Literate. He took me off the steroids and put me on a six week regimen of Roxithromycin, Infecto-Trimate and Pantoprazol. He said that I’ve had Lyme Disease for years, maybe decades and the borreliosis had attacked my root nerves and could have caused my arthritis symptoms.
He is very concerned about my condition and said that if this six week treatment doesn’t work, I’ll have to be admitted to the hospital again and have 28 days of IV therapy. He’s also leveled with me and said it might take months or years to get relief from this disease or it might not ever go away.
The last time I was bitten by ticks that I know of was during an Army training exercise in 1993. This is documented in my military records. I was treated for weakness and confusion in 2008. This is also documented.
Is it possible to have had this disease for 27 years and not know it? I haven’t been able to work since August and while some of the pain has subsided, it still exists. I still cannot walk without a cane, I can’t sleep, can’t feel my fingers or toes and one more thing: When I wake up, I have debilitating pain in my hands and feet. I can’t get out of bed without my wife’s help and need her help to get dressed.
This is really hitting me HARD because I’ve been an “action” guy my whole life. Sometimes I just start crying for no apparent reason. I just can’t explain it!
Thanks for reading my story and if you can offer support, I’ll gladly take it!
Thanks and God Bless!
Craig