Would I Definitely Know If I Had Lyme?

ro.

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In march 2014 I got an incredibly sore/inflamed throat and felt fairly unwell. A couple of weeks later I woke up one day and my fingers were very stiff. They now constantly tingle, ache and are swollen. This "tingly" feeling has moved to different joints in my body but also in my face and lips and carries on moving to different parts of my body and increasing in intensity.

I did the Horowitz Lyme-MSIDS Questionnaire and scored 56 and it says "If you scored 46 or more, you have a high probability of a tick-borne disorder and should see a healthcare provider for further evaluation.".

Some other notable symptoms:
  • My body has a slight tremor
  • Visual snow either started or got markedly worse during this period
  • I get muscle cramps quite a lot
  • I get heart palpitations. Might have started after taking MDMA one night. My heart used to always elevate to around 100 after eating meals but now the palpitations/heart rate elevations seems to be kind of random.
  • My hairline is receeding and I have grey hairs, this started age 22 and I am now age 24.
  • My ability to smell has gone way down and this is apparently one of the best markers of approaching death!

With this said, I am still able to lead a pretty normal life however I associate having Lyme as being a disease that leaves you bed ridden. I go to work, socialise with friends, go rock climbing occasionally, go to the beach, have 4 trips abroad planned in the next 5 week etc.

I also got SIBO confirmed via breath test a year ago but suspect i've had it since i was about 5 years old (now 24).

So, im trying to figure out whether these symptoms are SIBO or Lyme related. SIBO, especially for 19 years, can cause a lot of problems. However the sudden and acute nature of the symptoms leads me to believe it is some type of infection.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
 
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I tell you based on my various symptoms over the years, I must have every single one of these trendy alt-media illnesses. Hopefully I don't get morgellons next?
 

redlight

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Your better off getting treated by a real doctor other than taking medical advice from people online...
 

Ashoka

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Your better off getting treated by a real doctor other than taking medical advice from people online...
Right interesting... have you actually been to a doctor before? It seems like maybe not?

Edit -

My point is that: 1. I have a doctor. 2. I also respect perspectives of certain forum members and believe it's a smart thing to ask about their viewpoints and experiences, as it can be interesting and provide sometimes important insights. 3. In then end one has to make a judgment about how to approach, period. Good luck to you if you just follow your doctor's word.
 
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What do you consider more likely to be going on?

By all means get the tests for the ticks if you have the money, but it seems Ray Peat likes to approach issues more centrally. Like not really upstream causes and not just symptoms either. Hence focusing on metabolism and thyroid support.
 

Ashoka

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By all means get the tests for the ticks if you have the money, but it seems Ray Peat likes to approach issues more centrally. Like not really upstream causes and not just symptoms either. Hence focusing on metabolism and thyroid support.

Yeah, well I'm not even the thread starter so I don't mean to derail this discussion, but it looks like it stopped days ago anyway so maybe this will bring it back.

I already have a diagnosis of Lyme disease. And I have coinfections including EBV. Let me tell you, the symptoms came on quite strongly without ambiguity - it actually felt like what you would associate from a straight-ahead infection at times. I know what brain fog feels like, but the neuro crap from Lyme is really a totally different type of annoyance. So I guess what I want to say is unless we can talk about Lyme disease per se and not just have it under the header of a more general discussion, it's going to be hard to understand what's going on. We first have to accept that something is happening - and it clearly is. If you start feeling bad from it, you're going to need those Lyme tests.

In terms of focusing on thyroid and metabolism - you better believe I'm on board. But I still believe it has to be situated in the context of having Lyme disease. For a lot of people that means getting some antibiotics and doing a proper course. Or it could be taking certain herbs (like Joey Lott's book recommends). Whatever. But you're going to want to know what's going on because I doubt addressing this too generally will bring you back to where you're feeling healthy.

Returning to the OP's question, I have no idea how to answer whether you should be concerned about Lyme or not. I think if you're concerned, you could get the appropriate tests but make sure you get the right ones. I don't think Lyme has to be debilitating in the way you described, and I think it can probably come on rather slowly. That doesn't mean you have it.
 
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ro.

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Right interesting... have you actually been to a doctor before? It seems like maybe not?

Edit -

My point is that: 1. I have a doctor. 2. I also respect perspectives of certain forum members and believe it's a smart thing to ask about their viewpoints and experiences, as it can be interesting and provide sometimes important insights. 3. In then end one has to make a judgment about how to approach, period. Good luck to you if you just follow your doctor's word.

Yes, been to many doctors. Due to pretty much all blood work coming back normal they are trying to tell me, in a roundabout way, I am imagining these symptoms even though I have pictures of my fingers swelling up
 
OP
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ro.

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Yeah, well I'm not even the thread starter so I don't mean to derail this discussion, but it looks like it stopped days ago anyway so maybe this will bring it back.

I already have a diagnosis of Lyme disease. And I have coinfections including EBV. Let me tell you, the symptoms came on quite strongly without ambiguity - it actually felt like what you would associate from a straight-ahead infection at times. I know what brain fog feels like, but the neuro crap from Lyme is really a totally different type of annoyance. So I guess what I want to say is unless we can talk about Lyme disease per se and not just have it under the header of a more general discussion, it's going to be hard to understand what's going on. We first have to accept that something is happening - and it clearly is. If you start feeling bad from it, you're going to need those Lyme tests.

In terms of focusing on thyroid and metabolism - you better believe I'm on board. But I still believe it has to be situated in the context of having Lyme disease. For a lot of people that means getting some antibiotics and doing a proper course. Or it could be taking certain herbs (like Joey Lott's book recommends). Whatever. But you're going to want to know what's going on because I doubt addressing this too generally will bring you back to where you're feeling healthy.

Returning to the OP's question, I have no idea how to answer whether you should be concerned about Lyme or not. I think if you're concerned, you could get the appropriate tests but make sure you get the right ones. I don't think Lyme has to be debilitating in the way you described, and I think it can probably come on rather slowly. That doesn't mean you have it.
What are the tests you got done, Elisa and western blot? Can you comment on their accuracy? I'm seeing different opinions on how accurate they are. Are there any other tests in unaware of?
 

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