Long time Lyme sufferer here, want to know if i still have symptoms???????

i used to be active posting here, but have not been in around 5 years.  i had lyme for 12 years before i was diagnosed, spent 3 years on many different abx, and stopped and have been better.  i was badly depressed and anxious and had terrible insomnia.  I now do not need anti depressants or sleeping pills.  i have discovered that treatment with abx lifted my depression more than any anti depressants did, but i still at times get depressed and anxious, my responses to stress are not the best, i get irritable, and sleep has never returned to what i remember it to be so long ago.  most nights i use melatonin, sometimes benadryl, it is rare for me to ever fall into a regular sleep scheudule.  My question is this: 

    Is there anyone out there who had experienced this?  You were undiagnosed for a long time, treated, recovered somewhat or mostly, managed to be off of abx for a long time, yet never returned to 100 percent?  i think i'm just looking for company and support now.  This time of year for me is hard, with the short days, which i think is still one of many things i find senstivity to.  Anyone else feel the difference or sensitive to short days, lack of sunlight kind of things?  i feel like i feel everything. 

 

Hi Tickinit - sorry to hear you're not feeling so great!

Have you looked into seasonal affective disorder? It's basically just a fancy name for "your brain gets depressed without enough sunlight." I used to get much more depressed around winter - I've never responded well to antidepressants but extra exercise and getting as much sunlight as I could usually seemed to help.

I'm in a similar situation as you're in now. I've been sick for many years now, and for a while I was much better - living a pretty normal life, etc. I never got to 100%, though - I would always still refer to myself as sick - and between stress and environmental factors I'm now back to square one. I know how frustrating it is to fight so hard for your health, think you're in the clear, and then start feeling worse again! It can be really scary!

I'd definitely suggesting doing something - whether it's looking into more Lyme treatment, finding natural remedies to boost your immune system, whatever you can do to make sure you don't continue to feel worse!

Sometimes depression and insomnia can become learned habits. We deal with them for so long that it's so much easier to fall back into old patterns even once we're better, especially with this time of year as a trigger! Do you think psychotherapy or antidepressants - natural or prescription - might help? You owe it to yourself to do whatever you can to feel better - you deserve it!

We're here for all the support you need :)

Hi Tickinit!

I have been off abx and all naturopathic treatments for a year now and am doing pretty well too, but still jumpy if I have so much as a little bit of a symptom that I had when I was sick so I absolutely hear you on this.

I do try to keep things in perspective - like what tired feels like now vs. what tired felt like when I was sick. Anxiety was one of the earliest symptoms I noticed so I do tend to keep an eye on that as well. But again, anxiety now compared to anxiety then and I think I'm pretty well in control most of the time.

If I were to notice anything coming close to the level it was when I was ill, I will be RIGHT back at my LLMD's office.

Good luck! I really hope you've beaten it!!!!