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Hi all!

this past May, I missed work due to what I thought was just a virus. I was waking up at 3 am with deep aches and pains and stuff muscles along with a stomach and headache. Day 2, I went to the urgent care (because my work wanted a doctors note) and she did some tick titer tests and gave me doxycycline to take for 14 days. I did not have rash nor a bite mark that either of us saw. Symptoms rapidly increased over the period of that day and the next 2 days. Had a fever off and on, and just really severe pain all over. I was unable to eat or sleep. The doxycycline made my stomach really upset as well. A week later, urgent care called and said that my lab results showed Lyme disease and that I should go see my regular physician. So I did (at this point its about 2 weeks out of initially having symptoms) and he seemed weary of it actually being Lyme disease but said I should be on the antibiotic longer and gave me another week or so worth (so that I would have 21 days of antibiotic).

Fast forward to now... I have noticed over the past month or so that I am increasingly fatigued and am having a hard time getting good deep sleep. I also have noticed that I am having a lot of back pain and other weird pains that I can't explain or typically don't have. For example, I've had bad wrist pain for about 4 days now to the point where i'm wearing a brace to keep from moving it. No explanation for why I am having these pains or fatigue. I am wondering if this could all be post-treatment lyme disease or if it is more likely something else? and if so, what can be done about it. thanks!

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First, I would like to apologise for taking so long to reply to your post; somehow, I changed my alerts and wasn't getting my messages! I feel really bad about that. :-(

How long has it been since you first had symptoms? It is possible to have a tick bite and not really notice it. They usually like to hide, and some can be quite small and hard to see. The bites themselves can also be well hidden, so it is possible to have Lyme or PTLDS. I would follow up with your primary doc, do a little research from reputable sites about Lyme, PTLDS, and see what tests they did and what the results were, and see if they recommend you seeing a specialist. I'm sorry that I don't have better answers for you, but it seems like you need more information on what it really going on.

What you can do now, is start preparing for your first appointment by documenting what is happening. There are some good, free apps for that. You want to keep track of your pain, and how it affects your ability to function. For example. I have lower back pain that really affects my sleep quality, or I have pain and swelling in my right knee that gets worse when i stand for more than 30 minutes, walk, and makes stairs difficult and risky. If you're still having GI problems, keep notes on that as well. You may want to try a bland diet for that: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tapioca, Toast, Yogurt (BRATTY). Make sure to note ifdiet changes help or not. This information is really helpful for your doctors.