Posted 11/2/2012 7:32 PM (GMT -5)
Hey all,
I have a strong suspicion that Lyme disease may be the cause of my mysterious ailment. I had a severe allergic reaction to a tick in November 2010, however the reaction was relieved quickly with anti-histamines and i never exhibited the typical bulls-eye rash. However, I do live and spend alot of time tick prone areas, and get bitten frequently. (Another time I had atleast 20 ticks covering my crotch and abdomen). In 2011 I suffered from a very mild fatigue and mild brain fog, however the worst issue of 2011 hit me mid year when I began having heart palpitations during nervous situations. Prior to these I was an extremely nerve-free, outgoing individual who never had anxiety issues. Is anxiety a symptom of Lyme? Not anxiety of other symptoms manifesting but anxiety in itself.
I travelled to South America for 4 months from end of November 2011 - March 2012 with little problems. I was doing 12 hour + hikes at altitude and faced no problems with fatigue. However, I did develop a strange symptom of Urinary Urgency and frequency, this made long bus rides dire.
When I arrived back I went straight to university, despite still suffering from anxiety, I was an overall a positive and happy individual with symptoms of mild fatigue and a mildly foggy brain. I exercised 1 hour a day every day and kept a healthy diet. However, I did begin to notice that alcohol had a completely different affect on my body, and I felt intoxicated after drinking very little. Over the course of 2012 my symptoms have gradually gotten worse, to a point where I went on a scuba diving expedition in mid July and after 10 dives my symptoms became exacerbated.
These more severe symptoms lasted 1 and a half weeks. I recovered quite quickly and over a brief 5 week period, I was still exercising 1 hour a day and my symptoms were still there but not too bothersome and completely bearable. Then on one particular morning about 4 months ago I woke up and all my symptoms had become much worse. I had profound fatigue, nausea, memory loss, sore joints (mainly the knees) severe brain fog, Urinary urgency became worse, sore muscles, Chest (left side) and neck pain and ache, rib soreness, strange headaches, dizziness, loss of appetite, Early morning waking, little sleep recurrent sore throats, and abdominal pain after eating and painful bowel movements. (Sometimes these symptoms are all present at the same time, sometimes they occur at different times.
Despite these worsened symptoms, I still try to battle through my days. I've had to defer University, but I'm still managing to stay moderately social and maintain my part time job - to an extent. I feel really sick but never sick enough to be bedridden.
After two inconclusive blood tests, a brain scan, I've been diagnosed by two different doctors with CFS and depression, and whilst some of my symptoms fit with these diagnoses, I'm not confident it's either of these illnesses, as my symptoms continue to worsen week by week. Has anyone else had the same kind of symptom onset? I'm vising a Lyme doctor next week.