Lyme Symptoms

Stage 1: Early localized infection (1-4 weeks):

In the early localized stage, the infection is not yet spread throughout the body. The person may or may not experience a rash as a result of the tick bite. The rash is usually circular and gets larger over time resembling a bulls eye; however, this is not always the case and the rash can present in different ways. It is believed by many Lyme specialists that less than 50% of the people who get bit by a tick will develop this rash or even know that a tick bite occurred even though the IDSA and CDC estimate this number to be 80-90%.

Symptoms may include possible rash and flu-like symptoms such as:

• lack of energy
• headache and stiff neck
• fever and chills
• muscle and joint pain
• swollen lymph nodes
• general "ill" feeling
• light-headedness and fainting

There are many people, who have stage 1 early localized infection that do not display any symptoms at all. And most of the time, if a person does have symptoms they are disregarded as just a passing case of the flu and the symptoms are not associated with a tick bite or the possibility of a tick bite. In my case, I had gone camping the last week in October 2010 and the following week I developed some flu-like symptoms (no known tick bite) which I treated with over-the-counter medications. The symptoms resolved in 4 or 5 days and I was back to my usual self. Two weeks later, I received an H1N1 flu vaccination which that night, triggered an allergic response of burning, itching and tingling in both hands and feet only for me to awaken the next morning with a severe case of arthritis in EVERY joint in both hands and feet. And here began my journey...............

Stage 2: Early Disseminated Infection (1-4 months):

The second stage of Lyme disease is known as early disseminated Lyme disease, which means that the infection of bacteria is beginning to spread and is affecting certain body functions.
Problems can include:

• numbness and pain in arms and legs
• fatigue
• paralysis of facial muscles (usually on one side of the face)
• meningitis, fever, recurring headaches or faintings
• poor memory and reduced ability to concentrate
• abnormal rapid heartbeats (palpatations) or in rare cases, serious heart problems.

Stage 3: Late Persistent Infection :

If Lyme disease is not promptly or effectively treated, damage to the joints, nerves, heart, and brain may develop months or years after you become infected (this is often referred to as Late Lyme Disease or Chronic Lyme Disease).
Symptoms at this stage may include:

• swelling and pain (inflammation) in the joints, especially in the knees but can effect any joints
• severe fatigue
• numbness and tingling in the hands, feet or back
• more pronounced neurologic changes, including problems with memory, mood, or sleep, and sometimes problems speaking.
• chronic, often migrating, pain in muscles and joints.

Heart, nervous system, and joint symptoms may be the first signs of Lyme disease in people who did not have a rash or other symptoms of early infection. Because many of the signs and symptoms of Lyme Disease are subjective and vary from person to person, diagnosis often gets mistaken for other illnesses resulting in improper diagnosis and treatment. And for many, they are simply discarded as "depressed" and referred for a psychiatric evaluation.

For me, over the course of the next 14 months, my symptoms increased in severity and I went on to develop chronic fatigue, fibromyalgias, memory loss, increased anxiety over simple things and horrible insomnia. The sysmptoms migrated in location and severity from day to day and week to week. I went from riding my road bike 500 miles in 7 days to a run down mess not having the energy to get dressed and brush my hair!

Below is a chart which depicts how Lyme Disease can mimic many diseases and conditions

This all makes for a disasterous formula

Improperly educated physicians = flawed differential diagnosis

Differential Diagnosis is a systematic diagnostic method used to identify the presence of an entity where multiple alternatives are possible. Differential diagnostic procedures are used by physicians, psychiatrists, and other trained medical professionals to diagnose the specific disease in a patient, or, at least, to eliminate any imminently life-threatening conditions.

If physicians and other health care professionals are being taught and mislead that Lyme Disease does not exist in certain areas, then diagnosing someone with Lyme Disease is not even a consideration of the health care professional when evaluating their patients!

I just wonder how many people have Lyme Disease and don't know it or have been told they have one of the illness mentioned above when, in fact, they may have Lyme???

To answer my own question, in the last few months, my physician has now diagnosed MULTIPLE patients in his own practice with Lyme Disease. He's doing this because now he understands the disease and knows that Lyme does exist in Arkansas and across the country. He begain re-assessing his patients who have fallen into many of these catagories with their symptoms but had negative test results to support a diagnosis. He began to see that many of these patients, in fact, do have many things in common with multiple complaints across the body systems. Western Blot testing was done which came back in support of Chronic Lyme Disease! This is one physician's practice......imagine how many people are suffering which can be helped with antibiotic therapy! Does this story sound familiar to any of you?

If I can get across anything to someone reading my blog, if you or a loved one have any of the above symptoms, especially if you have more than one, and you feel like because of them your life is being taken away, please watch the documentary "Under Our Skin". It just may give you your life back!