Does lyme cause mood issues/rage

Hello it’s been quite some time since I posted but I’m needing to vent and perhaps understand my current situation. I’m still sick with lyme and haven’t found a way to reach remission.
I stopped taking antibiotics for about a year and symptoms came back last year with a vengeance. Spent about 9 months back on antibiotics and a lot has cleared but some symptoms remain.
Right now I have constant head pressure and facial pain. I believe it’s becoming a mental situation. I’m irritable and can never sleep.

So I’m not looking to make excuses but maybe some clarification on my current situation. I’ve been seeing a new partner that also has Lyme disease. Mostly in remission. It’s only 3 months. An extremely fast paced relationship. Anyhow when I don’t feel well I go into a safe place in my mind and kinda shut out the world. She claimed to understand and said I’m not going anywhere I know it’s 100 percent the Lyme. So this happened a few times. 3 to be exact where I needed some space and I became quiet. The last time I actually didn’t get back to her for a few hours. And we ended up not talking til the next morning. She said she could not take it anymore. We remained a couple. But she was no longer the same. I felt alone and she was fading away from me. Well about a week later she called me and I actually yelled at her and called her some names. I’ve never done such things in my life. I’m quiet and calm. I really don’t understand what happened. Like I said I’m not looking for excuses for my behavior. I’m accountable. But we are no longer together she broke it off at that point.
Can Lyme manifest in such ways to create rage and irritability?? Has anyone had symptoms like these?? I lost someone I love from my actions.

Post Edited (Mb02) : 10/21/2024 2:32:52 PM (GMT-4)

i have experience of a relationship where we both had lyme and bartonella - and rage issues really blew up - and this was in a person who was normally warm, loving, empathic and tended towards giving the benefit of the doubt etc
but after we got sick would switch from normal to completely uncontrollable rages over things that should really have been possible to talk through.

in this case i was on the receiving end.

i figured out fairly early on that it was the illness that was making the rages happen - but of course the cause of the rage always had some basis in reality and they were always very specifically aimed at me - as the person somehow responsible - or blamed - so no matter how much distortion had taken place to cause the rage reaction or how obvious it was that the illness was driving this - while in the rage my partner could never see this was the case - to her the rages were absolutely justified in that moment - so we still had to deal with it as an issue - which was challenging to say the least.

these rages would take a massive toll on her and afterwards she would be depressed, filled with guilt over what she had said and done - often for days or even weeks - it was a cycle.

often to even suggest that she might be having some kind of rage / exaggerated reaction - and it would be a good idea to do some of the breathing exercises or lie of the floor with her legs up ( more on this later ) would simply make her incandescent with even more extreme rage!

bartonella is well known to cause these type of effects - it seems to cause excitotoxicity in the brain that triggers some kind of inflammatory storm in the brain that makes it super reactive - then once you start to get agitated it causes even more overstimulation and worsens the whole thing in a kind of chain reaction thats hard to shut down in the moment. its mostly biological rather than psychological.

most people with Lyme and or bart will have some degree of this - whether its just being a bit more irritable or intolerant then before - or things like sensitivity to noise and light - its all part of the same effect.
its just that some people get the extreme rage thing.

some things that helped us get it under control - it still happened - but less frequently and we had more of a plan of how to deal with it when it did:
1, talking it through and coming up with a plan to deal with it in the sane and balanced times - so we were better prepared - this involved my partner accepting it was an issue - and then discussing what we could do about it as preventative etc - of course to do that she had to accept that it was happening in the first place - and that it was not a justifiable reaction due to someone else's actions or lack thereof.

2, preventative supplements - we found L-theanine ( increases the anti-exitory neurotransmitter GABBA) took the edge off the volatility and had no real downsides - so she took this 200mg 2x a day - ongoing

3, acute treatment - pasque flower tincture - 10 drops per hr during episodes - until they subsided
this came from stephen buhner - the well known herbalist - i don't know how much it helped - it may have been an anticipatory effect - but it helped to have something to do that seemed to help when it was most extreme

4, a bizarre one - often the rages just wouldn't stop - she would attack me verbally - and anything i said or didn't say or do would cause her to just keep getting more enraged - i used to be concerned that it was doing her long term harm - or that she would harm herself. a cardiologist suspected low blood pressure episodes due to POTS could be involved ( drop in blood pressure to the brain can cause a cortisol surge dumping the person into instant fight or flight mode ) and to try lying on the floor with the legs up ( eg on a bed or chair ) and arms out to the sides - this helps restore blood flow to the brain
amazingly - this worked every time - at least to get her out of the intense rage - but getting someone in an incandescent rage to stop raging long enough to do this was another matter altogether.....

ref your girlfriend - if they have lyme they are likely open to understanding that it comes with a wide range of symptoms including psychological ones - that are different for everyone - so i would say talk to them about it
explain what you think is going on - but not as an excuse.

if you want to repair things - you will still need to acknowledge what happened - and how it must have felt for her
you will need to accountability for what you said or did - and make sure they understand you are not passing the buck
then when you have a common understanding of the issue - there can be some kind of reckoning - and perhaps what to do about it going forward
if you want to move forward together - that might include some steps to manage the issue similar to the above.
approach like this you may find that your partner has more compassion than you expect.

in the end - they can chose to forgive you - or not - but you cannot lose - as you will feel better either way

i hope its of some help