Vertical lines on nails

I do and they’re ridged - I can feel some of them.

It came with lyme. I don’t generally include it with my symptom list bcuz it’s more of a “sign” than a symptom - I don’t feel anything becuz of it.

I’ve had this for years but it’s gotten worse in the last year. Before I knew about Lyme, I worried about my nails. I didn’t think they looked healthy and asked my doctor about them. I suspected it was a sign of something like a nutrient deficiency. My doctor didn’t think much of it and said he didn’t really have a reliable way to test me for nutrient deficiencies in the sense of being able to tell if my body is able to utilize the vitamins and minerals properly.

I have never had healthy looking nails even when I was young and before I got sick. My cuticles have always grown out of control over my nails, and my nails used to get white spots in addition to the ridges and they would grow wonky on some nails and tear easily.

I’m sure the ridges indicate something. I bet doctors back in the old days would have known what it was from or at least thought something of it. Doctors today rely on lab tests rather than physical exams, close observation, and thought process.

Yes I have these vertical ridges on both my toenails and fingernails. These vertical lines are listed as a symptom of and Lyme and Co-infections,

(see this Master List of symptoms: http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/symptoms/ )

Excerpted from Master Symptom List for CFS/FM/CMP/Lyme, published in The Carousel Network,
May- June 2003
Melissa Kaplan, 2004

as well as a sign of bodily infection. In my case I believe it is untreated Bart or Babs possibly Tularemia or other co-infection that has gone untreated, just a wild educated guess as I can't afford the tests right now.

However, I went to a dermatologist who claimed that this is a normal sign of aging, he didn't seem to want to take it any further, dismissive and didn't seem to have the time of day for me.

Another dermatologist kindly and quietly prescribed Minocycline when I told them of my predicament. So it depends how compassionate and knowledgeable and empathetic your doctor is. Remember these are just people and they do make mistakes.

It's been all too easy to dismiss us, especially when most mainstream primary docs have been pressured to deny claims systematically by insurance cos and dis-informed by certain entities.